Take a look at my half-bathroom wall…
This is the scene that greets you as you enter the room. Are you bored yet?
It’s impossibly lackluster and after two years it was time for a fix.
If you know me, you know my love for board-and-batten and all things cottage/farmhouse. (Not to be confused with “country” which is another thing entirely, and not my thing at all.) I wanted this bathroom to feel larger than it is, with a little “farm charm” and reminiscent of the aesthetic in my grandparents’ 1921 lake cottage in northern Wisconsin. (The most beautiful piece of paradise you never imagined in the North Woods.)
So began my transformation, starting with white paint on the bottom 36.5 inches of the wall, overlaid with lattice strips of wood spaced 10.5 inches apart.
I followed much the same process as the board-and-batten in my son’s room you can read about here. And remember that faux Roman shade I made for the kitchen? I decided to try it out in this room for a different effect.
I cut each of the lattice boards to the exact length needed (my house isn’t exactly square) and then alpha-labeled each board so that my power tool recruit (aka good husband) would know where to place each board.
So the new, improved and not-so-boring-anymore bathroom is…
The map on the wall was the perfect size if I turned it sideways, so naturally I did. (Hey, when you think about it, we never use maps ONLY in their “North Up” position. They’re meant to be used in 360 degrees.)
For inexpensive artwork I bought a 1970s National Geographic map of the Great Lakes ($7 on Etsy), mounted it to foam core and cut it in quarters.
It reminds me of my childhood and wonderful summer vacations to Wisconsin and Michigan and those gorgeous lakes.
I pulled in a little nostalgia with a vintage Campfire tin my Grandmother gave me last summer. It had been in her kitchen for about 80 years.
I replaced the light fixture glass with seeded glass covers that cast really interesting shapes on the wall and give an artwork quality to the light.
The total cost for this space was $120 for paint, oval mirror, wood strips, a new towel hook, the National Geographic map and the foam core.
And so it is complete. I love walking in the space now!
BEFORE
AFTER
