We have a teeny wee bathroom downstairs that will be one of the next projects to tackle – I’m hoping for some inspiration and sourcing guidance here! Vermont isn’t exactly a hotbed of home decor, so we’ll have to order or wait til we head to NYC in December to pick up materials.
It’s such a teeny tiny room (5′ x 3′) that I was hoping to use wallpaper & to get a little more bold than the rest of the house – inky black walls, brass fixtures, fun lighting? Unfortunately, all the wallpaper we like is $$$, like this one from Flavor Paper, which apparently would require 5 rolls at $150 a roll. Sigh.
Anna suggested putting wainscoting on the bottom half of the room, which is definitely an option, but I’d love to find fun paper that’s not too expensive – or a $150 roll that’s longer than 15′?? We could also look into exposing the one wall of the bathroom that is brick, which could look really amazing.
What we’ll need to source:
Toilet – ok, I think I can figure this one out
Tiny Sink – current sink is in a little corner by the door, needs to be seriously TEENY TINY.
Wallpaper
Floor tiles – I like Anna’s black pennyrounds
Mirror – we’ll probably find an antique one
Cabinet – ditto, or something super modern / metal / enamel?
Lighting – ceiling light, sconces?
All ideas welcome that can be 1. ordered 2. found at Home Depot / Lowe’s or 3. Found in NYC or Boston.
Image 1: HGTV.com / Image 2: Flavor Paper / Image 3: Lonny Magazine
that first bathroom is GORGEOUS. it looks like a million dollars.
Love the idea of doing something bold in a small space. I also like Anna’s wainscoting suggestion. You’ve probably already seen these posts, and I’m guessing all of their sources are $$$$$, but just in case there’s something helpful:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/best-online-wallpaper-sources-1-51930
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/best-online-wallpaper-sources-39758
I hadn’t seen them, thank you!
I’d like to not do wainscoting, only because I want to keep the general feel consistent through the house – it’s very early 1800s, and the wainscoting bumps it to late Victorian. Though, so does that paper!
I’m not a source of much help, but I will say I love both the inspiration photos. I can’t wait to see what you do to your tiny bathroom.
We just moved in (literally last night), and our bathroom has wallpaper in it. I’m still trying to figure out if I like it. It has a design and texture…like an old tin ceiling…in pale green. In a bathroom with just a toilet and sink, it’d be great. But I’m really worried about it in a bathroom with a shower. I am super allergic to mold and concerned that wallpaper will trap moisture and encourage mold growth.
I’m looking for dark and dramatic paper for two spaces – to line a built in cupboard that’s as old the house and really needs something and downstairs loo – and have, like you, found all the papers I love are very expensive. These ideas aren’t exactly cheap but they aren’t as expensive as some I’ve seen. And of course they might also be a million miles from what you are looking for.
There are a couple from Ferm Living that I’m tempted by…
Wilderness – http://www.ferm-living.com/wallpaper/wilderness-black – is lovely and I’m trying to decide where to hang it before I leap and order rolls.
Birds on branches – http://www.ferm-living.com/wallpaper/birds – was much softer than I expected. I’ve pinned the sample in the cupboard and with so little light the birds vanished. But I think if there was light – natual daylight or artificial – I think it could look beautiful.
(These are priced in Euros but I know there is a US site and I suspect you already have the details!)
And I have some of this one (http://www.orlakiely.com/uk.cfm/house/living/WRTP6H-500/19939/Slate/) by Orla Kiely. I can’t find it on their US website but I’ve always found their customer service super helpful when I’ve emailed them so it might be worth getting in touch if the paper was a possibility.
I’ve been searching for ages for a small sink but everything I’ve found (and liked) is either very expensive or only available in the US (no use to me in the UK). Are you looking for something that replicates an old sink or something modern. (If the latter I’ll see if I’ve kept the US links in my wish list.)
Good luck. I thought the transformation of your hallway was beautiful and inspirational. I’m sure this will be equally spectacular and I look forward to seeing some pictures here.
Thanks for all this!! I was just looking at the Ferm Living wallpaper, it is much more affordable.
Please do send sinks – right now the key factor is size over style, so I’m willing to peek at anything.
I’m glad you liked the hallway reno! I love just sitting up there & am working on making some cushions for a mid-century chair I just picked up at an estate sale for $5, so pictures soon!
I love your inspiration pictures! If you end up not going the wallpaper route, I’d love to see a super bold paint color, especially if you did something like 3 walls black/dark grey, the sink wall a really bright color, black pennyweights and white sink and toilet. Like if you can’t go bold with pattern on wallpaper, make the whole room color-blocked.
That would look great. I mentioned in the comments ^^ that one wall is brick under the sheetrock – maybe we expose it? Would be a great element + save wallpaper money. We’ll have to see if it would mess anything up.
I LOVE the idea of an exposed brick wall. It’s just one of those super cool things that everyone can’t do. (Besides, I love it when structural elements show.)
You could try stenciling a bold pattern on the walls to get a similar effect. It would be more difficult, but definitely less expensive.
What if you did a stencil?
This UK site is really good for finding stuff by colour and style http://www.wallpaperdirect.co.uk for example:
http://www.wallpaperdirect.co.uk/search-results.php?keyword=Search+for+wallpapers…&colour=black&design=Geometric&x=9&y=18
Not sure whether they’d deliver but if you something you like you could source it from the supplier.
Have you considered a toilet that has a basin above the cistern? The water that would traditionally be used for flushing can first be used to wash your hands. Would definitely save you some space. http://sacramentokitchendesign.com/2010/04/19/new-green-integrated-toilet-sink-design/
Yes! I think it would be great, but do you think guests would think it weird? This is primarily used by people visiting, so I want it to not feel creepy.
My parents have one of these – it takes people a little while to get used to, but most of them like the novelty/water saving idea. However, we live in Australia – people get very excited about saving water here.
I’m not sure if this helps but the bathrooms at Bar Crudo in San Francisco have the TINIEST LITTLE SINKS I have ever seen. Maybe you could ask who did their design work?
My high school friend’s house had a tiny bathroom that was red and black tile with a checkerboard floor. It was way too much, and I hated using it! You could always save $ and tone it down a little by papering only one wall. The exposed brick sounds amazing as well.
I actually really like small bathrooms. One bathroom that always sticks in my mind was a friend in London’s. Hers was TINY. Barely standing room, and she made it even more tiny by flooding it with plants… however, that made it MAGICAL and it officially became my favourite bathroom.
She had basically decked it out so the walls were all wooden panels, and the floor was wooden too. She had one of those fancy mirrors which have heating, so it doesn’t ever steam up. All her accessories were black, and contracted beautifully with the crisp white of her bathroom suite. But what made it really unique was the plants. She had put them in tiny planters under the sink, terraniums around and on the windowsill, and she had put planters on the walls, with hanging baskets which had vast sprawling greenery that was high up near the ceiling. The water from her showers/baths kept the plants really happy, and I felt like I was stepping into a tropical spa. Bliss!
Morgue x
Downstairs toilets – or “powder rooms”, is that the right term? – here in the Netherlands have tiny little washbasins (usually with just one cold tap) that we call “fonteintjes”. They are perfectly sized (usually under 40 cm wide), and perfectly adequate for such tiny rooms.
An example, though rather snazzy:
http://www.affairedeau.com/classic-cloackroom-basin.html
Maybe you would find something suitable in a salvage yard?
This link has the wallpaper I was telling you about on Instagram. I found it via a blog post – someone was remodeling their house and found the wallpaper with the devils (first group) underneath, and did some research. I can’t remember if they or someone in the comments found these reprints.
Scroll down for the amazing spiderwebs, too! They have some beautiful stuff.
http://www.waterhousewallhangings.com/products.php?category=6
And here’s the blog post with the original:
http://retrorenovation.com/2012/01/25/satanic-vintage-wallpaper-yellow-prewayfireplace-in-1973-deck-house/
Try Etsy for fixtures in your area!
And
I was going to recommend retrovilla.dk for vintage wall paper except it’s still about $250 a roll for a 30 foot roll.
Did you know that Spoonflower just started offering print-on-demand wallpaper? You can design your own damn wallpaper (or buy it from someone on there who designed it). At $60 per roll it seems pretty reasonable. Here’s their blog post about it: http://blog.spoonflower.com/2012/09/introducing-custom-wallpaper-wall-decals.html
Since they just started offering it, I haven’t tried it yet, but it immediately came to mind as a solution to your problem when I saw this post.
I just want to recommend you to choose light colors for vintage wallpaper. I like the color theme of walls in your last image. Concentrate on floor renovation as well.