Eclectic Canadiana Guest Bathroom

Our Guest bathroom was one of the first things we demoed when we moved into our house 2 years ago.  Ironically, it took the longest to be completed!  (It took about a year start to finish…and it’s taken me about another year to finally take pictures of it.) When we had our house inspection done before purchasing the house, we found out that the guest bathroom would probably need a complete gut.  We didn’t know the extent of the damage but we knew that the shower wouldn’t drain and the toilet wasn’t working and most of the subfloor was rotting around it.  We were already in love with the house and luckily we were able to use the dysfunctional bathroom and the rotting shingles on the roof as means to negotiate a bit lower on our asking price!

Well long story short once we owned the house we ripped up the walls and floors to see what we were dealing with.  I forgot to take a photo before we ripped the shower out but this is pretty much what we were starting with…It has to get ugly before it can get better right? The previous owners had taken some shortcuts in the plumbing and nothing was angled right so it wasn’t draining.  We jackhammered down into the concrete slab.  Got it plumbed right and then started putting it back together.

I knew I wanted a clean modern feel to the bathroom.  To save costs we kept the existing vanity as it worked fine.  I originally was going to paint it but after we had it back installed I liked the dark accent it added to the room.  We also saved some money on fixtures as the previous owners left us the brand new tub they had planned to install! So we were able to use our money for making the rest of the room look pretty…aka TILE! Subway tile was a must on my design list..and luckily it is so budget friendly! Our tile guy tried to convince me otherwise to save himself some hours of work (none of the walls were square so every piece needed minor cuts…oops sorry.)  But after it was installed even our tile guy loved it so much he planned to put it in his own bathroom! Mission accomplished! 🙂

Inspiration Mood Board

Here is my Inspiration mood board.  The Floor tile is porcelain tile with a faux marble look that we got at Lowes. The shower curtain was from Target online and is sadly not in stock anymore but here is a link to a similar one.  The wall color is “Morning Lake” by Valspar paint. It is the perfect medium grey.  I used it in our Nursery too!

Here is a look at the tile and curtain up close.

And now for the big reveal!  The final design came together as a clean modern bathroom with a touch of Canadiana style.

I wanted the tile installed in a classic brick lay pattern around the tub.  It ended up being a two-tone pattern due to my bad judgment of “white” tile.  I bought some from two different places (and several months apart) thinking it would be the same shade…haha.  Then, I wasn’t home on the day the tile was installed so when I came back to it I was horrified at my mistake, so we weighed our options and decided to make it a design choice. (since the “bluish-white” tiles were bought off Kijiji and we really couldn’t afford to buy more in the right color to replace them) 🙂  Luckily our tile guy noticed the differences and made an expert decision to alternate the colors in rows.  (I was 6 months pregnant at the time so I blame hormones and baby brain, BUT lesson learned! White tile is different for every company!)

I kept the brick lay pattern for the tile above the vanity but changed it to a vertical lay to give it a modern edge.

Finding a light for above the vanity was challenging due to my insanely tiny, almost non-existent budget,  I wanted a modern sconce but everything I was finding was over $100 plus…I almost gave up and got a boring builder light – But I found this beauty on clearance at Rona for only $35!  I love how it goes so well with the vanity and also ties in a modern, rustic feel.  I added a few more details to the room with a couple faux plants, some white rugs and a mirror from IKEA.

With the Canada theme going I had to add a quote from one of my husband’s favorite Canadians – Wayne Gretzky. 🙂

The artwork finishes off the space and adds a whimsical touch of color to the neutral palette of the bathroom.  I found the Canada print at Indigo in the home goods section for $5!  It is one of my FAVORITE places for cute prints and pillow covers but is far too expensive for my cheap budget! Luckily, they ALWAYS markdown and clear all product every couple months so if you go at the right time you can usually get things at 75%!!  The watercolor prints above the towel bar were painted by husbands grandfather and we digitized them so I could print a smaller version for these frames.  I like how they bring a vintage touch to the room.  I also find them significant because my husband’s grandfather was a refugee in World War 2 and was able to escape and immigrate to Canada, so they felt fitting to put in this room that has a little ode to Canada.

The shower niche was another sore point for our tile guy with all the small cuts he had to make but it turned out so great!

The towel is from the Hudson’s Bay company, It was one my husband had already so after I found the Canada print it just fit so well in the space.  The tree stump plant stand I made from a stump.  I chiseled away the bark, sanded and sealed it.  I wish I had done a tutorial for it because it was so easy and looks gorgeous but I’m sure I’ll make another one since I love it so much!

We learned SOOOO MUCH doing most of this renovation ourselves (aside from plumbing and some of the tiling around the tub)…And we made plenty of mistakes too, but we both feel so proud of the outcome!!  We are so pleased with how this room has come together and now it is a space we definitely feel comfortable sharing with our guests!

All Photography by Brock Kryton Photography.

Thanks for reading!