Pepper Design Blog

Building a Bathroom: Initial Inspiration

Our new guest bath design was originally inspired by the latest Decor & Trends project videos that were recently released by the Lowe’s PR team (not available on the website so be sure to check them out here). After hopping out to the Lowe’s website to explore additional how-to ideas (listed under Home Ideas and Projects on the site), I was surprised at how many great diy suggestions, articles and videos that they share online as well.

One particular video from the Decor & Trends section happened to feature a bathroom that rang very similar to what we had envisioned for our new guest bath and it was quickly added to the ‘inspiration folder’ on my desktop. Here’s a sneak peek:

What we loved about the bathroom decor was the simple integration of old-world style melded with modern furnishings and details. The white subway tile (a favorite of ours as we used a glass version in our kitchen remodel) brought in an original, traditional element that will stand the test of time, while the vanity, eco-friendly touches and rich colors keep the bathroom modern.

Having several visual images to work off of is so helpful for Kevin and me when remodeling – it helps to keep us on track with the overall look we’re trying to achieve (it’s easy to get distracted when you start shopping and there are so many choices out there) and since we’ve already decided on a plan it keeps us from mid-aisle disagreements about the shade of this paint over that. When the decisions get tough, we can pull out our handy inspirational images to see what color grout might be best or how various tile & paint colors work together in a final room.

The diy sections and videos are totally worth a look!

Building a Bathroom: PDB + Lowe’s = LOVE

A while back we received a surprise email from one of our favorite stores. Hint: it starts with ‘L’ and rhymes with ‘toes’.

And when I say we’re huge fans, I mean we’re huge fans.

Liv makes the cutest project cheerleader.

So here we are minding our remodeling business and working away on project after project when out of the blue we were offered a helping hand. As in, Lowe’s casually emailed, “would you like to review several Lowe’s products while building that future bathroom?” and we fell out of our chairs in speechless awe/excitement. Yes please!

Best email ever, no?

We are building this bath from scratch – the current location is three adjoining closets that sit plop in the middle of our hallway. The goal is to create a new full bathroom that compliments the Spanish style of the home all while being both eco-friendly and tastefully modern at the same time.

As you can see, access to the bath will be through our hallway (off of the kitchen) and through Liv’s room.

If we could throw any visual out there for what’s playing around in our minds, this might be closest:

Here’s a first look at the materials we have in mind for the space (we built this little inspiration board right on the Lowe’s shelf):

I was soooo excited that I offered a little sneak peek of the layout back in February, but we really weren’t ready to act on it until all of our research was complete, with the goal to begin slated for the end of March. And drumroll…. it’s nearly the end of March! I’ve been counting down the days.

Over the month of April we’ll be revealing all of the how-to’s on the design, tiling (heated floors, anyone?), installation and even our decision making process (on how to choose the best toilet, for example – you laugh, but there’s more to it than meets the eye ), all while covering the rest of the home that we’re slowing working on (such as the new guestroom/office, decorating the nursery and updating the living room).

Now back to pinching ourselves!

Guest Bathroom Sneak Peek

I’m letting the cat out of the bag a little early on this one… because I can’t stand the anticipation any longer.

We officially won’t break ground on our new guest bathroom until March, but that hasn’t stopped me from numerous trips to Lowe’s and plenty of mock-ups to design a brand new, sweet little modern bath for our visitors (and Olivia, it will officially be Liv’s bathroom as we plan to have it accessible via the hallway as well as her bedroom).

Sure, we still have the old-kitchen-turned-office to finish, the nursery-that’s-75%-done and the brand-spankin’-NEW-kitchen (oh poor new kitchen with its teeny tiny details that just won’t wrap up) – but why not dive into this amazing project that will leave us one bathtub closer to a clean and modern space for visitors to enjoy?

And we don’t currently have a bathtub as our current bathroom’s tub is broken (aka so old it has stopped working all together). And it’s been over a year. And I’m a bathtub person. And I’d so desperately like to sooth my tired body in one that I’m willing to halt all other projects if necessary (though it’s not and they won’t) to add one to our home.

Can you believe Olivia’s four weeks already!! Just for fun, here we are getting coffee with a friend.

I could stare at that yawn for hours.