We're bringing you this fun little bathroom makeover because it's long overdue and we've got a fun DIY to go with it. To be honest, it wasn't until I made this cute DIY towel ring holder that I got excited to write about the bathroom renovation overall. It was very much a spur of the moment renovation decision which doesn't always work. I usually have a fully thought-out moodboard, 3d rendering and finishing selections but with this renovation it was different. My husband hired the tiler to come in, start demo and I had a day to choose tile. Sometimes jumping in and flying by the seat of your pants works and sometimes it doesn't. We got lucky with this one lol.

Well this is the first official room reveal of the Hadley Project (our first flip project) and we are thrilled with the way it turned out. As background, this is the only bathroom on the main floor so it needs to serve a lot of purposes, it's a master bath, a guest bath, a kids bath and a linen closet. My kids are in no way spoiled but in our last house we had a jack and jill bath between their rooms. When we moved here my son was confused that he didn't have his own bathroom (first world problems). Now he loves sharing with us and it's one less bathroom for me to clean win-win (at least for now).


The footprint of the original bathroom was great so we didn't have to change anything with the layout (phew). We redrywalled the walls and changed out all the fixtures including an unusually low shower head. We partnered with Delta Faucet Canada to put the crowning jewels on our vanity and shower. We selected a wide-set faucet from their Dryden Collection in a Satin Nickel. The undertones in this finish really play well with the other metals in the room. My son loves the way the water comes out of the tub faucet and he loves making faces in the faucet (priorities). It's great when the kids love the things that also make your home pretty.









Some of my favourite parts of this room include the oversized shower curtain, the globe sconces, the rounded rectangle mirrors, the lucite towel holder (that I spray painted gold to match our sconces) and of course the bath mat that says "you clean up nice" which ended up being the slogan for this room and possibly the whole house.

Shop this room:
Faucets: Delta Faucets, Dryden Collection
Vanity
Mirrors
Floor Tile
Sconces
Towels
Toilet Paper Holder
Towel Holder

Be sure to follow me on Instagram to catch the quick updates and progress on the Hadley Project including a great IGTV series.

As any mom knows, a good shower can feel like a day at the spa.  It’s the only time of the day you have to yourself (even if there are sticky little fingers crawling under the door). It was this thought that made me want to share some tips on how to create a spa-like shower experience at home without undergoing major construction. So, if you’re like us and putting off a major bathroom renovation, here are three small things you can do right now to improve your overall shower experience (sorry, nothing we can do about the kids on the other side of the door).


1. Upgrade Your Shower Head
When you think of a spa-like shower, you immediately think rain shower. However, this might not be the most practical shower for your little ones or for those days when you’d rather not wash your hair. Luckily, now you can get the best of both world’s with Delta Faucet Canada’s HydroRain Two-in-One Shower Head. The shower head combines the spa-like feel of a rain shower with the functional aspects of a regular shower head. It has 5 settings including a great pause feature that reduces the water to a trickle so you can shave your legs.  Plus, it installs in minutes - no plumber required. Seriously, I surprised myself with how easy it was to install, just like changing a light-bulb (twist the old one off, twist the new one on).

Do you have a small powder room that has been forgotten? The smallest room in the house with the least amount of love. Today I'm sharing some easy powder room updates that you can do over a weekend as part of the handmade modern home series. Together with the four other bloggers we have partnered with Para Paints to update a small room in our homes. I selected our main floor powder room because it is really the last space on our main floor that hasn't been updated and ironically the room used a lot (especially with a potty training toddler).


Here are some before pics:



Paint Colour:
Since it's a small room we decided to keep the colour soft and subtle. If you caught my Instastories last week you will be familiar with the paint colour I selected. It's Glamour (405A) from Para Paints 2018 Colour Trends Palette. It is the perfect shade for a powder room, it adds colour without being overpowering. It's a lovely lavender tone that has just enough femininity for my all boy household and it pairs beautifully with any type of metal and any stain of wood.



Lighting:
Look for a simple light fixture to compliment the space but within the proper scale for the room. I found this one at Rona and changed-it out myself (which was surprisingly easy but that's for another post).


Accessories:
I think the biggest change we made in this room was with the accessories, specifically the mirror.  A round mirror in a small powder room is always a good choice - the curves add a sense of calmness. Plus, changing out the mirror in a powder room is probably the cheapest and easiest update with the most impact. I picked up this mirror and soap dispenser at Homesense.




All in all I updated this powder room for less than $150.


Be sure to checkout the other bloggers transformations; Thalita from The Learner Observer, Lindi from Love Create Celebrate, Gemma from The Sweetest Digs and Colleen from Lemon Thistle.

A few weeks back, I provided a run down of my top 5 favourite freestanding tubs. The post also included some nostalgic quips about our old home and our Victoria + Albert tub. In our new home the bath tub is a big, clunky, jetted tub that will probably need to be replaced someday. So today I'm playing a bit of "what if", as in "what if my husband let me renovate our master bathroom?" or "what if we won the lottery?" I know this will never happen but it's fun to dream - don't laugh, I know you do this too.
So here are my "some day" plans for our master bathroom.

Here is the current bathroom. I know, I know, it's not horrible.

Do you love a freestanding tub as much as I do?  In our old home we had a beautiful Victoria + Albert freestanding tub (the most comfortable soaker tub ever). It was pretty much a part of the family, whenever we'd take a bath we'd say we were "visiting Vicki and Al".
In our new home, the master bath was renovated by the previous owners, unfortunately they kept the big eighties tub, you know the kind, clunky, jetted with a platform step. Eventually we plan to invite Vicki and Al back into our home but for now we're stuck in the eighties. So with #bathroomgoals in mind, here are my top rated soaker tubs.

Top 5 Freestanding Tubs

1. Vetralla Tub
The Vetralla Tub is one of the newest tubs from the luxury brand Victoria + Albert, it is a double ended tub with a smaller footprint (perfect for any size bathroom). The angles of the tub were designed with comfort in mind. Symmetrical and compact it's ideal for the modern bathroom where space is at a premium.



2. Eldon Tub
The Eldon Tub is a contemporary back-to-wall bathtub. In my opinion this tub is awesome, all the pipework is hidden and it's super easy to clean and tile around.


3. Pescadero Tub
The Pescadero Tub has a unique "wave' shaped rim. The company touts this one as the perfect tub for one or two people - I like to call it the honeymoon for the home. A comfortable bathtub that is also a piece of art.


4. Toulouse Tub
The Toulouse Tub is a deep, double ended free standing bateau tub that makes a luxurious centrepiece for both traditional and contemporary bathrooms.


5. York Tub
The York Tub is a personal favourite of mine. It was the tub we had in our old home. The deep, double-ended bath is so comfortable, I can personally vouch that every soak is a spa-like experience.


All Victoria + Albert tubs are made with an exclusive material called ENGLISHCAST®, it's a really cool material that makes each tub scratch resistant, super-strong but lightweight. If you're looking for a comfortable freestanding tub start and end your search here.

Follow me on Instagram to get a glimpse of my current bathroom in my stories. And stay tuned to the blog for my upcoming post on my master bath plans - in the event my husband let's me demo the "renovated" bathroom and put in a freestanding tub.

Sponsored by Victoria + Albert (but I really love these tubs). All expressed opinions are my own.

Are you thinking of a bathroom renovation? A great jumping off point is figuring out how you want it to make you feel. When I renovated my bathroom last year I knew I wanted a room that made me feel great every time I opened the door.  Now this black and white basement bathroom is my “cool” in an otherwise chaotic, sticky, toddler-filled life. See more pics here.



Wayfair Renovation Hub:
I’m not sure if many of you knew but Wayfair recently launch a Renovation Hub where consumers can purchase anything from plumbing to tile and get inspiration for their home renovations. The key areas include kitchen, bathroom, flooring tile, backyard and indoor lighting. While many of these items are not yet available in Canada I’m sure they’re coming soon so hang on tight Canucks.

Wayfair Tiles:
I was recently featured on Wayfair's blog "Floor and Wall Tile You'll Love" where I discussed my bathroom renovation along with a few other design bloggers.  If you're interested in a similar look in your home here are some great floor tile choices. Links to each below.
1. Mediterranean Equ Black 8" x 8"
2. Pelham Porcelain Mosaic Tile
3. Lima 7.75" x 7.75" Ceramic Field Tile in Blue
4. EliteTile Esamo 11.25" x 12" Glass Mosaic Tile in White
5. Arya 9.75"x9.75" Porcelain Field Tile in Black
6. EliteTile Esamo 11.625" x 12" Glass Mosaic Tile in White
7. Arquivo 4.88" x 4.88" Ceramic Field Tile in Fleur De Lis
8. Esmer Tile Natural Stone Random Sized Marble Mosaic Tile
9. Taj 8" x 8" Handmade Cement Tile in Black and White

Wayfair Renovation Award:
Today my bathroom renovation made me even happier as it won the Wayfair Renovation Award, an award given to design bloggers with an outstanding kitchen or bath renovation. Yahoo!

The renovation of our basement bathroom has been such an education (see before pics here). We've made so many mistakes and had so many slap-your-forehead moments. Which is okay because my husband and I are aspiring home flippers so the more we can learn in our own home the better.

One of my favourite parts is the Champagne Bronze Lahara Faucet by Delta Faucets, it's the perfect accent to our little sink. I love the idea of mixing metals (a 2017 trend) so we decided to go with oil rubbed bronze for the towel ring and toilet paper holder (both also part of the Lahara collection).

Also, if you're wondering about the paint colour, it's this great colour called Greek Villa by HGTV Home Sherwin Willaims paint at Lowes. It's a great white in any light, not too clinical and not too creamy.

Here is our bathroom reveal. Let me know what you think? I'm still undecided with the art but overall I'm in love with our little gastro-pub basement bathroom.





This is a good example of one of our hiccups, the largest pre-fab glass shower door is 60", ours was 63" so we had to go with a custom solution door or create a very tiny and odd lip on the wall. We decided to go with the custom door and I love it.