ABM Studio: The Tiny Bathroom (Before)

Photo via Desire To Inspire. 

Today I'm here to talk about our tiny half bathroom. This bathroom is located on the first floor beside the kitchen, under a stairway.When we first saw this bathroom, it was hard to get over how small it is. I mean, for a house in the Midwest, it's TINY. I'm sure some of our Chicago or New York friends are more used to a smaller bathroom and might laugh at us, but come on. It's pretty little. 😉 The sink might be the smallest/cutest little thing we've ever seen. We didn't get too excited about this room at first. To be completely honest we weren't even sure if it was a room we should share here on the blog, but we've definitely changed our minds! 

The limitations have proved to be kinda fun. There isn't a lot we can do in there due to limited wall space and layout, but we've enjoyed trying to make the best possible room out of it. Here you can see the tile and border. 

Here you can see water damage on the ceiling. Uh oh! 

During our inspection we learned that the floors in this tiny bathroom were unsafe. After closing, and after starting the contractor work, we learned the walls were also unsafe and that basically the entire room had to be ripped apart and rebuilt. Actually if major repairs didn't happen within the next few years the ceiling or floor may have caved in. That wasn't the happiest news ever, but we're so glad we found out at such an early stage! Every old home purchase tends to come with a surprise of some kind, and I feel like we found ours with this bathroom update. 

One really good thing that came from that process was that our contractor was able to move that pipe (covered in greenery above) in the wall. Yay! Pretty tile inspiration via Design Crisis and Houzz. 

During the process of collecting inspiration for this house I fell in love with TILE! I had so much fun choosing tile for our kitchen and one and a half bathrooms. We kept it pretty basic, playing more with shape and texture than color, but doesn't this rainbow tile inspire you?Penny tile inspiration via Remodelista and Apartment Therapy. 

We chose to tile the walls in our tiny bathroom with white penny tile and the floors with a larger and darker hexagon tile. I've always wanted to try penny tile and I can't wait to share the resulting room with you soon!Hanging plant containers via West Elm and Urbilis. 

Since this room is small, a lot of the design depends on the details. Besides choosing tile the only "fun things" we get to add is a new mirror and a little bit of wall decor. Instead of art I think hanging plants may be the perfect solution for this space! 

I'm really excited to share the "after" photos of this room when we get there. It might not be the biggest or the best room in the house but it has a chance of winning "most improved"… although, it's gonna have a tough battle against the kitchen! 🙂 Thanks for letting me share this project. It's been such a learning experience! xo. Elsie 

Credits // Author and Photography: Elsie Larson. Inspiration images are linked throughout.