
I can’t believe we’re six weeks in to this project already!! I feel like, at least for us, the One Room Challenge really kicks into high gear right about now, too. We left off last week with most of the wallpaper hung, but not finished. This week, we not only completed the wallpaper installation, but we demo’d the builder grade mirror and laminate countertops, finished up the beadboard near the vanity, had the new countertops templated for installation, and started tiling! Well, kind of started tiling. Everything is only dry-fitted for the time being, while we play with the penny tiles to finalize our pattern.
I can’t get over this side-by-side!! It’s proof that smaller cosmetic changes can really add up in a renovation project. We haven’t done any real demo, and left the vanity and shower as-is. And yet it looks like a totally different bathroom.
We finished up the wallpaper installation (and repaired a small piece after we damaged it taking down the old mirror) earlier this week. We purchased three rolls and still have about 2/3 of the last roll left, which should come in handy when we get around to tackling the bathtub/shower down the road. (And if you’re looking for a wallpaper installation tutorial, please be patient because I hope to write one soon!)
Next, we took down the builder grade mirror, which was pretty straightforward because it was installed with clips and wasn’t glued to the wall. If it had been glued, I image demo would have been much messier. Then Robert demo’d the countertops to get ready for the professionals to come template our new marble countertop for installation. We’re working with Bradley Stone for this project, and I’m so excited to have the new marble countertop installed just about a week from now!
We also finished painting the new doors drawer fronts, and anticipate they should be installed this week. (Maybe even with hardware!!)
Unless, of course, we get mired down in penny tile, which is a distinct possibility. Our tile from Alexander James Shop all arrived this past week, and I couldn’t be more excited. It’s absolutely beautiful. The penny tiles are Bedrosians and are such high quality! We went with the matte white color for the base, and then decided on classic black for the pattern. For now, we’ve dry-fit the white tile sheets so we could play with patterns and spacing and troubleshoot problems, like how to install a border. We still haven’t quite figured that out yet, but spent last night on the bathroom floor voicing our opinions (aka arguing) about it, so that’s progress at least? 😉 I imagine I’ll have a LOT more to say about penny tile during next week’s update, so I’ll just leave it at that for now.

Finally, I talked about this in my Instagram stories this week, but we were thrown a bit of a curve ball a couple of weeks ago when we learned that the square Artisan tile I initially chose for the vanity backsplash was backordered and wouldn’t be here in time for reveal day. But I brainstormed with the owner of Alexander James himself (I highly recommend their shop!!) and decided to use a subway tile similar to the one we have in our kitchen but with a matte finish (called Magma White) in its place. Now I just have to decide on a layout, but I’m loving both of these options!
By the way, if you’re looking for tile, I’m SO impressed with everything Alexander James has to offer. They also carry the highly popular Cloe tile (they call it Handcraft White) that we installed in our kitchen! And if you use code HOMEONHARBOR15, you’ll save 15% on your order!!
So that’s it for this week! Pretty sure next week is going to get real interesting while we install the penny tile pattern, so I’d check in on Instagram if I were you! (What I’m really saying is that these faces might not be all smiles, haha!)
To check out the rest of the participants in this Fall’s One Room Challenge, click here.
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 & 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8
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