Beautiful small bathroom makeover: farmhouse-inspired spa!
Turn a bathroom makeover into a beautiful farmhouse-inspired spa with a few inexpensive changes that make a huge impact.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Out with the old!
My bathroom was in desperate need of a makeover. Shortly after I built my house in 2001, I wanted a Tuscan-inspired look in my decor. I painted walls with hues of gold, cinnamon, and earthy green. While I loved the look and it kept my interest for almost 20 years, it became time for a drastic change.
I have a very small house, measuring only 1100 square feet. It is perfect for me and my two pups. The Italian theme made my home look even smaller with the rich colors, but I loved how cozy it felt. But over the past three years, I have been transforming my home to more of a farmhouse-style vibe.
Now I’m not talking the usual modern farmhouse you see in magazines everywhere, but it does have similarities. I don’t know about you, but I have never seen an old farmhouse with white walls and furniture throughout. I like color and prefer to use white as accent and not the main vibe.
When I decided to makeover my tiny bathroom, I wanted a bright airy spa feeling. My bathroom has no windows, so when I did the Venetian plaster on the walls in the early 2000’s, it really looked rather dark. There are some things I knew I had to work with, such as beige bathtub, tile, and commode, but at least I didn’t pick a funky color!
The first thing I needed to do was change the wall color. Do you know how many variations of a color is out there to choose from? Needless to say, I brought home several handfuls of paint swatches and couldn’t decide on a color. It had to be something light, but not white or grey. But then, while working on another project, I found the perfect color!
Inspiration for the bathroom makeover!
I purchased an old door at a salvage store to refinish and hang on a wall for an accent piece. As I was sanding off three layers of paint, I came to the original paint color of the door. It was beautiful! Needless to say, I sanded no further and sealed that baby up. Today, it hangs on the wall at the end of the hallway.
My bathroom makeover transformation into a farmhouse spa
This color reminds me of so many things…. spring robin eggs, the beach, and old farmhouses! I went to my local Lowes and scanned through the Sherwin-Williams paint swatches, and there it was…. Sea Salt! This color is the perfect combination of farmhouse feel and a soothing spa.
Spa colored walls
Because I had used the Venetian plaster on the walls, I needed to do a little sanding to knock down some of the bumps in the faux finish. I did not go overboard with this process because I still wanted that “plaster” look on the walls. Two coats later and this simple change resulted in an instant transformation!
Sink vanity
The next item on my agenda was to change the look of my vanity. I did not want to purchase another one and wanted to transition the beige countertop to fit within a farmhouse style. The base of the cabinet is a beautiful maple, but I wanted to lighten it up, so I purchased Sherwin-Williams Emerald urethane in White Cotton. I highly recommend the Emerald line for cabinet painting.
Farmhouse floor
Next came the flooring. I have been transitioning my home’s flooring from the ever-popular 2000’s Berber carpeting (which I absolutely HATED) to luxury vinyl plank. The bathroom had plain sheet vinyl, which still looked great for its age, but it needed to go. I quickly learned how to remove a toilet from the floor, removed the baseboards, and took out the old vinyl. I chose Mohawk flooring in Country Barn when I refloored my bedroom and had a couple of boxes left, so I decided to place the flooring in the bathroom also since I didn’t want too many variations in flooring throughout the home.
The color of this floor, like the paint, gives the bathroom both a farmhouse vibe and also a warm, cozy spa feel to the room.
Farmhouse spa shelves
Originally, my bathroom had an over-the-commode metal shelving unit and a small shelving stand. These were great for storage but didn’t fit with my vision of a farmhouse spa, plus they took up precious space in this tiny area.
I purchased farmhouse-style shelving brackets from Amazon and four unfinished 2-foot shelving boards from Lowes in 5- and 7-inch depths. Using a hammer, I pounded on the boards randomly to give them an old wood look, then stained them using a dark walnut wood stain. I finished the boards with a satin polyurethane coating.
Vintage inspired fixtures
The original fixtures in the bathroom were of simple chrome. I chose oil rubbed bronze fixtures on Amazon to give a deep accent to the color scheme. The bronze tone works nicely with the beige shower and sink. I also love a removable shower head. This makes tub cleaning so much easier and a godsend for bathing filthy pups!
Finishing touches to this bathroom makeover
To complete this farmhouse spa look, I found a whimsical shower curtain made from drop cloth with a Pennsylvania farm decoration. It was perfect! I added a hand-made Amish rug for a vintage feel, as well as vintage inspired decor to the shelving. I found these vintage-inspired wall mount hooks made to look like old keys and locks and mounted them under a shelf to hang towels and my trusty shower cap.
One special touch!
Because of the great toilet paper shortage of 2020, I decided to install a bidet and I highly recommend one. This little device has been a game-changer in feeling fresh and clean, if you know what I mean! Installation was simple and I simply ran the hot water tube through my vanity cabinet to attach to the hot water line.
I hope my small bathroom makeover to a farmhouse style spa inspires you to make changes to your small bathroom. Let me know what you think in the comments below. Thanks for stopping by!
Shop this bathroom makeover
Sherwin Williams Sea Salt in satin finish
Mohawk Country Barn vinyl plank flooring
