Farmhouse Bathroom Reveal

I forgot until I was moving the cabinet the other day, that I have never shown you our completed main bathroom. We always seemed to be waiting on one tiny thing or other so the room never seemed finished to me. Revently, the builder installed the door and windowsill to finish the space. So today, in this post, I’m going to share with you our main bath and my ideas on how I plan to add some interest to the back wall. It’s such a boring expanse and want to create a more cosy feel for our guests. At the moment, the farmhouse bathroom has an airy feel. I love this and don’t want more clutter, so adding cosiness another way is essential

The Inspiration For the Farmhouse Bathroom

I’m going to start this post by saying I LOVE patterned tiles. I know they’re not fashionable but, to me, a patterned tile is a classic if it fits the era of the home. Think of all those mosaic tiles laid on Victorian verandahs back in the 1800’s and you have in your head the look I was aiming for in the design of our farmhouse bathroom.

Our house was constructed in the late Victorian era. Mosaic floor tile was popular in city homes. The tile would not have been in our house as our house is a more classic Australian farmhouse but they are true to the period. So, my aim was to recreate this look in a more modern way.

The tile I chose is actually my second, more affordable, choice. My first choice was going to cost $6000 and there was no way that was in the budget. Our tiles, from Tile Cloud, cost $1000 and are a real statement piece. Everyone who enters our home comments on how pretty they are.

Anyway, because the tiles create such a bold statement I wanted to keep the rest of the room fairly neutral. I went for a black and white scheme using the same paint colours we have throughout the farmhouse. (On living with this for the last eighteen months, I have decided to repaint it. It’s just too cream.) The only accents in the room are the Houn pine cabinet and the timber vanity.

Choosing the Fittings

I wrote about how our budget dictated the colour of the fittings in my post about saving money on the bathroom renovation. Basically, we could not have all brass tapware, so in keeping with the monochrome theme I wanted, I decided to use matt black in this room. The tapware is the same shape throughout the farmhouse, simply different finishes. To unify the look, even though the two bathrooms are at opposite ends of the house, I used the same subway tiles on the walls and the same dark grout. I also kept to the same style with patterns on the floor and plain walls. Sadly, the budget constraints meant we could not afford a bath in this room. There is room for one and I plan to bring in a freestanding bath at some stage.

Keeping the Rustic Feel

Our farmhouse is not pretentious or grand. To give a nod to the heritage of the house, I went for unfitted pieces. Instead of a modern vanity and fitted cabinetry, I chose to use a timber console with a carved top for the vanity. Our storage is an antique Huon Pine cabinet. It has two shelves inside and is the perfect size for guest towels and all the toiletries they need. A little handmade timber stool I bought locally adds further rustic charm.

We have also reused a mirror from our old bathroom by painting it a glossy black.

Decorating the Farmhouse Bathroom

In the new bathroom accessories have been kept to a minimum. I’ve hung a handmade soap on a rope over the tap and placed a vintage plate on the washstand to hold air freshener and hand sanitiser. My huge birdcage has found a home on top of the cabinet. I’ve hung a brass coolie shade light fitting over the basin. To add privacy to the window for times we do have guests who need to shower, I made a tie-top curtain. You can see a version of this with a ruffle I made in the video below.

For a touch of whimsy, I added a little timber doll’s chair to a hook on the wall.

But What Now?

Despite the fact I love this bathroom, it feels a little empty to me. I do not want to add more ‘stuff’ to the room because it’s not needed. So, I think I might add some tongue and groove panelling to the bottom half of the walls and a peg rail. It would look something like this one from Sarah Jane Christie.