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*This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Moen.  All opinions are 100% my own.

We’re still knee deep in the new powder room project that we’ve been working on for the past several weeks. Last week I shared all about the construction, but today is all about our progress and a bit of pretty with a DIY powder room vanity, new faucet, lighting and a mirror.

You’d think that a tiny space would be easy to transform but you would be wrong. Nothing about this project has been easy. From the planning stages to where we are now it’s been one problem after another. Besides the obvious issue, trying to work in such a tight space, we had to deal with delivery delays and 2 broken sink deliveries. Not what you want to see when you’re ready to start building a vanity and you need a sink in order to do it. 

Let’s take a look back to where we started…a big closet with our seasonal clothes and a lot of shoe boxes. A previous owner built this closet a few years ago so it’s larger than your normal 1946 bedroom closet.

Taking a storage closet and turning it into a powder room.

It definitely won’t be a big bathroom but it will be functional, and that’s all we need. One side of the space will have a toilet and the opposite side will have a vanity.

With the walls planked and painted and the electrical done, it was time to start the vanity side of the space.  

Building the walls in our closet turned powder room project.

Like I said, this is a tiny space with walls that aren’t square, so we knew early on in the planning stages that we would have to build a vanity. A simple piece with an open design and one drawer. 

It doesn’t look like much but it took quite a while to put together. Every piece had to be custom cut to fit the space. The hubs also made sure to hide any screws or staples that he used so there was no patching.

Laying out the pieces to build the DIY powder room vanity.

It won’t have a lot of storage but we were able to add a small drawer.

Building a drawer for a DIY powder room vanity

With all the white going on, I decided to go with a light gray for the vanity. It adds a bit of contrast and will go with the veining in the countertop. 

Installing a completed DIY powder room vanity.

We chose to go with a drop in sink so the drawer sits a little lower. The sink bowl will be behind the panel that’s above the drawer, which is typical with vanity construction.

The basket on the shelf serves several purposes. It will hold toilet paper, it adds some texture and warmth and hides the plumbing for the sink.

DIY powder room vanity installed before the countertop and faucet are added.

We were so happy to see the vanity in place. After the countertop and sink are installed, we’ll put the front on the drawer and it will be complete.

Speaking of the sink and countertop…

As luck would have it, we were able to score a nice piece of Silestone from a neighbor (for free!) to make the countertop. We were a bit nervous about cutting it but it was really not that difficult. Messy for sure, but not difficult. 

Cutting a piece of Silestone to use as a countertop on a DIY powder room vanity.

Isn’t it pretty? It looks just like marble.

Once the countertop was on, we could add the sink and get it ready for plumbing. 

DIY powder room vanity and countertop installed.

Before the plumbing though, we added the pretty pieces…lighting, a mirror and a new faucet.

It took me three tries to get the perfect mirror. The first one was too small and the second was was good, but broken. The third time was the charm – and it’s the perfect piece.

The lighting was a little tricky. We talked about hanging a fixture over the mirror but that wall had a beam running right where the fixture needed to go. Not impossible, but a lot more work. This solution worked out well. The only issue was that I had to find sconces with a shorter profile. I’m happy to say that my first choice was the winner, and they weren’t broken. Yay! 

Adding a mirror and lighting in a new powder room.

The last, and easiest, installation was the new faucet. I love this simple and sleek new faucet from Moen. It’s the perfect touch for the new vanity.

 

A new faucet for a DIY powder room vanity.

A new Moen faucet installed in our DIY powder room vanity.

Love the curve of the handles!

DIY vanity, lighting, mirror and new faucet installed in a closet turned powder room addition.

There’s still a lot of work to do before we can call the powder room done, but one side is almost complete.

Vanity complete in closet turned powder room project.

Left on the to-do list:

  • caulking the walls
  • painting the trim
  • installing the toilet
  • knob for the vanity
  • door for privacy

We also have to build the closet, which will be next to the powder room. I’ll share photos of that next time (if we don’t run out of steam). 😉

 

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When I was growing up, my family and I lived in a tiny town and a small house that only had 1 bathroom (with no shower). After we moved into our big (to us) house with 2 1/2 bathrooms (and a shower), I never wanted to go back. I learned at the ripe age of 13 that you don’t really realize what you’re missing until you have it. 

I’ve lived in 10 different homes since that “big house”, and most of them had 2 bathrooms. The home we’re in now, our little stone cottage, is not on the 2 bathroom list. We only have one (small) bathroom and no room for another.

A small powder room addition to a little stone cottage.

Or so we thought.

We’ve been talking about adding a 2nd bathroom since the first day we looked at this house with our realtor. Once we moved in, we went from room to room looking for extra square footage to add that precious 2nd bath. It didn’t have to be fancy, or big. Just enough space for a toilet and sink. 

After a lot of thought we finally found some extra room for a small powder room. It’s tiny, to be sure, but it will house a toilet and a sink, which is all we really need. A big plus is that it’s right next to our existing bathroom, which means the plumbing will be easier to do.

So where did we get this extra space?

We found it in one of the guest bedroom closets. There are only 3 closets in the whole house so it was a difficult decision to get rid of one. Once we started measuring and planning though, we found a way to make a smaller closet next to the powder room, that was dead space anyway.  

There was a lot of planning, measuring and debating going on about this tiny space but I think that it’ll all work out. The room isn’t completely done yet, but I thought I’d share what we’ve done so far and ideas on how we’ll finish it.

Here’s where we started. We’re pretty sure that this closet was added to the bedroom by a previous owner. It’s pretty evident by the look of the doors and the sheetrock they used to build the outer wall.

Taking a closet space and turning it into a small powder room.

Turning a bedroom closet into a small powder room.

We removed the shoes and clothes and began demo. The shelves and rods came out as well as all the molding and the sliding doors. 

Demo of the bedroom closet before the walls for the new powder room are built.

A lot of measuring and planning went into this tiny space. Everything has to fit just so and, of course, nothing is square. 

Once we had a plan and a list, it was time to shop for supplies. We purchased the lumber and building materials at Home Depot (*affiliate link), but the sink, mirror and lighting were all bought online. 

Framing the walls during the small powder room transformation.

The first thing we had to do was frame the walls and place the electrical boxes. The plan was to add two sconces, one outlet and 2 light switches. 

Next we hung the sheetrock on the newly framed walls.

Adding sheetrock and electric during the small powder room build.

We debated between paint and wallpaper but found that the original plaster was in pretty rough shape. After a couple of debates (he wanted paint and I wanted paper), we changed our plans and made the decision to plank the walls. 

Even though it’s a small room, it took a lot of planks (we used 4 sheets of plywood). We cut the sheets into planks, sanded and painted the edges.

The easy way (or is it the lazy way?). 😉

Painting the wood planks before installing them on the powder room walls.

I wanted to have spaces between each plank, and didn’t want to see the blue paint showing through, so we threw a quick coat of paint up before we installed the planks.

Installing wood planks in a new small powder room.

Once the planks were up, I got busy patching and sanding the holes (all 5000 of them).

Just kidding…but it felt like it was 5000.

Wood planks hung and ready for paint during a small powder room build.

Next it was time for paint. I went with Benjamin Moore Advance in White Dove to help the space feel bigger and brighter.

We used this same paint color on our kitchen cabinets in our Illinois house so I knew I would love it in here.

Adding wood planks as we built a small powder room.

The space is looking great and nothing like the closet it once was. I still have to caulk the ceiling and corners and we need to add molding. The next big project though, is the custom vanity that we’ll build for our new space. 

This project is coming along quickly and I want to keep you up to date, so I’ll share more next week. It’s all about adding some pretty touches!

Happy weekend!

Another remodel project we did was the kitchen reno in our Illinois house. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you can see more of it here. 

Reveal of a small and dark kitchen turned into a white and bright space with tons of storage.

Kitchen Remodel Reveal

*An affiliate link was used. Please see my Privacy Policy for more info.

 

You can also find me at Between Naps on the Porch, Worthing Court, Savvy Southern Style, French Country Cottage

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This post is sponsored by Wayfair and Nostalgic Warehouse. I did receive product but, as always, all opinions are my own. 

I’m so excited to share a project that has been a year in the making, updating our old bathroom doors with new glass door knobs. Living in a 1946 stone cottage has it’s charm but also it’s problems. Well, it has a lot of problems but we’ll just focus on one today…the old doors and door knobs. 

I actually love the old doors. They’re paneled solid wood with original (for the most part) glass door knobs. They’re beautiful but most of them don’t close right, if at all, and some of the glass door knobs are either painted over, falling off or missing pieces. These doors have seen a lot of action in their 70 years and it shows.  

The door that is used the most is the first in line for some attention, the bathroom door. Thankfully it closes but at some point the old glass knob was switched out for a more modern knob, complete with smears of paint.

Updating old doors with new glass door knobs | Chatfield Court Not the look we’re going for. So when Wayfair reached out to me about their Touches of Elegance campaign, I knew it was the perfect campaign for us. We were asked to pick out new door knobs for one room of the house from Nostalgic Warehouse’s beautiful selection. Every door knob in the house needs some kind of attention but the bathroom is used the most so the choice was easy.

Updating old doors with new glass door knobs | Chatfield CourtAlthough the main door closed without an issue, the closet door was another matter. We haven’t been able to close it properly since we moved in and every time you would open the main bathroom door, it would hit the closet door. 

The closet door knob was a real mess. There was old paint all over it and the door frame was in need of repair. I knew it was in bad shape, but I never realized how bad until I started taking pictures. Eeeek!

Updating old doors with new glass door knobs | Chatfield CourtOf course me being me, I couldn’t just remove the old door knobs and replace with the new. Nope…not in this house. I had to do a little makeover on both doors so (A) they would close properly, and (B) so they would look their very best for our beautiful new glass door knobs.

The main door just needed a few spots caulked and a fresh coat of paint (SW Pure White) but the closet door needed a bit more attention. We had to remove it, along with the hinges that had layers and layers of paint on them, so that we could sand down the edges to allow the door to close properly. Apparently, the door had been painted a ton of times over its 70 years and, with each coat, it built up and prevented the door from closing. Luckily some sanding fixed the issue (actually a lot of sanding). It’s not perfect but it’s so much better.

Updating old doors with new glass door knobs | Chatfield CourtWe also had to scrape and paint the closet door frame. OMG, talk about ugly. It was a mess. And yes…at some point the doorway was painted burgundy. 

Updating old doors with new glass door knobs | Chatfield Court

I’ve been dreading this project since we moved in but it was time. I scraped the loose paint and filled all of the holes. The right thing to do would be to strip the frame and start over but it’s a huge job that’s at the bottom of the list. At some point we’ll do it right but, for now, it looks better and it closes. Plus it has that beautiful brass and glass door knob to distract you.

Once the scraping and painting was done, we added the door knob to the main door. I went with Crystal Glass Privacy Door Knob with Studio Plate by Nostalgic Warehouse for the main door. It was an easy install and, in just a few minutes, the door was transformed. No more paint smear on a door knob that didn’t match the era of the house. 

Updating 2 old doors in a 1946 stone cottage bathroom with a lot of elbow grease, a bit of paint and beautiful new glass door knobs. An easy DIY to add vintage charm to your home. | Chatfield Court

Updating 2 old doors in a 1946 stone cottage bathroom with some elbow grease, paint and beautiful new glass door knobs. An easy DIY to add vintage charm to your home. | Chatfield Court

Full disclosure here…
 
Things didn’t go the way we’d hoped with this project, which happens a lot but, because I’m always honest with you about our projects, I thought it only right to share everything that happened. The good and the bad.
 

The closet door was a bit more involved. I ordered a passage knob and it ended up not fitting. The door is only 1 1/16″ thick so it was tricky getting something new to fit a thin door. I worked with Nostalgic Warehouse, who went above and beyond to find a solution for me, but we just couldn’t get it to work. It was nothing that they did wrong, it’s just an old door, and an odd size. 

You can see the difference in the thickness of the doors in this photo.

Updating old doors with new glass door knobs | Chatfield Court

In the end we went with the Crystal Glass Double Dummy Door Knob with Studio Plate by Nostalgic Warehouse, which doesn’t have a latch. 

Besides the fact that there isn’t a latch for the door, we had to move plate and glass door knob down a few inches, otherwise the plate would have rested over the panel. Not a good look.

The knob looks beautiful but we still have the holes where the latch and the strike plate go. They aren’t centered with the new placement of the glass door knob, so they will have to get filled in and painted.  

Updating a closet door in a stone cottage bathroom with some elbow grease, paint and beautiful new glass door knobs. A quick and easy DIY to add vintage charm to your home. | Chatfield Court

Updating 2 old doors in a stone cottage bathroom with some elbow grease, paint and beautiful new glass door knobs. A quick and easy DIY to add vintage charm to your home. | Chatfield CourtWe still need to figure out a way to latch the door because it doesn’t close tight on it’s own. Something that will allow us to open and close it easily. I’ll keep you posted on what we end up doing.

The new door knobs though?

Oh my… 

I really love the way they look! I have antique brass scattered throughout the house, including the bathroom, so these glass door knobs fit in beautifully.

Updating old doors in a cottage bathroom with some elbow grease, paint and beautiful new glass door knobs. A quick and easy DIY to add vintage charm to your home. | Chatfield Court

Now I’m anxious to get to all of the other doors. 

After I figure out a way to butter up the hubs. 😉

Updating old doors in a cottage bathroom with some elbow grease, paint and beautiful new glass door knobs. An easy DIY to add vintage charm to your home. | Chatfield Court

Thanks so much for stopping in. I hope you have a great weekend!

 

 

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Slowly but surely I’m making progress in the bathroom. The painting is done, the vanity is in (for the most part), the new lights and new mirror are up and we’ve added a couple of DIY faux floating shelves.

Add a rustic touch to a small bathroom by installing DIY faux floating shelves over the toilet for much needed storage.

I’d like to give equal time to every project (and stall for time while I finish up the vanity 😉 ), so we’ll focus on the faux floating shelves today.

I wanted something on the wall over the toilet, and I needed some storage (this bathroom is teeny tiny), so shelves were the right call. Budget is always a consideration when I do a project and this one was no different. After looking at several options, we ditched the idea of buying pre-made shelves and went with something we could DIY.

DIY Faux Floating Barn Wood Shelves

I had a few small pieces of old barn wood leftover from our Illinois kitchen remodel, so we decided to use that. The biggest issue we had was how to attach the wood to the wall so that they would be sturdy enough to hold some decor and bathroom necessities.

My first thought was to use shelf brackets but the studs were in odd places behind the sheetrock, and we needed to hit them in order to keep the shelves from falling down. We had no idea what to use, so the project stalled until I found these aluminum flat bars at The Home Depot. It was the perfect size and it gave us just enough room to add holes so we could attach the shelf to the wall, and hit 2 studs. 

aluminum rod from The Home Depot

The Home Depot

One $12 strip was all we needed for both shelves, making this project come in way under budget. 

aluminum rod from The Home Depot
It probably took us longer to measure everything and to make sure we knew exactly where the studs were so we could drill the holes in the aluminum strip.

How we did it…

Once all the measurements were taken and we knew where the studs were, it was time to get the shelves ready to hang.

To attach the aluminum strip to our precut wood, we drilled 3 holes in the strip and 3 holes in the wood, evenly spaced. Then we drilled the 2 holes in the strip that lined up with the studs, so that the screws would hit the studs.

Adding DIY faux floating shelves over the toilet in a small bathroom.

Once all the holes were drilled into the aluminum strip, we attached it to the wood, lining up the 3 holes across the wood with the 3 holes in the strip. Now that the strip was attached to the wood, the shelf was ready to be attached to the wall where our studs were.

All that measuring (and…let’s be honest…a little bit of arguing) paid off because we got them up, level and secure on the first shot.

It sounds complicated but it wasn’t, and It actually worked very well. I wouldn’t put anything super heavy on the shelf, but they are very sturdy.

Adding DIY faux floating shelves over the toilet in a small bathroom for or much needed storage.

There’s just enough space to add a little bit of decor among a few necessities, plus the old wood adds some warmth to the room.

You’re also getting a little peek of the vanity, paint and light fixture. I know it’s not much but I have to do something to get you to come back. 😉

How to add a rustic touch to a small bathroom by installing a couple of DIY faux floating shelves over the toilet for much needed storage.

How to add a rustic touch to a small bathroom by installing DIY faux floating shelves over the toilet for much needed storage. www.chatfieldcourt.com

Another busy week here. Hopefully we’ll be getting our new furnace before the end of the week. The temps dipped below freezing last weekend and it was very chilly in the house. 

Hope your week is a good one!

We also added industrial barn wood shelves to a guest bedroom in our Illinois house. It’s one of my most pinned projects on Pinterest.

barn wood shelves pinterest 4

DIY Barn Wood Industrial Shelves

 

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