Ever since we moved in to the #grahnchateau 2 years ago, we knew that we would need to remodel the main bathroom in our 1940’s home. Currently, it’s the only bathroom (1 of 2) with a shower and/or a bathtub. So, with a little one on the way, we finally got our act together to get started on this project. I put the word out through IG and a friend recommended a local contractor that we immediately clicked with. I recommend doing this! Referrals in this industry are everything.

Eager to hit the ground running I put together a mood board on Milanote which I find super easy to use and immensely helpful. I use Pinterest boards for creating vision boards for many many aspects of my future life. 🙂 It’s one of the tools I use to stay focused on what I want to manifest. And that said, there’s many many (too many) ideas on those boards. Knowing that the first step to manifesting something specific is to get really clear on the vision, I got to work selecting a small edit of images on a fresh Milanote to help me get focused.

What will stay & what needs to go

At this point, we’ve only had a preliminary meeting with our contractor at the house. However, we made a pretty big decision that with the budget we had in mind and the specific space and needs we have, that we’re not going to change the layout of our classic California #MontereyColonial style bathroom. It’s already got a lot of charm, however, because of age and deterioration from water damage, everything needs to be completely gutted and rebuilt. Keeping the same plan and just updating the finishes was an easy decision to make because many of the architectural elements that showed up on my board (the images you see here) are already echoed in the old bathroom. We will be rebuilding the arched ceilings above the shower door and built-in bathtub to keep within the original style while updating all the tile, hardware, fixtures and lighting.

Nailing The Vibe

Our goal is to create a space that feels natural with some earthy elements while also having some luxurious moments, too. Creating that mood board at the beginning really helped us to gather our inspiration all in one place and get a clearer idea of our shared direction. We found out that we like gray and white but not flat bright white, something softer, creamier, more organic. It’s important to us that it doesn’t become too sterile. We love a lot of different tile including ceramic, marble, terracotta and pebble! We’re interested in plaster, but don’t yet know the pricing difference between tile install vs. plaster. We’ll be studying these images and deciding what our non-negotiables are, and what we can live without.

Excited for the next steps and I’ll keep you posted. xN