If you've been around since before we moved from Grand Rapids to Metro Detroit, you might remember that our primary bathroom in the Madison House was MASSIVE. Rumor had it that it had at one time been another bedroom and had at some point been converted into an attached primary bathroom.
Our primary bathroom at Stonewall Farms is by no means small; It's a great size and super functional—it's just not the "have a dance party in the bathroom" size of our last bathroom...HA.
Since our house was built in 1847, the concept of the primary bathroom ensuite was not yet a thing. Instead, there is one full bathroom on the second floor for both bedrooms to utilize. And, I will admit: I do miss having a bath attached to our bedroom.
But, the reality is, we don't have kids—and as of right now, we don't plan on it—so it's only ever inconvenient (if that!) when we have guests, which isn't all that often in the grand scheme of things.
Additionally, because we have the little bonus "dressing room" attached to our main bedroom, I tend to do my makeup and hair in that location rather than in the bathroom, which makes having it attached to our bedroom even less important.
When we moved in, the bathroom and hall were both a pale buttery yellow (see below photos!). It was honestly a beautiful color (similar to the front porch), just not so much my personal taste.
The first thing we did was paint both the bathroom and hallway Sherwin Williams Pearly White (the same color we painted our living room, which was also originally yellow).
BEFORE
We've thrown around some more cost/labor intensive ideas for this bathroom down the road, but since it's perfectly functional and even pretty cute as it is, it's not at the top of our list.
We have a shower/tub combo with a handy little bench seat on one side, which is where I store my shampoo/hair mousse/etc., a pedestal sink, nice wood floors, and a funky little built-in wall cabinet (forgot to get a pic of this!) that I assume is original to the house.
Eventually I'd like to get rid of the tub all together and put in a large enclosed standing shower, but it's at the bottom of the to-do list for me. I'm the only one who uses this shower, and I have other things I'd rather do first!
I don't mind the polished brass towel bars and faucet fixtures, but I will likely swap these for chrome eventually, which feels a little more classic to me.
I do, however, love the faded brass curtain hardware suspended from the ceiling. Something about it just feels old and cozy!
Storage wise, since we don't have a vanity, I popped an unassuming little open shelf next to the sink to hold toothbrushes and towels.
I kept the vanity light fixture (3 photos below) and swapped out the glass shades for something that felt more style appropriate, and I replaced the bulky medicine cabinet with a little vintage arched gold leaf mirror.
I had actually purchased the below vintage dresser/mirror combo on fb marketplace to put beside the sink. According to the listing, it was "supposedly" the perfect size, but, when I got it into the bathroom, the size of the dresser was wayyy bigger than the listing stated.
Goooood old marketplace... It was all well and good, though, because it looks awesome in our guest room. Happy accident!
Then, as is often the case, the week after Alyssa photographed the house (GAH!), I found the PERFECT little vintage wash stand to sit beside the sink.
Now we actually have "counter" space, which I love, and I appreciate that we have some closed storage so the bathroom can feel more tidy.
The space was tricky because the maximum size piece I could fit here was 34", which really isn't very large.
I ended up driving about 40 minutes to pick up this gem, but it's like it was meant for this space—WORTH IT!
Next, since the bathroom has pretty much zero storage (apparently in 1847 closets and storage were not a thing LOL), I placed a vintage wood china cabinet (below) in the hallway landing just outside the bathroom to act as our linen closet. It houses extra towels, bed linens, toilet paper, back-stock shampoo/soap/etc, and extra bathroom supplies.
This hutch—another marketplace find—lived in our bedroom at the Madison house and stored some of Larry's many books. I had originally purchased it to live in our primary bathroom there, but it felt just a little too big in the space.
I'm so excited that in our new house, it gets to serve the function I had originally intended it for! I had always pictured the dark wood contrasting so beautifully with fluffy white folded towels and sheets, and I love how it turned out :)
Another fun little detail: for a little bit of color and whimsy, I had this little stool (which also lived in our main bath in the Madison House) reupholstered with a vintage Turkish rug. Yes...I have an unhealthy obsession with Turkish rugs...so sue me.
And the wicker basket beside the stool is where we toss dirty towels and washcloths. I like having this in the bathroom so that our towels and clothes don't get mixed together, since I like to wash them separately (apparently it can be hard on your clothing to regularly wash them with towels).
Last thing to note in the hallway would be the large canvas on the wall heading toward our bedroom. This was my attempt at painting a simple landscape (baha). I wanted something big but simple, and I wanted to bring in some green. It turned out cute, I think?! I might eventually paint over it, but for now, it works!
Work with Lauren Figueroa Interior Design
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We work with clients from Detroit to Novi to Clarkston, and Grand Rapids to Holland to Traverse City—and anywhere in between! We pride ourselves on creating bespoke, people-centered spaces—because after all, people are what this life is all about!
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