Decorating

ikea to the rescue!

November 24, 2018
Big Sur Bathroom

When we bought our Big Sur home nine months ago, there were a lot of projects we wanted to tackle…there still are 😉 With many projects, prioritizing was necessary.  Originally, I thought we would completely redo both bathrooms but thought in the meantime we could do a mini makeover without ripping out tiles.  The master bath had a few good things going for it. It had a large window with lots of natural light, a high wood clad ceiling, and a gorgeous clawfoot tub. What it lacked was a proper size sink with storage and decent lighting.  There were some built-in shelves which were great, but a pedestal sink in a master just didn’t work for us. 

Big Sur Bathroom reno
BEFORE :  I wanted to make the bathroom more functional and add additional storage.

When I picked up my folks in LA to bring them to our Big Sur home for the first time, we stopped at IKEA in Burbank and picked up two sinks with cabinets and a double dresser.  My poor mom was sandwiched in the back of the jeep in what amounted to a cubby hole with luggage and furniture boxes!

Lucky for us, my conctractors were willing to put the sinks and dresser together which saved us a lot of time! They even had a race to see who could finish the sink cabinets first. 

I ordered 2 Kingston faucets in Matte Black  from Amazon.  Weirdly, a different faucet showed up but the plumber had already installed it so I just went with it…it is Big Sur after all.

Big Sur Bathroom
It wasn’t the faucet I chose, but sometimes it’s easier to just accept what I like to call a happy accident.

A fresh coat of Benjamin Moore Super White paint in an eggshell finish did much to lighten up the bathroom.  The dark gray tile floor I was fine with, but I wasn’t a fan of the tiles surrounding the lovely clawfoot tub. Did I mention there was no shower in the master?  Thankfully, we did have a shower in the downstairs bath and we also decided to add an outdoor shower (stay tuned for a future blog post).  However, I fell in love with the bathtub and actually enjoy taking baths again so it’s staying! 

Big Sur Bathroom
I love taking baths in this deep clawfoot tub. My dad fashioned me a barnwood board to keep my soaps and any other bath items I may need. The little vintage stool from Porch also comes in handy!

Two indoor outdoor rugs from Dash and Albert , a wooden mirror from Wayfair, and a vanity light that I found on Etsy, completely changed the look of our little bathroom.  But the biggest change was the addition of the beautiful IKEA sink and cabinet.  I love its simplicity and the four large drawers with a crisp gray and white stripe on the bottom, make them a pleasure to open!

Big Sur bathroom
The addition of the IKEA sink was my favorite part of our mini bathroom. remodel!

Is the bathroom exactly the way I would like it? Not really, but a few changes made a huge difference, and honestly, I don’t see us ever doing a complete remodel.  I’ve grown to love it too much. And like I said, it is Big Sur after all…

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  • Ann November 26, 2018 at 10:58 am

    Just great & brilliant article. Gorgeous designs as well. Exactly looking for this. Thanks for sharing.

    • Elizabeth Burns December 1, 2018 at 10:14 pm

      Thanks so much for your comment, Ann. Have a wonderful holiday season!

  • Meghan December 21, 2018 at 3:00 am

    Gorgeousness! All of it!