Small Master Bathroom Remodel Design
One Room Challenge – Week One!
www.oneroomchallenge.com/orc-blog
This is my first ever ORC, so I put together a mood board of inspiration for my small master bathroom renovation!
Real talk for a minute, I absolutely HATE our master bathroom. In fact, It’s by far my least favorite room in our home.
(Hence why I picked it for the ORC!)
It’s small, cramped, and there’s absolutely no storage! Talk about a navigation nightmare for my husband and I when getting ready at the same time…
I want to walk into our master bath and feel like I’m at a relaxing modern spa, a breath of fresh air!
I’m thinking clean lines, light & bright! That means creamy textures, neutral tones, wood, quartz, and (of course) cozy towels!
Before…
Here are some before photos to show you what I’m working with here.
The Plan
Since this room is so small, my main priority apart from the aesthetics is to add storage!
Storage! Storage! Storage! Boy, do we need it!
- I’m adding floating shelves above our toilet!
- I’m adding a bigger vanity with counter space and drawers!
- I’m adding hooks, bars, and baskets. Basically, anything to take advantage of what little space we have!
Next on my hit list is our poor excuse for a door, I’m so over it!
Opening and closing this door is a task in itself, so my husband and I usually don’t even bother. I want a REAL door!
- I’m replacing this POS pocket door with a barn door slider. One that actually works and has a lock on it! (Talk about luxury!)
Last but not least, I’m bringing some character to this drab room!
- by creating a faux brick accent wall to zuzh it up! (See Below)
- Plus a few more fun, yet budget-friendly updates!
Faux Brick Test
I decided to test the faux brick joint compound method before committing. Truthfully, I was a little skeptical about if it would work or not.
Since I’m all about testing the waters before diving in, I did all the work so you don’t have to!
Materials:
- A scrap sheet of drywall
- Pre-made wet joint compound
- Dry joint compound
- Mixing bucket
- 1/4″ painter’s tape
- Varying sizes of finishing knifes
- Mud pan
- Utility knife
Step 1:
Using the 1/4″ painter’s tape, I made a pattern on the drywall using standard modular brick sizes. (7.5″ W x 2.5″ T)
Note: painter’s tape in this size was unavailable at my local hardware store, so I needed to special order it off Amazon.
First, I measured and taped off the height for the stack of bricks, leaving some excess tape on the sides to make removal easier later. Then I offset the vertical tape to create a brick pattern.
Afterward, I went through and removed extra overlapping tape with a utility knife for a cleaner look.
Step 2:
Once the brick pattern was laid out with tape, I applied a layer of pre-mixed wet joint compound to half of the drywall sheet. I used different-sized finishing knives to create different textures.
I also played with the thickness of the joint compound to see which effect would look the most realistic.
Step 3:
After applying the wet joint compound I started mixing the dry joint compound.
In a large bucket, I added water to the compound until the mixture reached the consistency of thick peanut butter and transferred it to my mud pan.
Then I repeated step two on the other half of the drywall with the dry joint compound mix.
I overlapped the wet and dry joint compound in the center, to see the combination of the two would make a difference.
Step 4:
After applying joint compound across the surface of the drywall sheet, I removed the tape to reveal the brick pattern!
Step 5:
I decided to take a quick break, but that was a huge mistake! Within 10 minutes, the joint compound had completely hardened before I had a chance to manipulate it with my sponge.
Note: Joint compound (both wet and dry) is available with different curing times. The dry joint compound I used was a fast-acting compound with a 20 minute setting time. When using joint compound for a technique like this, I recommend using a 60-120 minute curing time so you have more time to work before it dries.
I was a little frustrated when I realized the joint compound from my test had hardened before I got a chance to mess around with the brick texture.
The brick still looked good without the sponge, but I really wanted to test this technique. So despite my initial setback, I decided to whip up another sample on a fresh sheet of drywall.
While the joint compound was still wet, I started manipulating it. I ran my finger in between the “bricks” along the tape lines to make the gaps look more like mortar, then I used a damp sponge to create texture on the face of the bricks and soften the corners.
Faux Brick Test Results
I’m so glad I sucked it up and did a sponge test because it’s by far my favorite technique! The rough brick is still very cool, but it looks like a rough exterior brick rather than an interior brick. Going through with a sponge to add more texture and character made all the difference in the world.
I also preferred the thicker brick compared to the thin brick. Since I’m planning on building shelves in front of this accent wall, I want to make sure the brick texture still reads.
I decided I’m going to mix the wet and dry joint compounds together for my wall.
Although the pre-made wet joint compound was smoother and more convenient than the dry joint compound, I liked the gritty texture in the dry joint compound. I think it will add a lot of character to the faux brick wall.
What do you think? Comment below and tell me which brick style is your favorite!
If you missed the brick fun, go check out my Instagram ORC highlight!
Want to Learn More?
Week 2 (Demolition)
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Next week I’ll be getting down and dirty with demo work! My favorite day is demo day! That means ripping up this dated tile floor and seeing what horrors lie beneath!
Don’t forget to check out the other amazing better homes & gardens One Room Challenge® projects on their website: www.oneroomchallenge.com/orc-blog
If you have any questions, or a helpful tip or two you would like to share about renovating a small bathroom leave a comment below or send me an email! (Yep! I’m a real attainable person who cares about your project’s success as much as my own!)
Cheers!
Mel