DIY Studio Bathroom Progress — Lauren Koster Creative

This One Room Challenge round has been a challenge to say the least. Last fall I had a newborn and completed my basement living room. I thought that was hard, but I wasn’t working at the time and my baby didn’t do much, so I had chunks of time between feedings and during nap times to power work. This time around I have a one year old, who is not a nap champion, to put it mildly and a 5 year old who is doing virtual school. Truth be told, I probably should have sat this one out, but that’s not my style.

Before you scroll, check out where I started from in my week 1 post.

I did actually make a lot of progress this week but I did have a major set back. I had a list of tasks to check off before my brother and mom arrived for a visit and to help me install the sink and plumbing and help out with the kids. I was on my way to ticking everything off my list and the day before he planned to come my brother tested positive for Covid. Of course they canceled their trip and I am left to figure out the plumbing and installation on my own.

Lauren Koster Creative - Studio Bath Progress

That said, I’ve made a lot of progress. For my week 2 post I talked about my gift wrap closet. I installed drywall and shelving to bring that vision to life. I just need to paint the storage shelves before I can move everything back their homes. I also added all the trim to the walls and painted.

In fact paint is what I want to talk about here. I mentioned in week 1, one of my main sources of inspiration for this room is this bathroom by Cass Makes Home. The color in bath is actually a lot different in real life than it looks in the photos she’s posted. However I love the way it looks in her photos. I knew I wanted a darkish, mostly neutral color. I went for a deep gray with a lot of purple undertones. I have also always loved the color of Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment on Sex and The City, the purply- gray always lives in the back of my mind. I pulled dozens of paint swatches. I finally landed on a Magnolia color I picked up in a random hardware store. It’s called Vintage Collection and it really is perfect!

If you’ve been following a long on Instagram, you may know that my next big decision is what to do with the ceiling. I removed the drop ceiling as I have with the other rooms in my basement (see that post here). However, this time I am putting something in it’s place. I am doing a shiplap panel ceiling because I do not want to hang drywall and I don’t want to leave it exposed. My big debate is between a natural wood tone or painted to match the walls.