I feel your pain! DH and I are about to start a new bathroom in a space that is only roughed in. Have you tried the houzz.com site? Just click on bathrooms, then you can narrow it down in the search area...I have already input "beadboard" because I'm looking at that also, and rec'd lots of pictures. We are also struggling with two (!) potential storage spaces in our bath, and there are great ideas there, too. Good luck!

I also understand your anxiety. It's a LOT of money to be unhappy with the result. I agree with Patty; look at tons of pictures on Houzz.com and every book and magazine you come across. Try to figure out what it is you like about every bathroom that you are taken with. Is it the floor, the cabinets, the shower configuration, the cabinetry? Circle what you like, make notes of why you like it, make notes of what you don't like. Keep it all together in a folder and review the whole thing often. You'll start to become more confident choosing the components and elements that come together to become the complete picture. To me, it sounds like a designer would also be a good investment to help you pull it all together.

Good luck!

Research...lots and lots of it. Design choices cannot be made in a vacuum. Get educated about what's out there. Visit a tile showroom and one for bath fixtures, tubs, etc., to take in the displays. Warning: You will see many beautiful looks, but keep yourself focused on what you know you prefer: traditional I think?. And as mentioned above, go to Houzz "bathrooms" Look under 'Traditional'. You seem like a cottagy type gal from your post. Look at bathroom pics in Pottery Barn. They have very nice toile and print shower curtains. Pick one thing you love and choose the rest from that starting place, a color for example. How about the very cottage/older home look of black and white ( which reads as a neutral) hex tile. Pick a print shower curtain and get your wall color from that. Put in bead board 3/4 way up and paint the rest of wall and ceiling in the color you've chosen. In a small bath it's good to be bold. Less color will not close it in; it makes it more interesting, fuller and warmer.
Do not get hung up with all the choices! If you see a tile design you like or fall in love with a fixture you can afford, go for it and don't look back, ignore all the others. Life is too short:>)
In the tile stores you will see a preponderance of matte tiles. Glossy is out there, but you must look a little harder. This look, glossy tile and accent tile, along with a matte tile floor may suit you. You do not need to invent the design. find one you like from a magazine, or web site and then choose the tiles for it. Ditto the floor. Many stores have knowledgeable reps who can help you with this process. Ha! Hint: tell them it's for your vacation cabin and you'll soon be re-doing all six baths in your real home! That should get 'em trotting for you :>) However, if you are not in a metro area with such stores, you can do it all alone by focusing on the pics of the looks you love. Good luck!.

Good advice so far! I spent countless hours on houzz.com and here. I, too, felt pretty overwhelmed and afraid to make a "wrong" choice. I got by that by making tentative selections at first, deciding on tile, light fixtures, faucets, cabinetry, etc. but waiting to actually purchase them until we chose our granite. I knew that the granite would be the main focal point in the room and I wanted to be free to choose one that I loved. My other planned choices could be changed more easily if they didn't compliment the granite.

We're just about finished tiling and there is enough of the granite in the room that I know already I'm going to love the room... and that's a wonderful feeling!

Good luck! You can do it... take what you learned from your kitchen project and let it help you with your bathroom.

Everyone who has undertaken a remodel can relate to your post! Here are a few things to ask your self as you start your planning:

1) Do I need to improve the function of the room, if so how, and what can i reasonably change given limited budget and space? For instance, I converted my shower to a curbless and love it. Also changed from a carpet floor to heated travertine floor.

2) What surfaces (tile, floor, faucet finishes) do you emotaionally respond to. You can figure this out by looking at magazines, web sites with pictures of bathrooms, etc. Take lots of notes about what you respond to and why.

3) Consider the style of your house. If you have a traditional home it would make sense to continue that design theme throughout and not go modern, or, super rustic etc .

A few of my design mantras that have served me well which you are free to disregard, they are just my own personal ideas:

1) Keep the floor flowing. In my house, I like to keep the floor coverings all the same color (roughly) and so I have a mix of hardwood, carpet, and travertine in my house, all in the same color range. It helps the house look more spacious.
2) I like to have some contrast between my floor color and my cabinet so I plan for contrasting cabinets to the floor color
3) Polished nickel is a great choice for a faucet colors as it's both warm and cool; you cant go wrong. Except, it's not as easy to keep a clean looking appearance as say bronze.
4) Save 10 to 20 % of your budget for accessories. (I'm still learning this the hard way and never seem to have accessories in my rooms!)
5) Last but not least, have patience with the process. It is a process that takes time. You can nail down one decision at a time and once you have that decision nailed down you can move to the next. If you get stuck, hiring a designer would be worth it. But, i would give yourself a good 3 or 4 months of solidifying in your own mind what you like before you hire a designer. The designer you hire will need direction from you and you'll need to know what you are trying to accomplish and what finishes you like.

Keep us posted!
Andrea