Bathroom Design
Don’t Let the Fun Fool You — This Kids’ Bath Is a Classic
Vibrant wallpaper, a tropical shower curtain and colorful faux animal heads belie the bathroom’s traditional bones
At first glance, this kids’ bathroom is colorful and eclectic, but when you take a second look, you can see its versatile classic structure. Interior decorator Courtney B. Smith renovated it for her young son and daughter in a way that would grow with them, suit the style of their historic Marin County, California, home and not hinder future resale. Let’s take it apart to see how she did it.
Photo by David D. Livingston
Vintage Wallpaper Sets the Tone
Meg Braff’s Brighton Your Pavilion vintage trellis wallpaper drove the design. It was so hard to install that Smith swears her wallpaper hanger is still not over it, but she defends the choice. “They just don’t make ’em like this anymore. I just loved the green and black and white, and we took it from there,” she says.
Because the wallpaper is vintage and not made especially for baths, as are today’s moisture-resistant options, she had a heavy-duty fan installed to protect it. She also did not extend the paper to the tub’s splash zone. Instead, subway tile protects the walls up to chair-rail height.
Find trellis-patterned wallpaper in the Houzz Shop
More Key Details
Vanity. The glamorous vanity’s open construction makes the room feel bigger and leaves space for step stools underneath. It has a chrome-and-glass base and an elegant marble counter, both of which fit well with the home’s gracious style.
Faucets. Cross-handle faucets have a chrome finish, also appropriate for the home’s turn-of-the-century era. The exposed P-traps under the sink are in matching chrome.
Storage. The mirrors cover twin recessed medicine cabinets, the train-rack towel bar holds extra towels, and colorful baskets hold extra toiletries and toilet paper. “The plan is to use baskets under the vanity if more storage is required,” Smith says.
Tile. White subway tiles with a black pencil tile accent cover the lower half of the walls; the floor is a black-and-white pattern of hexagonal tiles from Daltile. The two classic moves ensure that these more permanent, expensive-to-replace elements suit the home’s architectural style and are versatile enough to work with different colors and patterns on the walls and shower curtain in the future.
Shop for hexagonal wall and floor tile
Vintage Wallpaper Sets the Tone
Meg Braff’s Brighton Your Pavilion vintage trellis wallpaper drove the design. It was so hard to install that Smith swears her wallpaper hanger is still not over it, but she defends the choice. “They just don’t make ’em like this anymore. I just loved the green and black and white, and we took it from there,” she says.
Because the wallpaper is vintage and not made especially for baths, as are today’s moisture-resistant options, she had a heavy-duty fan installed to protect it. She also did not extend the paper to the tub’s splash zone. Instead, subway tile protects the walls up to chair-rail height.
Find trellis-patterned wallpaper in the Houzz Shop
More Key Details
Vanity. The glamorous vanity’s open construction makes the room feel bigger and leaves space for step stools underneath. It has a chrome-and-glass base and an elegant marble counter, both of which fit well with the home’s gracious style.
Faucets. Cross-handle faucets have a chrome finish, also appropriate for the home’s turn-of-the-century era. The exposed P-traps under the sink are in matching chrome.
Storage. The mirrors cover twin recessed medicine cabinets, the train-rack towel bar holds extra towels, and colorful baskets hold extra toiletries and toilet paper. “The plan is to use baskets under the vanity if more storage is required,” Smith says.
Tile. White subway tiles with a black pencil tile accent cover the lower half of the walls; the floor is a black-and-white pattern of hexagonal tiles from Daltile. The two classic moves ensure that these more permanent, expensive-to-replace elements suit the home’s architectural style and are versatile enough to work with different colors and patterns on the walls and shower curtain in the future.
Shop for hexagonal wall and floor tile
Photo by Debra Tarrant
Color. Smith says she usually uses more neutral backdrops in larger rooms where people spend a lot of their time, and adds unexpected punchy color or lively patterns in small rooms like mudrooms, laundry rooms, closets and bathrooms. “I find that those pops of pattern and color are a welcome dose of personality in homes, and putting them in spaces where we don’t spend hours and hours makes them fun destinations,” she says.
Future Plans
“Kids grow up fast — the base layer of any room should stand the test of time,” Smith says. “It’s easy to make a space younger with accessories like the papier-mâché heads, little stools and colorful baskets. As her kids grow past the age of needing step stools to reach the sinks, the bathroom can grow up with them.
Your turn: Have you recently transformed a room with color and pattern? Please share it with us in the Comments.
More on Houzz
Get a step-by-step guide to remodeling a bathroom
See photos of kids’ bathrooms
Find bathroom renovators in your area
Shop for bathroom products
Color. Smith says she usually uses more neutral backdrops in larger rooms where people spend a lot of their time, and adds unexpected punchy color or lively patterns in small rooms like mudrooms, laundry rooms, closets and bathrooms. “I find that those pops of pattern and color are a welcome dose of personality in homes, and putting them in spaces where we don’t spend hours and hours makes them fun destinations,” she says.
Future Plans
“Kids grow up fast — the base layer of any room should stand the test of time,” Smith says. “It’s easy to make a space younger with accessories like the papier-mâché heads, little stools and colorful baskets. As her kids grow past the age of needing step stools to reach the sinks, the bathroom can grow up with them.
Your turn: Have you recently transformed a room with color and pattern? Please share it with us in the Comments.
More on Houzz
Get a step-by-step guide to remodeling a bathroom
See photos of kids’ bathrooms
Find bathroom renovators in your area
Shop for bathroom products
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: Interior decorator Courtney B. Smith and her family
Location: San Anselmo, California
Size: 70 square feet (6.5 square meters)
The full remodel involved borrowing space from an adjacent guest room and a hall linen closet to expand both this bathroom and a nearby guest bath. RFW Builders did the construction.
The initial impression is of a vibrant safari for kids, but don’t let that fool you. This bathroom is in a grand 1900s Georgian house, a fact that Smith kept in mind through all her design decisions. “I always mix textures and colors but try to keep the bones of a project really consistent with the home’s era and style,” she says. Then she likes to throw in some things that are “irreverent, interesting or unexpected.”
In this case, a vintage wallpaper, a vibrant shower curtain and papier-mâché animal heads brought the fun surprises, but the bones — permanent, expensive-to-replace elements like the classic subway tiles, glamorous vanity, marble countertop and hexagonal-tile floor — are versatile and could suit a wide range of styles and color palettes.
A Cleverly Tailored Shower Curtain Adds Drama
The main part of the curtain is an inexpensive pair of shower curtains from Cost Plus World Market. “I doubled up so that I could stack them like drapes on either side of the bath,” she says. She then had her fabricator add a wide band of black linen and a ruffle at the bottom to make them more dramatic and fill them out.
Decorator’s tip: “I like to hang shower bars very close to the ceiling, and I prefer curtains that are close to the finished floor,” the designer says. “It has the same effect as tailoring slacks to exactly the right length.” She compares a curtain that’s too short to high-water pants, and a curtain that puddles on the floor to how you look when you’re wearing your taller big brother’s pants.
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