Long Distance Decorating

When my family moved to Madison, WI 4 1/2 years ago, my design business in Chicago was on a roll.  I had several wonderful clients with whom I had been working on a variety of projects, I had just enough work to keep me on my toes and many opportunities in the "queue." I'm not gonna lie, in addition to leaving family and friends, this was one of the hardest things to leave behind, as I had worked very hard to get to this point.  Luckily, one of my clients was also moving and trusted me enough to ask me to help her furnish/decorate  her new home long distance.  We worked via email, the internet and telephone and had great success pulling things together.

Fast forward a few years, after much discussion, my CSIL (Creative Sister In Law) and her husband finally decided to gut and renovate their master bathroom.  Because we had collaborated on many projects in her home over the years, she knew that I was the person to help them see their dreams to reality and that we could accomplish this from afar.  So in the mail one day I received a video, detailing the issues in the bathroom and some of their goals in updating it as well as a carefully measured floorplan.  The rest of the story is detailed in this clever "after" video my CSIL put together.

This project began with some grandiose ideas of tearing out walls and moving things around, in the end, a tight budget and some risk taking resulted in a beautiful bathroom that more than met the initial goals without moving a thing.

Before:

What to do with the second vanity at the end of the room?

Small shower enclosure with smaller door...

After:

 All of the tile, the medicine cabinets as well as the Kohler sinks and toilet were purchased at Home Depot. We made the tile appear unique by the way it was installed; subway tile on the vertical, not the typical horizontal, 12" x 12" floor tile in a brick pattern.  The medicine cabinets look grand surrounded by the wall of glass tile, wall mounted faucets and the pendant lighting.

With only one window in this bathroom, retaining the daylight while affording privacy was important.  The 3/4 height curtain made of an opaque fabric and trimmed in an accent fabric, sewn by the CSIL, accomplished the goal.  In addition the grommets mimic those on the shower curtain panels.

The gorgeous walnut vanity was constructed by my talented, woodworking brother in law.

The cabinet pulls and legs were found online.

Pendant lighting and glass tile wall

The mirrors were all antique gold in their former life (in my old house!)

To keep the costs down, the glass tile was installed only on the back or focal wall with white subway tile and a border used for the balance of the shower area.

The area with the second original vanity was a subject of much discussion as the door swing was going to be changed and the second sink was placed on the main vanity.  Originally we were going to add a free standing piece of furniture here to provide additional storage and ultimately we created this dressing table area.  Everything in this end of the bathroom was a DIY project completed by my CSIL and her husband. The counter is a trimmed and stained plywood board, the chest of drawers were picked up at a garage sale, painted and given new hardware, the mirror, a Target find with painted trim added, the jewelry shadow boxes and the ottoman all built from scratch. 

Dressing area in progress...

The finished dressing area, complete with many DIY projects.

The jewelry shadow boxes make art of accessories

The ottoman is the second that my CSIL has made for her home, she's a pro!

The pops of orange and the fun fabric bring a zing to the spa-like color scheme.

I am incredibly pleased with the end result of this bathroom re-do. This project is a great example of how long distance decorating can work well when two parties not only trust each other, but work well together.  My CSIL and her husband were not afraid to take risks provided that enough info was shared to instill confidence. They were willing to do things themselves resulting in a more budget friendly renovation. (And it didn't hurt that a stunning vanity could be built by another talented family member!) When it was all done, my CSIL even had an "unveiling party" where she invited her friends over to enjoy a glass of wine in her completed master bathroom!!!!! Too bad I live so far away....

Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design? If so please contact me,
I would love to help!