One Room Challenge

The Friday Five: More One Room Challenge Reveals

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If you’ve been following along regularly, then you know that over a 6-week period, I shared the progress of my laundry/bathroom combo room makeover as part the the One Room Challenge event this spring. Last week, I shared five room reveals from the featured designers of the One Room Challenge. Today, I bring you five more gorgeous spaces, but this time, from the guest participants of the event..

Here’s a sneak peek at 5 rooms from the guest participants…

Deuce Cities Henhouse

Room for Tuesday

Crate and Cottage

Hilltown House

Petal & Ply

And one more for good luck:

The Grit & Polish

And just a few more:

Decor Happy’s teen girl’s bathroom
The Posh Home’s modern living room
A House in the Wood’s shared girls’ bedroom
Wonderfully Made’s laundry room
Cait Waite’s bedroom
Deeply Southern Home’s library
Home Glow Design’s she-shed
Hartley Home’s laundry room
Jessica Devlin’s living room
My Pinecone Home’s guest bedroom

Have a great long weekend, everyone! See you back here on Tuesday!

p.s. In Royal Wedding news – this cake recipe!

The Friday Five: One Room Challenge Reveals

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It’s been all One Room Challenge around the design blogosphere over the last six weeks, and the featured designers and guest participants shared all their after photos on Wednesday and Thursday this week. This means that we have a lot of reading to catch up on this weekend! Hooray!

To get us started, here’s a peek into five beautiful spaces from the featured designers. Next week, I’ll share some of my favourite spaces designed by the guest participants.

backyard oasis – Jojotastic

basement – Coco & Jack

master bedroom – Rambling Renovators

living room – Natasha Habermann

office – Bisou Style

Have a great weekend, everyone! Happy Mother’s Day!

One Room Challenge: Laundry Room – Week 6 Reveal

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Today’s the day! It’s the One Room Challenge final reveal day!

So, without even a moment more of pause, let me welcome you in to my new laundry/bathroom combo room!

And before I share more photos, let’s have a look at the before photos of the space. (Note: You can see more photos in this Week 1 post.)

I’m so excited to share these after photos with you. The last six weeks have been full of mess, clean-up, shopping, and styling. I’m beyond thrilled with the end result, and I am so grateful for the team of experts who helped me transform this space. I now have a bright  space for laundry days, and my guests have a beautiful white bathroom to enjoy while they visit.

As I showed you over the last six weeks, we completely gutted this space. No surface was left untouched, and nothing from the original room remained. Everything is new – from plumbing to studs to tiles to accessories. This space needed an overhaul, and that’s exactly what it got!

I’ve always called this space small but mighty. I demand a lot from this space in terms of functionality, and the changes my construction team and I made have definitely improved every aspect of the space. It’s a combo room – laundry plus bathroom – so it’s really going to be put to work!

I am absolutely loving having a large laundry sink. After five years with a bathroom vanity sink, this change is a big one. I was lucky to work with Blanco on this project, and the company generously provided me with the durable Liven laundry sink. The Silgranit material is supposed to be “exceptionally resistant to heat, scratches, and impact,” which is exactly what I need.

To match the sink, I opted for the Blanco Urbena faucet. When the box arrived way back in the fall, I took the faucet out immediately, and was so impressed with its strength and substance. Now in place, this piece looks even more beautiful (and it’s even better in person). The pull-down faucet function is going to be great as I start making a mess in this space with indoor gardening projects, hand-washing delicate clothing, and more.

I had a custom cabinet made in Toronto. It’s painted Chantilly Lace, and it has the same door front detail as my interior doors (see below). For the counter, I went with white quartz, and a 6″ backsplash. The door pulls are from Ikea.

I have used some pieces in this space that I have already in other spaces in my home. Why change a good thing, right? For example, I have the larger version of the mirror in my powder room. And I have the same toilet and toilet roll holder in my powder room. I know many people like to switch things up in the design world, but I like consistency and simplicity, so I was happy to use these same pieces in my new space.

The addition of a beautiful new shower has really made this combo room that much more functional. This was a big job, and I lived with a trench in my floor for a couple of days as my plumber was working his magic. I opted for classic white 4″x12″ subway tiles, and my tiler surrounded the shower with them. I carried the hex floor into this shower space, too. The shower system is the Arris style by Moen.

The little “door” that you see in the photo below is a genius invention by my drywaller. It slides up and down, and it hides my main water pump/valve. It’s incredible. It’s so handy, and it looks sleek, too!

 The floor is much more exciting than what you might see in these photos. Beneath these gorgeous hex marble-like tiles is Warmup‘s floor heating system. And it’s luxurious! The thermostat is easy to use, and I have been playing around with different schedule settings.  I can even control the temperature from my phone. You know what this means, right? I can lie in bed on a Sunday morning and only get out to do laundry once my floor has been heated up! Genius! (Note: I haven’t added a bath mat to the space yet because I want to stare at the floors!)

The doors in this space are Metrie’s Masonite Lincoln Park. I used the same style in my #byebyebifold makeover, so it only made sense to carry them into this new space. Side note: In fact, I have replaced all of my interior doors, and the change has refreshed my whole home! The door hardware (just like everywhere else in my home) is the Milan in satin chrome from Direct Door Hardware.

The addition of the pocket door to separate this gorgeous space from the less-than-gorgeous furnace room has been an especially smart addition. I was beyond ready to get rid of the accordion door six weeks ago, and I was even more thrilled when my drywaller told me he could get in a pocket door.

To bring more beauty into the space, I reached out to my friends at pamuk & co., and they sent me the softest set of Turkish towels and a matching robe. I am so spoiled with these items! Each towel is a piece of art, in my opinion. And have I mentioned how soft they are? Absolutely luxurious! You can see the robe in #WhiteCabanaStyle action in this Instagram photo! (Side note: pamuk & co. has been spotted in Meghan Markle’s hands post-yoga and in her former Toronto home!)

from pamuk & co.: Maya bathrobe, The Cabana, The Soho

I have two pieces of art in this laundry/bathroom combo room. The top piece above the toilet is Clothespins 2 by Elliot Stokes from Minted. Under this is a photo my friend Suzanne took, and I printed. It’s a close-up photo of a large-scale piece by Marco Godinho called “Forever Immigrant.” If you’d like to see more of the art, I recommend this video.

And one final look before I leave you for the day (to explore other One Room Challenge participants’ reveal posts):

Thanks again for following along this renovation journey with me.If you’d like to take a walk down memory lane, check out my week 1, week 2, week 3, week 4, and week 5 posts. And for more inspiration, click on over to the reveal posts from the One Room Challenge’s featured designers and guest participants.

Thanks to Blanco, Warmup, Minted, and Pamuk & Co. for collaborating on this project. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to my construction team for making my design come to life: Chris, Troy, and Tony. Thanks to Mom and Dad for your continued willingness to help out and get messy!

***

Sources:
sink: Blanco Liven (c/o)
faucet: Blanco Urbena (c/o)
floor heating: Warmup (c/o)
robe and towels: pamuk & co. (c/o)
art: Minted (c/o)
art: photo from a friend
hooks: Ikea
hangers: Ikea
cabinet and counter top: custom
cabinet paint: Chantilly Lace
mirror: HomeSense
doors: Metrie Masonite Lincoln Park
door handle: Milan, Direct Door Hardware
floor tiles: Toronto
wall tiles: Toronto
shower system: Moen Arris
toilet paper holder: Bed Bath and Beyond
toilet: Costco
ceiling lights: Costco

One Room Challenge: Laundry Room – Week 4

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Welcome back to the One Room Challenge, everyone! Are you enjoying seeing all the progress participants and guests are making? I sure am! If you’ve just joined in on the White Cabana laundry/bathroom reno fun, check out my week 1, week 2, and week 3 posts. Week 4 means things are starting to get pretty!

Last week, I showed you a relatively cleaned-up space (a big change from the weeks before where I showed you a fully gutted space). In the past couple of weeks, the WarmUp heated floor was installed. The drywall was finished. Pipes were in place. And things only improved from there!

The major game-changer to the look of my space this week was the tile install. Like my other tradespeople, my tiler was top-notch. Honestly, everyone, I feel so lucky to have worked with my team of tradespeople. I was worried pre-reno because I didn’t have any  contacts in Waterloo, but one thing led to another (one phone call led to another), and I ended up with great people!

My tilers were so precise. And my room looks amazing because of their work. Have a look:

The picture above shows the space as you walk into it. The stacked laundry unit will be on the right side against the wall. It may not seem much to you, but all those pipes and holes in the wall mean major progress for this space! Of course the new pipe set-up increased my costs, but it was worth it. My plumber did a great job, and everything is much tidier than it was pre-reno. And the dryer vent was moved up high which makes much more sense. So tidy! I love it!

I went with ceramic hex tiles in a marble-esque pattern. So pretty. I had considered marble for the space, but because of all the water spillage that can happen in this workhorse of a room (and Waterloo’s awful hard/soft water issues), I just didn’t want to risk ruining marble.

On this side of the room, I’ll have my toilet. The sink will sit in between the toilet and the stacked laundry. My plumber cleaned up some of the pipes that you see in that wall hole. So good. And my drywaller has fashioned the best cover for that hole, too. I just don’t have photos of it yet, so stay tuned.

And on the left side of the room is this beautiful shower! Oh my goodness! What a treat to have a shower in this space. Small but mighty! That’s what I keep saying about this room, and that’s what I continue to believe. My team installed this basic 34″ x 34″ shower, and it’s going to be so convenient for me and my guests once the space is done. The flooring is a continuation of the 2″x2″ hex tile from the rest of the floor. It’s easier on the eyes. On the wall, I went with my fave – a subway tile. This tile is 4″ x 12″, and I’ve got pretty small grout lines. I’m really happy I opted for this larger version of the classic subway tile.

Did you notice how everything lines up so well? Sign of good tilers! They completed this job in just three days, and I was very pleased that this part of the project progressed so quickly.

I opted for grey grout everywhere, and things are looking sleek and clean…just how I like it! Isn’t it exciting to know that the full reveal will be in just two weeks? I can’t wait!

As per usual, I encourage you to check out what the One Room Challenge guest participants and featured designers have been up to during week 4.

If you’d like to see more of my ORC progress, see my week 1, week 2, and week 3 posts. Thanks to WarmUp for supplying my new floor heating system. All opinions are my own.

One Room Challenge: Laundry Room – Week 3

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Welcome back to the One Room Challenge. Today marks the halfway point of this 6-week makeover journey, and things are looking pretty good in my new laundry/bathroom…even though the photos in this post (and my week 1, week 2 posts) are full of dirt, dust, and mess!

This week, I’m sharing what happened after the plumber gave my pipes a makeover. He installed a shower, as you may recall, so when he left there was a big trench in my room. The floor needed patching, the walls needed insulating, and there was still a bunch of plumbing to take care of.    the beginning of a beautiful shower

check out those pipes

insulation installation

My drywaller patched up the floor with cement(I keep calling him my drywaller, but, honestly, Chris can do everything!). Once that was dry, my electrician (aka my dad) and my tiler got to work.

drywall installed

In terms of electrical work, quite a bit needed to get done. Dad installed new lighting, updated outlets, and did the prep work for my floor heating system. He also installed a new fan.

new electrical

In terms of the floor heating system, I’m very lucky to be working with WarmUp on this project. The people I have been working with from WarmUp have been phenomenal. Really informative and great communicators. I was so pleased that they were as eager to work with me as I was with them!

To get the floor ready for the heating system, my tiler first installed the WarmUp insulation boards. These insulation boards not only prepped the flooring for the heating mats, but these boards will also ensure more energy efficiency.

WarmUp insulation boards installed

After the boards were secure, my tiler laid down the heating mats – the DCM-PRO membrane.

Dad was then able to install the cables on the mats. The cables were tested before, during, and after installation to ensure the product’s resistance had not been altered. Dad let me know that the installation of these cables was eaaasssy! Good to know, right? He liked the simplicity and straightforwardness of the DCM-PRO system, and he liked the contrasting colours, too, because this meant that everything was really easy to see.

WarmUp floor heating mats and cord installed (no heating on the right side of the photo because that’s where the toilet and vanity will be installed)

Stepping out of the shower onto a heated floor is going to be divine!

 

After everything was installed and tested, the tiler put a skim coat over the WarmUp floor heating system, so that it would be ready for tiles.

I encourage you to check out what the One Room Challenge guest participants and featured designers have been up to during week 3.

If you’d like to see more of my ORC progress, see my week 1 and week 2 posts. Thanks to WarmUp for supplying my new floor heating system. All opinions are my own.

One Room Challenge: Laundry Room – Week 2

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Well, my first impression of the One Room Challenge event is great! I have been enjoying learning about the people and the projects in this new-to-me community. There are so many creative people out there doing beautiful things, and I encourage you to have a look at the One Room Challenge featured designers and guest participants to be inspired about home renovations and interior design.

As you may remember, I’m currently tackling a laundry/bathroom renovation (see my Week 1 post for before photos). I keep calling the space my laundry room, but, in fact, this space serves a dual purpose. I primarily use it for my weekly laundry sessions, but it is also used as a guest bathroom. I was fortunate to have a finished and functioning space when I moved into my home five years ago, but it was beyond dated.

A refresh has been in the pipeline for quite some time.

The layout of the space – laundry, sink, toilet – will not change in my new space. But I have broken down a wall to squeeze in a shower. This is major. This has required quite a bit of plumbing.

While my family and I tackled the demo, I have four people working on putting things back together: a framer/drywaller, a plumber, a tiler, and my dad (aka pseudo-electrician). Each person is super skilled, and while I hadn’t worked with three of these people prior to my project, they have each lived up to my standards of high quality craftsmanship. These people are gems, let me tell you! I feel very lucky!

My framer, plumber, and electrician were the first people on the scene. My framer took down existing doors, installed (or reinstalled) studs, and installed a pocket door.

While the framer took a bit of a break, the plumber got to work. I had a lot of items on my plumbing to do list on this job: installation of brand new shower plumbing, switch out/clean up of old pipes, installation of new ball-valve switches, etc. The space got dusty and messy, and I enjoyed watching the progress each day.

This laundry/bathroom turned open concept!

a grid of pipes and 2x4s

This p-trap makes me happy because it means a more efficient plumbing set-up for my laundry and sink.

I lived with a trench for a little while.

There wasn’t much left of the original floor. No loss there!

And because I know some of you like to see pretty things during the One Room Challenge recaps, here’s the art I’m going to use in my new room:

Clothespins (c/o)

I encourage you to check out what the One Room Challenge guest participants and featured designers have been up to during week 2.

Note: See my Week 1 post to get updated on my One Room Challenge project.

One Room Challenge: Laundry Room – Before – Week 1

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Well, it’s official. I’m taking part in my first One Room Challenge (ORC) as a guest participant. If you’re unfamiliar with the One Room Challenge, it’s a twice-yearly event that happens in the design blogger community where design bloggers makeover a room in 6 weeks. 6!

Calling it Home started the challenge over a decade ago, and ever since, design bloggers have been putting their best foot forward.  There are two lines of participation at this point. First, on Wednesdays, a group of 20 featured participants will share their progress (see their week 1 posts). Then, on Thursdays, any design blogger can participate as a guest participant. You can check on everyone’s progress at the One Room Challenge site as well as on individual blogs.

So how will I participate this year? So what am I going to feature over the next 6 weeks? My combo laundry room/bathroom. And I’m pretty darn excited! (If you’re new to White Cabana, here’s a peek into my home.)

To be honest, I started this project weeks ago, but progress has been s…l…o…w. Given my work/life schedule and my lack of contractor contacts in Waterloo, renovating the space from top to bottom in 6 weeks wasn’t looking promising. 12 weeks, maybe. 🙂 But I can definitely feature it in 6 weeks! And that’s what I’m committed to doing.

Warning: This post contains some colourful before photos that may hurt your eyes.

Here’s what this room looked like on the day I took the first tour of my (future) house five years ago. Soon after I moved in, I removed the support bar (and about 30 others around my house), the shelf unit above the toilet, and the glass shelf. I also painted the wood strip on the sink cabinet and covered almost the whole floor with a big, white bath mat.

And then I lived with it. Year after year. I lived with a hideous pink/grey/gold laundry/bathroom. It hurt my eyes every time I had to do laundry.

Here’s what my space look liked a couple of weeks ago. Note the floral wallpaper. Awful. And the accordion door. Awful again. And the drop ceiling. Convenient but awful. And the lighting. Awful.

To be honest, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with this space. It’s been great to have a finished laundry space and extra bathroom for guests. It’s also been really enjoyable for me to see people’s reactions when I show them this space. Easy entertainment. On the other hand, though, the wallpaper and floor combo has always made my eyes hurt. And I hate not having a big laundry sink. A little vanity just doesn’t cut it for my needs.

While I did hire tradespeople for this makeover, my DIY-loving self could not leave it to them to have all the fun. I spent about two weekends in demolition mode. We took everything back to the studs, so that I could have a blank slate.

The space is small, but the makeover is going to be mighty!

Here’s what the space looked like post-demo day:

I know it’s not pretty and tidy, but I actually like this part of the reno process. I like to see all the pipes exposed, to see how things were originally set up, and to think about ways to make things better.

I know the tradespeople I have hired are going to make it better than ever before. On the technical side, new electrical and new plumbing is being installed. I also said goodbye to the awful accordion door, and my framer installed a fabulous pocket door. Things are already looking bright.

As for my design plan?

I’m going with this marble-like ceramic hex tile on the floor:  this classic 4×12 subway tile on the walls:

this quartz counter on the cabinet:

this Blanco Urbena faucet on the sink:

My crew is also going to do some more reframing and add a heated floor. Hello luxury!

My custom cabinet is ready for pick-up, and my Blanco sink is going to look gorgeous on top of it. I have settled on a shower trim kit (finally…after buying and returning a couple). My original design plan continues to guide me, but I have had to make changes to it. Overall, my space’s design could be described as “a massive dose of white with a touch of grey”.

Thanks for following along my first One Room Challenge! If there’s anything specific you’d like to see or learn, let me know in the comments.