One Room Challenge: Week One | Desert Bathroom Makeover Inspiration

I am excited to share that I signed up to be a participant in the Spring ’23 One Room Challenge! For those of you who don’t know what it is, it’s basically a big challenge where participants can share their room transformations. It’s a fun way that everyone can share a design project and hopefully help inspire others along the way.

One of the rooms at my house in the Joshua Tree desert (Coyote Casa Blanca) that I have been completely avoiding is the bathroom. When we got the house this bathroom had the worst orange peel walls I’ve ever seen. They were texture city! We skim coated those walls, and since it took so many layers I largely gave up entirely on this room after we finished. So I thought it would be perfect for my first ORC.

Bathroom Before

This bathroom was renovated by the previous owners sometime in the early 2000’s with lots of builder grade finishes, and it feels really outdated and dark. Wow, so much beige tile! As much as I would love to gut the space we don’t have the budget for that at the moment, so we are working with what we have as best we can and giving it new life. The plan for now is the keep the essentials and update the basics: light fixtures, vanity, sink, mirror, faucet, paint the tile, build shelving and so on.

The Plan

I want it to feel like a neutral earth-toned sanctuary. I made this mood board on Pinterest for how I want the space to feel. Think lots of neutrals, brass details, and smooth Roman clay walls. The plan is to get a new floating sink vanity, sink, faucet, mirror, light fixture, hooks, and to smooth out the insanely textured walls. First things first we removed the builder grade cabinet and we are going to add some floating shelves in that space instead. I’m thinking we will go with a natural wood color to add a bit more natural texture to the space.

The Color Palette

I want to keep this space super neutral so I’m going with brass fixtures, natural tones, and muted basics. The beige tile is not my favorite but I’m planning on leaning into it for now and making it feel like a more Mediterranean travertine look. Think light neutral wood textures, brass details, light white countertops, and rounded arch accents. For the wall color I’m thinking a light beige, off white or textured limewash.

I can’t wait to get started on this project and finally have a nice bathroom that doesn’t give me the ick, haha! Stay turned for lots of fun DIY projects and budget-friendly bathroom updates. Can’t wait to share!