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idea notebook
A Brilliant Bathroom Makeover
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2. Alcove The existing arched nook created a room-within-aroom feeling that Corley liked. She just improved upon it by hiring a contractor to raise the arch, and the ceiling above the tub, by a few feet.
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3. tile The biggest upgrades? Classic subway tiles on the alcove walls ($5.95 per square foot; homedepot.com) and an octagonal pattern on the floor ($4.95 per square foot; homedepot.com for similar), both in crisp white.
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4. cabinet A $190 vintage cupboard, freshened up with white paint, provides extra storage—and old-school charm.
5. Medicine cabinet Corley had her contractor remove a chunk of wall so this $40 junk-shop cabinet would lie flush. 6. sink Thanks to its timeless shape and good condition, the room’s pedestal basin was the only fixture Corley didn’t replace.
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See shop guide, page 143, for how to get the look.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEAN ALLSOPP; STYLING BY JANE DAGMI photographs by artistnametk
“I’d finally had enough,” says Cathy Corley, of the 24 years she spent living with this pink-andblack bathroom (left) in her Birmingham, Alabama, home. Not only was the color scheme aggressive, but a depressing block of black tile covered what had been the 74-square-foot space’s only window. So, inspired by the charming 1920s loo in her grandmother’s house, Corley decided to lighten things up. She traded in her built-in tub for a vintage freestanding version and installed white tile and beadboard to create a neutral backdrop. For storage, Corley refurbished an old kitchen cabinet found at an antiques shop, then added pops of yellow to accent the newly painted gray-blue walls. “For so long, I wanted to love this room,” she says. “Now I actually do.”—jourdan crouch
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photographs by artistnametk
Bright new tile and a few vintage finds help give this outdated space a dramatic face-lift.
1. bathtub Corley salvaged this fixture from a junkyard and had it reglazed, all for only $300. A curtain trimmed in yellow adds a sunny note. ($250; matouk.com)
7. beadboard To replicate her grandmother’s bathroom, Corley requested that her contractor install white beadboard from the floor to above eye level on the walls outside the alcove. ($37.97 per 4’W x 8’L sheet; homedepot.com for stores)
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8. paint Behr’s Shale Gray, a steely shade that provides a dramatic contrast to the white fixtures, covers the remaining wall space. ($37.88 per gallon; myperfectcolor.com) 9. Window A $260 addition from the Home Depot allows daylight to naturally illuminate the area. “Before we installed the glass, this place was like a cave,” Corley says.
go to countryliving.com
for more bathroom makeover ideas.
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