HOUSE TOUR: Coastal Prep

DESIGNER Victoria Ford LOCATION Cary, NC INSTAGRAM @prepfordwife

WEBSITE prepfordwife.com Follow along with Ford for more design inspiration, decorating tips, and plenty of preppy style.

DESIGNER tip

For maximum impact, choose a theme and stick with it.

FRESH KICKS

PRIVILEGE GREEN (SW 6193)

When I ask designer Victoria Ford if she would consider her bathroom preppy, she laughs, “Always prep!” Ford has become known for her preppy style, a genre she fully embraces, as seen on her popular Instagram feed, aptly named PrepFord Wife (@prepfordwife).

With a background in public health, interior design wasn’t something she set out to do, it just happened organically. “Where you live and how you live within the space can affect how you feel,” explains Ford. As she began documenting the design process of her own Cape Cod-style home, located in Cary, North Carolina, her blog and Instagram following rapidly grew. We were lucky enough to get a tour of her latest project, the upstairs bathroom.

“Our house has a coastal, cottage feel, in spite of us being inland,” explains Ford. Nods to nautical are seen throughout her home, so when it came time to renovate the upstairs bathroom, she knew she wanted to continue the bright, airy, coastal vibe.

The first step was removing the existing dark and heavy vanity in favor of a floating “trough” style sink that carried less visual weight and took up no floor space. The Brockway wall-mounted sink by Kohler was the perfect fit. Given a coat of anti-rust paint in Privilege Green (SW 6193), it now matches the vintage medical tin, found by her husband Marcus, who Ford laughingly admits is the finder of many of the coolest vintage objects throughout her home. The double faucets by Kohler were only available in chrome, so she had them, along with the pea trap and soap dish, brass plated by a small company in Atlanta, Georgia. “I am team all-brass-everything!” quips Ford.

Above the sink, a round-edge brass mirror by Pottery Barn is actually a recessed medicine cabinet. “Because we removed the sink, but we still need storage for day-to-day necessities, a medicine cabinet felt right,” explains Ford. The nautical lights were salvaged from a wrecked ship, and sourced from Nautical Antiques & Tropic Decor in Galveston, Texas, a warehouse that specializes in authentic salvaged pieces.

Brass makes another appearance in the shower faucets by Kingston Brass. The dramatic exposed shower head draws the eye upwards and highlights the white subway tile that carries all the way to the ceiling. The blue stripe that spans the height of the shower niche adds a preppy punch.

A true shiplap painted Fresh Kicks by Clare Paints envelops the space and provides texture and visual interest without encroaching on the space. On the floor, hexagon tiles by Spanish company Codicer were laid in a stripe pattern.

To round out the space, accessories were carefully curated. Monogrammed towels by Savannah-based towel company Weezie, are preppy perfection. The beautiful cobalt blue Langston Luxury candle by Harlem Candle Co. sits atop a warm wood pedestal by Mistana. Real boat cleats used as towel hooks are a cheeky addition.

Take a tip from Ford: for maximum impact, choose a theme and stick with it. By staying within a tight color palette and style, she’s transformed this tiny space into something whimsical and coastal with a touch of sophistication, and, of course, full of prep.