This bathroom refresh started as something simple.
My second bath at our Florida home was clean, functional, and perfectly fine. White walls. White tile. A white shower curtain. Black accents—mirror frame, towel hooks, door handles, picture frames.
It looked finished. But it didn’t feel finished.
The space felt cold. A little flat. And disconnected from the rest of the house.
I didn’t want a renovation.
I didn’t want to chase trends.
I didn’t want to add more stuff.
What I wanted was warmth, cohesion, and clarity.
So I slowed down—and followed a process I come back to again and again. Below is the “before photo”.
Step 1: Start With What’s Already Speaking
(Not What You Want to Add)
Before making a single decision in the bathroom, I looked outside of it.
This bath connects to two adjoining rooms, and those rooms already had a clear mood and color story. Ignoring that would have made the bathroom feel separate—even if it was “pretty.”
Instead of asking, “What wallpaper do I like?” I asked, “What would feel out of place here?”
That shift changed everything.
This wasn’t about inspiration. It was about elimination. And elimination is often where the best design decisions begin.
Step 2: Choose One Intentional Design Move
I knew I wanted to add pattern—but only in one place.
The ceiling was the answer.
Wallpaper on the ceiling adds interest without overwhelming a small bathroom. It creates personality while letting the walls stay calm and supportive.
Once I committed to wallpaper on the ceiling, every other choice had a role:
Support the pattern. Pull from it. Or step back completely. There was no need for competing ideas.
I chose the pattern below.
Step 3: Let Color Come From Somewhere Else
This is where people often get stuck.
Instead of inventing new colors, I borrowed them.
The wallpaper pattern included tones that already existed in the adjoining rooms—and throughout the rest of the house. That made choosing a wall color surprisingly easy.
The paint didn’t need to stand out.
It needed to belong.
Once the walls were painted, the room immediately felt more connected and intentional.
See this blogpost on how I worked with Spoonflower.com to get the colors I wanted.
Step 4: Add Meaning, Not Just “Decor”
Two framed pieces I’d collected from estate sales up north had been waiting for the right space.
They shared the same colors as the wallpaper and walls—but more importantly, they brought warmth and history into the room.
Once those were hung, the bathroom changed.
It stopped feeling styled. It started feeling lived-in. That’s a difference you can feel.
Step 5: Know When to Pause
The wallpaper went up (a true two-person project).
The walls were painted.
The art was in place.
And then I paused.
There’s still a shower curtain to choose.
Still a rug to add.
But I love where it’s going—and that matters.
Not every space needs to be “done” to be successful. Sometimes, loving the direction is enough.
Why This Process Works (And Why I Repeat It)
This project wasn’t about doing more.
It was about doing things in the right order.
Here’s the framework I used:
01. Start with what already exists
02. Eliminate before adding
03. Make one clear design decision
04. Pull everything else from that choice
05. Stop before momentum turns into clutter
This same process works whether you’re refreshing a bathroom, choosing wallpaper, updating a room, or simply trying to make your home feel better—without starting over.
It’s not a checklist.
It’s a way of thinking.
And once you learn it, you can use it anywhere.
