Our French Cottage Bathroom Reveal - Blushing Bungalow

I’m so excited to finally share our bathroom makeover. This feels like such a long time coming! After living in our tiny two-bedroom, one-bath house for the last eight years, you can probably imagine how excited we were to finally gut and completely remodel our only bathroom. This was such a rewarding project that we now truly enjoy every day. I cant wait to show you the final reveal and all the details that went into it!

For only 35sq/ft of space, this bathroom has seriously become one of my favorite rooms of the house. It just goes to show that you don’t need a ton of space to make your home feel fun, elevated, and functional! This French cottage bathroom checks all the the boxes in my book. A few years back we did a budget remodel in here which I loved, but just wasn’t quite yet my dream bathroom. So when we decided to take on this project we did a complete gut and facelift in here with some bold decisions like switching out the original bathtub for a luxurious shower, new tile on the floor, new toilet and vanity… the works!

Just a little reminder of where we started… can you believe this was the before?

my marble bathroom dreams

So for starters, I originally really wanted an all-marble bathroom but there were two main hold ups for me. First off the cost was a major deterrent and considering this was our second time renovating this bathroom, I just couldn’t pull the trigger. Secondly, my vision for this bathroom was “French cottage” with a warm, lived in vibe. With that in mind I started thinking about how I could capture that feeling without covering every surface in marble, and that’s what eventually led to using marble details instead.

The thin marble detail at the top of the shower is so subtle yet stunning. I love how it elevates the white subway tile by adding a bit of luxury alongside the brass shower hardware. We kept the marble going throughout the bathroom with trim pieces for the shower, windowsill, door threshold, and even a touch behind the sink. My favorite detail is the marble border that continues around the whole room on top of the shiplap wainscoting.

Also I can’t forget about this gorgeous shower shelf with a traditional yet unique pattern which really brings everything together. I love the organic texture of the marble and the functionality of a two tier shelf that makes space for all my favorite products. These days every shower feels like a spa day – and what can beat that?

Penny Tile Floors

One of the hardest decisions when designing this French cottage bathroom was what to do for flooring. My goal was to pick something that blended the sophistication of the marble, while also bringing in some old-world charm and I think this penny tile does just that!

Rather than just going for the white penny tile all over, I opted to use some gray tiles as well to create a vintage-y pattern and border around the perimeter. Something about this star shaped feature and outline read like a powder room you’d see in a European boutique hotel. I love the way it stands out against a gray grout (which side-note is much easier to keep clean vs a white grout!). The same pattern reappears in the shower as well and I couldn’t be happier with how it came out.

WHITE PENNY TILE | GRAY PENNY TILE | TOILET | TOILET PAPER HOLDER

Storage for a french cottage bathroom

When deciding on storage for this French cottage bathroom, I wanted pieces that provided plenty of space to put things away while also bringing a lot of character. For the vanity I found this lovely sage green piece and added the antique bronze cabinet and drawer pulls. I love the way this organic color feels very cottage and pops against the penny tile.

A glass apothecary cabinet above the toilet hits the mark for unexpected yet practical. I’m so in love with the cornflower blue color and how it ties in with the green vanity and creamy shiplap. When building storage into a small bathroom, it’s all about choices that continue to make the room spacious. I love that the glass doors make this piece seem light in place of what is often a solid piece above the toilet which can feel heavy and closed in.

The glass doors also provided an opportunity for beautiful styling, some pops of color, and fun textures. In this cabinet I styled a vintage burl wood storage box, fluted glasses perfect for q-tips and cotton balls, a beautiful skincare and perfume bottle, a yummy smelling candle, adorable strawberry jar, and a cute plant.

APOTHECARY CABINET | TOWEL BAR | ANTHROPOLOGIE TOWELS | SCONCES

Say it with me: “storage can be beautiful!” While the apothecary cabinet is oh so precious, you might be wondering where to keep all the not so pretty bathroom items (i.e. toothbrush, razors, etc). Enter the mirror/medicine cabinet that has my heart. This piece from Anthropologie is SO gorgeous and looks like the antique find of a century. The stained wood is super grounding amongst the light walls and tile, plus has amazing storage – which is a major win in here.

it’s all in the details

One element I focused on in this makeover was mixing metals. It adds visual interest to the bathroom in a thoughtful way, rather than just matching every fixture and finish which can read a bit showroom. Since the goal was French cottage, I wanted to lead with polished brass on the major features like shower hardware, faucet, towel hooks, sconces, outlet covers, and towel bar. Then I brought in smaller touches of polished nickel to the shower door handle, toilet handle and toilet paper holder. The bronze on the vanity knobs adds one more fun but subtle touch to round out the mixing of metals.

TOWEL HOOKS | SHOWER DOOR HANDLE | SHOWER HARDWARE | TOILET | VANITY

These linen cafe curtains are such a sweet and simple detail. They provide privacy on the bottom half of the window while still allowing tons of natural light, which always make a space feel bigger. I of course had to add a bit of Blushing Bungalow flair with these tiny gingham ribbons!

The gorgeous Anthropologie towels are beautiful on display, and so soft after a relaxing shower. This matching set for hand and shower towels was also the perfect opportunity to tie in some additional blue and green which pops with the cabinets.

CAFE CURTAINS | SHOWER TOWELS | SHOWER HOOKS | MARBLE TRIM

Lighting can make or break a small space. There’s nothing worse than having every detail perfect, only to have your gorgeous fixtures and marble tile bathing (pun intended) in florescent lighting. That’s why I chose two antique-adjacent sconces. I wanted them to frame the mirror to draw the eye upward, which makes the ceiling feel taller and gives off soft lighting that complements the rest of the bathroom.

This French cottage bathroom makeover turned out to be everything I hoped for! It feels like my dream bathroom and was such a fun project to stretch my design muscles. So while I may not be taking a vacation to the French countryside anytime soon, this bathroom transports me to a peaceful place with spa-like showers and elegant details that just make me smile.

So… did we hit the marble sweet spot, or would you have gone even bolder? Let me know in the comments-how much marble is too much?

my marble bathroom dreams

Penny Tile Floors

Storage for a french cottage bathroom

it’s all in the details

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