Walking the Plank: Master Bathroom Progress

Back in the fall of 2013, when Robert and I were all dreamy eyed as we poured over the limitless builder options in the blueprint phase of our house, there were two things that were absolute must-haves for me- a pantry (that is now ridiculously organized) and a big garden tub in our master bathroom.  

We've definitely gotten our upgrade's worth out of our pantry...our tub, well, guess how many times I've used it.  Twice.  

But I think that's all about to change now that it looks like this!

For 6 months though, we'd been looking at this:  

(Side note- I'm amazed how far I've come in my photography skills in that amount of time too. Sheesh!)

We ran out of paint when we tackled this bathroom back in August and knew we'd be putting in a plank wall anyway, so eh, whatever.  Well...we thought we'd get right on installing that plank wall.  We should have known better.  We DIY at a snail's speed, if snails could DIY.

Last week, I shared with y'all how I made some weathered wood stain and the planks ended up the perfect color I was going for.

But, the thing is, if you're going to install a plank wall in your bathroom, where it has to handle lots and lots of moisture, you have to seal it.  Otherwise, the wood can swell and warp and do all kinds of wonky business you definitely don't want.

I happened to already have half a quart of polyurethane, so I brushed on two coats.  The poly changed the color of my planks so that they had less of that gray tone that I loved.  No biggie but an itty bitty downer.

The whole process was really fast, and Olivia oversaw the whole operation, so you know it came out awesome. ;)  We owe it all to her fine management skills.

There are like 34,875 plank wall tutorials out there, so here's the gist.  

Nail your plank into studs.

Space the planks out with nickels or quarters.

Repeat as necessary.  And you're done!  See?  That wasn't so hard. 

Ladies and gentlemen, I think we've just broken the record for the shortest tutorial ever on Bless'er House.

I'm going on strike against winter, but apparently, our weather forecast didn't get the memo that it's still January because it was sunny and in the high 60s today!  

My spring inspired wall decor only seems fitting then.

I plan on putting a little something on that bare wall above the faucet, but I haven't gotten to that point yet.  I'm thinking maybe a pretty sign that says something like "This is my happy place."

I picked up this pretty wreath from Target to give the wall some extra oomph and it smells amazing.

This little caddy and jars came from the dollar store of all places!  I just filled them up with bath salts, body scrub, and lotion for a little pampering sesh.

Even though I know these won't last long with Olivia playing with anything in her reach, my madeover Goodwill candle holders are lovely here too.

I wonder if I'll even be able to part ways with my Audubon prints when fall rolls around in 8 months.  Probably not.

What do you think?  Does this space say builder grade to you?  Or are we finally getting somewhere on this quest for creating our cottage?

As usual, one thing led to another in here, so I'll have even more to show you later on.  We're only halfway there.

I think a bubble bath is in order for tonight (for only the third time ever).  Maybe now I'll at least get more use out of it and make it my escape.  Any parent of a two year-old needs a little oasis sometimes, right?  

Have you done anything to jazz up your builder grade bathroom?  Or maybe attempted a plank wall yourself?  Is it totally bizarre to you that the plank style is coming back after growing up with it 30+ years ago?  Totally figures.

Blessings,

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