The One Room Challenge Week 2: it’s demo day! and the design details
top of page

The One Room Challenge Week 2: it’s demo day! and the design details

Post contains affiliate links.


Ohhhh it’s getting real now! It’s Week 2 of the ORC and the demo has begun!


In case you missed it, here’s where we started on Week 1 with the Master Bath Design Plan.


Demo Day


You can plan and plan and plan, but you never really know what you’re working with on a renovation until demo day. Opening up walls in older houses always leads to some surprises. Since this home had 17+ pipes burst in February with the Snowpocalypse, we were expecting to find some water damage.







With the vanity removed, shower out, and walls down we can finally see what we’re working with. I am thrilled to say that despite the burst pipes, there were no major issues uncovered! Hallelujah! But we did uncover one fun thing...






WALLPAPER! Walls of glorious (yet mostly destroyed) wallpaper behind the tub and mirrors that we didn't know were there. Honestly, I don't hate it. This may not be the last we see of wallpaper in this bathroom, but more on that later...





The soffit over the toilet and the squatty cabinet are now gone. Soon this entire room will shift location a bit, and the toilet will move about 2' to create more room for our shower.






Now that we have a blank slate, here’s our plan.




Say it with me. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."


We call this design style New Traditional. There are many traditional elements, like the detailing on the shower faucet and apron skirting on the bathtub, but also more modern lines in the hardware and mirrors, as well as that modern abstract art (we have a DIY art tutorial planned in a few weeks to share with you!). We’re mixing metals here as well, which keeps things feeling fresh and updated. We’ll have tips for you of these things in the coming weeks.


We’re keeping the color palette pretty tight with whites, blue-grays, and warm tones in the brass and wood elements. If you want a space to feel relaxing, a limited layered color palette is a great place to start. In contrast, BTW, if you want a room to feel inspiring and energizing, opt for more colors.


Here’s how these selections will start to shape up in the room.





Pretty, right?! But we have a long way until we get there.


To-Do List:

  • Because COVID-19 delays are such a real thing, we’ve pre-ordered all the materials. Will they all arrive in time!? That remains to be seen!

  • Move toilet; rough plumbing and electrical

  • Build back with drywall and cement board

  • Install vanity, finishes, and fixtures

  • Trim out windows, baseboards, install new doors, and order window treatments

  • Art and finishing touches

See you next week when we will (hopefully!) begin putting things back together AND we’ll have an awesome freebie resource for you!




Quick Disclosure: Some of these links happen to be affiliate links which means when you click the link to purchase something on this page, it won't cost you more, but I may receive a commission for sharing this with you. Which is neat, because I was going to share it with you anyway! You can view our full disclosure policy here.







logo sub blush green.png
bottom of page