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Black + White + Brass + Ostrich(!)

Over Thanksgiving weekend, our friends Julie and Brian (visiting from Portland – hi, guys!) stayed with us for a blissful four days of eating, drinking and drinking some more. Somewhere in between the excessive drinking (and eating), I mentioned that we had loads of samples for the bath and laundry rooms, and although we had narrowed them down to our favorites, we were stuck on some details. Two-inch hex or one? Twelve inch subway or sixteen? They helped us dive right in and hash it all out, right then and there:

bathroom-finishes1

Above: Semihandmade flat walnut // Storka Manhattan subway tile // Rejuvenation Larkin pulls // Elite Tile matte black hex // Elite Tile matte white hex

Who’s surprised that we’re sticking with the classic black + white color combination? (Ha!) Every time I tell Scott that we should scrap it all and do something absolutely nuts, he reminds me of our goal to stick with the hues we love the most (black, white and navy) for the permanent fixtures. When it comes time to layer in a shower curtain and art – even paint! – on the other hand? Well, we will see!

We’ve long wanted a matte black hex floor, and although we wavered for a moment after seeing the penny tile at Kohler, we’re sticking to it! In our case, we’ll be adding a white hex border (like this), and maybe some flowers, too. That’s a big maybe. The extra long white subway tile will go on the walls (with these sconces capping off the room!), and to balance out all that contrast, we’re adding warm walnut cabinet fronts from Semihandmade to an IKEA vanity – and topping it off with those pretty brassy pullsoof. More brass’ll follow, but all permanent fixtures (think: faucets and shower heads) will be polished chrome. We liken chrome to your favorite blue jeans; always in style.

Okay, let’s check out the laundry room!

laundry-finishes1

This Ostrich wallpaper has been on our love list for years. Years! Although we began hoarding samples upon samples of every other paper and pattern under the sun, we kept coming right back to it. We’ll have a small utility sink in a sea salt finish, and we’re hoping to have a wall of cabinetry (like this!) accented with more brass hardware – hardware that will pick up on those small snippets of gold in every teeny sand pile. Cute, cute.

laundry-finishes2

We’re still working out the kinks with our rotating bedroom love-list, because you guys, beds are hard. Upholstered? Wood? Painted wood? Metal? So many options and not enough bedrooms to plan. But with every day that our contractor crew is here, we could scream with excitement. Every night is a new adventure in What’s Been Done, and we are giddy with the progress so far. More on that soon!

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  • Maggie L12.10.15 - 7:35 AM

    YES, YES, YES!!!! I covet the ostrich wallpaper as well! Just. SO. GOOD! I am beyond excited to see this transformation! You guys give great inspiration. I just built a house and the ideas are swirling continuously in my head! How do you choose when there are so many good things?!ReplyCancel

  • Ashley12.10.15 - 8:04 AM

    I’m with Maggie- your choices are SO good!!! I think you will forever be happy that you went classic with the base. I’m sure it’s hard to not want to do something unique and crazy for the blog though. p.s. I clicked on your inspiration for the hex tile border (I am also interested in doing something like that), buy it just brought up a blank page.ReplyCancel

    • Kim12.10.15 - 9:15 AM

      I know you’re right – this color combo will always be so good, and we’ll never get sick of it after all the hard work, right? RIGHT? And thanks for the heads up on the link – fixed! :)ReplyCancel

  • Kim12.10.15 - 8:45 AM

    Love the ostrich wallpaper! Reminds me of Go Haus Go and her bathroom. Check out her blog if you haven’t seen it yet!ReplyCancel

    • Kim12.10.15 - 9:10 AM

      Yup – I remember when she did it! I was so excited to see it go up, as I had been lusting after it myself!ReplyCancel

  • Allison12.10.15 - 9:17 AM

    It looks like you have a Kohler white chip next to the subway tile. What color white is the subway tile?
    We had a disastrous time with white subway tile our tile person recommended, but came too white compared to the new Kohler white tub we installed. She’s been in the business 30 some years and said she wasn’t aware there was a “Kohler white”. Anyway, ripped it all out and installed a different brand that matched much better. We used American Olean 4×12 tile in Ice White. I hadn’t heard of the brand you are using, looks great!ReplyCancel

    • Kim12.10.15 - 9:31 AM

      Ugh, how frustrating! Our tile is the Matte Snow White, and we think it pairs nicely with the “Kohler White.” Whites can be really tricky though!ReplyCancel

  • Erin12.10.15 - 12:55 PM

    I can’t wait to see how it all turns out!! All the samples are amazing.

    Oh and thanks for being the only blogger who isn’t posting about holiday decor, tablescapes and their favorite recipes.ReplyCancel

  • Uncle Brain12.10.15 - 4:20 PM

    Thanks for the free exposure in exchange for the free mockup! You are the BEST, Kim!ReplyCancel

  • Tina Slocum12.10.15 - 4:40 PM

    Everything is gorgeous…and the wall paper is the most wonderful I’ve ever seen!ReplyCancel

  • Mary12.10.15 - 6:34 PM

    Is that a live-edge table your samples are on? If so…did you get it locally?
    We’ve been looking for one.ReplyCancel

  • SLG12.11.15 - 8:22 PM

    Love this combo of colors and textures. Will you be putting Semihandmade on the sides of your vanity as well?

    I’m planning a bathroom reno and one side of my vanity is exposed, so I’ve been planning on getting real wood but maybe I don’t have to pay for that…?ReplyCancel

    • Kim12.11.15 - 8:33 PM

      We opted to nix the panel on the side based on the examples Semihandmade has on their site. We chose a white Godmorgan vanity, so the one exposed side will be white, which should play nice enough with the white subway tiles – we hope!ReplyCancel

  • Sydney12.17.15 - 5:59 PM

    I’m in the process of planning a laundry room remodel-inspiration is always great!ReplyCancel

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We’re Kim + Scott, Chicago based content creators behind the Home + Lifestyle brand Yellow Brick Home.

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