Nautical Cottage Bathroom

I’ve been busy packing up and getting the cottage closed up, ready for winter, then traveling halfway across the country back to the Midwest to settle back into life here. But before I left Maine, there was one more project I wanted to tackle this summer. The builder’s grade bathroom needed some personality. Creating a nautical cottage bathroom on a budget was my goal and it was pretty easy with a few simple tips…

In the before pics you can see it’s a nice, usable bathroom, albeit a bit, (LOT!) boring.

So taking a cue from my cottage kitchen, ‘Easiest DIY Beadboard Ever‘ project… Here is a shopping link for this paintable beadboard wallpaper.

I decided to use the rest of the roll of beadboard wallpaper in the bathroom for a simple nautical cottage bathroom mini makeover. (I’m not kidding! One roll of wallpaper was EXACTLY what I needed to do the backsplash in the entire kitchen, and the wainscotting in the bathroom!)

With just the lower section wallpapered, it would add some character, yet leave the top sections of the bathroom walls as they were in the fairly new painted neutral tan color. Making this a super easy quick project… (great, more time for the beach!)

First thing I did was to measure up from the floor 3′ and then mark a level line across the room using a level and pencil that looks like it really needed to be sharpened. A level is super important for this chairrail line to be level in the room. (here is a shopping link to get a 24″ level from Amazon)

Next step for the nautical cottage bathroom makeover was to size the walls where the beadboard wallpaper was going. This is just simply done by painting on the milky white sizing, that dries clear. (here is the wall size/wall prep you need)

Here’s a tip: although it dries clear, it is also a bit tacky in a rubbery kind of way, and it’s shiny when it’s dry. So you do not want to get the sizing up on the wall or trim where you’re not going to cover it with wallpaper. (when it’s wet, you can easily wipe it off if you accidentally budge it over the line… just don’t let it dry there)

I allowed the sizing to thoroughly dry before I wallpapered. (to see more details about the beadboard wallpaper process, check out the kitchen beadboard post)

I must admit, me working on projects at the cottage take me so much longer than normal… I just putz along, setting tiny goals each day, to still allow me time to go to the beach in between. This was an early morning walk on Kennebunk Beach.

Then once the sizing was dry, and I got back from the beach…

This is what it looked like after the wallpaper was up:

And behind the toilet:

I planned on painting the beadboard wallpaper, but it needed to thoroughly dry, idealy, at least overnight. So while that was drying, I focused on a few other details in the room.

The light fixture over the sink was OK, but the glass globes that came with it, were just way too fancy of a style for the simple nautical cottage bathroom look I was going for:

With a simple shade change the fixture seems to fit in with the look much better:

I painted the beadboard wallpaper a light grey color with 2 coats of a latex eggshell finish paint.

Time to take a break while the paint dries…

This was a sunset drive a couple miles north of the cottage:

Then a few more details for the bathroom.

I found this chrome over the toilet shelving unit that we desperately needed for extra bathroom storage for us and guests but it was a bit too ‘chrome-ish’ looking. The pair of wooden bins, (here is the shopping link for these bins) fit perfect side-by-side on the shelf and offered just a nice touch of natural wood feel, plus hold all the toiletries better than the slat shelves alone, and keep them a bit more camouflaged from view, yet easily reachable for the on the go lifestyle at the cottage.

Lastly I added a simple white molding to the top of the beadboard wallpaper.

This striped vintage oar for holding towels and the striped shower curtain add to the nautical cottage feel too.

On a recent visit to the ‘White Columns’ museum I picked up this Will Cunha print of Kennebunkport in the clearance section of the museum gift shop. I took it to Michael’s and had them frame it.

Then instead of putting it behind glass, I had them treat the print directly with ‘Print Guard’ in a canvas finish. (it’s like a giclee finish and is available in 3 different textures, plus is UV resistant)  This was a great choice for the bathroom too, because it gives the print better resistance to humidity.

This print now hangs over the chrome shelving.

It’s a simple basic bathroom…

But who says it needs to be boring? The simple nautical cottage touches are just enough to add a bit of interest, but not be overwhelming or obnoxiously kitchy…

Here is a link for the beadboard wallpaper.

Here is a link for the 24″ level. 

Here is a link for the wall size or prep. 

Here is the link for the wood bins.

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Want to read a little more? Click here to see everything I’ve written about the Maine coastal cottage and traveling around the area on the Maine coast.

This post is linked up at the following other sites: Home Stories A to Z, A Stroll Thru Life, Savvy Southern Style