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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…

Nautical Cottage Bathroom SimpleDecoratingTips.com

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

Nautical Cottage Bathroom SimpleDecoratingTips.com

So taking a cue from my cottage kitchen, ‘Easiest DIY Beadboard Ever‘ project.

Shopping links for this project are located at the end of this post.

Nautical Cottage Bathroom SimpleDecoratingTips.com

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.

Nautical Cottage Bathroom SimpleDecoratingTips.com

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’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)

Nautical Cottage Bathroom SimpleDecoratingTips.com

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.

nautical cottage bathroom SimpleDecoratingTips.com

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

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

Nautical Cottage Bathroom SimpleDecoratingTips.com

And behind the toilet:

Nautical Cottage Bathroom SimpleDecoratingTips.com

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:

Nautical Cottage Bathroom SimpleDecoratingTips.com

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

Nautical Cottage Bathroom SimpleDecoratingTips.com

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

Nautical Cottage Bathroom SimpleDecoratingTips.com

Time to take a break while the paint dries…

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

nautical cottage bathroom SimpleDecoratingTips.com

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, or are they bamboo?, 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.

Nautical Cottage Bathroom SimpleDecoratingTips.com

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.

Nautical Cottage Bathroom SimpleDecoratingTips.com

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.

Michaels Framing

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.

Nautical Cottage Bathroom SimpleDecoratingTips.com

This print now hangs over the chrome shelving.

It’s a simple basic bathroom…

Nautical Cottage Bathroom SimpleDecoratingTips.com

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…

Shopping Links:

  • Beadboard Wallpaper
  • Economy 24″ level 
  • Wall Size 
  • Wallpaper Smoother and Cutter
  • Wallpaper Dip Tray
  • Wide Blade Putty Knife
  • Wood (Bamboo?) Bins

Did you know I now offer e-decorating? I can help you with your decorating needs via email, without having to step foot in your home. If you’re interested in more information, visit my e-decorating site: Frame and Frills. I’d love to help you with your project!

Here are more bathroom re-do projects I’ve worked on:

Dog Shower
Nautical Cottage Bathroom
SimpleDecoratingTips.com Renovating a Condo Bathroom
SimpleDecoratingTips.com Our 100 Year Old House Master Bathroom Renovation
SimpleDecoratingTips.com Basement Apartment Bathroom Renovation Done
SimpleDecoratingTips.com Tiling the Bath Floor
SimpleDecoratingTips.com From a Tub to a Shower

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please feel free to follow and share this blog with your friends, as well as on Facebook, Pinterest, Flipboard, Bloglovin, YouTube and now Instagram!  I appreciate you reading along.

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

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Welcome to Simple Decorating Tips! I’m Liz, the author, and I’m so glad you’re here!

My goal is to encourage you with DIY tips, techniques and tutorials so you feel empowered to join in the fun! Along with this DIY blog, I have a DIY shop, Frame and Frills!
Frame and Frills is in Wisconsin. I stock amazing DIY products! Fusion Mineral Paints, ReDesign Transfers, Decoupage, Waxes, loads of DIY Goodies, re-done Furniture and more! Even if you're not close to where the shop is in Wisconsin, good news... I ship nationwide, (USA) daily! Check out the link here and let's get your DIY on!
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Welcome to Simple Decorating Tips! I'm Liz, the author, and I'm so glad you're here! My goal is to encourage you with DIY tips, techniques and tutorials so you feel empowered to join in the fun! Along with this DIY blog, I have a DIY shop, Frame and Frills!
Frame and Frills is in Wisconsin. I stock amazing DIY products! Fusion Mineral Paints, ReDesign Transfers, Decoupage, Waxes, loads of DIY Goodies, re-done Furniture and more! Even if you're not close to where the shop is in Wisconsin, good news... I ship nationwide, (USA) daily! Check out the link here and let's get your DIY on!


Disclosure Policy: According to FTC guidelines, I want you to be aware that some of the content of this blog may be a source of income and therefore may be used to promote products, services, or other businesses. I will only choose to promote products/services/businesses that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. While I hope to generate a small profit for my time and effort to create this blog, I hold myself to the highest standard of integrity. I appreciate my readers, and make it my goal to deliver quality, honest material on this blog through each post. Thanks for reading along, Liz

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Sharing is great! Please feel free to share this blog with your friends, as well as on Facebook and Pinterest and Flipboard and Houzz and YouTube the more the merrier! I appreciate you stopping by. But please remember that all photos, images, text and content are owned by SimpleDecoratingTips.com. So anything you share, please be sure it always links back to my original post it came from. Please do not remove watermarks, crop or edit anything without written permission from me first.

Disclosure Policy: According to the FTC guidelines, I want you to be aware that this blog is a source of income and may occasionally incorporate endorsements or testimonials and shopping links. It is important to me to disclose this to you. The content of this blog is a source of income and therefore may be used to promote products, services, or other businesses. I will only choose to promote products/services/businesses that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. Products provided to me by my advertising partners for my review are given to me free of charge with no cost to myself. This does not ensure a positive review of the product in any way. While I hope to generate a small profit for my time and effort to create this blog, I hold myself to the highest standard of integrity. I appreciate my readers, and always make it my goal to deliver quality, honest material on this blog through each post. Thanks for reading along, Liz

Disclosure Policy According to Federal Trade Commission guidelines, I want you to be aware that this blog is a source of income and may occasionally incorporate endorsements or testimonials. It is important to me to disclose this to you. The content of this blog is a source of income and therefore may be used to promote products, services, or other businesses. I will only choose to promote products/services/businesses that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. Products provided to me by my advertising partners for my review are given to me free of charge with no cost to myself. This does not ensure a positive review of the product in any way. My truthful opinion will be what I state, no matter if I'm getting paid or not. Accuracy and truth are the priority for me on this blog's information, no matter if it's about a product or anything else. Not every product or service or store etc. may be mentioned in each and every post as an affiliate. While I hope to generate a small profit for my time and effort to create this blog, I hold myself to the highest standard of integrity. I appreciate my readers, and always make it my goal to deliver quality, honest material on this blog through each post.

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