It’s Hard to Pick a Favorite DIY Detail in This Paris-Inspired Bathroom Makeover
After finding toxic mold in their home a few years ago, Ash Brockinton (and her husband, Sam) had to gut their entire home to remove the mold. “That’s how our 3,000-square-foot home became a total blank slate,” Ash says. And the guest bathroom was in a state of limbo for a while as Ash and Sam focused on other areas of their home.
“It was very embarrassing when guests would come over because they would either have to use our primary bathroom or use the empty ugly powder room and then use the kitchen sink after,” she says. Ash added green paint and gray tiles to the bathroom in the interim, but during the Spring 2025 One Room Challenge she decided to turn it into a showstopper.
A mural on the walls and ceiling adds a European vibe.
“I considered adding a pattern like stripes to the ceiling to add pattern and play, but then I looked into wallpaper and fell in love with that idea,” Ash says. “I have always loved bespoke design and modern Parisian interiors.”
She did a lot of research on mold-resistant wallpapers and the safest way to apply wallpaper in a powder room. “I would never in a million years put any type of wallpaper in a bathroom with a shower or tub,” she says. She opted against vinyl wallpaper, painted the walls with wallpaper primer for easy removal if she ever decides to take it down, then installed her microfibrous wall mural from Graham & Brown and applied it with a strippable adhesive.
“[I] painted the baseboards to match the bottom of the wallpaper mural, and the crown to blend with the sky part of the mural,” Ash adds. The baseboard color is Sherwin-Williams’ Prospect, and the crown molding color is color-matched to the wallpaper. Her wallpaper was gifted, but if you chose to install something similar out of pocket, it would cost about $2,000. Ash estimates the entire redo cost about $4,350, factoring in the wallpaper cost.
The bathroom has gilded (DIY!) details.
Adding to the Parisian vibe in this bathroom makeover? The new mirror, sconces from Etsy, and the DIY picture rail project Ash worked on for the space. She used a gold IKEA HULTARP rod, hooks, and brass chains to hang gold-framed artwork.
She’s a photo editor by trade and printed out vintage-looking artwork and then added Mod Podge over top to make it look more textured. Ash says she saved a lot of money by buying thrift store frames. “If I found a frame that was the right size but wrong color, I used Rub n’ Buff to make it gold,” she says.
A walnut vanity and backsplash add rich brown details.
Ash had a professional plumber help with installing the vanity; she picked a walnut option that can be found at Lowe’s (but she got hers on sale for about $700).
“I wanted a fancy backsplash but couldn’t afford a marble one or anything custom, so I decided to make a scalloped one to add personality and … to protect the wallpaper from any future splashes,” she says. She used a piece of Peruvian walnut wood and a jigsaw to cut it.
There was also some electrical work done in the bathroom — Ash says dimmer switches make a world of difference — and she loves how every detail comes together in the space. “I am honestly so proud of the whole project,” she says.
This project was completed for the Spring 2025 One Room Challenge, in partnership with Apartment Therapy. See even more of the One Room Challenge before and afters here.
Inspired? Submit your own project here.