This post may contain affiliate links, which means I get a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. I only recommend items I love and have had a positive experience with. Thank you!

Don’t ever let a dark and dingy bathroom lead you into the depths of despair!  Enjoy this inspiring reveal of our new French Cottage Bathroom makeover, including the drastic “before” and “after” images.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

*This post contains affiliate links to my recommended products.  Sources are found throughout this post or on our “Shop Our Home” page.

I love a good “before” and “after”, don’t you?

For my own kicks and giggles, let’s just start this post out with a really good reminder of what our small bathroom used to look like, and how we found it when we moved into our 1990’s home.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS
French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

Sad. Sad. Sad.

What’s even more sad is that my wide angle lens bit the dust right when I wanted to take these pictures.  So we will have to settle for 2 wide angle, slightly grainy, iphone shots for now.

(Any recommendations for a good wide angle lens????)

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS
French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

But the good news is, the transformation is still incredibly obvious, and things will get a lot clearer as we take a closer look with my 35 mm lens.  So come on through the door, and let’s discuss all the juicy details of this refreshed beautiful new French Cottage Bathroom!

In true TIDBITS fashion, we worked on building classic foundational elements to the space, and then infused the room with thrift and vintage finds to add character and charm to our home.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

Adding a small window to the space was the first major transformation.  It’s my personal philosophy, but no bathroom should be without a window.  Steam, hot irons, hair spray . . . ventilation is good.  After the window, we dug into the other design elements.

The first thing we need to chat about is the breathtaking white marble, provided to us in partnership with Wayfair.  Did you see my bathroom flooring inspiration post where I shared the selection I was debating from?  I also did a French Cottage Bathroom inspiration round up and a design board, where you saw elements that were inspiring this makeover.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

There were so many pretty options, but after installing this marble, I had no regrets.  Not a single one.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

I’ll be back with my husband soon to give you a ton of tips and tricks for installing marble, but for now I just want to point out what a beautiful backdrop the marble tile shower surround and flooring are for this space.  It really was the key component.  I knew no matter what design decisions I made after that, it would all come together naturally with marble as the background.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS
shop this post

Even a perfectly chippy $10 green stool looks stunning surrounded by marble.  And to think my mother suggested I give it a fresh coat of paint!  For shame!

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

Personally, I think it alone brings in the cottage feel I was hoping for, and is perfect for assisting my wee ones in reaching the sink.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS
French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

Moving on from the stool . . . let’s talk about the vanity.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

She’s a beauty too, and welcomes French style and handy dandy bathroom storage into this space.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

I discovered many similar vanities to this one online, but this very one from Houzz fit the dimensions and bill for this particular space.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

But you won’t believe how we came across this mirror!  I found the mirror for $6.00 at a thrift store.  It already had a yucky looking frame, so my husband ripped that off and replaced it with a smaller piece of wood trim and we topped it with an accent wood piece I’ve been holding onto for years.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal

I painted it with some FolkArt Metallic paint, and about $20.00 later, we have a beautiful large mirror!  It isn’t exactly what I had hoped for in this space, but for $20.00 – you won’t see me complaining!

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS
French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

I love this vintage style sink faucet I found on Amazon, and I added a thrift store mirrored tray and other thrifted findings to the countertop.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS
French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

I even had to make the T.P. holder and waste can attractive for a space like this.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS
French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS
shop this post

Some other fun finds were this handheld mirror (that my kids conveniently broke), and this half bowl I use to hold a washcloth, comb, and often my phone while I listen to podcasts in the morning.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS
French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

If you know anything about me by now, you know I love open shelving.  I was thrilled to find this wrought iron detailed shelf for $15 at an antique store, and I’ll show you soon how I painted it up to fit this space better.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS
French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

I think the butterfly candle holder was found buried in our yard.  It’s a good thing I have very curious children.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS
French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

Wrought iron is a popular decor element used in European areas, so I was particularly on the thrift hunt for some for this space.  I found a wall sconce candle holder and a some kind of potted plant hanger that I knew would be perfect for towel holders.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

The hubs might have thought I’d gone crazy when I asked him to hang them for me.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

He’s totally on board now 😉

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS
French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS
French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

These towels were a big splurge for me.  I’ve never spent very much on towels before, but when I saw these, I just couldn’t un-see them for this space.  Plus, I did spend $6.00 on the mirror, sooooo . . . . . . . . 

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

Heading over the the bath/shower area, I used 2 lace curtain panels for the outer shower curtain, and a simple waterproof layer for the lining.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

All tied back when needed with some lovely curtain tiebacks.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

This bathroom desperately needed a new shower head, so we opted for this detachable head from Delta.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

I don’t love the cord hanging in the way, but I find these hand held spray down faucets to come in so very handy with kids.  It was an absolute must for me.

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

The wide shower head is divine, and I love that there is a handle for turning on the water and the temperature separately.  I can keep it at my favorite temp and don’t have to fiddle with it each day.  Pretty snazzy!  (Not a sponsored post.  I just really like it and wanted to share!!)

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

I also enjoy seeing my new favorite hair and face products propped up on the tub, ACURE from Grove Collaborative.  The ingredients used are very body and environmentally healthy.  And they smell delish!

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

I stand by everything Grove stands for and love their products, so if you want to try some out, I have a standing offer with them and if you CLICK HERE you can get a FREE Mrs. Meyer’s soap and $10.00 credit to your purchase right now.  Then you can try ACURE for yourself if you want to!

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

I hope you enjoyed seeing a glimpse of our newly refreshed bathroom.  The change for us has been unbelievable.  Whenever we take this much care of a space, I find I love to clean it, decorate it and of course – be in it.

shop this post
French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

Thanks so very much for stopping by to see this reveal, and I’d love to hear what your favorite element was!

French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS
French Cottage Bathroom Reveal by TIDBITS

If you enjoyed this bathroom reveal, you may also like to see our Master Bathroom reveal!

Bathroom Refresh + My Bathroom Cleaning Essentials

Similar Posts

Free Printables!

Get instant access to the TIDBITS subscriber library full of free printables for the keeper of the home.

Discover more TIDBITS

Love this article? Make sure to connect with me on your favorite social platform below, and leave a comment so we can chat!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

26 Comments

  1. WOW…
    This is an awesome post. Your bathroom looks luxury. Your every picture is very excellent. Your information is very helpful. I’ve benefited from your blog.
    Thanks for sharing the constructive post!

  2. Super post!
    You have included the essential point of your post. It,s very helpful information but I think, could have been a little batter your photo because Your photo is not very advanced, can’t see good.
    Thanks for sharing!

  3. I am very happy that. great blog very interesting i learned a lot thanks for sharing I got to this post.

  4. I’m in awe – and I’m heading over to see the master bathroom. I think this post may have launched dozens of bathroom projects. I’d love to do mine! What a talent for both the workmanship and the choices.

  5. Wow Cami…it looks amazing and scheduled for Pinterest. If you want to talk wide angle lens I recently purchased one that is amazing! xo, Janet

  6. Hey girl! I love that you let me know about this. Beautiful! Come have fun helping me with my house.

  7. It is just awesome , wish mine looked this good.Love the towel holders, smart, so smart.

  8. Awesome redo of yr bathroom….Looks lovely get the kiddos will be able to use it….score for Mom!!!?

    1. All my kiddos adore it too! The girls think they have a perfect princess bathroom 😉 . Thanks for coming by!

  9. Hi, Love, love, love, your bathroom renovation! It’s romantic and classic, without being too fussy (like some shabby chic ones). I’m going to “borrow” your ideas for redoing my own bathroom. I really enjoy reading and looking at your blog. I appreciate that you have links to where you can purchase the elements you used in your redo. Thank you!

    1. What a very sweet comment! I really appreciate you taking the time to share with me. Your description is exactly what I was going for and glad someone noticed 😉 . Hope to see you around again!