the big sur house…one year later (part 2)

There are always a multitude of projects after buying a home, and The Big Sur House was no exception. If you read my original post, I shared the living and dining areas. The house also featured two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Just off the dining area was a nice sized guest room with a decent closet and a rustic wood planked ceiling.

I loved the wood ceiling but wanted to brighten the rest of the room, so I painted the walls and most of the trim Benjamin Moore Super White. This house doesn’t have a lot of storage, so the guest room closet holds everything from vacuum cleaners to extra pillows and sheets. For guests, I added a hanging rolling rack that I found on Etsy.

The nightstands were left by the previous owner for storage in the bathroom. I cut off the bottom shelf (which I now use as plant stands) so that the height worked next to the guest bed. The lamps are from World Market. The little bench is an antique and the black and white rug is from Dash and Albert. The string chair is from Porch.

An antique dresser from The Blue Door allows guests to unpack their suitcases and adds some more character to the space.

When I first saw the downstairs bath, I thought we would have to gut it. I didn’t think there was any way I could live with it….it didn’t even have a window! Additionally, there was no storage (except for the 2 aforementioned night stands) and an awkward cabinet that took up most of the space.

When I was in LA last April to pick up my parents, we stopped at IKEA and bought two vanities and a dresser. My poor mom was packed in the back seat like a sardine! With a new sink, light fixture, mirror, bench, and hardware, I really don’t mind this bathroom now (even without a window!)

I even came to appreciate the saltillo tile. I added a bench from Porch and hardware from Amazon. Towels and shower curtain are from RH.

When my husband and I first saw the upstairs loft bedroom, we fell…hard! Overlooking a tree lined ridge, we had a birds eye view of everything…pure magic.

When furnishing an entire house from scratch, you have to pick and choose where to put your dollars. For me it was more important to have a comfortable mattress (Loom and Leaf) than to spend a ton of money on a bed and nightstands. The bed is from Wayfair and the night stands are from World Market. I love that there is access to the outdoors with a balcony on one side and a French door leading to the back yard.

Moving the head of the bed against the railing allowed us plenty of room for a king size bed with an even better view of the stars.

A small desk from Viva Terra (no longer available, sadly 😔) with a vintage lamp and a desk chair from The Blue Door finishes the roomy loft.

The best part of the master bath was the gorgeous clawfoot tub, the wood ceiling and some shelves. The not so great part was the lighting, small pedestal sink, and tile surround.

Again, we painted the walls and trim Benjamin Moore Super White and used the same sink, mirror, and hardware as the downstairs bath to give it a fresher, updated look.

The vintage tub is super dreamy, and eventually I’ll do some work just outside the window so that there is something pretty to look at while luxuriating in this deep tub. While the tiles aren’t personally my taste, they’re just fine for now!

Even with all of the changes we made to the inside of The Big Sur House (and more to come…hello, kitchen!), some of the biggest ones are outdoors. I was hoping to share with you the new deck in next week’s post, but with all of the rain we’re having here in California, things are way behind. Stay tuned!