Half Bath Update

When we moved into our house in 2019, we had a long list of cosmetic updates we wanted to do. There are lots of little quirks in Kiwi houses that seem either strange or dated to Americans, and this half bath was a sore spot for us. Life, kids, and covid lockdowns have meant that we haven’t done nearly as much on our list as we would like, but we finally tackled the half bath project to go from a bland white room with crappy cabinetry and ugly exposed plumbing, to a really fun, colorful room that is much more our style.

Check it out!

Paint Colour - Insight 55 by Berger Paints. We wanted to color match the light blue in our wallpaper. We had to eyeball it because the spots were too small for an electronic match. Strange fact: only Bunnings seems to have the electronic color match. The big paint stores, like Resene, don’t have that technology. We purchased our paint from Guthrie Bowron.

Wallpaper - Kenneth James Banyan Tree Wallpaper in navy. I had this paper sitting in our storage unit in Austin since our last visit in 2020. When Jon went back to the US last month, he surprised me by bringing it back in his suitcase.

Paper Hanger - JMB Paperhangers. They were impeccable with our not-quite-straight walls and had nearly immediate availability. I highly recommend them if you’re in the Auckland area.

Cross stitch - This is a custom piece by a lovely Etsy shop called WickedStitchCo. She was incredible and was even able to match the banyan tree with just a picture of our wallpaper.

Sink - Cirque 450 Wall Basin - Jon found the best plumbing supply shop in Newmarket called Plumbline. They had a great selection to choose from, and even better, things were in stock.

Tap - Progetto Buddy Low Curved Spout Basin Mixer in brushed brass. This was also part of our Plumbline purchase.

Under sink cabinet - This was a custom piece made by Jon to match the curves of the sink. We used Briwax Colourfast Wood Dye in English Walnut to give it the rich, dark brown look.

Coral Mirror - Sorry, folks. This was a vintage find in Chicago from years and years ago. I haven’t seen anything like it in New Zealand, but William Sonoma has something similar (and will ship to New Zealand).

If you’re in New Zealand, comment or message me with the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen in a Kiwi house. I’m very curious to know if our experience looking at Kiwi homes is normal or not.