Okay, hear me out here. I’m going to say something that some people might not like: I hate most bathroom’s that attempt to look “farmhouse style”. There.
I’ve said it. Step into someone’s home and the walls are covered in shower tiles that you can buy from a factory in B&Q. They have identical galvanized metal signs that you can buy in packs of twenty.
There are rustic soaps dispensers that you get from home sense that look like mason jars but cost £3.99 each. It all has that fake distressed wood that has clearly never been distressed by weather, animals or time.
Instead of being a STYLE it’s become a checklist.
I learned all this the wrong way. When I moved into my first flat I despised the beige that so many developers seem to think will never go out of fashion. When it came to doing my bathroom I went too far the other way.
I bought wire baskets from Next, enamel ware accessories from Everyavid Rugrats Website and yes…even one of those stupid wooden ladders meant to be towel racks that are actually useless if you need to grab your towel quickly (hello- bathrooms!). I looked like something I Photoshopped together in Photoshop. It had no personality whatsoever.
What clicked for me about what Farmhouse STYLE actually was was a complete accident. My friend Sarah was helping her nan renovate her old cottage in Derbyshire and invited me up for the weekend to help her scrape wallpaper. The bathroom in the cottage was….what I was looking for and I didn’t even realize it.
Real subway tile from the 1940s with crazing in the glaze from years of hot and cold temperatures, a cast iron clawfoot tub with lovely brown stains from years of actual rust and wide plank floors worn down silky smooth from who knows how many years of children running around barefoot. I took a step back and looked around. Wood didn’t become distressed from a gunk brush; it became distressed from decades of love and life happening around it.
That weekend was a turning point for me. Instead of looking for farmhouse style items I started looking for items WITH a story. The medicine cabinet I found at an estate sale in Stockport.
It’s from the 1950s and still has the original mirror which has speckles all around the edge from the backing coming off. Is it perfect Instagram material? Hell no.
But you can’t replicate character and history like that. Wood became my new obsession. Real shiplap ( NOT tongue and groove boards that have been labelled shiplap at your local big box diy store) has certain dimensions to it and the boards sit together in a certain way.
I spent MONTHS looking through salvage yards and architectural reclamation companies before I finally found REAL shiplap. From a 1920s barn renovation in Yorkshire. It was expensive.
Like twice what I would’ve spent on new cost me. But you can see every nail hole and feel every spec of patina and you KNOW someone couldn’t just sand and stain a new board to look like that. On walls that I didn’t put wood on I used lime wash instead of paint.
It has this amazing texture to it that actually changes throughout the day as the sun hits it at different angles. Not only that but its naturally antimicrobial. Something our grandparents know way before mankind discovered antibiotics and antibacterial bathroom cleaners.
Lime wash is a pain though. It gets everywhere and you will look like you’ve been possessed for at least a couple of weeks. But the warmth and texture it gives you can’t be beat.
If you want true farmhouse style you HAVE to use natural materials. I found reclaimed heart pine for my vanity top and sealed it with several coats of marine grade polyurethane. You hear people say wood doesn’t belong in bathrooms all the time but don’t listen to them.
You Might Also Like
As long as it’s sealed properly reclaimed wood can get more beautiful with age because of the patina that comes with it. Don’t use fake aged wood either. There is beauty in the natural wood grain patterns and authentic wear.
FYI fixtures drove me bananas. I bought what I thought was a “farmhouse style” tap at first from a brand I see ALL over instagram. It just looked TOO shiny.
TOO perfect. As soon as I found this restored 1930s bridge faucet on eBay from a seller in Scotland that restores antique plumbing. I had my plumber modify how he put it in but man, is the brass beautiful.
You cannot get that showroom shine rust that farmhouses are known for. Now lighting, is where I feel like everyone goes WRONG with farmhouse bathrooms. Mason jar pendant lights?
THOSE are the most popular thing to use because they’re easy and cheap, NOT because they’re authentic farmhouse style. Think about it. People used what they had and needed during the time!
I got this restored porcelain industrial fixture from the 1940s that was originally used to light up a factory floor. The lines are so simple and the materials are pure. It works perfectly for a bathroom.
As for over the mirror, I found these old milk glass schoolhouse fixtures that put out the absolute best lighting I’ve had. Storage should have a bit of chaos to it. Pull out an old apple crate and use that to store rolled towels.
Keep a real galvanized wash bucket ( with REAL rust and dents from years of use) under your sink to store cleaners. I even have this old feed sack from the 1950s that makes an AMAZING laundry bag. They don’t have to match that’s what makes it look AUTHENTIC.
Mirrors are so important to any space. Mine I found at a flea market in Altrincham. It’s from the 1930 and has this really cool ornate but simple frame to it.
It’s lost pieces of the silver backing along the edges which catches light in the most interesting ways. It adds depth that you just don’t get with new mirrors. Last but not least window treatments.
Keep. Them. Simple.
I hung linen curtains on an iron pipe rod that I found at a salvage yard. Linen softens and gets more beautiful with each wash as it builds up that “lived in” look naturally.
Stay away from things that are too flowery or decorative.
As always, add plants and LIFE to your space. I stick with things that not only can tolerate the humidity of a bathroom but THRIVE in it. Pothos, snake plants, spider plants (this one I happened to inherit from a spider plant my nan used to own that I’ve had for nearly thirty years).
Keep them in vintage crockery you’ve collected over the years. Everything else is extra. Don’t clutter your space with junk.
If something doesn’t have beauty or function. Don’t buy it. And remember, let your space grow organically.
These didn’t pop out of a DIY store yesterday. Your bathroom should have soul and tell a story, not look like you just tried to replicate an internet trend.
