The team at our Project House in Austin, Texas, has been brewing up big plans for some smaller, highly trafficked spaces, all while keeping a cozy cottage look and feel.
While living spaces tend to be the focus of most home design, the smaller yet hardworking areas of the home still deserve the same care and thoughtfulness to maintain a cohesive style. For Melissa and Brent of Cottage & Key, the Project House Austin guest bathroom and pantry provide the perfect opportunity to carefully craft functional features while keeping the same look and feel as the rest of the home. The result is two spaces with a beautiful blend of timeless English cottage charm and a cozy modern vibe.
Pantry
Nearly an 8-foot by 8-foot cube, the Project House Austin pantry is an open concept with a walkway dividing it from the breakfast nook and it is tucked away behind the kitchen wall. “Since this is a small cottage house, we had to get creative with defining spaces,” Melissa says. Even with a compact layout, the pantry is more spacious than many found in a typical cottage home, and every bit of it is carefully planned to make the best use of storage space. “We maximized the use of the 9-foot ceilings and created storage drawers below, and we lined two walls with upper shelves featuring a ladder that can move to either side and provide easy access to higher shelves,” Melissa says. Partnering with Putnam Ladder, she opted for a white oak and brass ladder that beautifully brings together functionality and style. “The quality and detailing are amazing, and it will really elevate the pantry,” she says.
As for the material selections, Melissa continues a rich mixture of textures and neutral tones and colors that provide a calm and classic look and feel, while punctuating with pops of color and patterns. The herringbone white oak flooring from Mullican Hardwood Flooring provides continuity with the rest of the home. “One of the design features I’m excited about is incorporating cafe curtains into the space, which is a traditional detail that has been trending this year,” she says. “And choosing a fun, traditional pattern like a small paisley design gives the space some personality and visual interest.”
Guest Bathroom
Continuing to the Project House Austin guest bath, Melissa’s combination of an updated and traditional look has another opportunity to shine. “I want to create a transitional space that combines traditional charm with some modern trends while also staying true to the cottage look and feel,” she says. At 9 feet by 6 feet, this guest bathroom will include a shower. “When designing an overall floor layout, I like to make sure that the bathrooms are just the right size to be functional while not taking up too much space from the other rooms,” Melissa says. She selected a 36-inch vanity that provides storage while leaving space for other features.
Like the rest of the home, the material selections for this space are kept to a neutral palette with an array of textures. “This bathroom pulls from some of the traditional materials, such as natural stone, that will be found throughout the house, while pulling in some unique color tones and textures,” Melissa says. Notable is the choice of a rich green for the vanity. “One of the first pieces I chose for this space is a gorgeous green vanity by Willow Bath & Vanity. That gave me the pop of color I wanted to build from by incorporating some natural stone elements in the vanity countertop and tiles and brass hardware to add warmth from some of those cooler tones,” she explains. “A guest bath is a great place to play a little with color.”
To see beyond the Project House Austin pantry and guest bath, check out the living room design. For more on Cottage & Key, see their website. Don’t miss out on our amazing Project House Austin sponsors. To follow along with more Project House Austin updates, sneak peeks and cottage inspiration, find us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!
