Aubrey Ballard: A Masterful Renovation
Aubrey Ballard is no stranger to style and color. The fashion blogger and online vintage jewelry shop owner has a uniquely keen eye for creating beauty—one that is undoubtedly evident in her personal style, business, and her home.
When Ballard and her husband moved into their home six years ago, they knew the bathroom would need to be renovated at some point, as it simply didn’t meet the couple’s functional and storage needs. In November of 2019, Ballard and Jennifer Hunter of Hunter Design began to dream up a design. After a full year of ideation to completion, Ballard, Hunter Design, Graeber Design, and crew brought her vision to life—a wonderfully balanced combination of both vintage and modern worlds.
With pops of vibrant color in just about every nook of the space, Ballard made sure to stay true to her love for bright hues and vintage stand-outs—turquoise toilet paper, red sink faucets, a 17th century painting mural, and stacked yellow shower tile. “I tend to work with color first, and neutrals second—not the other way around,” she says. “I find myself wanting to strike a balance between vintage and modern. So, to create that balance, I introduced some vintage and vintage-inspired elements, such as an antique Dutch mural from Walls Republic, a Regency chair, a caned linen cabinet, and colonial toothbrush holders.”
As with anything that requires renovation, planning and strategizing are a given. Before taking on the project, Ballard knew she had to implement a to-do list to keep things on track. “Before the crew began working on the project, I created my own weekly checklist of things that needed to get done,” she says. “I also had a special box that I dedicated to housing all of the samples, sketches, floor plans and other details from the renovation. I found that keeping everything in one place was a big help in staying organized.”
Throughout the renovation, Ballard learned not only about her love for design, but also about her confidence in making calls on big design decisions. “Once the work on the bathroom began, I quickly learned that I had to be my own advocate to make sure that things were done to my liking,” she says. “I learned to really trust my design instincts. In the beginning, I ran a lot of my design ideas by Jen because I was so afraid that I would make a huge mistake. But as time went on, I grew in my confidence and was able to make some pretty bold design choices.”
As for her favorite aspect of the newly renovated space, Ballard says it’s difficult to choose between lighting and functionality. “It’s a toss-up between the window we installed in the shower and the larger floor plan we created by demoing the adjoining closet,” she says. “Natural light and space to move around were at the top of my wish list when I began redesigning the space.” And the sun-kissed space is a true testament to that vision—a bathroom so vibrantly lit, it’s impossible to not feel a sense of optimism and peace in its light.
Now, when Ballard walks into her colorful oasis, she instantly feels a wave of happiness. “I blame that [feeling] on the decidedly cheerful yellow tile, but I think it's the fact that it's my bathroom and it’s all mine to enjoy,” she says.
photos by Emily Hart