Master Bath Beautified!
It was the cranky toilet overflowing yet again--and the resulting plumber's bill--that was the straw that broke the camel's back, last January. That, and the loose floor tiles rattling underfoot, and the coming-off-the-wall, mismatched shower tiles that were difficult to clean and made me worry about water damage, and the stinky sink without a drain stopper, and the shallow tub I couldn't take a bath in. We had some money saved up, so, Project De-Uglify was launched!
BEFORE
So here is what the bathroom looked like before the sledgehammers started raining down.
February 2010
Looking toward our master bedroom. Looking toward my office.
The hated shower tiles and mismatched knobs and tub I couldn't take a proper bath in because it was way too shallow.
The floor under the rug sloped down toward the toilet. Some of the tiles were cracked and loose and the floor squeaked.
Another view of the tub. The built-in was handy, but was also kind of ugly and not very well made.
Also handy was this built-in under the window, but it, too, wasn't built that well and made the space very narrow.
View from the tub.
Details of things that would change: the light fixture, untextured ceiling and some untextured walls, light switchplate.
More details of things that would change: hooks.
More details of things that would change: mismatched doorknobs, switchplates, one untextured wall, one textured wall.
More details of things that would change: towel bar falling off the wall.
More details of things that would change: towel rings.
More details of things that would change: shower curtain, curtain rod, and hooks that looked pretty, but which fell off every frakkin' time you opened or closed the curtain.
More details of things that would change: toilet paper holder, trash can, the much-hated toilet and its handle that had to be coddled, lest it fall clattering to the floor or decide to stop working altogether.
DURING
March 2010
Removing the tiles around the sink, and the loose tiles on the floor--they had been lightly cemented down to plywood. My husband originally thought he would just strip the paint off the built-in storage, sand it down and stain it or repaint it, but all that proved way more of a hassle than we realized. So we tore it all out.
Here are some reasons why we're glad we tore it out; boards were warped, there were gaps, some of which were closed by paint, and it was made of a combination of plywood and mdf.
Gone too is the built-in under the window, and the window sill, which was warped and the stain was peeling off. We decided it sucked and needed to go.
Household archaeology! When we took the mirror down, there was this remnant of wallpaper. May I just say how glad I am that we didn't have to remove an entire bathroom's worth of wallpaper!
April 1-7, 2010
The ceiling, mid-texturizing! My husband repaired the walls, sanded and then texturized them and the ceiling. It was his first time doing it and I think he did a great job. You wouldn't think texture would make such a big difference, but it really did. It's subtle, but looks so much better now.
Tile all gone, now we can see one reason why the floor was so slopey and squeaky--lots of water damage. Also gone are the shower tiles and wallboard. I was so worried that there would be water damage behind those loose tiles around the shower faucets, but thankfully, there was not!
There was another reason, which would be revealed when the next two layers of plywood came up.
Paint ideas. My husband also tore out the wood ledge on the room divider (it wasn't hard--it wasn't nailed down on one end and would come up easily), and made a new one out of mahogany.
April 9-13
Yay, Evil Toilet of Evil is gone! Ugly Vanity and Stinky Sink are gone! The old cast iron tub that probably weighed a billion pounds is gone too.
And here's the new bathtub framed in, with the new shower hardware installed too! The plumbers filled the tub with water as part of the installation--so the weight of it would make it really sink into the concrete. I had a really hard time find a tub that would a) fit in a 60x30 space and b) be deep enough to actually soak in and c) not cost a jillion dollars and d) not be a whirlpool jetted tub. Finally I found an acrylic soaking tub that fit, at a locally owned bathroom supply store (which was great because I was trying to avoid the Big Box Stores and support locally owned businesses as much as possible). It's delightfully deep and I can take a real bath for the first time in six years. I looooooove it.
Our plumber was really helpful for this project. We'd hired him previously for other large projects. We trusted him, and he had some great ideas for the bathroom. He recommended another local bathroom supply place, where we ordered the toilet, sink and fixtures for the sink and shower/tub (and got the contractor's discount). And he also recommended some local tile guys; we hired them after getting other bids and looking at other resources. And we're very glad, for they did a great job. And they recommended a local source for granite countertops that were hella cheap compared to other places I looked, and they did a good job too. Some mistakes were made, and nothing was absolutely perfect, but when looking at the big picture, I'm very happy with the outcome.
I feel really lucky about everyone we hired working out, because I know from experience that sometimes these things don't always have such a happy ending.
At this point, we have now repaired, textured and painted the walls. We ended up going with the white (Behr Eggshell Cream, in semi-gloss). It's hard to tell in these photos, but the old white was kind of grey and cold. We decided to go with a white again instead of color, to be a counterpoint to all the colors that would be added in later. This new white feels creamier and warmer, so I'm happy with it. The tile guys tore out the rest of the old floor, and discovered that one of the floor joists had been cut to accomodate the heating duct that had been retrofitted in (this was many years before we bought the house)--and it was never repaired! This was the main reason why the floor sloped and squeaked and felt squishy. So they fixed it and the floor is now solid, level and un-squeaky.
Bathroom shower enclosure in progress.
After searching various stores, we ended up finding some ceramic tile we really liked that was on sale at 30% off (bonus!) and was from a locally owned store (bonus!). Fortunately, my husband and I were on the same page about what we liked and didn't like, so choosing something that pleased us both was pretty non-traumatic. We used the same tile for the floor and the shower. Large tiles went on the floor, smaller on the shower. We had the tile guys build in a nicho (so handy for shampoo bottles and the like), and they painted waterproof membrane stuff on certain areas to help prevent water damage, if any of the tiles leak in the future.
I'm not too worried about it. They did some really solid looking work.
April 14-18
They had suggested this design, of a decorative strip of glass tiles running between the ceramic tiles, with the top tiles at a different angle than the bottom, and we loved it. Also, because of the way the tub had to be installed inside a wooden frame, we had to have them put in a tile front apron and actually, we're really glad it worked out that way because it looks great. And they suggested running the tile to the ceiling and I love it too, as I think it makes it look more spacious and finished.
New ceiling light and new vanity light. I'd done a lot of searching, locally and online, before finding these ones online.
A better look at the vanity lights (from the Lamps Plus website, where I'd ordered them).
New soap holder (which I'd found online) installed, and the grouting finished. When the guys cut out the hole to put in the soap holder, a black widow spider crawled out! I'm really glad I wasn't there to witness that.
New floor, old sproingy brass door stop.
April 22-30
The new vanity, with new toilet paper holder! I'd bought the holder online, but as with the tub, I'd searched high and low for a vanity that would fit in that space, look good, and not cost a jillion dollars. I'd looked online and in local furniture and bathroom supply stores and thrift stores and Craigslist and Big Box Stores. I kept finding vanities that were either way too small or way too big or they would fit well enough but were ugly, or they would fit well enough and looked good, but were too expensive. Our plumber had recommended a local carpenter and after checking out other local carpenters, we went with him. So glad we did! It's about the same width and depth but is taller. It's made of mahogany. He worked with us on the design and did a beautiful job on the construction. While it wasn't cheap, it was comparable in price to some vanities I'd seen in Big Box Stores and online that weren't half as large or as beautifully made. I especially loved the fact that we were able to get this thing that was not mass produced, made in China. It's something made by hand, by a craftsman who lives in our own neighborhood.
He had some great suggestions, including this "toe kick space", so you can stand up next to the vanity and have room for your feet. It hides the heater vent well, and helps create that "furniture" look we'd requested. I bought the hardware at a Big Box Store (after looking everywhere else and not finding anything I liked) and he installed it.
And here's the new granite countertop and sink!
And now the tile wainscot is installed and grouted.
May 9-12
We asked the tile guys to install this new curved shower curtain rod, as they had a tile drill bit and we don't. The curved rod really does make it feel more spacious in there. Amazing how much a little thing like that can make such a difference. Also installed are the new doorknobs, and switchplate covers (handpainted ceramic, ordered online).
New sink fixtures, bath fixtures, toilet, mirror, custom window shade.
New towel rings & makeup mirror. The soap dish, while new to this bathroom, is actually vintage 1920s.
Closeup of the granite (Verde Butterfly), sink and fixtures.
The only thing the tile guys did that we weren't happy about was to grout around the new switchplate for the electric outlet. I'm sure they didn't actually mean to. But now we can't ever change it or access the outlet without messing up the grout.
More detail of shower fixtures, and new towel rings & curtain, with roller rings (which work so much better than hooks!)
And here's the new doorstop. It's solid instead of sproingy, chrome instead of brass. I also oiled the thirsty wood doors. I know it's probably silly, but I wanted even little details like this to be paid attention to.
August 2
My husband was going to rebuild the cabinet himself, but we ended up hiring the same carpenter to make it instead. We loved what he'd done with the vanity and knew he'd do an amazing job with the built-in. The mirror on the door is a vintage piece I bought at a flea market a few years ago & hadn't put up anywhere yet. I love blending in a little old with all that new.
It's also made of mahogany, same stain, he put in that same little toe-kick space under the doors, and I got the same knobs as on the vanity.
And finally, it's finished!
September 21, 2010
View from my office. Trying to find some art for the bathroom, I found these vintage 1920s ads for Standard Plumbing cut out of magazines. I bought several and framed them. I just love them!
New towels for the bathroom. The old purple ones now live downstairs in the other bathroom.
More Standard Plumbing ads I framed for the bathroom.
Vintage apothecary jars, and "vintage" new Pottery Barn clock. We were tired of the Zen clock.
Blue vase on new glass shelf, bath foam & bombs in vintage apothecary jar. It is so exciting to be able to use bath products again! View into bathroom from bedroom, where you can see the mahogany window ledge my husband made (he also made the ledge for the other window and the room divider, using leftover stain that the carpenter had used on the vanity and built-in). Also here's the custom shades, which are not real wood (to help prevent warping from moisture) and which are not dark mahogany in color because I wanted to avoid too many large dark shapes in there and keep it light.
Green and blue crystals in the window, which make the most fantastic sparklies at certain times of day.
Although the nicho is very useful, I wanted still more storage in the shower so I got this caddy from Simple Human. It works great.
A much nicer view now from the shower, I'd say!
And now if you don't mind...
I'll be in the bath!