Sunday, March 7, 2010

The Bathroom: A Transformation

A few months ago, I casually mentioned that my boyfriend and I were embarking on a home renovation at his place, starting with the nearly-dilapidated bathroom.

I wasn't kidding, was I? The "before" version was disgusting. The hard water stained all of the fixtures orange. The wall behind the shower was rotting away. And the window in the shower overlooked the backyard deck, allowing visitors an eyeful (if you were brave enough to actually shower there - I never did).

During the deconstruction phase, we quickly realized that nothing was salvageable and (thankfully) decided to gut the entire room and start over - including removing the window from the shower. As Nate was tearing down the moldy drywall one evening, he excitedly called me:

Nate: Alright, I was working on the bathroom and I have something to tell you.
Me: Oh no! Is everything alright?
Nate: Well, just listen. I was tearing down the drywall and I discovered, get this, an extra two and a half feet of space behind the wall! So, do you want a bigger bathroom? A bigger closet in the bedroom? Or ... and I've always wanted one of these ... a secret room?!

The bathroom was about the size of a cell block. A discovery of two and a half feet of space along one wall, added much-needed square footage. This gave us the opportunity to put the vanity on the other side of the bathroom and create a built-in closet alongside of the shower.

One of the first reconstruction projects was tearing out the linoleum flooring and laying tile. (And see that shiny new tub?! It's beautiful, aside from the sticker on the front that just won't come off. I'm hoping a squirt of Goo Gone will work miracles.)

When we chose a paint color, I narrowed down the choices to five shades of aqua and let Nate have the final say. He was fine with the hue one a one-inch square paint chip, but was shocked to see it on the wall. Fortunately it grew on him; I'm in love with the color and had no intention of repainting (even though I offered to).

Moving the vanity and medicine cabinet to the opposite side of the wall quickly made the bathroom feel more spacious.

We finished building and painting the shelves in the built-in closet. Next week, we'll hang the door and affix the knob I chose from Anthropologie.

Just a few final touches remain: touch-up painting, hanging towel racks and choosing bath accessories.

20 comments:

  1. Well I could sent you a cupcake but I don't know if it will make it 8-) What a great job you did on the bathroom! Very nice:)

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  2. I would have gone with the secret room, but also try a hair dryer to heat up the sticker, I've used that to get labels off things before.

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  3. It looks great, job well done! One of my bathroom in our house is of a similar color, I used all white accessories in it. I love the tiles on the floors too, is that slate?

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  4. Wow what a big project! I would be so freaked out by the thought of me having to do anything mechanical that I would just employ someone to do it. There are a few things that I am realllllllllly bad at...one is reading maps, I can get lost even with a GPS system. The second one is anything to do with drilling, hammering or sawing.

    The bathrooms looks really pretty now! It's awesome that you have discovered more room behind the old wall!

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  5. Ohmigosh that bathroom is GORGEOUS!! I absolutely love the blue color!! :)

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  6. Wow! I'm so impressed - you guys did a phenomenal job! It looks so pretty :)

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  7. That is an awesome project and glad that you found that empty space. xoxo

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  8. Wowsa! You've done a fine job. Such a big project & you guys did tremdendous - definitely better than the previous bathroom!

    Thank you for your comment on my blog :)
    I'm a follower now! I love your Friday Finds posts... great inspiration. Shame we don't get those stores in the UK~

    Tx
    @ loveterri.blogspot.com

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  9. Wow! super difference, thats amazing! love the blue!

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  10. Wow, I love to see 'before and after' series! The difference is just amazing!
    Congratulations with a new, bigger bathroom! :]



    http://ugnek.blogspot.com

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  11. Wow, what a transformation! You guys did an incredible job. And I am LOLing at the concept of a secret room. I think I always wanted one of those as a child too :)

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  12. wow, this is fantastic! Ha, I love the idea of a "secret room"

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  13. Wow.... soooo nice. I need to redo my bathrooms too.

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  14. That's rad! Great work. By the way, if those rust stains ever come back on your new fixtures, Barkeeper's Friend (sold in most grocery stores next to the Comet/Ajax) will take them right off. xoxo

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  15. Wow, what an incredible transformation! Lovin' the blue!

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  16. wow, impressive. good job at documenting it too.

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  17. Well aren't yall a handy couple! It looks amazing! I love the color you choose - my bathroom is a very similar shade :) I read the part about the secret room out loud to my bf... he says every guy wants one haha.

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  18. Pretty commendable that you documented each step. I don't know if you did it for our (bloggers) benefit but I was intrigued. The discovery of extra space was amazing. I'm sure you knew it had been worth the trouble as soon as that happened. The final results are exquisite. You'd make the 'Trading Spaces' team proud ;)

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  19. I do hope that the quest to achieve a wonderful bathroom ends in a happy note. But looking at the photos, I can see a splendid transformation. Everything looks nice – from the color to the design.

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Thanks for commenting - each one means a lot!

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