Tuesday, December 8, 2015

The Downstairs Bathroom Remodel


 Well, it's only taken five years, but we can finally say our downstairs bathroom remodel is complete.  ;-)  (Or at least complete enough to take pictures - ha!)  

BEFORE


 The above photo was taken when we did a walk through on the house.  At the time, this was the only bathroom in the house and it certainly was not in the worst condition I've ever seen, thankfully, but we definitely knew we wanted to update it eventually.     


 Over the years, we made gradual updates.  As the above photo shows, we replaced the linoleum walls with beadboard planks, replaced the old sheet-rock ceiling with pine planks, updated the fixtures, installed an inexpensive vanity to give us extra storage, and Justus added some built in cabinets (not pictured).  We lived with it like this for quite a while, but all the while knowing we still had a huge project looming that needed to be completed once we had another bathroom in the house.  The tile floor (which I don't have many pictures of) was extremely un-level and the grout was crumbling and cracking in places.  When I refer to the floor being un-level, I mean that it visibly was about three inches taller than the bedroom floor.  The old cast iron tub also needed to be raised up underneath the house, and when Justus tackled that project, he had to remove the tiles in front of the tub.  If it weren't for that, we probably would have put this project off longer, because we knew it was going to be an absolute huge mess. 


 Justus had to remove five layers of flooring.  It took him hours of hard manual labor and when he finally got down to the floor joists, he discovered that they were in such poor condition from previous water damage that he had to completely re-frame the joists.  I have photos of how horrible this project was, but I actually can't bear to post them here.  :-)  But in the above picture, Justus was actually standing on the dirt floor under the house.  We had hoped that the subfloor could be put in that weekend, but it took a bit longer with all the framing he had to do first.  So we had nothing but a dirt floor for several days... I imagined all sorts of critters entering our house, so I used garbage bags and a whole lot of tape to ensure nothing could get in!  ;-) 


 Finally the subfloor and concrete board was in place and the floor was actually level - hooray!  What a huge sigh of relief!  And also reassurance that our bathroom could stand for many years to come now!  Justus and I really debated on what kind of tile to install.  When we built the upstairs bathroom, we had this same debate - should we install wood-look tile or mosaic tile?  In the end, we decided to install the wood-look tile upstairs and we absolutely love it.  It's easy to clean, doesn't show dirt (or hair), and looks great.  But neither of us could see it looking right downstairs.  When Justus was actually the one to suggest the mosaic tile, I jumped all over the idea - I knew it would be exactly the right fit! 


 Our original plan was to use light gray grout, but... after a not fun job of installing the tile and us seeing every single mistake, Justus declared we would either be using white grout or he would be tearing out the floor again. 

 

 What a happy decision that turned out to be!  When we started grouting, we immediately loved the look of the white grout against the white tile.  Perhaps the gray grout in a small bathroom may have made the floor look a little too busy.  And happily I cannot even tell you where our tile mistakes are now because it's not the least bit noticeable.  

You're probably wondering if this tile is hard to keep clean and the answer is yes!  The tile floor shows every piece of dirt and hair.  But I would do it again in a heartbeat.  I already clean our downstairs floors very frequently, so I haven't felt like I've had to vacuum any more than I did previously.  Also, I've found that giving the floor a good old fashioned scrub on my hands and knees weekly works wonders, but I've always cleaned bathroom floors like that, so again, not much additional work.  I am, however, very thankful we didn't install this tile upstairs where I don't vacuum as frequently (since the rooms aren't as high traffic). 


 While we were at it, we replaced the vanity and faucet.  With such a white bathroom, I definitely wanted the vanity to have some color.  Justus actually picked out this gray-blue vanity, which I wasn't sure about, and now he loves teasing me about how he knew best.  :-)


 I know this sounds crazy, but I think my favorite thing in the bathroom may be this faucet.  When I was looking for a new faucet, I found this one and I knew it would be perfect!  But I was informed (ah-hem) that it was sadly out of our bathroom budget... after I kept looking and kept coming back to this faucet, I decided then to do a little more digging, and I finally found it online on sale!  I was probably a little too excited!   And then Justus we chose a slightly more affordable vanity.  ;-)  (Which I ended up loving, hence the teasing I mentioned above!)


 It was so nice having had replaced so many other things in the bathroom, because once the floor was in, it really didn't take much to get the room finished.  Justus installed all new trim and I gave the walls a fresh coat of paint when I painted the trim. 


 If you look at the door here, you can get an idea of how much higher the previous floor was.  :-)  Now there's a huge gap, but we plan to replace this door with a sliding barn door down the road when we renovate our bedroom. 


 The built-in storage Justus built a few years ago for this little corner space...


 I really debated whether or not to paint the pine planked ceiling.  I actually like the look of the raw pine, but it didn't match the other wood in the house, so I decided to go with my gut and paint it white.  And I'm so happy I did.  There's nothing like white to brighten and make a room appear bigger than it is. 


This past year we also removed the previous shower surround and installed large subway tiles on the walls.  The shower still needs a little work, but it's close.  You can see I still have my red flowery shower curtain - it's nice when you love something so much that it doesn't need to be changed, no matter how old.  ;-) 

I'm sorry for my lengthy post - I feel like I have talked your ear off.  Thanks for listening!  Hope you have a great week!


36 comments:

  1. Beautiful! I love the vanity and the floor, the painted plank ceiling, and well the whole room really!

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  2. You two did a great job on that bathroom and it really does look fabulous! I can see why you love the faucet. It is crazy how much new faucets cost nowadays but it really is beautiful!

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  3. It turned out beautifully!! I love that faucet, too.

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  4. What a charming farmhouse bathroom. Great job! That's life most often... little by little! :)

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  5. Just beautiful. Like the rest of your house:)

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  6. What a difference! Love it - a classic and clean look!

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  7. I just LOVE the pop of red in the shower curtain! Lots of neutrals in the decorating world these days, but sometimes I think some beautiful color here and there is the ticket. Well done!

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  8. It's beautiful! It's also realistic. This is how everyone has always improved their homes in the past, a little at a time. It's hard work and takes vast amounts of time and patience (and money!), but don't you think we appreciate each update more? Lovely bathroom!

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  9. You guys nailed it - it's just perfect! And for years to come, every time you walk in you'll think "WE did this ourselves", best sense of accomplishment ever!

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  10. The bathroom is gorgeous!!!...I do love the white grout with the tile. You two do a most amazing job...and love the fabric of the shower curtain!!

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  11. A lot of labor and thought went into your beautiful bathroom. Love the pop of red too. Kathleen in Az

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  12. Wow, so much work and now you have a gorgeous bathroom. So charming and I love how the vanity looks with your pretty shower curtain.

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  13. Oh my Gosh you guys, the bathroom turned out wonderful. I agree with you on the faucet choice. It has an old fashion look to it. Love it. The sliding barn door sounds like a great solution. Patting Justus on the back, the new floor looks great! Just Beautiful....










    Debra

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  14. You did a beautiful job!! I love it. Where did you get the bathroom vanity from? I like the countertops for it!

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    1. Thank you, Megan! The bathroom vanity: http://www.homedecorators.com/p/fremont-single-vanity/00/270/

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  15. It looks amazing, Andrea. And I know just how much work that all was. Such a bright, clean space!

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  16. I love the clean white look. So glad you kept the red shower curtain, its perfect with the new vanity! You two are the BEST at remodeling and decorating!

    Esther

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  17. It is lovely, Andrea! Another great project completed. Give Justus a pat on the back from me. Great job! xo

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  18. Y'all did a super job! I'm so glad to now know we aren't the only ones to take five years to redo a bathroom:-). Our hold up was over the flooring. Originally, we bought tiny hexagon tiles which weren't cheap. When my husband said he wanted to tear the whole back end off of the house I knew I didn't want to have the tiles installed just to have to tear them out again. Then we moved the shop to the house and decided to use less expensive tile because of the increased traffic (or so we hoped). Moving the shop to the house was probably the only reason why the bathroom was finished when it was because we have three bathrooms upstairs. Mind you, running upstairs all the time was no fun though. So glad all that was finally completed. We never did tear the back end of the house off, but you never know what the future holds when you live in an old house.

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  19. WOW! It looks amazing! I love the flooring and the walls...ok I think I just like everything about this remodel. You did a wonderful job.

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  20. Love the bathroom! Looks bright, clean, cozy, with lots of charm. I adore the peg board as a towel holder- may steal that idea! Would love to see the new upstairs bathroom!!!

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  21. Great job! Love the blue and red together with all the white!

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  22. Oh my word - every decision you guys made is perfect! looks great! linda r (phila burbs)

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  23. The bathroom looks lovely. Great choices.
    xoxo
    Lisa
    Leeshideaway.blogspot.com

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  24. I love seeing the before and after pictures! What a difference. I like the clean simple look of the "new" bathroom. The darker cabinet is perfect

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  25. Is love a source for the faucet, can't seem to spot it online.

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    1. I'm sorry for my late response! It's the Kingston Brass French Country Widespread faucet in brushed nickel. The cheapest I could find this faucet was at Overstock... here's the link: http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/French-Country-Widespread-Satin-Nickel-Bathroom-Faucet/5831385/product.html?refccid=66JD7VV7HE43KR2MVLW33PCSN4&searchidx=0

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    2. Thank you so much - and I just now got back to see if you had written anything so no problem!! It's a busy time. Merry Christmas!

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    3. My hubby is in the construction field so we can sometimes get his discount!

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  26. Love this bathroom redo! It is so pretty. I really love the shower curtain too. The combination of colors is spot-on!
    Janet

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  27. I like the way you redesigned your bathroom. It looks now much more brighter and that's why it looks bigger then it really is. Besides I really like those flower pattern you used to ass dome colors. Looks really great!

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  28. GASP! Andrea, what a transformation! Your bathroom is absolutely stunning and your choices in fixtures were perfect. Hope you're enjoying all the fruits of your labors! Merry Christmas!

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  29. Love those colors and that cabinet is just charming!!

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  30. What a beautiful bathroom. The two of you did an amazing job.

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  31. Great job.Your blog about bathroom remodeling is so good.Thanks for sharing.

    Shower renovation manassas va

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