The All New Loo

As you know, we have been working on the bathroom for some time. Could it have been done faster?  Yes.  Several factors contributed to delays along the way: the fact that we have a 2nd bathroom that no one else was using, our life outside of DIY, and poor project planning to name a few.  It is that last one that really put the nail in the bathroom remodel timeline however. For our next project, there will be a project plan and SOW created BEFORE we start.  Knowing us, you would most likely be surprised that we did anything without a plan.  And that is where this story begins.  Let me preface by saying it is a beautiful fall morning, I have a full pot of coffee, the candles lit, and the 8 surrounding windows open…. this promises to be a long one….

The en suite has always been a room that has bothered Charles and I.  Probably me more than Charles, but no shock there.  I am the OCD one.  In the past 3 years, the grout on the floor has went through several hour long cleanings with me on hands and knees, a grout brush in hand, and industrial strength cleaner.  And while that likely improved the sterility of the grout situation… it did not resolve the dingy color from years of stranger’s bathroom waste…. I can only think of a few things I would like less in my bathroom than years of dirt caked into a porous substance that can’t be cleaned.  Yuck! On top of that, there was also the 1980’s texture that someone applied to every single surface in the room.  Imagine stucco – in your bathroom.  Not flattering.  I have painted it every color you can think of, and it still looked dated and dirty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This remodel all started with a bucket of drywall compound we had used to patch a hole in the living room wall.  My thought was, I could fill in the textured holes with the dry-wall compound, sand it down, and re-paint for flat walls.  This was a flawed thought: I realize that now.  But once I had started and spent hours attempting to get it right, I finally realized that not only was this not going to work but I had now ruined an entire wall. The question became: How do I cover THIS up?  Let me just say that I do feel somewhat bad about what the next owners of this unit will find when we move out.  But on the flip side, its not like the previous owners did us any favors.

Knowing that I needed a creative solution to my problem, or we would have to hire someone to install all new drywall, I did what any girl would do.  I went straight to Pinterest.  After an agonizing search, I learned that my options were limited to paneling, wainscoting, tile, and wall-paper.    Remember, at this point the project only included covering the walls, so I had to find a solution that would work for the white vanity,brown counter, and stainless fixtures… Finally I stumbled upon my Pin-spiration!  See below. A beautiful white/brown bathroom with the combination of wainscoting and wallpaper.  I realized it was a bit flawed due to the bronze fixtures, but those are cheap to replace….. right? I ran this by Charles, but he was headed out the door to go play golf.  I am sure he would have agreed to anything at this point.  He none-the-less agreed that we could take this on as a DIY.

I headed out and found some grasscloth at a wallpaper boutique conveniently located close to the condo, as well as some bead board from The Home Depot. By the time Charles returned from golf, we had a project sitting in the living room.  He took this surprisingly well. #luckygirl

From there, the scope just grew and grew… I cant remember each addition.  However, the addition of the floors sticks out – because that one came from Charles.  Once again, I was planning while he was golfing – and was looking at my plunder of new materials and the nasty floors that I just could not get past. When suddenly I remembered the left over hardwood that we had from getting the living areas re-done.  That inspired me to pull out a few planks and lay them down in the bathroom.  They not only covered the nasty grout & tile but really warmed up the room.  Plus they had the convenience of already being paid for, and could be laid down on-top of existing tile.  Knowing that I would have to remove the toilet for this project, I sat and formulated my best argument for adding floors to the project scope.  Upon his return from the course, I explained the genius of my plan to Charles – and he blew me away when he suggested “lets just take out the old tile and buy new ones”.  WHAT!??!!?  DONE!

The new vanity, counter top, faucet, mirror, frame, lighting, crown molding & shower bar/curtains were all part of a slippery slope from there.  But after everything is said and done – I could not be happier with the result!