Bathroom remodel

Sigh! We are done! We finished the bathroom remodel and have been enjoying it for a week now. It didn’t take all that long…about a month, from the first tear of wallpaper to the last last stroke of paint…but it seemed like forever! To truly appreciate the after you have to see the before. It actually wasn’t horrible, just not at all my taste. It was last updated in the early 90’s, so there was plenty of shiny brass hardware and army green wallpaper. They (Candice Olsen and Sarah Richardson…my two absolute favorite designers on HGTV) both say the brass is coming back, but just like clothing fashion, I have always believed that if you participated the first time, you shouldn’t the second. So, you will not ever see my jeans tight rolled and brass hardware will not be adorning my cabinetry!

Brass cabinet hardware, brass light fixtures, brass toilet paper holder, brass shower head. Can one really ever get enough brass? And the grout! I can not tell you how much I dislike grout, especially in a bathroom! One word. Gross. I know that tile is considered “high-end” while vinyl is not. Quite frankly, I don’t really care what would be considered “high-end”, because I clean this bathroom!

It is a small bathroom, so it’s hard to get a good picture. As you can see from the pictures the previous owners picked a “tropical” theme, complete with a palm tree boarder! I know, why would we ever want to get rid of that? We kept the “footprint” the same, but everything besides the tub and toilet (which were very nice and in great shape) were replaced. We also removed the soffit over that tower cabinet. It is amazing how much visual space the removal of an 18 inch soffit can provide. And now….drum roll please!

Our new and MUCH improved cabinetry. We can finally close all the drawers…completely. The bottom drawer on our last vanity never closed completely. You can even see it on one of the before pictures. I will not miss whacking my shin on that puppy at 2 o’clock in the morning when trying to find my way to the toilet in a sleepy fog. We have also added much more functional storage space. Our cabinet guy knows my love for anything vintage, so when I gave him the magazine clippings of four different vintage-looking cabinets and asked him to combine it into one and also make it VERY functional, he just smiled. But he also delivered! They are just as I imagined they would be.

I think that the cabinet hardware is probably one of my very favorite things in the whole bathroom…

Next to the subway tile of course… Mostly, because hours of blood, sweat and tears, okay maybe just sweat was poured into that tile. Plus a really BIG headache! The smell of the sealer was SO strong and I sniffed it for almost 2 hours.

Oh, who am I kidding. I love it all. Including those pendant lights and the tongue and grove ceiling. Hey, if I didn’t like it I wouldn’t have picked it. Oh, and don’t forget the paint color. I know it is a surprise for anyone who has been in my house, but I picked another shade of blue. I actually think that it is more gray, but in the pictures it definitely reads blue. The color is Benjamin Moore’s solace, mixed in Valspar’s Integrity paint.

I don’t have anything on the walls yet, and I haven’t decided where to put the toilet paper holder, so the vintage locker basket will have to do for now. On that locker basket picture above, you can see the vinyl flooring that I chose. It is looks kind of like grass cloth, and I love it! I still have visions of a smocked café curtain to replace the more rustic muslin one that I have up there for now. Let’s see, who do I know that smocks?

Oh, I almost forgot. I know that I said that the hardware, lights, and celling were my favorite…but this might actually be it.

Isn’t that smart? I can leave them plugged in all the time and never have to worry about wrapping all those cords and stuffing them in the drawer. I had him do three holes: One for the blow dryer, one for the curling iron, and one for the flat iron.