After prioritzing early in January, we realized we had a few main goals that were still remaining for getting our "new" old house into shape. Our bathrooms were desperately outdated. Complete with nasty textured wallpaper, bright gold {not the good kind} faucets that were deteriorating, floors that didn't give off a squeaky clean feeling, and everything else outdated under the sun that you could throw in. The other big task we want to tackle this year is painting the exterior. Cannot wait for that one, but for now we are working indoors.
Here is early into the remodel- we removed the cabinet doors, made that whole in the soffit box you see over the mirror, and removed the laminate backsplash over the counter.
Originally, we thought we would give the hall bath a mini makeover. As in, paint away every surface possible, replace faucets etc that we could still use at a later date with a full renovation, and basically put lipstick on a pig. I decided if this was a temporary fix, why not make it fun and different- use a bold color on the cabinets that I would never do in normal circumstances. Maybe even try my hand at painting tile. Perhaps try painting the laminate countertop? Or maybe replace the countertop with a newer cheap laminate? Oh, and my husbands brother is a wonderful asset with his profession in a flooring company. He has helped us do backsplashes in our current house and last house. He could help us tile a new bathroom floor {maybe even free tile!}
Things quickly went downhill from those choices above. First off, I wasn't sold on the blue color that I had researched and chosen for the cabinets. Instead of reading "fun and bold" it read "old and you forgot to paint during your renovation." Of course, I never got to see them in all their glory with bright bold gold and lucite accessories like I had envisioned. But staring at them for a few days was probably enough for me. Then, we hit the countertop dilemma. Not that laminates are expensive- but we were comparing the price to those to the price we could pay for a remnant piece of quartz countertop available through the company that did our kitchen counters. We decided that if we were going to spend the money, we might as well go for the real deal and get the quartz. Already upping the budget.
After we decided on the quartz counters, it was a sure bet that we would be retiling the broken tiled bathroom floors. Here is where it gets crazy! Of course, everyone knows the first step to new tiled floors is the ghastly job of removing the old tiled floors. Pretty much the worst ever. After Stephen chipped the tile out, we discovered, like, inches thick of concrete that was laid below, that all had to come out. Just imagine a concrete/gravel combination...pretty much what is was. While he was removing the concrete, one of his legs actually fell through the sub floor and into the crawl space. Perfect! So unfortunately/luckily we realized that all of the sub floor in the bathroom was rotting and had to be completely replaced.
This was what we hoped wouldn't happen. But, I guess its kind of comforting to know that there is a brand spanking new floor {and sub floor!} in the bathroom and is extra sturdy for years to come. Apparently, it is a common problem...picture kids getting out of the bathtub and not using a bath mat, etc. Anytime there is water it can be an issue.
So we re-tiled, and ended up going with a dark grey/slate-ish color for the floors. After all of the work done on the sub floor we didn't want to spend anything more than we had to. I personally love a large grey tile in a bathroom, of course coupled with my ideal mainly white bathroom.
At the same time all of this is happening, we removed the soffit box that was hideously hovering over the vanity. They are in both of our bathrooms and I truly disguise them. My pet peeve {besides the popcorn ceilings} in the whole house. They completely close in the already small space. We were told that they aren't hard to remove, but what lies behind them might be an expensive issue. Think: plumbing/electrical wiring etc. Against Stephen's will, he agreed to get them removed. Luckily, for the most part it was an easy fix with reworking some plumbing, and also getting an electrician to run some wires for different lighting.
That leads us to the fun stuff! Really, my first time trying to pick out fixtures for a bathroom from scratch. I have chosen a mix of brass and chrome....fingers crossed this all plays out!
Pretty pics to come...promise.
Whew- what an update. Props to you if you made it all the way through!!
