I never took ‘before’ photos.
I couldn’t bring myself to. It was too painful to have it on record that the bathroom even belonged in our house.
Imagine if you will: a small 5’x10′ (ish) dungeon room. No window. Orange peel textured walls.
Builders grade oak vanity (one sink, white tiled countertop). Small, shallow fiberglass bathtub. Peach and teal linoleum floor. Plastic baseboard with about a 1.5″ bumpy, dust-collecting caulk line between the flooring and the bathtub.
And teenage cooties. Don’t forget the cooties. Lots and lots of them.
I never went into the bathroom. EVER. We’ve lived here for eight years and I’ve never taken a bath. Pointless endeavor.
That room would be the last place I would ever think of going for a relaxing time.
This year I finally managed to get my husband to agree that the bathroom should be condemned. We needed – Nay! We DESERVED a new bathroom!!!! (The saddest part of this is that it’s actually the kids’ bathroom, and a guest bathroom – should we ever decide to be social enough to invite people to stay).
The kids were happy that the bathroom was going to be gutted: they didn’t need to clean it.
We had a few ‘must haves’ on the list:
- A window for ventilation,
- The walls and floor insulated (Our bedroom shares a wall with the bathroom. We’re old. We don’t like noise. Our kids are noisy. They need to be silenced).
- A decent size bathtub, while still working with the 5ft limited space.
- A shower with a hand held shower attachment.
So, do me a favor, close your eyes and imagine what the ‘before’ photo would have looked like. Disgusting, right?
Now, open your eyes, and see what the bathroom looks like now.
Ready?
A WINDOW!!!
The bathroom can finally get ventilation and natural light. That little 12″x 36″ is small in size but MASSIVE in impact. I have never been so happy (seriously, I need to get out more). The shower combo is a great addition to the bathroom; it allows you to wash your hair while taking a bath in the soaking tub, plus it’s stinking fantastic for cleaning the bath. Even giving the dog a shower!
Truly, truly a genius idea.
*Update: I love this set-up so much that I’ve decided to install it in our master bathroom. We have an enclosed shower and will have a frameless glass shower door. It will make cleaning the shower so much easier!!! (and I will willingly pay $$ for an easier life).
Hands down the best purchase I made with the bathroom. Here’s my affiliate link for the Moen Commercial M-DURA PosiTemp Showerhead & Handheld Showerhead without Valve, Classic Brushed Nickel (T8342CBN)
if you want to check it out. You do need two separate valves to install this. We used the Moen 3360 Commercial Three-Function Shower Transfer Valve, 1/2-Inch CC and the Moen 8371HD Commercial PosiTemp Pressure Balancing Shower Valve, 1/2-Inch CC
After the walls were insulated they were covered with shiplap (I decided to use the rough side of it, for interest).
I wanted a very neutral color palette and decided to bring contrast to the room using different textures rather than color. The walls have been painted with Benjamin Moore Heaven (how can you not love it with a name like that!).
I painted the shiplap and ceiling in a satin, and the baseboard in Heaven semi-gloss.
We used a neutral quartz for the countertop and installed an additional sink. One sink + three teenagers was trouble waiting to happen. Now hopefully conflict has being avoided…at least for now.
I went with a single holed faucet for its practicality. I hate trying to clean center set faucets.
I wanted to keep the original vanity. It has tons of storage, and is in great shape (admittedly, I did hate the oak). It seemed silly to throw away a perfectly good vanity. I’m English, remember. I don’t like to spend money if I don’t have to.
It goes unbelievably well with the marble herringbone floor tile.
I realized a long time ago that you don’t necessarily have to spend lots of money on high-end finishes to get the ‘WOW’ factor. The floor was my big indulgence. I love herringbone, and I love marble (and it’s a small room so it didn’t break the bank).
But with the shower surround I saved big $$ by using two different sizes of white subway tiles (cheap as chips) and did a little detail work with the marble herringbone. The shower has white grout, the floor has a very light gray grout.
I love how it turned out.
The contrast is just beautiful.
The lighting is from Rejuvenation in Portland. I don’t like to be too matchy-matchy. So although most of my fixtures are brushed nickel, the lights are rubbed bronze (just to add interest).
Although I used shiplap on most of the wall, I added a band of beadboard around the top of the wall. Same color, but different texture. Doing this type of detailing draws your eyes up, giving the sense that the room is bigger than it really is.
When our contractor tore down the walls, I realized that it would be a perfect chance to add medicine cabinets to the room instead of standard mirrors. My girls have a cabinet each to store their toiletries. My son doesn’t.
And in typical boy fashion, he seems not to care.
Purple in a bathroom? Yes, yes yes!! The paint color is called Bohemian by Pure & Original in Classico. Although it has a built-in sealer, because of the humidity etc, I sealed it with P&O Dead Flat finish. Because who doesn’t want to have a dead flat finish in a bathroom?? Unheard of!
Hydrangeas from the garden. These are here purely for staging.
This bathroom is for the kids. The girls may appreciate them, the boy will think it’s ridiculous 🙂
I’ve had these antique tin ceiling tiles for years. I think I bought them on Ebay.
They used to hang in our bedroom. They look so much nicer in the bathroom, against the shiplap.
And there you have it, the kids’ bathroom. Eight years in the making. Finished in 10 days.
And there isn’t a chance in hell that the rolled towels in the shopping basket will stay that way.
Not. A. Chance.
Thank heavens for photos.
{insert catchy ending phrase here}
Diane aka The Paint Factory
(Side note: The hydrangeas quickly died. The wire basket was kicked about and then tossed into the hallway. The towels no longer adorn the vintage hooks on the wall; most often they are seen laying wet and underappreciated on the tile floor. In three years all the kids will be in college. Only then will I venture to go inside and check what else they’ve done to it).
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