Thursday, November 17, 2011

Day Dreaming Our Bathroom

Pinterest is dangerous, isn't it? It gives you so much inspiration for things you want to do. Our master bathroom is a disaster zone. It's the dirty little secret of our home and I don't think more than four people have ever seen it. I won't even share a picture (yet at least).. but let me try to explain it: vinyl floors so old and used they look dirty even when clean. Unpainted walls that have a layer of popcorn ceiling still on them from when we had our ceilings scraped (unfortunately they will most likely need to be sanded before painting). Trim around the floor that will definitely need to be replaced. It's just... gross. The vanity top and our shower has that old plastic faux-marble.

It's bad.. really bad.

Ever since we moved in I've played out in my head exactly what I'm going to do to fix it up. With this year ending, I've vowed to myself that 2012 will be the year that I will make it happen. Here are my inspiration pictures that I have been saving from Pinterest:

This is a very similar layout to our tub/shower. I'd love to have subway tile in the shower and seamless glass.


Subway tile like this... a very light gray grout.


Glossy gray trim and window treatments like this:


And my inspiration board:

ourbathroom
(none of the items are actually sourced.. just examples of what I'd like)

I'm a firm believer in not over-renovating for your home/area. I've watched too many "My First Sale" shows where people spend tons of money on renovations and never get any of it back. I'd like to do things somewhat budget friendly. Here is a list of what I'm thinking:

- Replace vanity countertop with granite but keep current vanity.
- Replace current shower with subway tile, a new plain floor (like this) and seamless glass
- Simple ceramic floors
- New Paint (depending on budget I may do this)

I'm curious - has anyone done a similar renovation in their bathroom? I'm curious to what it would cost. I have a number in my head but would love to get some input!

It's quite comical I have it all planned out and I have no idea when it will actually happen. But what can I say.. I'm a planner!

What about you guys, do you have plans for your house but are not sure when you can put them into action?

22 comments:

  1. I´m so in love with those bathrooms, I love white!

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  2. You can do it for $4-6 thousand, depending on your bathroom SF and the materials you select of course. Your granite will be the most expensive piece.  Try going to a 'bone yard' ( granite installers left over slab yard) and finding a piece of granite there.  They will sell it to you for half the price and you can usually bargain with them. Otherwise you have to buy an entire slab. Besides that subway is very economical. I would do solid surface on the top of the tub if at all possible. ( and the top of the ponywalls, shower curtain sill.) looks so much better for not a lot of money.
    Just go kohler for fixtures.
    if you do all of this you should be able to get it under $6,000. ( I am an architect and have renovated two of my own homes.) good luck!

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  3. Wow am I happy to hear someone else has a disgustingly hide-able bathroom like mine!  OMG when am I ever going to find the time to re-do it?  Seems like the more I hide it, the easier it becomes to block out mentally ;)

    -Bethany
    http://powellbrower.blogspot.com/2011/11/gettin-styled.html

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  4. pretty inspiration! I too made a promise to myself to make over our bathroom asap, my goal is to make it pretty & practical. I just recently scored some amazing bathroom hardware from West Elm for only $1.99 per piece, which was the push to finally make our bathroom look nice! 

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  5. Your materials and inspiration look very much like what I did in my master bath last year.  (I hesitate to call it a "master bath"-our house is a brick ranch, and the master had a tiny vanity, toilet, and stand up shower with 1970s tile everywhere).  We had a tile installer come in and put white marble hexagons with black dot on the floor and white 3"x6" ceramic subway on the shower walls.  This was our biggest expense, at about $2,800.  I also used grey grout (Custom Building Products Delorean Grey) and still absolutely love it.  Ditto the previous poster on the granite or marble remnant for your vanity-you may have to search around, but you'll get a much better deal this way.  Seamless glass doors are pretty expensive.  Depending on the size, they are upwards of $1,000.  I went with a shower curtain for now, until we decide if it's worth it to do glass doors (hopefully the price will drop a little more). 
    We installed the beadboard, painted it white, and repainted the walls a pale grey.  We saved money by getting our light fixture (simple nickel with seeded glass) and a white pedestal sink at Lowe's.  The 3"x6" subway can also be gotten pretty cheaply at H.D., Lowes, or Floor & Decor.
    Total for the project was about $3,600, but this was including a pedestal sink and not a fabricated piece of stone.  We had some additional plumbing expenses-it's scary what you find when you start ripping out!
    Good luck!  It's well worth it for something you use every day!

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  6. Pinterest can cause some major problems...procrastination, day dreaming etc. but the eye candy is just never ending!

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  7. We're in the midst of getting quotes for our ensuite bath too. Our "before" sounds a LOT like yours. CanNOT wait to get started.

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  8. Your bathroom still sounds better than mine!  I wish I could take a sledgehammer to my pretty pink and black tiled bathroom everyday.  Unfortunately I'm a renter and I have to make do for the time being- but one day I'd LOVE to have a bathroom like you planned out here- so pretty

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  9. For our bathroom redo we went with the white subway tile and light gray grout too. I love it. It went from 50s minty green to an updated classic.

    Here's a post I did on it, if you're interested. http://designstiles.me/2011/01/05/contrast-and-compare-shall-we/

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  10. I've done several bathrooms personally and I used to work in a kitchen and bath design shop.  Just know you will find something unexpected - probably the sub-floor around the toilet will need to be replaced depending on the age of the current bath.  Also, not sure of the construct of your shower, but if you rip out the tile, you may have to re-pack your shower basin.  Watch out for hardware or any "niches" you might want to build in - they can eat the budget quickly.  If you do a wrap-around glass enclosure like you've pictured, it will be pricey.  You might want to look at a really streamlined frame (there are some out there that work well with that '30s vibe) with a seamless door.You can control the material costs, it's the surprise labor that always upsets the budget.  With your current choice,s I would budget between $6K and $10K, and I bet you will net out around $8K.

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  11. I'm planning on tackling our guest bedroom and master bathroom next year.  Budget is my biggest concern because, like you, I don't want to put too much in and not get it back.  I can't wait to see you start the process!  Maybe it'll be the motivation I need to get my bootie into gear!

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  12. eeek, I can see why you haven't shared a picture. it does sound like a mess. hopefully, you can find some room in your 2012 budget to renovate it. your plan for it sounds nice!

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  13. Wow, fantastic inspirations! I love white bathrooms!

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  14. I have fantasies about redoing our basement...I'm just not brave enough to commit to any one plan yet because that means I'd actually have to choose one :)

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  15. I have plans for every room in our house! I can't help it... I just have to think things up, and pinterest definitely doesn't hurt, you're right. I really like all your stone/tile choices. Very neutral and classic. They won't date. Perfect for a bath!

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  16. hi bryn - we did a similar bathroom renovation on a budget about 3 years ago.  new tile in shower and around the tub, new tile floors, ceilings, paint.  we ended up keeping our vanity (it was already painted white and in good shape) and countertops.  our reno cost about $8k, but we also took a full wall down to a knee wall to open up the entire bathroom (the shower and toilet were in a room by themselves).  we are so happy with the changes we made, and i know it will go a long way when we're ready to sell this home.  best of luck!

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  17. I renovated a bathroom a few years ago in a similar style, except we used a pedestal sink and ceramic hex tiles for the floor. It was a really small bathroom in an old house, and it cost $10k. I used to work as a kitchen and bathroom designer, and in my experience, the glass for a seamless shower can run as high as $5k depending on how big it is. My parents just installed a new steam shower (so the glass ran to the ceiling) that was five feet long, and their glass was around $4,500.

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  18. quick tip about the shower glass...my parents have the same seamless glass enclosure and EVERY time you use the shower you have to squeegee it and then wipe it down..otherwise it will be spots galore from the hard water. If you let it build up then it REALLY is a pain to clean..just FYI! :) 

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  19. As a lot of people renovate bathrooms & kitchens check out the Habitat for Humanity re-store; they have some really nice cabinetry or fixtures that might ease your budget.



    barbara

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  20. The subway tile bathroom looks great. It has a very solid look, while the mostly white background is quite peaceful to look at. It's a perfect scene for those soothing baths.

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  21. Thank you for sharing, you keep your word,that's sweet

    white marble tile

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