Since finishing our home renovations I have probably received the most inquiries about this room. Our first-floor powder room really took on quite the transformation when we gutted the old brown mosaic tile from it's interior and replaced it with a clean, bright, and modern nucleus. It was a simple bathroom with tan walls, bland old school vanity, and mismatched mirror.
This room has come such a long way and to be honest so have I. I learned a valuable lesson while redoing this room. I thought I could design, hire out and project manage this adventure (while working full time and being a mom) to save a few bucks... What I've learned? Leave being a General Contractor to the professionals!
It was one of the only rooms in the house the previous owners hadn't brought up to date and it's identity was a little misconstrued. Take the closet for example, from the outside it looked just like a normal cupboard but upon further inspection, we noticed that it was, at some point previously, a shower. Now, the showerhead and faucet had been removed and plastered over but the telltale sign was the tile on the floor and drain.
Not sure why they decided to go a different direction and modify it to become a basic powder room but here we are!
Before construction began, we needed a plan. One normal Saturday afternoon, I was on Pinterest trying to find some inspiration for my confused little loo and I came across a wallpaper that I couldn't get out of my head. It was cream with explosions of grey sunbursts and although I didn't end up choosing that specific wallpaper, it became my muse for the room. Grey and white with a pop of pink became my color pallet and away I went.
I picked out our beautiful grey vanity from Lowes to save us about $500 since the vanity, sink, and countertop came as one piece at an amazing price. I refinished the old bathroom mirror to boast a pretty pewter frame, only costing me $10 in spray paint and finishes. I was off to a great start!
For the decor, I hit up my favorite stop, Homegoods! I found a gorgeous bouquet of flowers in a grey and white pot, hand towels, a perfectly pink peony candle, toilet paper valet, towel holder and an elegant piece of art in pink and grey to really pack a punch.
Here is what our half bath looked like before our renovation:
I also love reusing pieces where I can but the remanence from this gut fest was pretty heinous, so I went to the bullpen! We were simultaneously decorating Cashton's playroom while we were dismantling the bathroom and I notice that the chandelier light we were removing from the playroom fit my color scheme in the bathroom! Bam! Something I could remove from my budget! Just like that, we saved $350 bucks!
This is where things went a little sideways for me. I handpicked all of my materials. I found my wallpaper at Celedore in South Park and had Jennifer from Carolina Wall Coverings (who I had used many times before) install my wallpaper.
She did an amazing job but I feel like that gave me a false sense of reassurance because the tile install didn't go exactly as I had planned. Our handyman, who we love... assured us that he could install our tile floor as he has work in tile for years before becoming a painter. I should have known when he told us the install price that it was too good to be true.
Apparently, when choosing my floor tile, I chose a smaller tile than he was used to dealing with. Our first install was terrible! The floor was uneven and had pieces sticking up so much that if you had walked on it in bare feet you would probably be leaving with a bloody foot or at least a stubbed toe.
I felt awful but I thought the whole floor needed to be torn up and started again from scratch. Luckily, we were able to have the uneven pieces dug out and reset with new tile, without having to redo the entire floor. Although the floor turned out just fine, it did teach me a valuable lesson. Leave specialty jobs to the professionals!!!
We also hired out the construction of our barn doors. They took a lot longer than I thought they would (8-10 weeks from order to install) and during our first install attempt, I noticed the wrong hardware had been ordered. An unfortunate set back, but it happens.
This project took us a lot longer than I thought it would and having a bathroom out of commition for 2 months is a huge inconvenience. The wallpaper has to wait on the tile but has to be installed before the sink and the barn doors have to go in last. Everyone relies on someone else. Scheduling and learning (the hard way) what comes next was exhausting.
I LOVE this bathroom but it really was a labor of love. My suggestion. Hire a general contractor and let them figure out the rest!
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