Master Bath Update

Master Bath update:

So how did you like the guest bathroom update?  It's pretty awesome, right?

 Before

 After

For two weeks, I got to enjoy the new shower, the lovely water pressure, and the thrill of new things!  I was also kicked out of my master bath for a week, so I had no choice! Anyways, the master bath is done too, except for... you guessed it, wall paper scraping and painting!  We did get the walls behind the fixtures painted so we could at least appreciate how it would look when it was done.  Love it!

Original Plan - same as guest bath, replace floor with tile, new vanity, new mirror, new cabinet, new lighting, new tub and shower surround.
Changes to Plan - since we went with tile in the guest bath, it seemed silly to do a plastic shower surround in the master bath.  While at a large home improvement store where they wear orange aprons, a gentleman sold me on a custom order surround that was made from the same material as Corrian counter tops.  Thinking that it would be a great compromise in price and an improvement to plastic, we ordered it.  When it arrived two weeks later, we found out that it was just textured plastic.  Grr.  Of course, we didn't know this until the night before it was supposed to go up!  So, off to the store I went, after T went to bed, to pick out tile for the master shower.  I hate last minute design changes and decisions, but I absolutely love how it came out!

We went with white furniture in the master bath.  I wanted a really clean look for this bathroom and I'm really please with how it came out.  The shower tile has green tones in it which go perfectly with my, of course, green shower curtain!  I purchased the shower curtain material from the same sale at Jo-Ann's as the guest bath, but this one needed a lot more fabric, since the tub in here was a standard length.  I'll be posting a tutorial on how I made it soon (if you're a Ticklebugz facebook page fan, you got the sneak preview!).  Those button hole lessons learned came in handy!

 

Lessons Learned:

- Don't fear last minute design changes, they may be the perfect upgrade to the entire renovation.

- Invest in the master bath.  It should be equal to or better than the guest bath.  While it cost a bit more than we planned, it will pay off in the end.

- Don't argue with the hubs when he wants to try to save some $ and use the leftover grout from the guest bath  instead of the special one you picked out.  He was right.  I was wrong. :)

If you're in the market for some home improvements to your bath or kitchen, here is my contractors information.  I would recommend him in a heartbeat!  He was awesome!  Send me a message and I'll send you a personal referral.

Rob Smith, owner

Shoreline Custom Carpentry, Inc

Glen Burnie, MD

Bathroom Renovations Update - Guest Bath

I know, the suspense is killing you!

Well, our amazing contractor is done, two bathrooms, both with new, well, EVERYTHING, including tiled showers.  The only thing our contractor doesn't do is paint, so that part is holding us up right now.  That lovely wall paper trim I mentioned before is becoming a bit of a pain to take down.  Once it is though, prepare to see a complete transformation!  For the time being here are some pictures and updates on the progress.  Today - the guest bath. Tomorrow - the master bath. 

By the way, if you live in our area and are interested in bathroom or kitchen renovations, our contractor is your guy!  Totally professional, hard working, cares about the quality of his work, what more can you ask for?  He actually told us that he was concerned about the molding in the guest bathroom and was thinking about it all night and came back the next day with a solution.  Who does that these days???  Anyways, before the pics, here is his information:

Rob Smith, Owner
Shoreline Custom Carpentry, Inc
Fully licensed
Glen Burnie, MD

Send me a message and I'll give you a personal referral!

Guest Bathroom:

Original Plan - replace floors with tile, new vanity, new lighting, new cabinet, new toilet, new tub and shower surround.

Changes to original plan - because the guest bathroom has a smaller than standard tub, we couldn't get a reasonably priced shower surround and decided to go with tile.  We also couldn't find shower "shelves" that matched the tiles we purchased, so we decided to recess a shelf into the shower.

Sorry, each picture is so specific.  Being such a small space, it's hard to get an overall picture of this bathroom!  Anyways, we love how it came out!  Our contractor worked with us so that we could paint the "accent" wall grey before he installed the toilet and mirror.  We went with one accent wall thinking that it would feel too "cave-like" in such a small room to paint all the walls grey.  The other three walls need to be painted white still once the rest of the wall paper trim comes down. 

I made the shower curtain from home decor fabric purchased at Jo-Ann's during an awesome 50% off sale they were having.  I didn't even know the sale was going on when I went in - I totally lucked out!  Being a smaller than standard tub, I was able to get away with just two yards of fabric because the width was wide enough to stretch across completely!  The hardest part about the shower curtain was the stinking button holes!  I, however, have now mastered the button hole function on my sewing matching which was beneficial when making the curtain for the master bath.  I love the fabric for the curtain, the colors are perfect!  I think it softens up such a manly bathroom without being too girly!  The last thing I have to do (besides paint) is make a roman shade.  I've already purchased the fabric, a solid persimmon-orange color that matches the shower curtain.  I plan to use this tutorial, courtesy of Pinterest.  Don't worry, I'll make sure to post a review of the process!

Source: 365days2simplicity.blogspot.com via Melissa on Pinterest

Lessons learned:

- It is way easier to paint a flat exposed wall than to paint around fixtures and furniture!
- Picking out two types of tile, wall paint, furniture, fixtures, etc. is much harder than you expect, especially when going between two different stores to have the most options to choose from.
- Tile is heavy and will make your car look like a low-rider when packed into your trunk!
- Having a properly diverted shower will not only save water and electricity, but is a little slice of heaven!

Guest Bath Reno - Day One

Day Two:

This day was spent mostly taking things down and tearing them apart!  Woohoo!  The vanity, tub, medicine cabinet and most of the yellow linoleum is gone! 

Come in, take a look:

Like I said yesterday, there was a small amount of damaged wood.  Not too bad for being over 30!

Looking studly! (Ha! Haha!  I crack myself up!) Ahem, here is where the tub/shower will be replaced.

On the opposite wall, the vanity, cabinet, and toilet are gone!

The goal for tomorrow is to finish removing the yellow flooring from the hall/laundry, get the tub installed, repair walls, etc.  Its nice to see so much accomplished already!  Oh yeah, and in order to get out the rest of the yellow, the washer and dryer will take up a temporary residence in our bedroom for a few days.  Nothing says romance like laundry, right?!



Bathroom renovation - before pics

Our bathroom renovations have begun.  The first of two bathrooms has been demo'd, old fixtures and flooring removed, and upgrades are already taking place.

However, as promised, here are some lovely before pictures so we are all aware of what we are dealing with! And, I didn't even clean up or oganize first, so you are seeing it in all its day-to-day loveliness.

First, our lovely, guest "Bathroom Under the Sea".  Why do I call it that?  Because of this chic wall paper border:

I know, I know, you are are wondering how you can get your hands on that timeless, classic, border.  My only regret is that we couldn't replace the entire wall with repeating patterns of sea horses and underwater foliage.  But don't worry, it only gets better.

Yep, that is pure, 100%, 80's style, yellow linoleum flooring, from the hallway/laundry all the way into the bathroom. Gorgeous!  Unfortunately, it is showing signs of wear and tear and must be replaced.  Sniff.  I will miss you mustard yellow floor!  You might also like the two-tone vanity.  You can't tell from this pic, but the side is painted white to "match" the linoleum top.  And, to top off all the use of linoleum in this space, the 3 inch linoleum "molding". 

Well, it's gone.  It's all gone!  Everything in here has been ripped out, including the overlapping shower doors.  Those doors overlap because the space for the tub isn't a standard length.  This bathroom is being redone first, with tile floors, new tub, vanity, light fixture and toilet, tile walls in the shower, etc.  Can't wait to experience it!

But, the excitement isn't over!  Here is our "Four Seasons" bathroom, to be renovated two weeks after the first.

I know, again, I'm sad we can't have this lovely trim as a repeating pattern over the entire wall.  Moving on...

You're loving the brass fixtures, aren't you?  And, yessir, that yellow linoleum found its way in here too!  Yay.  Now, you can definitely see the two-tone vanity.  Nice, right?  What you can't see is the rotting "wood" and the peeling paint.  For now, this bathroom is meeting the needs of our entire family.  Can't wait until next week when we can try out the new bathroom and get ready to gut this one!

Coming up, day by day progress of our bathroom renovations, including reviews of our contractor.  So far, he's been an amazing one-man show!  One I get his OK, I'll post his information for any other local homeowners looking to update their kitchens or bathrooms.  If his work continues in the same manner, we'll likely be hiring him to redo the kitchen in our rental space.  How's that for an endorsement?!

Bathrooms Renovation

Yep, you read that right.  We are undertaking the renovation of both of our full bathrooms.  We've hired a contractor who is a friend-of-a-friend and he does amazing work.  He even took the time to go shopping with us last weekend to start picking up our supplies!

Our renovation will be floor-to-ceiling!  New tile floors, new fixtures, new paint, EVERYTHING MUST GO!

If you follow me on Pinterest, you've probably noticed me pinning a lot of grey bathroom items.  We're trying to stay neutral and not specific, keeping in mind that we will be selling this house in a few years. I do plan to add personality in our accents.  If you ask anyone, my favorite color is green.  B's favorite color is orange.  Thus, we will have one grey-green bathroom and one grey-orange bathroom.  I'm not sure which palette I like more!

Picking out paint color might be one of the most painful tasks in the history of ever.  I was browsing Pinterest and Google images and just not finding anything I liked.  Then I stumbled onto the Sherman-Williams website.  They have this awesome Color Visualizer tool! You can upload an image of your room, or just use a standard one they have available on their website and start playing with paint!  It's so easy!  Here are a couple I put together:

I can't wait to get home and take a pic of our hideous bathrooms to really get an idea of how incredible this transformation will be.  Besides, I can't blog about bathroom renos without a few really ugly before pics, right?  I promise not even to clean them up at all!

Anyways, if you are planning a room renovation and are struggling with paint colors, check out this tool!