Bathroom Renovation: Design Decisions and Product Sources

Happy Cinco de Mayo! What better way to celebrate than to show you our bathroom?!….Weird. The show must go on. But you could make one of these tasty treats for yourself while you read.

We completely renovated our master bathroom in September of 2014. Before it was redone, the space was outdated and broken up into smaller spaces by walls and doorways.  We lived with it and it was totally fine but I was so glad to create a space that was open and beautiful.

Before we had kids, we would have tackled some of the renovation on our own but it
was a HUGE job and the guys that did it were in and out in 2 weeks. I
might have taken us months…. so we decided to use those months of waiting to save up to let someone else do it. And keep our bathroom in tact in the process…

If you read my post that included before pictures of our house, you might have seen this really bad pic that I took before we even moved in:

These before pictures were on my Instagram many moons ago:

I painted the walls, the vanities (chalk paint recipe found here), painted over the gold strip of tile that went around the entire room. ‘Organized’ the closet with shelving and replaced the lights below with vintagey looking cheapies from the neighborhood hardware store. But it was just blah. Not to mention the unfinished concrete floors..

 
Here’s the layout of  the bathroom before it was demo’d. The following image was expertly rendered. You’re welcome.

The shower was a nice size but had a ceiling that was a foot lower that the rest of the ceilings and had a very narrow entrance. The vanities were separate and mine (the one on the bottom) was out in the master bedroom. My closet was a sorry excuse for a “walk in” and between that space and the bathroom space, there was another very narrow doorway. (Hubby’s closet is on the other side of the bedroom. I promise, I would share if I had to.)

I designed the bathroom I wanted and after years of daydreaming and those months of saving, here’s what I came up with. Again, another expert rendering. #momlife “Ain’t nobody got time for that.”

So much more space! We turned the closet wall into one long vanity, took away doorways, added a pocket door and wall to close off the bathroom from the bedroom and busted out the ceiling in the shower. Now for some “After” eye candy.

bathroom renovation sources and tips
Rugs (Target Threshold- no longer available)/ Towels (big and soft and great)

The picture above was taken from the door to the bathroom. We have a beautiful 8 foot long vanity with plenty of space. The closet on the right, is closed off with Ikea wire hardware and a sheets as curtains.

bathroom renovation sources and tips

I wanted the space to seem as big as possible so I used the same paint color for the walls and vanity. Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige. Making a space monochromatic, allows your eye move around the room without stopping, giving the illusion that it’s even bigger.
bathroom renovation sources and tips

I love the shape of these Ikea towel hooks but I sprayed them antique bronze and mounted the large one to a wooden plaque that I painted, distressed and sealed. I love how it turned out. The plaque makes it look more substantial and brings in a bit of rustic.

Before our reno, when we daydreamed about replacing our cracked and gross shower tiles and made a vow. Dark grout. And, the least amount of grout possible. So, I picked these humongous subway tiles and dark floor tiles. My original plan was to have the slate tiles make the step of the shower as well, again, creating one long line of sight. It didn’t happen but i think its beautiful this way as well. There is a shelf / alcove in the shower but I made it be out of sight too. Didn’t think my cheap shampoo needed to be a focal point.

bathroom renovation sources and tips

Now, I got quotes for frameless shower doors and this space was going to cost us another $800. It’s just not how I ever want to spend that kind of money. So, I went on amazon and looked for floor to ceiling shower curtains and bought this for $15. I don’t know about you but $15 wins every time in my book.

I like the look of it when its open and pushed toward the wall. It adds a bit more texture to a pretty simple room.

bathroom renovation sources and tips

The half wall in the shower gives a little separation between the
toilet and the shower. It was originally there because if we had bought
glass, you’d look out from the shower and see the toilet. Not cute.

bathroom renovation sources and tips

This is a view from the shower. You can see the long vanity and the cabinet where the laundry hides and extra linens are stored. My husband doesn’t know this but since he reads the blog, now he will.. The window pane in the cabinet was installed using hot glue…. I wanted it done and that’s what I had on hand, OK! Just don’t want you to think I’m as fancy as this bathroom looks..

I sourced the vanity lights above but I should mention they are an IKEA hack too. They were originally supposed to hang on the wall with a power cord to an outlet. The electrician was very confused when I showed them to him but I told him to just hard wire them and mount them through the face plate. I love the way they turned out. They look so much more expensive than the $22 that they were.

bathroom renovation sources and tips

I’ve been on the look out for a bamboo shade for the window. Also, someday I’d like the frame out the mirrors with stained wood but I like the simpleness of no frame for now.

I think the granite is called Bianca Romano. I’m not sure because lucky enough, it was a remnant and was about $600 less than any other quote I got.. cha-ching! I love it because it brings in the white of the shower tiles and curtains but still has some of the wall and vanity color in it too.

bathroom renovation sources and tips
Bathroom Reno: Design decisions and product sources
Closet Curtain Hardware / Curtains

You can see the closet curtains (ahem…flat sheets from walmart). The dresser in there holds my shoes. It’s from Ikea but was a curbside pick up and I’d love to replace it with an actual wood dresser when ever I can find the right size for the right price. I installed the shelves. We have these systems in most of our closets and I’m really happy with them. I was worried about ending up with a smaller closet but because the storage goes up to the ceiling and from wall to wall, I actually have more space now than I did.
 
So there you have it. Our more beautiful-than-the-rest-of-our-house, master bathroom. I’m so thankful for it and really glad we bit the bullet and made a space that we can enjoy and fit into… Let me know if you have any questions or if I can help you with your bathroom renovation plans.

*Some affiliate links used. Thanks for supporting House Homemade!

Also, if you’d like to see a more updated version of our bathroom, go here.

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bathroom renovation sources and tips

Thanks for reading, friends!

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