Friday, September 6, 2013

Bathroom Redo - The Reveal!

Finally, it's finished.  I've heard horror stories about home renovations going on and on, and thankfully we didn't have a lot of issues with our bathroom redo, except for the very last thing (naturally) - the shower glass.  That took forever!  Apparently the glass was made wrong three times.  Yeah, I'm not so sure I completely believe it either...and it came down to a bit of an ultimatum - either install it on this day, or the order is cancelled.  Amazingly (snort), it was installed on that day!  So while technically, there were 14 work days on the bathroom, the time span from when they began demo to the shower glass being installed  was 31 days - yes, four weeks to do a two-week project.

Overall, even with the various glitches along the way, this entire experience was a good one.  Yes, it was incredibly dusty - construction/demo dust is a whole new ballgame when it comes to getting everywhere, but it was interesting to see everything progress, and every time something was installed that we'd picked out (versus, say, boring stuff like getting the damaged drywall repaired), we were really happy to see it all come together.  We've been back to using the master bathroom for nearly a week now, and I still get a thrill when I walk into it.  It's light and modern, and much nicer than anything I would've thought I'd ever have in this house...and I love it.  Now, if I could just win the lottery so I could do the rest of the floors, and change the kitchen countertops to granite, and...yes, it's true what they say, once you start doing some renovations, the rest of the house tends to pale by comparison.

Pictures (click to enlarge if you want to see more detail):
The long-awaited shower enclosure - rain glass, with a brushed nickel frame.  Next to the tub that we had tiled up the side, with the new faucet...I love how this came out!
New shower head and turner-on thing, and who would think that the shower would turn on so much easier, but it does.  

Comparison shots, just for fun:
 
March 2013, after we'd spruced it up with new paint, curtains, towels and accessories.
September 2013 - new floor, drawer/door fronts (can you tell the difference?), countertops, and faucets.
March 2013 - and what would become ground zero of the flood...
September 2013 - wall repaired, professionally textured and painted, new floor.  I had to have the print that was in there cut down because it had some water damage - I'm not kidding when I tell you that water was spraying out with the force of a fireman's hose!

The countertops:
Jeff's side (he decided he wanted to have his toothbrush on the counter and picked out the white glass himself - I think he made a good choice).
Center part...
My side.  I really, REALLY love it!
I luv it too, Mom.  Mostly I luv the peeple not coming in my house anymore.  But floor is nice to shed on.

We also got new carpet in the master bedroom, closets, and my office.  After 13 years of builder-grade carpet (read, kind of crummy), it's wonderful to have nice, new carpet - at least on one side of the house.  Again, we'd love to finish the rest of the flooring, but the money has run out, so that won't be happening for a while.  But here's the bedroom:
 
Ahhh!  Almost done - I still would like to get a floor vase and more sticks for that area by the chair, but shopping has been on hold until we get the final bill for the bathroom and carpet.
I love how the bedroom ties in with the bathroom so well now - the flooring makes as much of an impact as the paint on the walls - something I didn't really consider previously. 

The bathroom flooded on June 6th, and we were finished with the repair/redo on August 30th - I never thought I'd end up spending the summer dealing with something like this, but stuff happens.  I'm just glad we had insurance, some money in savings, and a good contractor, because now, inadvertently, we have a very nice bathroom and bedroom.  Tomorrow, I'm going to have a piƱa colada while admiring everything, because this was what we did instead of booking our trip to Maui.  Maybe next year...

(In case you want a refresher from beginning to end, here's the bath redo posts - Part 1, Part 2, and the closet pictures.)

22 comments:

  1. Really, really nice. I love the tiles. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh Shelley, I love, love, love it. It looks so beautiful, everything matches perfect together and your bedroom is so big! Beautiful! I can totally understand that you are happy every time you walk in.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful! I think you might have my dream master bath going on there...

    ReplyDelete
  4. It all looks beautiful. My favorite view is the one from your lovely master bedroom into the "ensuite" spa! Enjoy it in the best of health!

    ReplyDelete
  5. It looks great Shelley!! I would so love a good long soak in a tub - my tub is in the kids bathroom and, well...it's just not a relaxing atmosphere!

    Yours looks so lovely!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks - I did take a nice bath the other day, but it ended up not being very relaxing as Paco was apparently concerned I would drown ("why mom take baf on purpose?") and he wouldn't leave me alone...next time, he's locked out!

      Delete
  6. Loooove your new bathroom! Especially your little vanity area. Want!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I LOVE IT! Especially the countertops. I am so jealous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am loving the granite, I have to admit...interesting because originally I was fine with keeping our old counters. Glad Jeff changed my mind!

      Delete
  8. Who would've thunk--a shower could take that much time??

    When you showed the first whole view of the bathroom, I thought "why is she showing us the kitchen?" It is HUGE! I guess that's one big advantage of living in Texas! A great place to cool off after those long hot runs!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You know, now that I think about it, my bathroom is as big as my kitchen was in our California house. Yay Texas! It may be hot 75% of the year, but we can buy bigger houses? ;)

      Delete
  9. How beautiful! You would think you were at a B&B with how nicely decorated your master bedroom and bath are! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Yay! So happy for you that it's done! Looks great too. We just got new carpet in the bedroom about a year ago and I will finally sit on the floor up there. The old carpet was gross and used by someone else! ewww. Paco tested and Paco approved I see!

    ReplyDelete
  11. It's all gorgeous! I was going to be jealous, but then I remembered that I live by myself and don't need that big, beautiful vanity. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh wow...that is lovely! All the hard work paid off, it's gorgeous Shelley!

    ReplyDelete

Comments are now moderated to prevent spammers from leaving, well, spam - but rest assured that as soon as I read a real comment, I will publish it. So please, comment away, even though the blog is officially closed. Thanks!