Monday, July 9, 2018

FULL HOUSE Renovation Before and After - Hall Bathrooms

The hall bathrooms were a big deciding factor when we bought our house - getting separate areas for each kid was actually getting me some less stressful mornings, as no one would be hogging the sink.  They each had their own, and a toilet as well, woohoo!  Of course they had to share the shower that connected both bathrooms, and there was squabbling about that sometimes, but overall, it was a nice feature.  That said, both bathrooms were quite dated - they had builder-grade cabinets and countertops that had seen better days, and one bathroom still had the original Hollywood light fixture (in a shiny gold, no less) in it.  The bathtub/shower surround was one piece, made of plastic, and it never came clean no matter what I did to it.

We didn't want to spend a lot in these rooms, and while we looked at the big box stores for new vanities, we just didn't like anything, or what we did like was way more than we wanted to pay.  So, we chose vanities and sink/countertops from Ikea, and while the installation was a challenge for both our contractor and plumber, we were pleased with how everything came out.

Bathrooms without windows are hard to get decent pictures in, so I had very few before shots, but I'm pretty sure you'll get the gist of the changes.

Bathroom 1:
The design of the bathroom started with the light fixture and we went from there.  I love round mirrors - this is from Umbra - and all you have to do is get them the same size as the vanity and they work.  The sink/counter is one piece, porcelain, and the style felt right with the light fixture.  The faucet is from Delta.
Close up of the shelves that replaced the headknocker cabinet above the toilet.  Lacking accessories...I've been eying a couple of vases in orange and yellow that I think would be a good fit with the gray and navy.  I bought the two framed pieces of art when I was in Santa Fe last year.  I love the artist's work and looked online to see if I could afford a larger piece for the wall opposite the toilet.  I cannot.
Vanity - the old one was 27 inches, so we had very little space to work with.  The new one is 24 inches wide, but it's much more usable as both drawers pull out fully and you can access items easily.  While the toilet gave our plumber pause, what with the newfangled flange, we are happy with it and we really like the full skirt on it - makes for a super easy cleaning day.  

Bathroom 2:
 
Because the bathrooms were connected, and so close together, we decided to make them as similar as we could.  The vanity is larger in this side, as is the mirror.  I don't have any artwork in here yet.
 
 
This shows the old vanity vs the new one - even with the new one being just a few inches smaller than the old one, it looks lighter because it's not wall-to-wall, plus it has legs instead of going all the way to the floor.
I'm glad we switched from the headknocker cabinets above the toilets to floating shelves, even though I don't have a lot of items to put on them just yet.  This is where the guest towels are; I rolled the hand towels and washcloths and put them in a divided metal container that I already owned.  

Tub/shower and surround:
No before pictures, but trust me, the old tub/shower wasn't pretty.  We are really happy with the longer, glossy subway tile, the double niches, and the cool new spout, valve, and shower head.  This was taken during construction, so the tub hadn't been fully cleaned, but now it's sparkling!
This is a cast iron tub and it's lower to the ground than the old one, which is nice for stepping into, and if you needed to bathe a baby, it seems like it would be an easier reach.
There's not much to this room as you can see!  We reused the hook bar for hanging towels, and I found the shower curtain online at Target for something like $13, which is much better than the original, similar one that I first liked - that was going for $88, which, no.

Having the flooring be the same as the rest of the house makes these bathrooms look so good!  And I just love how clean and fresh the vanity tops are, instead of the yellowing countertops from before.  We were a little worried going into this part of the renovation because using Ikea vanities, sinks, and their plumbing system was a first for our contractor and plumber, but it all worked out in the end and we couldn't be more pleased.

18 comments:

  1. Another mouth dropping wow! I'd love to update my bathrooms. Talk about dated... You should become a decorator. Seriously.

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    1. You’re too kind - I really don’t know what I’m doing...

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  2. More renovations that look fabulous!!! Love what you did!!!

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  3. I just feel like I want to sell my house and move to yours.

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  4. VERY nice! I am jealous of your cast iron tub. I got an acrylic one because I liked the shape, but I feel like I can never get it sparkling clean. I like those round mirrors too!

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    1. Thank you! Acrylic is weirdly consistent with not getting real clean...I was ready for something easier, even though it actually won’t get much use and should be clean all the time as a result. And I love those round mirrors SO much! 😊

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  5. Everything looks fabulous! I like the idea that everyone had their own bathroom when your kids lived at home.

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    1. Thanks! And yeah, it was really nice to have so many bathrooms back then.

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  6. My Journey To Fit B&B? Its lovely.

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  7. Ummmm, you're looking for decorating items when you have that awesome TRUMPET AND FRAMED MUSIC????? Just kidding - I hope one of your kadults use them in their places. I know Texas is full of outstanding band programs. Everything looks really great, Shelley. You'll be the new HGTV sensation.

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    1. To be fair, the trumpet and sheet music had been on display for 18 years...I was ready for a change. That trumpet was my dad’s, and then our oldest son learned to play on it. He’ll be getting it back soon, now that he has his own house. 😊

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  8. Those turned out great, Shelley! I like how they match now, though aren't exactly the same. I've been eyeballing those same lighting fixtures for our bathroom - redone 2 years ago and the lights are the only thing left to swap out. It is so hard to find just the right thing and I am not a patient shopper, sadly. I thought that fixture might look too stark, but it really fits your space/decor nicely. I'll have to reconsider and maybe finally pull the trigger on that!

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    1. Thank you so much! I think you would like that fixture. Ours came with the LED Edison bulbs, which was nice, but I might switch them out to a daylight version - still LED Edison, but a bit brighter. Of course I am blind so I like a bright light...

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    2. I like a nice bright light as well, and I do my makeup in that bathroom, so extra essential to see what I'm doing. It's helpful to see how yours look - thanks for providing a demo model!

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  9. Nice! I really like the lighting features. Vanities now are so great how the drawers are formed to go around pipes so you actually have drawers. Why it took so many years for manufacturers to figure that out, I don't know LOL!

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  10. The updates look fantastic! The round mirrors are fun! I am curious about the trumpet in the before pic ;)

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