Bathroom Remodel Sneak Peek

There is nothing that will make you feel more like an adult than a major remodeling project. In fact, this will be the first time we have hired someone to tackle such a major improvement in our home.

I had to contact multiple contractors and get bids, etc. for a bathroom remodel. Let me just say - this was quite a task! We had four different bids come in and they were all over the place in terms of costs and materials. Very confusing. However, we settled on a lively, funny guy named British Bob and can't wait to see our hard work and plan come to fruition.

The project is still a few weeks out but I wanted to give you a sneak peak of our "design board."

First: Here is our current bathroom. Lovely, isn't it. It was redone in the '80s. Can't you tell? My goal was to create a timeless bathroom that in 10-15 years, if we ever move, a potential buyer will not say, "Wow, this is SO 2010. Yuck." For me that means no colored glass, no travertine stone, nothing that is really popular right now. Not that I don't like the contemporary styles but we are only going to do this once. Also, it means that we ended up doubling our original budget to make sure we did it "right" that first time around.

Lastly: Being how this is our ONLY bathroom, we decided that it is not the ideal DIY project. It could take us months and I only want to pee and shower in our basement dungeon as little as possible. Yes, that's right. We do have a weirdo toilet in our basement that we get to use during the project and British Bob is going to set us up a temporary shower in the old cast iron tub rotting in the basement. Currently, our washing machine drains into it. Classy.

Welcome to the sneak peek!

Top Row:

• We are using a white/gray marbled granite with garnet specks in it. It is really hard to find light colored marble. We picked a remnant piece but I am afraid it may be too small. They had the wrong measurements when we picked it. Keep your fingers crossed! We are using the existing vanity because it is custom fitted - it will be painted white as well as all the trim in the bathroom. We decided to leave the existing window. It's solid wood inside and out!
• We are replacing the existing vanity medicine cabinet with the one pictures or maybe an oval beveled medicine cabinet.
• Glossy white subway tile will go all the way to the celing in the shower area and will also be at wainscot height all around the bathroom. The top of the chair rail will have ceramic crown molding trim. There will be a small pencil strip of black limestone used as an accent piece.
• Lavatory faucet is from the Brandywood Collection by Danze.
• Lighting is still pending but I like these chrome opalesque lights from lightinguniverse.com.
• The floor will be done in a glossy hex tile. We are going to tile over our 100 year old white hex tile. At least we know it goes with the vintage look!
• Shower and tub faucet also from the Brandywood collection by Danze.
• Toilet part of the Memoris collection by Kohler. Lowe's has a kit you can buy for $328 even though it is not listed on their website. The one piece toilets are $600-$900! We like the vintage lines of this toilet.

Here are some design inspirations!

• I would love to use a vintage lace tablecloth to hang as a privacy curtain with metal clips and a cafe rod over the window.
• The fabric samples are from the Premier collection at fabric.com. I am thinking a powder blue or gray/blue would be perfect for the wall color. I like how the first fabric sample incorporates a soft blue, white and gray color that would match the tile and chrome trim. I need to order samples and see if either would work for a homemade shower curtain.
• The last picture is a good example of a pretty gray/blue wall color.

Another pretty wall color and example of white subway tile with crown molding.

This last picture shows three inspirations: We would like to add an additional shower sprayer for cleaning kiddos and the shower. We are going to use a pencil thin black limestone accent piece, similar to what is pictured, and lastly we will have to recessed shelves like the one pictured.

I cannot tell you how excited I am for this project. I will keep you posted and hope to have photos of our new bathroom posted before the holidays! Yay for remodels!