Hey friends! Phew! It’s been a while. My last blog post was a while back but I’m hoping this will be the first of a more consistent presence on this platform. We’ve been busier than normal, and for good reason. Back in October 2021 we purchased our first home. Little did we know, we were getting ourselves into a pretty big project. This new home was 1400 sq ft rambler with three bed rooms and one bathroom. This was a significant upgrade from our previous rental that had two bedrooms and one bathroom. The one bathroom thing didn’t scare us, we knew what we were getting ourselves into there. We were so thankful to have an extra bedroom and a place that was OURS…one bathroom didn’t phase us. We had the home inspected prior to purchasing, there were some issues but nothing major *famous last words*. There are some things that you just won’t know until you move in and start making changes and opening walls. We knew from the get-go that the bathroom would be our big project. While it wasn’t our style, at one point in time I imagine that this bathroom functioned quite nicely – that was not the case now. The goal was to transform the space into something highly functional and to maximize the space to best fit our family’s needs. Once we got started on the design/renovation plans we knew we were in for more than we had planned for. Today I wanted to take you through the entire project from start to finish. You ready? š
How It Started
Here she is in all her glory. My grandma described her as a “once nice spa”. It’s not the worst bathroom I’ve ever seen, that’s for sure – but underneath… all trouble.
Demo Week(s)
I say ādemo week(s)ā as a joke but it really wasnāt funny at the time. As you can see from the ābeforeā photo, the bathroom was floor to ceiling tileā¦tan tile. It all needed to go. I didnāt love the look, but aside from that, there were cracks and leaks everywhere. The previous owners may or may not have even known that they had some serious issues. The shower leaks alone had led to rot all the way down to the foundation, some rot even affected the exterior siding. So what we thought would be ādemo dayā turned into ādemo weekā as I saw my contractor take more and more of our house to the dump. In some ways I was relieved because I knew when we finally put this puppy back together it would be perfect all the way down to the foundation.
Big shout out to Vitaliy of Best Euro Construction INC, he really is the BEST! If you are looking for an amazing and trustworthy contractor in the greater Seattle area ā heās your guy!Ā
Choosing Finishes
Ah my favorite part.Ā Finishes. While everything was being taken a part at the house, I started spending more and more time pulling inspiration from Pinterest and researching materials. I already had a pretty good idea of what I wanted and I knew that I had to get some of the bigger items purchased and selected pretty quickly. Supply chain (thanks covid) was backed up so I had to make some quick selections for the following: tile (both flooring and shower surround), vanity, and bathtub. We also planned to keep the bathroom layout the same (didnāt want to mess with moving pipes around) so that made things pretty simple! I kept the slate neutral. Iām so drawn to black floors, so I started looking at affordable tile options. The rest of the bathroom pallet I planned to keep bright and white. The room didnāt have a window so I knew I didnāt want it to feel too dark. The dark floors were about as dark as I wanted to bring into the space. I went withĀ black hexagon tileĀ from Floor & Decor and Iām obsessed with how they turned out!Ā
We lucked out on the vanity because Home Depot was having a Black Friday Sale! When we first started looking at vanities I thought I wanted a natural wood look (but goodness are those expensive)! I compromised and went all white. I’m really glad we did because I think it helps make the bathroom feel even bigger than it already is – and for a one bathroom home, that’s a huge plus! We went with the 71″ size because I wanted the most counter space possible and we had the room for it!
For the shower/tub I knew I wanted white subway, thereās something so classic about that look! After the big items were selected, I turned to sink and shower finishes. I struggled here…trying to decide between black or gold was hard. But THEN I stumbled upon Delta’s champagne bronze line of finishes! Yāall – champagne bronze finishes by Deltaā¦so beautiful, so stunning…I was in love! I selected champagne bronze for our shower head, vanity faucets, toilet paper holder and hand towel holder. Love love love!
Our amazing contractor convinced me to change my original vision for a bathtub. I was thinking basic and inexpensive was the way to go but he encouraged me to upgrade (for a very minimal price increase) to a jetted soaking tub. Can you say luxury?? Iām so so glad we have this feature in our ONE bathroom – not only is it so fun for the kids and a retreat for me, but I think it will be a great selling feature down the road!
Design Details
It was amazing to watch this project come together. We worked with so many talented people between our contractor, electrician, plumber… so amazing to see what is under floors and behind walls. As the bathroom got pieced back together – I started thinking about the smaller finishes and design details. As I said earlier, I picked champagne bronze as our main finish but I found myself drawn to bathrooms that paired two metals, mainly gold and black! I decided to incorporate a touch of black in order to tie in the black floors. I decided on black mirrors (such a good price!!) and a black shower curtain rod. I combined that with a grey and white shower curtain and grey towels by Casaluna (Target). Again, I was going for neutral and clean…but also wanted to keep it interesting!
The Full Reveal
Okay guys, enough waiting. Here’s the full reveal! I’ve linked as many products as I can but feel free to drop me a comment if you’re looking for something specific!
Carol says
It is beautiful! WhAt a Crazy saga though. Ugh
Stephanie says
This is amazing!!!! I love every inch of what you have done! Gorgeous!
jared says
I JUST LOVE IT!!!
Michelle Bengson says
Was so surprised it leak all the way to the exterior! But I love the new one and all your choices!
Mckenzie says
Love it BecCa!