It’s time. We’ve been talking about doing a bathroom remodel for the kids for a year now and we purchased a new sink cabinet that has been sitting in our garage for months. Those of you who know us, know that this isn’t unusual. We have a habit of purchasing things and letting them gather dust in our garage. But the garage is another story that I don’t want to touch right now.
Which brings me back to the bathroom. My niece is coming out in two weeks to stay with us for a few days and the bathroom is not really guest-worthy. When we redid the bathroom many years ago, we thought a cute pedestal sink would look great with vintage-looking hexagon tiles on the floor. Wrong. So not conducive to a bathroom used by 3 girls.
It’s a super tiny bathroom for 3 girls to have to share. You think boys can trash a bathroom? They’ve got nothing on girls!
Cute pedestal sink, right? Not so much. It’s been leaned on so much that it’s coming away from the wall. Plus, there is no storage at all and the soap and toothpaste keep falling into the sink.
I thought this vintage looking tile would be so cute. Wrong again. It is almost impossible to keep clean. Don’t ever do white in a child’s bathroom. The grout just looks dirty and the floor is so scratched up that I will be getting immense enjoyment when I get to rip this all out. Yuk!
So, what’s the plan for this mess?
Like I said, we bought a new sink cabinet at Lowe’s when we saw it on sale months ago. It’s a black cabinet with a square white porcelain bowl. The walls that are currently a light blue will be painted a light beige or off-white. The floor will still be tiled but I’m thinking a beige tile… something that hides the dirt better and is easier to keep clean. New shelving on the walls for all their girlie bathroom stuff and a new mirror for over the sink and new light fixture. Phew… can this be done in only 2 weeks? Actually, we only have the weekend to get it done.
We are having a handyman come and take out the sink and the toilet so I can redo the floor and paint. Then, he has to come back to reinstall the toilet and install the new sink cabinet and new faucets. He is leaving town in 2 weeks for a 3 week vacation so if he doesn’t get it done before he leaves, we’re screwed.
I also need to buy a new shower curtain, new trash can and new towels (goes without saying, doesn’t it?). There isn’t much I love more than new towels. I’m strange that way. Linens make me happy.
I’ve never done a makeover so fast and I’m a little nervous. But I know what I want the bathroom to look like when all is said and done, so I just need to put on my interior design hat and get it done! Wish me luck.
We started by having a handyman take out the sink and toilet. To save money, we just had him do the things we weren’t really qualified to do. I can’t mess with plumbing… too scary. So once the appliances were out, Temera and I went to work ripping up the existing tile. It was crazy hard. This stuff was glued down so hard that we really had to chip away at the tile and then use a professional scraper to get it up.
The concrete floor underneath really had to be scraped well of all the old mortar. Not a fun job.
The next step in the process was to lay the flooring down. Ideally, painting would come next, but I only had David home on the weekends and I needed his help cutting the tiles. Painting would have to come afterwards since I could do that myself during the week.
One of the things I didn’t expect was that when I removed the existing baseboards, a big part of the drywall came off with it. It stripped down to the brown board underneath and that was a huge problem. You can’t paint over it because it wasn’t sealed and with a bathroom, you have to be careful of water, steam and mold. I ended up having to repair the walls before I could even lay down the tile.
I made sure to lay the tile first before I started to mix the thin-set. Luckily it was a small bathroom and I could do this easily. Using the thin-set is a super messy job. I think I stepped in the stuff a dozen times and it was everywhere.
The last part of the job was to grout. I kind of like grouting tile… it is the time the floor really comes together and looks like a finished floor. It’s messy, sure, but it’s also kind of fun. Once the grouting was set, I finally painted the walls (an awesome off-white color) and put on the new baseboards.
A few accessories added (like rugs and shower curtain) and the bathroom is pretty much done.
And the final product….
It doesn’t look like a kid’s bathroom, which is exactly like I wanted it. The girls will be 14, 11 and 9 this year so we’re all kind of over the cutesy colors. Plus… if we ever wanted to sell the house, neutral is best. Not that we’re selling… it’s just always in the back of my mind that if we ever did, I’d want to get the most I could out of this place.
It was a lot of work, but I’m happy with the results. The kids are too.
Great job! I’m having the same issue with the “cute” pedestal sink that holds nothing! Looks great!
Thanks. I’m trying to decide what my next home project will be. We really need to do the kitchen, but that scares me.
Kudos to you for getting it all done, looks like some major work there, and pedestal sinks only work in model homes. If you actually have things you want to store out of sight, like, say TAMPONS, with three girls, you need a cabinet where you can do that.
Looks awesome.
Yep… we had the “feminine products” hidden in a decorative box on a shelf. Now they can go underneath the sink. Yay!
I am so amazed you did that yourself — I could never. Looks fabulous!
My problem is that I start things not realizing how hard they are going to be… and I get stuck in the middle of it. Then I have to end up finishing it anyway. But, I’m pretty proud of myself for doing it.
Fabulous job on the remodel.
Thank you.