Renovation Rookies: The Final Result
Thank you all for tuning in once again for my bathroom series! This is the final installment on our master bath redo which if you have not already read the other posts, you can take a look here and here.
All in all, this whole project took just over a month, but while you're living in a dust bowl of a bedroom it can feel like forever. Once all the tile was installed we could begin to see the finish line, which was exciting, especially since we were leaving for our three week trip to Iowa and wanted to be able to say we took a shower in our bathroom at least once before we left!
Most of the fixtures that we ended up choosing we found on Amazon, which, what can you NOT find there. We wanted matte black for our faucets and shower fixtures. We of course found great deals and it was nice to get the items so quickly so that we could be sure they were ready for install when our contractors needed them. We also ended up getting our vessel sinks and lighting (which is currently out of stock right now, glad I got it!) from Amazon as well. There are so many HIGH END places to get what you want, but when you don't have that sort of budget, Amazon is the place to shop. We were able to get all of our tile( bathroom floor, shower floor, shower wall ) at Floor and Decor which can be so overwhelming if you do not know what you are looking for! I have ALWAYS loved subway tile and it is a great classic look that will never go out of style and is so easy to clean. While these tiles are more of a rectangle than the usual square, we were able to get more bang for our buck, meaning we could get more square footage covered with fewer tiles, does that make sense?! :P
We chose a dark grout for all the flooring and walls which on the floors really made it look uniform and with the subway tiles it gave them that awesome pop! Alex and I did most of the floor grouting which was a HUGE learning process. The first section that we worked on was luckily the part that is under the vanity. We had a quick set grout but didn't really realize that. We very sloppily put it all in and then let it set. It was late and we wanted to be done. I had a gut feeling though that we needed to clean it up. So, thank goodness for our trusty contractor Adam, I sent him a text asking and he said to clean it up then. Well as you can imagine, quick setting grout gets hard FAST! This left us scrapping our tiles of all the excess grout clumps. This grout stuff is back breaking work...literally. I felt like we were on the show Renovation Realities. It ended up being a late night burning the midnight (10:30) oil for us, we're use to being in bed reading or relaxing by 9pm.
Once the floors were all grouted and set, the installation of the vanity could happen. Our guys made it look so great. Alex had put up the black shiplap that would serve as our backsplash behind the sinks. We added two vertical boards on either side that really gave it a framed in look. And then...it was done!
We were headed to Iowa a few days after and we were super excited to just even shower in our new bathroom. Keep in mind, the shower glass still had to be installed while we were gone, but that didn't stop us from using it. Just had to put towels down everywhere to stop that splatter.
We learned a lot through all of this. A few things we would change or do a little differently but all in all we are IN LOVE! After wanting this room changed for more than 5 years we can now say it's done, which now means I have to go through the entire rest of the house...again. The love of styling a home is NEVER done. Until next time.
If you're planning a renovation or just need some help updating things in your home, I'm here to help! Email me at info@chalkitupcc.org for questions, help, or inquiries on my home stylist services.
Marie
All in all, this whole project took just over a month, but while you're living in a dust bowl of a bedroom it can feel like forever. Once all the tile was installed we could begin to see the finish line, which was exciting, especially since we were leaving for our three week trip to Iowa and wanted to be able to say we took a shower in our bathroom at least once before we left!
Most of the fixtures that we ended up choosing we found on Amazon, which, what can you NOT find there. We wanted matte black for our faucets and shower fixtures. We of course found great deals and it was nice to get the items so quickly so that we could be sure they were ready for install when our contractors needed them. We also ended up getting our vessel sinks and lighting (which is currently out of stock right now, glad I got it!) from Amazon as well. There are so many HIGH END places to get what you want, but when you don't have that sort of budget, Amazon is the place to shop. We were able to get all of our tile( bathroom floor, shower floor, shower wall ) at Floor and Decor which can be so overwhelming if you do not know what you are looking for! I have ALWAYS loved subway tile and it is a great classic look that will never go out of style and is so easy to clean. While these tiles are more of a rectangle than the usual square, we were able to get more bang for our buck, meaning we could get more square footage covered with fewer tiles, does that make sense?! :P
We chose a dark grout for all the flooring and walls which on the floors really made it look uniform and with the subway tiles it gave them that awesome pop! Alex and I did most of the floor grouting which was a HUGE learning process. The first section that we worked on was luckily the part that is under the vanity. We had a quick set grout but didn't really realize that. We very sloppily put it all in and then let it set. It was late and we wanted to be done. I had a gut feeling though that we needed to clean it up. So, thank goodness for our trusty contractor Adam, I sent him a text asking and he said to clean it up then. Well as you can imagine, quick setting grout gets hard FAST! This left us scrapping our tiles of all the excess grout clumps. This grout stuff is back breaking work...literally. I felt like we were on the show Renovation Realities. It ended up being a late night burning the midnight (10:30) oil for us, we're use to being in bed reading or relaxing by 9pm.
Once the floors were all grouted and set, the installation of the vanity could happen. Our guys made it look so great. Alex had put up the black shiplap that would serve as our backsplash behind the sinks. We added two vertical boards on either side that really gave it a framed in look. And then...it was done!
We were headed to Iowa a few days after and we were super excited to just even shower in our new bathroom. Keep in mind, the shower glass still had to be installed while we were gone, but that didn't stop us from using it. Just had to put towels down everywhere to stop that splatter.
We learned a lot through all of this. A few things we would change or do a little differently but all in all we are IN LOVE! After wanting this room changed for more than 5 years we can now say it's done, which now means I have to go through the entire rest of the house...again. The love of styling a home is NEVER done. Until next time.
If you're planning a renovation or just need some help updating things in your home, I'm here to help! Email me at info@chalkitupcc.org for questions, help, or inquiries on my home stylist services.
Marie