Hi friend!
I’m excited to share part two in our bathroom remodel series! Today we will install all the tile, the “new” pedestal sink, toilet, shower door, the cabinet with its reused doors, and towel rods, as well as painting! This is a big leap and the transformation is amazing! I’m also hoping we can use an antique dresser mirror from my childhood for over the sink. Let’s get started!
Here is a sampling of the lovely materials we’ll be using. I’m excited to see these installed!
Now it’s time to install a LOT of tile! As I mentioned in the first post, we decided to go with an oversized tile to reduce the amount of grout lines as well as make the bathroom look bigger and less busy.
The tile is going up and it already feels more luxurious in this space! I’m very thankful to my husband, Matt, for putting so much tile in, it was a bigger job than we figured and it helped us save money.
That blue! The shimmer! The mosaic tile actually had a hand in helping us decide on the paint color for the bathroom. Matt surprised me initially by choosing a rich, dark blue. In the end we went with a medium blue called Daphne by Sherwin Williams to tone down the color and blend with the tile more.
Here the tile is going up around the toilet area. I’m pleased with how the herringbone accent tile caps the large tile and gives a polished, finishing touch. All the while Matt was tiling he also textured the walls for paint and installed crown molding. The crown molding adds such a depth and elegance to the space!
Matt also fixed the drain issue we had, formed a slanted bath pan by hand and laid the river pebble tile. He’d never done this before & I’m so impressed!
While we had the walls open we raised the shower head to the appropriate height. I’m really looking forward to having a space to store our shower cosmetics! Matt framed out and then tiled this niche for our bottles and soap. It will be a blast to find attractive bottles and a pretty soap dish!
In the midst of this project we decided to pop into Restore shop one day and of all things we found a pedestal sink awaiting us! With tax it would be $40! This unexpected surprise took us off guard and we just stood there staring at it for a bit. Then Matt says: “Is this real? What do you think?” I grinned and whispered back “Grab it and run!”
Once we checked it over to see if it was OK, we loaded it on the cart and checked out! All the models similar to this one were between $350 and $400. Amazing deal! It’s such a blessing when the Lord provides things you need and things you want as well.
Isn’t she a sleek, refined beauty?! Since we saved so much on the sink itself we were able to splurge on the taps. The lines of this vintage inspired faucet complement the style of the pedestal sink so nicely.
The shower is finished and ready for the door to be hung! Matt has built the cabinet boxes, painted and installed them. Before we add the doors I want to try out a cottage-y idea I’ve had up my sleeve for a while…
Little is more typically English than toile wallpaper so after browsing on Etsy I came across this lovely design. Since our bathroom is small, and the cabinets are small this dollhouse wallpaper was the perfect scale.
Adding these extra, personal touches to our home always has a ripple effect on me. Now I’m inspired to hunt out (thrift or antique) vintage storage containers. To keep this tiny cabinet from getting overwhelmed we intend to reuse some of the glass shelving from the demo & I’ll try to color coordinate the bottles and things.
As I was hoping, the antique dresser mirror from my girlhood bedroom fit well over the pedestal sink. This makes me so happy! Let me encourage you to use things in your home that tell a story, your story. This makes a house a home full of meaning.
I’ve enjoyed having you along as we’ve moved through this project, and now we’ve reached one of the most fun parts. Decorating & styling! In our next episode, we’ll tackle some DIY projects (including a vintage curtain), we’ll go thrifting and antiquing for interesting storage containers, art…
Warmly,
Rachel
