Finishing the Basement Bathroom: Part II (The Reveal)

After more than 14 years of living in this house, I was truly beginning to think we would never have a bathroom in our basement. We had long since gotten used to going upstairs every time we needed to use the bathroom (extra exercise!). But a few months ago, we finally settled on a contractor to do the job for us and got on their schedule in October. It took them a couple weeks, which was really nothing if you consider how long it would have taken us to DIY it. 

As a reminder, here's what stage it was at when we turned things over to the contractor. For more before pictures (and a brief history of how we had to reconfigure this bathroom layout early on to make the space more efficient), check out my previous post. 

But let's be honest, you're just here for the "After" photos (don't blame ya), so keep scrolling to feast your eyes on our shiny new bathroom! At the end of this post, I've included a list of the various materials/fixtures we used. 

It's always a bit challenging to envision how an unfinished space will look once everything you've selected is all put together, but honestly I'm super pleased with how this turned out. It may be the smallest bathroom in our house, but ironically it's the nicest.

We still plan to add a couple floating shelves (either glass or wood) above the toilet. I just don't want anything that feels too heavy or obtrusive in this small space.

The finished shower space is about 36" x 42". The niche provides storage space, and I also wanted to include a foot rest to make leg shaving easier.

The oak butcher block was part of a slab that we already had on hand from our kitchen renovation. We left the color natural and simply applied several clear poly coats for a nice, smooth, water-resistant finish.

Because the bathroom is so small and there's not much counter space, we utilized the space between wall studs for a built-in niche that coordinates with the one in the shower.

The mirror we chose is simple and frameless, so as not to detract from the picket tile wall and pendant light  which are the main focal points.

We chose to add a towel bar on the vanity drawer because we didn't want a towel hanging on the wall next to the sink. It just seems like a cleaner look this way (plus the bar doubles as the drawer pull).

So if anyone needs me now and can't find me upstairs, I'll just be down here in our bathroom gawking in disbelief and delight.

MATERIALS/FIXTURES/COLORS

Sink 
Kingston Brass Parisian White Vitreous China Vessel Sink

Wall mount faucet
Pfister Kenzo Wall Mount Bathroom Faucet (Brushed Nickel)

Shower faucet
Pfister Kenzo Tub & Shower Trim Kit (Brushed Nickel)

Shower wall tile
Carrara 12x24" Polished Porcelain Stone Look Tile

Shower floor tile

Carrara 10x12" Ceramic Hexagon Mosaic Tile

Mosaic picket tile

Cienega Springs Mixed Glass Mosaic Tile

Pendant light fixture

James Allen Tyrell Single Light 9-1/4" Mini Pendant w/ Glass Shade

Mirror

Frameless Oval Beveled Edge Bathroom Vanity Mirror

Towel bars, etc.

Pfister Kenzo 24" Towel Bar

Pfister Kenzo 18" Towel Bar

Pfister Kenzo Toilet Tissue Holder
Pfister Kenzo Robe Hook

Wall color
Sherwin-Williams Alpaca

Vanity color

Behr Delicate Mist

Finishing the Basement Bathroom: Part I

 She's baaa-aaack!

Well folks, it's been one year and ten months since my last blog post (cedar chest chalk paint makeover). That might be a new record lapse for me. Rest assured though, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I know everyone was worried.

Let me just get right to the big news around here lately. After more than 14 years in our little house on the corner, we finally got the bathroom in our basement finished! Let me clarify... we finally decided to hire someone to come do it for us. After the countless DIY renovations we've already done, this was a project we were willing to just fork over some (okay, a lot of) money and hire it out. After all, they'd have the bathroom done in two weeks when it would probably take us 6+ months. Also, the idea of us trying to do a fully tiled shower and backsplash wall with no tile experience? Hard pass.

BUT, before I get to the reveal (which I'm going to save until my next blog post, #sorrynotsorry)... here are some photos of what the bathroom looked like in the "before" stages. We did all the framing ourselves way back when we framed the rest of the basement. Luke also did most of the drywall, along with the electrical wiring and plumbing hook-ups. 

Oh, and if you want to take a walk down memory lane with me, check out this post from 2011 about how we had to tear out the concrete floor to re-work the location of all the plumbing and drain pipes... That was such a traumatizing fun experience, I had almost forgotten all about it.

It's a very small bathroom, but the layout we designed accommodates a 36x42" shower, a 30" wide vanity cabinet, and of course a toilet. We also planned for a large niche in the shower and one in the wall next to the sink to help maximize functional space.

All the materials have gradually been purchased over the past year or two, with the exception of the vessel sink which we bought about 10 years ago (yes, seriously... back when we had the ambitious idea of finishing the bathroom ourselves). This bathroom was really our first experience with picking out all the materials for an unfinished space, rather than just figuring it out as we go, which has been the case with some of our other DIY renovations. That was a little overwhelming, just because decision-making in general is tough for me, along with trying to envision what it would all look like together.

The price of the sink was pretty reasonable, but some of the other fixtures (such as the Pfister Kenzo line of faucets and coordinating towel bars) were a bit of a splurge, considering our typical penny-pinching shopping behavior. 

Sink 
Kingston Brass Parisian White Vitreous China Vessel Sink

Wall mount faucet
Pfister Kenzo Wall Mount Bathroom Faucet, Brushed Nickel

Shower faucet
Pfister Kenzo Tub & Shower Trim Kit, Brushed Nickel

Shower wall tile
Carrara 12x24" Polished Porcelain Stone Look Tile

Shower floor tile

Carrara 10x12" Ceramic Hexagon Mosaic Tile

Mosaic picket tile (for niches and vanity sink wall)

Cienega Springs Mixed Glass Mosaic Tile

Pendant light fixture

James Allen Tyrell Single Light 9-1/4" Mini Pendant w/ Glass Shade

Towel bars, etc.

Pfister Kenzo 24" Towel Bar, Brushed Nickel

Pfister Kenzo 18" Towel Bar, Brushed Nickel

Pfister Kenzo Toilet Tissue Holder, Brushed Nickel
Pfister Kenzo Robe Hook, Brushed Nickel

Stay tuned for my next post to see how it all came together! I promise I won't make you wait another two years. 

Master Bathroom Makeover Part II: The Reveal

I thought this day might never come, but I'm finally ready to share the official "reveal" of our DIY master bathroom makeover. It's been months in the making — a weekend here, a weekend there, you know how it goes. The polished chrome towel bars still haven't been switched out yet, but who knows if I'll ever get to that.

So, is this my dream bathroom now? Well... no. But, it's a vast improvement and much-needed freshening up. All in all, we achieved a big transformation with a fairly small budget (I think we stayed under $1,500).

Keep on scrolling for all the photos and more details!

Before: Dark & Drab

After: Lighter & Fresher!

To be honest, it all looks much better in person. There's no natural light and our bulbs are on the warm side, so it's challenging to get great photos. And, my camera phone was struggling to focus and capture the detail on the distressed cabinets. (Excuses, excuses...) Anyway, here's a brief rundown of the updates which have taken place over the past few months:

Painting all the trim white

Painting the walls Colonnade Gray by Sherwin Williams

Chalk painting the vanity and soaker tub panels

Tearing out the old grouted tile countertop and backsplash

(and destroying some drywall in the process)

Patching the drywall, spraying the texture and repainting

Installing a new solid white countertop with integral sinks

(73" Camilla Cultured White Vanity Top with Double Basin)

Installing new faucets

(Kraus Arlo Bathroom Faucet in brushed gold)

Though it was a fairly tedious project, painting the vanity instead of getting a brand new one saved us a good chunk of money. Another cost-saving decision was keeping our existing mirrors, light fixtures and cabinet hardware, since they mostly still coordinated with the new updates. Also, we obviously didn't replace the flooring either — that was just way more than we wanted to get into at this point.

Neither one of us was too familiar with the Kraus brand before this, but it turns out these faucets are really beautiful and high-quality. The brushed gold is almost more of a champagne color.

This shelf has been here for years, but now the vases and canvas print stand out much more against the light gray walls. 

I'd love to hear what you think about the new paint colors and other updates! If it were your bathroom, how would you have transformed it on a budget?

Master Bathroom Makeover: Part I (Lots of painting!)

I'm trying to remind myself that I don't always have to wait until finishing a DIY project to blog about it. I mean, let's face it, it's usually weeks or months from beginning to "end." And for my latest project (our master bathroom makeover) that's certainly the case. With that said, here's a progress update!

Back in July, I started painting all the walls. The old color was Tree Branch by Sherwin Williams (don't ask why I chose this color in the first place).

The new color is Colonnade Gray by SW. Bye bye, brown!

Maneuvering the ladder in the toilet room was one of the worst parts. But it doesn't feel like a dark cave in there anymore!

A few weeks after the walls, I worked up the motivation to start painting our vanity. Chalk painting is my go-to method for transforming cabinets without paying for brand new ones (see our kitchen makeover and hall bathroom makeover). This time, however, I got much more adventurous and ambitious with my technique than past projects. What did I have to lose? Anything would be an improvement over the orange-y oak stain.

My initial goal was to achieve some kind of aqua/turquoise color that would complement the walls and existing tile floor (which I'm not a fan of, but definitely not replacing it). After a great deal of experimenting on scrap wood with color mixing, layering and waxing, I finally came up with a winning combination.

• First, I painted on a layer of Annie Sloan Florence. This color is bold and beautiful. I want to use it again someday for a smaller accent piece, but for this vanity it made a good base color.
• For the second layer, I mixed together French Linen and Provence with some water to create a color wash and lightly brushed that on.
• I distressed the edges by wiping a damp cloth along the edges to remove some of the paint.
• Once everything was dry, I applied clear wax followed by dark wax, which was then wiped off to create an antiqued effect. 

First coat...

Color wash...

Lightly distressed edges...

Antiquing with dark wax...

Of course, these were just the doors and drawers. I also had to do the same thing to the rest of the vanity, which was more tedious with all the taping. As you can see, I was too impatient/lazy to even take out our toiletries.

When this all began, I thought I might end up spray painting or even just replacing the hardware. But once I saw the end result from the chalk painting and waxing, our existing hardware color (an antiqued brass) was actually perfect for this new look. Score!

Since then I've also painted the wood panels of our jetted tub using the same process. And we've ordered a new all-white countertop with integral sinks from Home Depot, as well as two brushed gold faucets that should tie everything together nicely. My hope (at the risk of jinxing something) is that we'll have all that replaced within the next month and can officially check this master bathroom makeover off the list! Stay tuned...