the bathroom…finally

So, yeah.  Waaaay back in September of last year, we started the grand task of remodeling our bathroom.  And, a grand task it was.  We completely gutted the bathroom, and started over from scratch.  Luckily, the husband does this sort of thing for a living, so I just did a lot of “hold this” and “get me that”, which was perfectly fine with me. :)

We took a week off of work, and pretty much did the entire project in a 2 1/2 week period.  Let me tell you, that was quite an interesting 2 1/2 weeks (we have a grand total of 1 bathroom in our house, therefore we were without a shower for several days, and without toilet for almost 2 full weeks. yeah…interesting.)  The first week, while we were off work, we pretty much worked non-stop on the remodel, and the second week we worked on it every chance we got after work and on the weekends.  Tired was an understatement once it was all said and done.

But the tired was totally worth it.  And the going without a toilet?  Also totally worth it.  Because I now have a shiny new bathroom complete with fresh paint, new fixtures, and a clean tub.  All things that were missing from the previous bathroom which was pretty much just old and dirty, and not much more.

I intended to take pictures and blog some before & after shots quite a long time ago…but, there were (and still are) a few details left that I wanted to finish before the big reveal.  Well, I’m not convinced those are going to get finished any time soon, and since pretty much all of our family and friends have come over to see the new bathroom, I figured it was about time to post these pictures.

So now, over 5 months later, here are the before and after pictures…enjoy!








I am in. LOVE. with my new vanity.  Especially considering how u-g-l-y the previous one was…

The window was another major transformation.  Its so nice not to have to have a shower curtain *inside* the shower, and to not have to look at that old, rotting window anymore!  The glass block window is one of my favorite features of the remodel.  It is the only thing we paid someone else to install, but it was oh so worth it.
A couple of other details I am in love with about the new bathroom…

 

Custom tile border in the shower

Built-in shelves in the shower - fabulous



And Matt’s own personal creation – the flat-mirror-turned-built-in-medicine-cabinet!  It looks like just a mirror hanging on the wall, but the mirror is actually the door to my custom built medicine cabinet!  This is perfect in our teeny tiny bathroom, because it gives us much-needed storage, without taking up additional space.

So there you have it, my rockin’ new bathroom.  What do you think?!  Not that it matters, because I LOVE it. :)

Oh, and I’m sure the big question on your mind is what was our budget.  Well, seeing as we didn’t have to pay for labor (thank goodness for that handyman of a husband of mine), our budget was purely for materials.  We allocated $2,000 for the project, and in the end came in around $2,300 (I will admit I never did sit down and do a final total…but I kept tabs on it all along so I had a pretty good idea of where we were).  The glass block window is what made us go over budget, as we initially planned on making and installing this ourselves.  But, since Matt had very little experience with it, and we didn’t have a whole lot of time for re-dos, we decided to hire it out.  Still, in the end, I think we got a pretty fantastic deal on a complete bath remodel. :)

I am still on the hunt for the perfect cabinet to put above the toilet for some additional storage, as well as some type of art for the wall above the towel rack.  I just can’t seem to find a cabinet in the right size, and color to match the vanity, and, well, I started my own little “art project” to hang on the wall, but I didn’t really like how it came out and nothing has caught my eye just yet.

So, maybe by September of this year the room will actually be *completely* finished.  I’m not too worried about it, though, as long as I have a working toilet and shower, I am a happy girl. :)