bathroom before & after

Way back in October, Ben and I jumped into a bathroom renovation. It ended up taking much longer than either one of us had estimated. It also ended up costing a lot more than either of us has estimated, but such is life in an old house. Since the project is complete and we have moved on to the upstairs bathroom, I wanted to finally document here the before and after. 

Remember the before? The green tile that had seemed kind of charming for about the first 48 hours of owning the house quickly began to make it feel dark and cavelike in the bathroom, especially when the sunshine was not coming in through the window.  The pedestal sink was also okay with me at first, until I realized there was nowhere to put your things in that bathroom. The floor was the only part of the bathroom that I liked because Ben had replaced it in the first year of living here. Unfortunately, Ben was not happy with the floor and his eyes would move to the flaws/uneven pieces every time he was in that room. All in all, it was just a bathroom that was a perfect candidate for a makeover. 

And a makeover it got.

I am so happy with the after!

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The bathroom was ripped down to the studs and is pretty much a brand new bathroom at this point. Plumbers and electricians were hired to update everything for us. Ben installed a new marble floor. He raised the ceiling of the room about two and a half feet.  He laid white subway tile and replaced the toilet. We picked out a buffet we loved in an antique store on Cherokee Street and turned it into a vanity.  Ben had the plumber install the shower head right where he wanted it so that, for the first time in his adult life, Ben has a shower that fits his 6' 6" frame.

Every inch of this bathroom held a decision for us, one that was analyzed and then analyzed again... and then analyzed again and again.  We debated on tile and flooring for entirely too long. The walls have been painted three times to find just the right shade of gray. (The top picture of the three above is the one that accurately shows the gray. The bottom two pictures make the walls look more brown for some reason.) The vanity has been yellow, then green, then blue, and is now (maybe) going to stay ivory. Even going to the granite dealer and picking out a slab to be used for a top for our vanity was full of choices. And then the faucet, the sink fixtures, the lighting fixture, the towel and toilet paper holders, the mirror above the sink..... so . many. decisions!  We just wanted every little detail to be just what we wanted, because otherwise spending so much time and money on one little room in the house no longer felt worth the hassle.

It was quite a project, but one that improves this house tremendously. Since this only-one-on-the-main-floor bathroom has to work hard for six people and all of the guests that come into this house, we love that it got these much needed fixes.

Side by side comparisons, just for fun---