quite possibly the worst bathroom in the world: TRANSFORMED

15 years ago

After a couple of months of hard labor, we're enjoying our new, vintage-style guest bath. especially given what we started with:

Now for the much more appealing after:

Additional photos are at the link below. Details:

- 100% DIY, completed for just over $2600

- Wall tile: Dal-Tile subways from HD with Delorean Gray grout

- Floor tile: Carrera marble hex tile from ebay, same grout

- Tub: Original, and unfortunately, you can tell

- Sink: Lowe's

- Sink Faucet: Price Pfister Ashfield in Satin Nickel - a waterspot MAGNET

- Medicine Cabinet: Lowe's

- Vanity light fixture: Commercial Electric, HD

- Soap holder over sink: vintage, ebay

- Polished Nickel cup and toothbrush holder: Restoration Hardware

- Shower fixtures: Peerless

- Wall paint: Dutch Boy Route 66

- Trim: Behr Creamy White

As always, many thanks to everyone on these boards for all your fantastic inspiration and insights.

Here is a link that might be useful: Additional photos of our new bathroom

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Comments (20)

sherri_09
15 years ago
Oh My! What an amazing transformation!! You did a wonderful job! Your new space looks very peaceful and pretty. Love the shower curtain-it fits perfectly. Would love to see a close-up of that gorgeous floor if you get a chance. Enjoy the fruits of your labor!
laxsupermom
15 years ago
Wow! Beautiful transformation! You did an amazing job!
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That's a great point about a mirror in that spot reflecting natural light back into the room. I think you would really love having very deep counters there too. Deep counters would also allow you to put sizable sinks in, which is a real benefit, IMO. Re: the shower. Unfortunately, I don't know how to do a drawing here. Let me see if I can describe what I mean better. The shower would be a walking, triangular, in the footprint of the jacuzzi tub there now. Facing the tub, there would be a glass wall coming out from the wall where your long vanity is going out to where it would meet the shower door joint. Shower door would be where the jacuzzi tub faucet is, right in the center there, facing the corner where the two sets of windows meet, attached to two glass panels on either side of the door. But then, where the shorter, single-sink vanity is now, imagine cutting that vanity, say, 1/3 from the right, so you have 2/3 of that space on the left. On the left you'd have a built-in cabinet to hold towels and such. On the right, the shower walls would be extend to include that area inside the shower with shelving to hold shampoo bottles, razors, etc. In other words, the shower would comprise of the entire window area. You'd have to speak to a plumber about where the faucets and shower head would be situation. You want to be able to reach your shampoo bottles w/o having to walk across the shower to get them and put them back. Maybe a shower head in the ceiling in the center of the shower? However, with glass walls and doors, you'll definitely want a hand shower nozzle in there too for cleaning, so it'd have to be figured out where that would go, probably by the shelving, near the old small single-vanity sink, since there is a water source right there. Knobs to turn on both the overhead shower and the hand shower could be on that slice of wall there vertically. You'd have to get into the shower to turn them on, though. Add some teak benching under the left window for shaving legs (or aging) and so you can reach the hand shower.
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This old thread got revisited. @dani_m08 to answer the question about extra probe, I believe I ordered an extra one when I bought the set up. The probe wire is just setting in the junction box I think but honestly I cant remember. When I laid out the underfloor heating and the probe, I just ran another probe near the first probe, and it was then sealed into the floor self leveling compound as per instructions. then the end was just threaded into the wall like the one that would be live, and not connected, but just laying there in the box. Regarding the tile layout. I just decided to run it this way, after getting instructions on the 90Degree way, IIRC. The herringbone that I love is from my childhood and the side walks in my neighborhood that all ran at 45Degree. so that to me is herringbone. I know you posted on @sochi thread about her amazing bathroom and a wall mounted faucet. I would totally do it if I had the right sink for it. In my case I had made my sink out of soapstone and an integrated backsplash. The pictures of this bathroom reveal are no longer available because of the use of photo bucket, when it was Gardenweb. I did not keep my account with photo bucket. I'll add some of the reveal pictures so you can see the sink and floor. Regarding the sink there is no ledge for water to drip from my hands when using the faucet. The water drips right into the sink. In my other bathroom with a deck mounted faucet I am always wiping up drips and it is a nuisance. I much prefer the setup for this sink. Below: I love the flush finish from the faucet to the bottom of the sink. nothing drips on a counter or edge of a sink. Below: looking in from the doorway. Below: Here I am finishing up the sink. the backsplash was epoxied on as a separate piece. The whole soapstone install in the room took next to nothing to buy as they were all small pieces that I epoxied together with a 3 part stone epoxy. Below: this is the counter at the tub, and is in 2 long pieces but I was able to epoxy them together at there edges to make a wide slab for the top. All the soapstone was finished with a 60 grit sandpaper to be rough and this lovely soft tone of blue/green/gray/white. I did not oil it so this color tone would remain light. Below: If I recall correctly @sochi helped me decide on this Hubberton Forge Mirror. I have 3 different metals in this room, but they are all a cool silver to black color. Below: the center of this tower shares space with the kitchen on the other side of the wall. there is also some extra space that houses some electrical wiring. this is an old simple house. this bathroom was an add on when it got move to the farm in the 30s IIRC. The plumbing was all rearrange and some of the details that were orignially there I kept but updated it, such as this tower feature. The old one went and the carpenter did a wonderful job with this one. Below: This feature was another thing I kept from the old bathroom but flipped it from the other end and had the carpenter put drawers in it. Before it was a hell hole. things got lost and the build was soooo old and creapy I didn't like using it for storage. Now it is perfect for storage.
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I think the obvious answer for me would be to make it a tub with shower combo. I think separating the 2 elements takes up more space than is necessary and probably costs more. I'd much rather shower in my bathtub than to take a bath down the hall from the master. The tub also keeps the water from getting out of the shower. I have never lived in a house that had a separate shower and tub in the same bathroom, so don't see the great benefit. It is 1 more thing to keep clean and I'd rather use the extra space for a closet or something useful. If I had a huge house, then I'd consider separating the 2 functions. In our case, we bought our house with an ugly master bath. We assumed the shower leaked because there was a large crack in the floor tiles. We used the shower stall as a closet, pre-reno. We planned on adding a large air tub but could not make one fit in the space comfortably without giving up too much bedroom. We ended up making a larger half bath with no shower and are just fine with our decision. We have 2 other full baths in our house, so the 3rd was overkill. OTOH, both dh & I would love to someday have a a master bathroom that had a nice size air tub/jacuzzi. We are big time soakers and would get loads of use out of one. It would be nice to not tie up the family bathroom every time one of us wants to take a bath. A master shower is no real thrill for us because we get up at different times in the a.m.. I'd rather he not shower nearby while I am trying to sleep in the early a.m.. A tub is more a nighttime thing.
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As a real estate appraiser I would advise to try to keep it. It will reduce the valuation by a few percent. If I were to appraise your home, I would now have to compare and adjust it from a 3 bathroom home to a 2.5. That's anywhere from $2,500 to $5,000 adjustment downwards. Understand that I don't know where you live or your real estate market. Even though there is no bedroom on the floor, it's a very usable space. At the very least, I'd put in a shower. You just never know when someone will lose their mobility. It looks like an older home. If your laundry room is in the basement, you may want to reconfigure it to bring the laundry up to the main living area. That would be an improvement in utility and the only reason why I would consider eliminating it. Hard to see everything, but you could reconfigure the doorway/entry and take over that vestibule area.
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wecandoit
15 years ago
Your bathroom is BEAUTIFUL! Your hard work really paid off! Congratulations!
kpaquette
15 years ago
Beautiful!!! I kind of like the vintage tub - it's hard to tell in the small pics but it looks like it's in good shape!
jannie
15 years ago
What a great job, I love it and the price is right!
bluekitobsessed
15 years ago
Wow! I'm impressed not only with the beautiful "after," but also with your hard work and budget! You must be very proud of yourselves!

Blue
sweeby
15 years ago
Wow! What a transformation! You must be thrilled --
mahatmacat1
15 years ago
Congratulations! You don't show us the floor or tub in closeup, though...we could commiserate with you and still ooh and aah about the amazing work you've done. Just beautiful.

A question: did you have to change out the tub/shower valves? We have some 1978 vintage Moen in DD's bath, currently demo'd and awaiting rebuilding, but I'd really like to be able to use something else and I have a feeling that that old Moen wouldn't fit any current Moen anyway...did you do that? Or how did you work around it? TIA :)
megradek
15 years ago
Fantastic!!! congrats on a great DIY!
raehelen
15 years ago
OK- I was ready to dispute the 'quite possibly the worst' BR until I saw the pictures! :>) Beautiful transformation! I too wanted to see a close-up of the floor tiles!
na_praha
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for all the nice comments. I'll take some close up shots of the floor tonight for those who are interested. It's beautiful but also very busy, so it's good that this is a tiny room. The tub, like the rest of the bathroom before we moved in, was "run hard and put away wet": hours of elbow grease and still has a gray cast. But the lines of it are wonderful, and obviously the price is right! (I should stress that those before pictures were taken before we moved in. Once we did, we took some interim steps, involving a lot of disinfectant and paint, to make it less of a hazzmat zone before we could get to the renovation...
na_praha
Original Author
15 years ago
Overdue, but as promised, a detail shot of the Carrera hex tile, which needs a bit of a scrub:

This is with flash, and pretty true to the color.
bmrbabe
15 years ago
Your transformation is awesome! The floor is very pretty - thanks for posting a close up of it.

If your tub is still "grey," consider having it refinished. We had it done in our previous house and it made a huge difference; it really looked like a brand new tub and brightened up the entire space.

Congrats on a job beautifully done!
moremoremore
15 years ago
Diggin it big time! Congrats!
I really like the paint color...it's hard to tell on the computer, is it a true grey? Love it.
jejvtr
15 years ago
Na

That is one stunning transformation!! & DIY WOWZA!!!!!!

Yes, you do win the "worst bathroom on GW" award, the worst I've seen in any event - Oh my that is just wrong!

I too love that Carrera hex - I have white porcelain hex in mine -

ENJOY - just stunning
hmsweethm
15 years ago
Stunning! Congratulations. Beautiful colors, beautiful materials. You captured the vintage era very nicely.
na_praha
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks everyone!

moremoremore, the color is a funny sort of putty color; it's mostly gray with some pink undertones, which sounds hideous but really keeps it warm - important in the often-dreary Pacific NW.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dutch Boy Route 66 chip, FYI
brutuses
15 years ago
What you started with was one horrible mess. Ugh!! Your transformation is unbelievable.
norasnews
15 years ago
Thanks for posting on my query re: beadboard/tile mechanics.. I had seen this post before, but was so stunned by the transformation, I did not notice the beadboard/tile "meeting" at all.. (funny how, you can look at a room and not notice all the nuances!)

Anyway, I LOVE your beadboard. We are debating PVC vs. panel, vs. the real magilla.. Can you please tell me which about your's? Is it the real tongue and groove? Panel? or PVC? Did you make the chair rail with two pieces of trim?

SO many questions! Thanks!
na_praha
Original Author
15 years ago
Good questions. We've now used beadboard in two bathrooms and, at the risk of going overboard, are going to use it as the kitchen backsplash as well (laid horizontally). In all cases we've used MDF panels under semi-gloss paint. None of the surfaces are able to soak in water, and their well-caulked, but PVC would probably be the safest bet in damp environments. We chose a board (from our local lumber supply yard vs. HD or Lowes) that had deep, authentic-looking grooves. I adore true tongue and groove, but my husband, the main carpenter of the operation, wasn't interested in the time needed to install it. The chair rail is two 1.5 x .5 inch trim pieces laid perpendicular to one another. I really like this detail, and it's a cinch to do. Good luck with your decisions! Whatever you do will be great...

quite possibly the worst bathroom in the world: TRANSFORMED

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quite possibly the worst bathroom in the world: TRANSFORMED

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