Hall bath reveal
Apologies in advance for the length of this 5x10 hall (guest) bath reveal narrative.
It's located right at the T-junction of my hall that leads to the bedrooms and garage, so it's a hub point and very visible. I typically don't close bathroom doors when not in use and, since I live alone, I never, ever close the bathroom door unless someone's over. Meaning this is a room I see all the time.
Other than the Before tile floor, towel bar, and surface mounted medicine cabinet, everything was original to when the house was built in 1991. When my DH was alive, he used the small en suite master bath and this was my bathroom. It's immediately adjacent to the bedroom door so it was convenient. It's a much better bathroom than the en suite one. After my DH died, I decided it would be too impractical and a waste of space for me to not use his old bathroom, so I moved into it and made a few cosmetic changes.
The hall bath has the only tub in the house, which I wanted to keep. However, the old tub was so uncomfortable (straight back, no scooting down into the water) that I maybe took one bath a year. I thought about replacing the tub and could see that would require new tile and everything snowballed from there.
No structural, plumbing or electrical changes. It was basically replace in kind, just a different kind. :)
I ordered some things through my KD/BD and bought other things myself. She recommended a contractor, one of three I interviewed. His estimate was the highest, but most complete and straightforward. He was a gem. Every single person who worked in my bathroom was fantastic. I would hire this guy again in a heartbeat.
The only real glitch was a squeak/bounce under the row of floor tile next to the tub. It had to be redone twice before the problem was fixed, along with some additional cross bracing from below between the floor joists.
Tub - Duravit acrylic
Sink - Kohler Archer
Faucet - Grohe Arden
Tub spout, shower valve trim - Grohe Arden
Hand spray - Grohe New Tempesta Cosmopolitan
Vanity - Columbia, alder, coffee stain
Counter - Honed carrara
Med. cab - Kohler
Light - Hinkley Avon
Floor tile - Happy Floor Eternity Gray
Shower tile - Daltile Arctic White
Toilet - Toto Drake 1.2 gpf (round, regular height)
Knobs - House of Antique Hardware Hex. glass
Towel bar/ring/TP holder - Pottery Barn Hayden
Curtain rod - Moen
Shower curtain - BB&B $20 special
Mirror - Crate & Barrel Silver Birch, refinished by me with Liquid Leaf
Walls - SW Antique White
Trim - Kelly Moore Swiss Coffee
Chrome finishes, except brushed nickel floor register and existing door handle.
Before:
After:
So much agonizing
I fretted needlessly about being too matchy with all the chrome. As it turns out, I neither notice nor care. Had to go with a brushed nickel floor register, so there's that.
The framed mirror. Despite being called "SILVER Birch" and a salesman's assurance that the finish was quite silver, it had a gold tone about it. It was lovely, but I didn't want gold. I refinished it with liquid leaf after a disastrous Rub 'n' Buff episode. I was ready to chuck the entire mirror. I was very angry with myself. The mirror doesn't photograph well, but it's now acceptable to me. Next time I would do a very large, unframed, beveled mirror. Framed mirrors are not all they're cracked up to be. :)
After getting a white kitchen I was very sure I wanted a stained vanity. I wanted a mid-toned stain, but when all was said and done, it came out much darker than I'd envisioned. It's okay, but the lesson learned is to take as much time with stain color as every other element. I'm in love with all the space I have with the drawers and increased height of the vanity.
I love my Avon light. It takes up to 100 watts per light (there are 5), but I discovered that 40-watt vanity (boob) lights provide a perfect amount. I have since stocked up with 10 more bulbs before California outlaws all the incandescents.
The floor's okay, preferred something darker and more uniform in color, but it's growing on me.
I ordered the 1.6 gpf Drake but received the 1.28 because California insisted on it. I was not happy about it, as I hadn't gotten Sani-Gloss. I discovered the secret long flush, so it's all okay.
The mother lion and her baby poster was in another room and got pressed into service because the old artwork was too ratty looking. The lions have a bit of history and I'm not a big fan of putting things on the wall I'm not somehow attached to. I printed and framed an iPhone closeup of Bessie for over the toilet.
Comments (26)
Fori
9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
bowbat
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eclectic mcm kit/dining/half bath reveal (LOTS pics)
Comments (44)Thanks again everyone. I just wanted to add that we definitely shared the "trepidation" some of you mentioned when we first contemplated renovating the spaces. I think in retrospect it was a good thing that the job of selling our previous house prevented us from moving into this home until a month before the demo began. I think if we had lived here for very long it would have been much harder to take on such a big remodel (and I can definitely relate to why the second owners chose to change nothing.) We couldn't have accomplished this without our fantastic GC and cabinetmaker. Our cabinetmaker took our original vision and made it so much better. It was he who designed the shape of the bar table to match the angle of kitchen counter and designed almost on the spot the boomerang shelves when we discovered that the fireplace stone didn't go all the way down to the counters. His company does custom work at very reasonable prices -- if you live in the Twin Cities area, I can recommend them highly. rhome410 -- below is the original floor plan. The home is a split level (the floor plan shows only the top floor of the split levels) The only structural changes we made were: 1) to eliminate the wall of cabinetry and shorten the half wall between the kitchen and dinette area; 2) lengthen the half bath by removing the doggy bath in the laundry area ellendi -- great idea! in fact, our home will be part of a home remodeling tour later this summer AngAx -- I agree that homes in WI are more standardized than we were used to (we are originally from the west coast.) However, after buying our home, we became more attuned to finding the MCM gems.... they are here and SO much more affordable than on the west coast. p.s. I love white kitchens too :) flyleft -- your enthusiasm cheered my DH up amazingly! (He is overall very happy with the move and renovations but at times laments the year of our life dedicated to it :) Re: the pottery on the boomerang shelves, the vintage cannisters were a gift from a dear friend in France. The rest have been purchased from artisan potteries in France. louisanapurchase -- "looks more original than the original" -- wow -- thanks so much. We couldn't have hoped for more. javachik -- It sings to us too! Thanks!...See MoreNew bath reveal from 1988 to now!
Comments (4)It looks great! Tell us more about what you used. Floor, counter, fixtures, lighting?...See MoreMaster and hall bath reveals
Comments (9)In the hall bath I love the coppery trim outlining the pearly glass tiles, and how this was used in both the shower and backsplash. Are those little succulents growing in the 3 tubes on the counter? Cool! In the master, I also gravitated toward the blue cabinet. I love the little tulips on top. I see that you remembered a nice solid toe rest for the shower. I agree that you have a nice vibe in both rooms, peaceful with a touch of whimsy. Congratulations!...See MoreMaster Bath Reveal -- Contemporary Craftsman
Comments (13)dmpsd, thanks. The tile is Ann Sacks Pietra Calacatta porcelain tile in 15" x 30" size. I had planned to have the tile set randomly, but after opening the boxes, I realized that the tiles formed a pattern; I laid them out together like a jigsaw puzzle on my bedroom carpet and labeled them for the tile setter. I was missing some pieces of the puzzle, so needed to get creative. It may be possible to order the tiles numbered, but I had not considered it when I ordered them. The towers next to the sinks are 11.5-inches deep and 14" wide on the exterior; the interior size is 11 x 11". The towers on the makeup vanity are 11.5" deep and 16" wide on the exterior; the interior is 11" deep by 12.5" wide. I have had issues with the stain on the bottom of the towers running onto the countertop next to the sink; if I had known that would happen, I would have wrapped the bottom of the sink towers with Caesartone. Here are a couple more photos. The makeup vanity is at "desk" height (lower than the sink vanity) and is not as deep as the sink vanity (that is, shorter distance from edge of counter to mirror)....See MoreBunny
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