Monday, June 9, 2014

The Finished Bathroom!

The bathroom is finished- it took exactly 4 WEEKS so I think we did pretty good... oh and Nathan started a new job in there at some point- he's a trooper! I finally had time this weekend to take some After photos... or else I would have posted this much sooner! Here she is in all of her clean and fresh glory... aka EXACTLY what I was wanting!
 
(You can check out the previous bathroom posts here- Demo, New Layout & Drywall, Tub & Tile, Floor TilePaint & Storage, Board and Batten, Lighting & Mirror )
 
 
And here's a ton of Before and Afters- the best part about makeovers!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 

Just a reminder of how the layout was before....


 
And here is the finished layout...
 
 

 
 
One of the best parts of the bathroom ended up being the storage behind the toilet. We are still planning on installing doors to cover the top two shelves. It looks pretty now, but I'm really needing some closed storage for my random colored towels and odds and ends. The bottom shelf will remain open.

Until we get the doors, I'm enjoying the open shelving and its prettiness.

 
 
The board and batten is one of my favorite parts of the bathroom- and one of the easiest to do.
 

 
The vanity was a Craigslist buy. We thought it was originally 'white' but when we put the 'very white' vanity top on, we realized it was more of an ivory color and was not working at all! All different kinds of whites and ivories are a bad combo. I took on the vanity project and ended up painting the vanity the same color as the walls- Valspar "Bay Waves". (We had the paint already so again it was an easy decision). I'm really glad we painted it because it breaks up the white, but is still very subtle.
  
 
 
I LOVE the vanity- I was really wanting something that looked more like furniture, so when this came up on Craigslist- we negotiated right away and were on our way to pick it up. There are some doors that need adjusting if you look closely, but it's serving it's function and looking pretty.
 
We also replaced the knobs- these are a cheapo brand from Lowes!
 
 
 
 
 
Speaking of vanity top- ours is from Lowe's. Nathan's parents used this same top for their bathroom renovation and I knew that this is what we would use the first time I saw it. The clean lines are great and it also doesn't have a backsplash that a lot of the vanity tops have. It just sits right up against the wall which helps the vanity have more of that furniture look. (It's the little things!) I love how the modern top contrasts with the classic style faucet. (Aquasource faucet from Lowes).

 
 
 
Yep- I love this faucet.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Enough pics of the sink. Home Depot Martha Stewart sconces above the mirror...
 
 
 
 
Some $4 coat hooks were added to the board and batten. Great accessories to pull in the polished look.
 
  
 
 
 Basket was a TJ Maxx find.

 
 
The tub has proven to be the hardest area to take pictures due to no natural light... but it's also my favorite place in the room since I use it so much :)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Why not a few more Before and Afters? So glad we took out that window! I do not miss it... other than when I need some sunlight to take blog pictures of the bathroom... but I don't foresee myself taking much more of these any time soon.
 

 
 
 
And that is the bathroom! I can't believe it's done. I am still needing some artwork on the walls, but I hate hanging things up for the sake of filling room. I'd rather have a blank wall then something I don't like... so I'm on the search.
 
Sometimes I walk in and forget that it's not this....
 
 
 
 ....but it's THIS! And done just in time for baby :) Thank God!!!!
 

 
Finishing up the nursery this week- hoping to post one big post soon, but who knows- this baby may come before any post goes up. We shall see! 
 
-Tricia 

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Boarding It Up!

Once the baseboards and storage were in, it was time to take on the lower portion of the walls. As I said here, we painted just the top portion of the wall gray because board and batten was planned for the lower half.
 
We took 4.25" wide boards and nailed them in horizontally. To determine the height of the placement, we just determined what looked right to us… but it also helped to use the light switch location as a guide- we just put it in an inch above it.
 
 
 
After the horizontals were nailed in, we took 3" wide boards and installed them about every 15" inches. Some areas aren't spaced exactly 15" apart because they either needed to be closer or further apart to make it all look visually balanced with its surroundings. A lot of it was "eyed" and it ended up working out great.
 
 
 
 
 
After all of the boards were nailed in- I spackled and Nathan caulked. Once the caulk was dry we smacked on a few coats of "Clean White" paint by Valspar and it was done! Board and batten is one of the quickest projects we've done.
 
 
 
 
 
The look of the board and batten really made such a big difference in the bathroom. When my friend was visiting last weekend, she said it helped make the room look even taller than what it is and I would have to agree with her.
 
 
This was one of those steps that could have easily been skipped, but I think the minimal time and effort was beyond worth it… probably my 2nd favorite thing about the bathroom! 
 
You may have also noticed the mirror in some of the pictures above. We actually used the same mirror that came from the old bathroom. It was probably the ONLY THING we saved. The mirror was in perfectly good shape. Nathan just used a glass cutter to cut it down to the size we needed.

 
 
 
We also ran electrical up the new vanity wall for some new outlets and lighting. 

 
 
Staying budget friendly, I found these Martha Stewart sconces at Home Depot. I like the look of individual sconces instead of one giant light fixture. Had we had a bit more room, I probably would have put them more on the side of the mirror, but they work well above it.
 
 
 
Nathan then installed some mounting clips for the mirror and hung that bad boy up. Looked good as new- even though it was reused!
 
 
 
We framed out the mirror before the board and batten. I believe the boards were either 4.5" or 5" wide. The below picture shows a happy Nathan seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
 
 
 
We actually ended up adding a bit more trim to the mirror, but below is the basic frame-out before any spackling, caulking, or painting. 
 
 
Here's a before and after of the new vanity wall. After picture is pretty dark I know- but I had no time to edit these :)   
 
Hope you're liking the progress. End is in sight!
 
-Tricia