A DIY small bathroom renovation and reveal |For what it's worth

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Tuesday

A DIY small bathroom renovation and reveal

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I have finished both the guest bathroom and our master bathroom.  They are updated and slightly renovated.  I did most of it myself - DIY hubs changed out the toilets for me.  Those suckers are heavy!  Actually, we put new water saving toilets in the master and #3 bath.  The #2 guest bath toilet is still is good shape and matches the décor.  Here is a tour of the guest bath. 
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I started by painting both bathrooms shades of white.  Ceilings, walls, trim and cabinets were an aged gold-ish yellow. The guest bath has a green tile that I like better now that it’s against the white.  After the painting antique white in the guest bath I used Frog tape to mark off wide stripes.  Since I wanted a very subtle stripe I painted every other stripe a bright white.  It’s barely noticeable at first but as you look around at the different textures you start to see it.  All the yucky aged yellow is gone.  I think the glossy white wood work makes the most difference in the room.  Daughter in law and I shopped together for new cabinet hardware and found some sparkly crystal knobs with matching towel hangers.  I love them.  Really I do. 

crystal cabinet knobs

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 Now when I hide in the bathroom it's not just to eat chocolate in private.

When it came to the windows I liked the old shutters just fine but the room is pretty small and they crowded the space the way magazines stacked in a hoarders house does.  In their place I hung white pull shades that I added some sparkly crystal tassels.  I also used tension rods on the lower half to hang some white cotton flour sack tea towels I picked up at a craft store.  The clips holding them up were recycled from some old curtain treatments at our last home.  I just sprayed them a matt silver to go with the brushed nickel towel hooks, new light fixture and faucet. BTW.  I discovered you can get pull down shades custom cut at no additional cost at Home Depot making my window treatments cost under $30.   Standing in front of those windows I imagine I’m on a lanai watching tall grasses sway in the wind toward the sunset. Okay, that’s a little exaggerated but I am liking the window treatments.

guest bathroom reveal

Speaking of new light fixture… that was the hick up in this project.  The old fixture just did not work for me so I found one I liked for $34 and thought I was being careful not to buy one that would hang too low and block the mirror.  I mis-measured by about 1/4”.  When my son finished hanging it using the existing light box the medicine cabinet mirror wouldn’t open.  Fortunately we have a great antique shop in town that I scoured until I found an acceptable pair of globes that were the required shorter size.  They actually look really nice and only cost $5 for the pair.

before after bathroom update

The last big step in finishing this make over was changing the flooring.  I pulled up some pretty nasty 1970’s carpet right after we moved in and painted the sub floor white.  Although I really liked the white floor it was soon obvious to me that Texas red dirt and white floors don’t look all that great together.  The solution came after we pulled out the old shag carpet in the adjoining hall and discovered oak floors.  As soon as those floors were refinished I gathered vinyl plank flooring samples, tossed them on the floor to find a perfect match.  I ordered my choice on line from Home Depot and it was delivered  in 10 days.  The vinyl plank floors match the wood floors so well someone would have to study them to know the bathroom is not oak.   I spent two days putting the flooring down because I had to hand cut each plank to fit around the tub and then caulk.  The plank flooring I bought for less than $3.00 sq. ft. is pretty thick but I used some heavy duty kitchen shears I “used to cut meat with” and some muscle to get it done.  The straight cuts were simple because all you have to do is use a box cutter to score the top of the vinyl and break it with a snap!   The rest went pretty quick snap locking each plank together across the room.  Because the wall tile has a fluted bottom I used caulk to hide the edges instead of the usual quarter round molding.  That reminds me… add new kitchen shears to shopping list.
 bathroom window treatment hardware vanity

There’s a lot of white décor and I like it.  I’ve really been drawn to white pallets this year.  I put up a cheap white vinyl shower curtain that has a geometric square pattern from Dollar General because I haven’t found a perfect shower curtain yet and I’m liking it.  A nickel atomic clock, garden fairy and a tulip painting are all there’s room for on the walls.  I also hung a pretty wind chime that encourages me to think about that breezy lanai.

guest bath shower curtain

I invited some friends over for lunch and reveal the update.  They of course loved it.  Find out my not so secret cleaning secrets here.

I’ll show you the master bedroom and bath in a few days.  I’m still looking for the perfect lamps to go by the bed.  Meanwhile if you would like to see what else we’ve done at this 1956 fixer upper, I’d love to show you around.