The Most Important Room In The House

11:47 AM Unknown 0 Comments

Some may argue that this title goes to the kitchen, but when you live in a home with one bathroom you realize that just isn't so.

I have often been asked how we survive with just one bathroom. I am never sure how to answer this question. I can't lie and say I wouldn't be smitten with another bathroom or two, but we make it work. Our children are 16 and 20 and so far we have made this work for 17 years. My biggest advice to those who are considering a one bathroom home (if they even make those anymore)

is to make that one bathroom fantastic.

When we renovated we did not skimp on materials or settle for anything that was less than our dream bath.

OK so maybe that is a tiny lie. I did want one of these.

But I needed to be practical and have a shower as well.

Somewhere in my dreams I have a bathroom with one of these tubs. Back to reality.

It is no lie that I consider my bathroom one of the prettiest rooms in our home.

I spent years snipping pictures from magazines and compiling my wish list.

In the end I love the space and wouldn't change a thing which I haven't always been able to say after a renovation.

Warning here comes an "if I knew then what I know now moment".

Over the years we had updated the space here and there. We painted over existing tile.

Don't do this I beg of you! It camouflaged the ugly tile yes, but the upkeep of the painted tile was awful. We had to redo it yearly it never held up and it never really looked that great to start with. Trust me save yourself from the headache. If I had to do over I would have just decorated around the original ugly tile.

Speaking of that ugly tile here it is.........

Yes, you are seeing right. I think this could have qualified as the world's ugliest tile.
Here it is painted over.

We weren't crazy about the floor tile either.

It had definitely seen better days.

When we gutted our tiny bathroom down to the studs,
we found some surprises along the way.

Termite damage in the walls.
To say seeing this made my skin crawl was not an exaggeration.
I think my husbands heart sank a bit upon the site.
Thank goodness upon inspection we found out it was old damage and that we did not currently have an infestation.
Whew! Dodged a bullet there!
We replaced all the damaged wood and moved full speed ahead to the fun stuff.

Here are some pictures I took during the renovation.

Here is our wall after Red Guard was applied.
This we were told by the professionals was an
important step not to skip.

It paints on pink,but dries red.
Such a funny site, especially once we started tiling.

Our new sink.
It had to be modified a bit, but was well worth it.

New lighting.

And perhaps my favorite the new floor.
And the finished product.

The sink is from Ikea.
(More on that sink and the modification in another post)

The lights are from Home Depot.

As is the mirror.

The faucet is from Home Depot.
&
The subway tile and tile chair rail is from Lowe's.

The Floor tile is from Lowe's as well.
The towel bar is from Home Depot and the shower curtain rod is from Bed Bath & Beyond.

The wall color is Bedford grey.
It is an old Martha Stewart color I purchased it from Home Depot.
I don't think I missed anything, but if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.
The bathroom really is my dream come true with
all of the finishes I wanted.
I think it is a classic style that will hold the test of time making it perfect for my forever home.
The neutral background allows for a lot of versatility, by simply changing the shower curtain and accessories you get an entirely different feel.
I would love to hear what you think.
Feel free to leave a comment.