I am pretty certain that my most favorite update in the house so far has been the master bathroom….or the kitchen…or the playroom…hmmm. Well, let’s just say it’s the master bathroom since that’s what I am showing you today. Here are some before pictures.

The reason I love it so much is probably because of the drastic change we pulled off on a pretty tight budget.  We moved in and knew that the carpet had to go, as did the wallpaper.  We stripped floors down to plywood and I thought, “Hey, I could live like this for little while.” That lasted about 3 days and I was searching for an easy and cheap “in-the-meantime” fix.  So I grabbed a case of stick on tiles from Home Depot and laid those down in the bathroom for under $100.

Then I looked at the walls and thought, “The wallpaper isn’t THAT bad.  You can live with this for a while.”  Again, within 3 days I found myself at Home Depot renting a wallpaper remover and beginning my first wallpaper project. The wallpaper almost won. I love a project.  I love a tough, knee deep renovation, but the wallpaper almost won.  Wallpaper removal is not for the faint of heart.  Nope. (luckily I had some “help…”)Primed the walls.  Painted the walls.  And that’s the way it stayed for about a year.Every time I went into the bathroom, I’d stand there and think about what I could do. I knew I needed light fixtures and new mirrors, but I also knew I wanted a little more of an update than that. So after a year, I started planning. And working. And visiting Home Depot in my spare time. The first thing I did was sand and paint the cabinets. After a crazy kitchen-cabinet-painting filled fall (you’ll see that in a later post), these few cabinets were cake walk! I also installed hardware on the drawers and cabinets.I swapped out the old gold faucets for new ones in brushed nickel. Used a pretty inexpensive fixture from Home Depot for this- Glacier Bay’s Mandouri 4 inch Centerset 2 Handle High-Arc Bathroom Faucet in Brushed Nickel.Then Jason and I took down these two gigantic mirrors (way easier than expected, by the way).  What we were left with was tons of glue and drywall damage.  But that didn’t really matter, because I had other plans for the walls anyway.  I began to put up tongue and groove shiplap on the walls and knew that it was a great choice and exactly what I was looking for.I searched for affordable mirrors that were large enough for this space with no luck. So I ended up purchasing two frameless, squared mirrors.  I put them up and them framed them and love the way it turned out.Then I raised up the light fixtures a few inches (and replaced them. Bye bye gold!). Ordered the Linden 4-Light Vanity from Wayfair for these. I also ended up removing the fixture in the middle because it wasn’t really needed.

I also built and added these shelves in that empty space between the mirrors.  With all the cabinet and drawer space, we didn’t really need these to function as storage so they are more decorative.  These shelves and brackets are also available in The Shop and can be customized to whatever size you need.I had a bunch of shiplap scraps left over from the vanity, so was able to do the sides of the tub, and the toilet-room as well.  BONUS!Then Jason, my not-so-handy-husband, wowed us all and swapped out the shower door for me! It was actually a very simple job.  Took out the old gold frame.  Replaced it and attached the new track and doors. Then re-caulked it all, and voila, brand-spanking new!Lastly, and less importantly, I did decide to spray paint the tub faucet.  I’d love to replace it some day, but it’s pricey, and $6 spray paint goes a long, long way here. So for now, this is great.After all this was finished, it was time to do flooring.  We ripped out the stick-tiles I put down and the 25-year old linoleum in the toilet-room and were table to find an affordable, hex-tile lookalike that is actually just vinyl flooring.  It’s the Menards Tarkett Urban Classic Collection. We were able to purchase it pretty easily through a local vendor and install it.After adding a fresh coat of paint, hanging some towel racks, adding some decor and rugs, and swapping out blinds, the bathroom looks like a totally new, updated space. I could not be happier with how it turned out!Check out before and afters of the entire house.
Check out The Shop for items in this post.