TOUR MY

Downstairs Bathroom
 

From an outdated, cramped 1/2 bath to a gorgeous and more functional 3/4

The above picture is the ‘before.’ This crowded little bathroom + laundry has never worked well for us.

We created more space in there by moving the laundry out into the breakfast nook area. That gave us enough room to add a shower and create more space for the toilet. The change cut into our breakfast nook, but the new laundry area and breakfast nook is so much more functional that it was a good compromise.

When we finish the sunporch, just down the hall from the bathroom, we’re making that room a living room with a pull-out couch. So, this whole section of the house can become either a new living space for us or a mini-suite for overnight guests.

This change has added some much-needed functionality to the house and it should add some resale value for when we decide to sell. Which isn’t happening anytime soon, but still.

Here’s what we did to change this bathroom from ho-hum into a stunner.

PROJECT overview

JUST THE FACTS, MAM

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WALLS: Behr Premium Plus Ultra Sierra N240-4 Matte
TRIM: Behr Premium Plus Ultra Timid White PR-W12 Semi-Gloss
CEILING: Glidden Ceiling Paint Goes on Pink, Dries White

Because we hired out the carpentry and plumbing, the cost to renovate this room was second only to the kitchen

COST BREAKDOWN

Carpentry, Plumbing: $9800

Appliances: $278

Wall art: $260

Paint Supplies: $35

Lighting Fixture: $110

Hardware: $77

Decor: $405

Furniture: $515

Window Treatments: $108

Organization: $248

Flooring (tile): $100

TOTAL: $11,828

Money doesn’t grow on trees. So how did we pay for this? Check out my post 6 Ways You Can Finance Your Renovation and I’ll fill you in!

 Time to complete: 6 months

We started in November but had to stop work for 6 weeks or so in December due to a death in the family, so the timeline got extended out longer than we had expected.

Nov ’17 – May ’18  Moved the laundry to its new location & pulled out the toilet, sink & floor. Installed the new floor, shower, vanity and toilet.

Problems & Challenges

The biggest problem we had with this room was that the timing. We had to start and stop a few times due to other personal commitments. But it was worth the wait!

For (non-affiliate) links to my purchases, see Shopping Link section below

The renovation was costly but the improvements were amazing!

  • The change added a second shower to the house. YAY!
  • The tiny, cramped ugly bathroom became a roomier, pretty and very functional bathroom.
  • The laundry area, which barely fit in the old space, is now an amazingly functional area. I honestly love doing laundry now.
paint colors

Paint

DIY house projects

WALLS: Behr Premium Plus Ultra Sierra N240-4 Matte
TRIM: Behr Premium Plus Ultra Timid White PR-W12 Semi-Gloss
CEILING: Glidden Ceiling Paint Goes on Pink, Dries White

project costs

Cost

Because we hired out the carpentry and plumbing, the cost to renovate this room was second only to the kitchen

COST BREAKDOWN

Carpentry, Plumbing: $9800

Appliances: $278

Wall art: $260

Paint Supplies: $35

Lighting Fixture: $110

Hardware: $77

Decor: $405

Furniture: $515

Window Treatments: $108

Organization: $248

Flooring (tile): $100

TOTAL: $11,828

Money doesn’t grow on trees. So how did we pay for this? Check out my post 6 Ways You Can Finance Your Renovation and I’ll fill you in!

project costs

Timing

Time to complete: 6 months

We started in November but had to stop work for 6 weeks or so in December due to a death in the family, so the timeline got extended out longer than we had expected.

Nov ’17 – May ’18 Moved the laundry to its new location & pulled out the toilet, sink & floor. Installed the new floor, shower, vanity and toilet.

project costs

Problems

Problems & Challenges

The biggest problem we had with this room was that the timing. We had to start and stop a few times due to other personal commitments. But it was worth the wait!

shopping links

Shopping

For (non-affiliate) links to my purchases, see Shopping Link section below

project costs

Improvements

The renovation was costly but the improvements were amazing!

  • The change added a second shower to the house. YAY!
  • The tiny, cramped ugly bathroom became a roomier, pretty and very functional bathroom.
  • The laundry area, which barely fit in the old space, is now an amazingly functional area. I honestly love doing laundry now.

before & AFTERS

What a remarkable difference!

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all the DETAILS

WHAT WE DID AND HOW WE DID IT

[et_pb_before_after before_image=”https://lovemyhouseblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/bathroom-downstairs-before-1.jpg” after_image=”https://lovemyhouseblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/bathroom-downstairs-before-02.jpg” style=”style-4″ transition=”fade” show_labels=”on” before_label=”Before – Left Side” after_label=”Before – Right Side” show_caption=”on” _builder_version=”3.2.2″][/et_pb_before_after]
STEP 1: Emptied the room

The picture above shows both sides of the ‘before’ room. We couldn’t do anything until we moved everything out. We moved the washer and dryer to their new location on the other side of the wall. Then we removed the toilet, sink and everything else. After the following picture was taken, we also removed the baseboard. We decided to leave the dryer vent where it was to save cutting another hole in the outside of the house. The plan was to build a narrow shelf around the vent.

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STEP 2: Layed down a new subfloor

Instead of pulling up the old floor we opted to put a sub floor over it. We then put backerboard over the sub floor to serve as a base for the tile.

STEP 3: Moved the doorway & resized the area for the shower

To make room for the shower on the left side of the room, the carpenter had to move the doorway a couple of inches to the right. And they had to size the space properly for the shower unit and put up new drywall.

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STEP 4: Placed the shower

We weren’t ready to actually hook up the shower but we had to put it in place at this point.

STEP 5: Installed all the new plumbing, electrical outlets and ceiling light/fan

Once the shower was in place, the plumber worked behind the scenes to set up all the plumbing between this room and downstairs – for the shower, the sink and the toilet. The electrician installed new outlets, electrical for the vanity light and the ceiling light/fan.

STEP 6: Painted the room & tiled the floor

Dom painted the walls in the room then installed the tile floor. See this post for details on how he did it. First picture is the backerboard and the picture just after that is the finished tile.

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STEP 7: Installed the toilet

At this point we weren’t quite ready to install the rest but we were really missing that second toilet so we got that installed as soon as we could.

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STEP 8: Hooked up the shower; installed the vanity/sink & the baseboards

We caulked all around the shower and then installed the fixtures and hooked up the plumbing. The plumber installed the new vanity, sink and faucet and hooked all of that up. Once that was done, Dom painted and installed all the baseboards.

Bathroom shower

STEP 9: Installed new sliding barn door

Because the hallway outside the bathroom is so narrow, we decided to install a sliding barn door instead of a traditional door. That really opened up the space and the door is a bit of a talking point!

We were able to re-use the room’s original door; Dom removed the door knob hole and the hardware, painted it then mounted the new barn door hardware (which we ordered online) on the top of the door. He added a hand slot on the inside of the door and a handle on the outside. He also had to add a privacy strip on the doorway wall since there was too large a gap between the door and the wall.

The finished door came out even better than we could have hoped. I love, love it!

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STEP 10: Finishing Touches

All the little things we did that completed the room:

  • Hung the vanity lights
  • Installed the towel bar, towel hook and toilet paper holder
  • Installed the towel rack over the toilet
  • Added switch plates
  • Installed a shelf and magazine rack across from the toilet
  • Added a wastebasket and bathroom cleaning tools
  • Added a beautiful new shower curtain (big splurge, but I love it!)
  • Purchased a set of new all-white towels – very spa-like!
  • Hung art on the walls and added decor (see pictures below)

Once the art was on the walls, our great-niece Mila christened the room ‘The Bunny Bathroom’ and the name stuck.

Roomview

Here’s the finished room, from 3 different viewpoints

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How about you?

Do you have a favorite area or room in your house that you’ve renovated? I’d love to hear about it. Please share in the comments below!

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Thanks SO much for reading!

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