Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Powder Room Reno

If you've been following our journey from the start you probably remember just how darn ugly most of our house was! It was plastered with tacky wallpaper and the outlets covers were hidiously modge-podged with strange images of panda bears and rice farmers. I should have taken at least another shot of this room because you can barely see the ugly pine vanity and movie-star lighting.
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I might still have one or two of these in the kitchen if anyone is looking for a unique, artsy light switch. Although I am doubtful anyone will take me up on that.
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We started this renovation around December 14, 2008, hoping to have it done by December 22 since we had offered to host Christmas eve. We got it all ripped out (as witnessed here) on time, but then Wren unexpectedly made her debut on December 19. So it basically sat in that state for about 2 months, which was not the best situation with all the guests you have with a newborn.

But eventually we got it done!

When you first walk in this wall is your first view so we wanted to make it interesting. I found all these frames at HomeSense for $1 or $2 (here is the low down on that project), painted them up and filled them with black and white photos from Wren's first day at the park.
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We added a cheap and sleek new light fixture, but maybe we'll add pot lights later on when we extend the beadboard in to here as well.
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The toilet that was already in the room was perfectly functional with good lines, so all we added was a $12 nickel plated knob. You can find them at Home Depot and it is probably the quickest way to take a builder basic toilet and make it look high-end. The knob, shelf, toilet paper holder and towel rack were from Home Depot as well (by moen).
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We installed new tile, the same as in the laundry room, and staggered them in a brick formation for added interest.

The biggest challenge was ripping out and replacing the vanity. Since it is a powder room we had no need for under counter storage and opted for a pedestal sink. I had picked this one out by Kohler but the price tag was a staggering $1400! The reason I loved it was because of the 8 inch faucet placement (I am not a big fan of the 4 inch faucets). This was probably our first taste of true bargain hunting (back in 2008!) , as we ended up finding the exact one in a clearance pile at Rona for $120. It pays to keep your eyes open!!
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The faucet also came from Rona, and was $180. I love it's clean lines, yet it's nod to vintage style with the labelled handles.
Photobucket Our last and final additon is the driftwood mirror (instructions here)
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So here is the final breakdown:
Tile, mortar, and grout: $220
Tile saw rental: $22
Pedestal sink: $133
Various plumbing tools and parts: $79
New heat vent: $3.30
Faucet: $180
Hardware (shelf, towel rack, mirror etc.): $260
baseboards: $8

Total: $905
A lot of work, but all worth it to no longer feel embarassed when your guests ask to use the washroom!

33 comments:

Valerie@chateaualamode.typepad.com said...

Holly, I love the new bathroom. Looks amazing! I am absolutely in LOVE with your mirror. That is on my non-ending to-do list. I must make one of those! LOVE it! Thanks for all your inspirations.

Amy said...

Oh I love this bathroom! We have the exact same light fixtures in our bathroom.

m @ random musings said...

You have such a great eye for picking the right combination of decor -what a beautiful reno!

And thanks for the tip about the toilet handle (we managed to chip the one on the toilet, dont-ask-me-how). Question: do you find that the glass shelf interferes with getting into the toilet for repairs? I'd like to put some display shelves in my bathroom, but the only suitable wall space is above the toilet.

Thanks for sharing!

Karie Waters said...

Love the bathroom. We have the exact same layout and we had almost the exact same hideous wallpaper :-) Where you went clean and crisp, I went dark. Love yours!

Anonymous said...

looks great. i love the faucet & especially the mirror!

liz @ bon temps beignet said...

Excuse my french but, HO-LY cr@p!!!
Girl, you've got the magic touch. This bathroom looks amazing. We had a really ugly bathroom when we moved in to our house too...see:

http://bontempsbeignet.blogspot.com/2010/04/hall-bath-nightmare.html

YIKES

Anonymous said...

Hi Holly! Great bathroom reno! Been a long time reader and just wanted to say hi as well:) Love all your work!

We did a small upgrade to our guest bath (http://brickandbrack.net/2010/06/27/guest-bathroom…little-upgrade/)
and a full demo of our master bath (http://brickandbrack.net/2010/05/01/two-people-two-sinks/).
So I know your pain! Thanks for the constant inspiration!

All That Jazz said...

Wow, what a difference! Regarding the previous decor- sometimes you just gotta wonder, what were they thinkin'?????
I love the driftwood mirror, so beachy and clever!
~michelle~

alison (semi-fab lane) said...

that driftwood mirror turned out great. i can't believe the before pic of this powder room. wow, turned out great!

Beth West www.northernskyart.wordpress.com said...

What a terrific improvement. I love your mirror and your wall of photos.

Rachel Noelle Pallas said...

~*~*Great job Holly!!! I am LOVING the driftwood mirror~*~* ;) Rachel

Anji Johnston said...

What an absolutely amazing make-over!! This now looks like a million dollar powder room. It was so worth you being patient and waiting for those bargain finds! Great job

Bec said...

I feel like this is the kind of bathroom that gets guests into trouble because it is so soothing and beautiful they want to spend extra time in there...and everyone wonders what's taking so long ;) Great job!

bec@theiheartblog

Amber's Notebook said...

That mirror is the sickest thing EVER! I really want to do a wall like that collection of pictures! Love it!

Allison said...

Beautiful job with your bathroom, Holly! I love your driftwood mirror. Really nice touch for your bathroom. I love pedestal sinks, too. We terribly need to update one of our bathrooms. Thanks for your tips and inspiration.

Katie said...

So So beautiful! We are in need of major bathroom renos...all of them! My lovely in-laws who built our house had the lovely peach colored fixtures from the 80's put in. I have tried to make do with styling around them for now, but hey gotta go!

Anonymous said...

It's beautiful....such a huge improvement!
Well done...looking forward to seeing the kitchen.

Amanda said...

just caught up on all of your recent posts and man oh man am i drooling as always. i did the EXACT same frame layout in our powder room and love it. however, we still have builder basic cabinet (painted of course), and a wall color that isn't terrible, but wasn't what i thought it would be. typical with me and paint colors. so of course i now want to gut our powder room and make it all matchy matchy to yours. ;)

that driftwood mirror is PERFECT in that lovely crisp room. b-e-a-utiful!

Lenore @ Lather. Write. Repeat. said...

It's absolutely gorgeous! Love the light and beachy feel of it, plus the personalized touch with the photos.

XO
Lenore

Janet said...

Good for you! We have the same sink, and paid full retail for it and the matching toilet - I LOVE YOUR DEAL! Funny thing is, we put up the same light fixture too! You and I... we have Great taste! :)

Well done!

Anonymous said...

Personally I think the old room had alot of personality..it always could give you seizures to look at, hehe!
I absolutely love the updates, once again, you did an amazing job!! Thank you for always posting these!
I really need to do that to our toilet knob! So simple yet big change!

Shannon said...

It looks so open now! What a great buy you got on the sink. I never knew you could change a toilet handle.

corners of my life said...

Beautiful redo and thanks for the tips. I think I will use a few in our bathroom as well.

Douglas said...

This seriously looks AMAZING! I love it. Thanks for breaking down the prices for us, too....although you did not include the man hours price for ripping off that hideous wall paper. :P Well done, as usual! Marissa

Stephanie said...

That bathroom is to die for! I love the mirror, adds such personality to the room. No way that you found that sink for $120! Wow that is amazing.

Jason and Jessamie said...

LOVE the bathroom and the frames! you've got to check out overstock.com for some of their fixtures for your other rooms!

Anonymous said...

Wow that wallpaper was something!! Love the driftboard mirror and all the pretty frames on the wall. So fresh and clean looking!

Allison @ Allie Browns Layouts said...

I LOVE how bright and inviting your house is! What I love most is that you have minimal accessories! You are the perfect example that "less IS more".

The lighting in your house is phenomenal as well. I know you love natural light (who doesn't??) but do you purchase the real light lightbulbs for best lighting? I thought I saw one of those in your light fixture in your bathroom.

Roeshel said...

Holly - you've done an amazing job as usual. What a beautiful bathroom! Love the photo wall and the mirror redo!

Roeshel

kimma said...

I adore your pedestal basin. Everything looks great.

McGee said...

Gorgeous! I love how it turned out!

Trish Lim said...

Just a fun note.

The Chinese text on the light switch is a scripture.

"but the word of the Lord stands forever. And this is the word that was preached to you."

1 Peter 1:25 (NIV)

A fan from Singapore :)

Unknown said...

Beautiful, and it's so nearly like my own powder room I'm shocked. I have the same pedestal sink (as of just last week!).

Love that mirror too! Well done.

 
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