Renovation-DIY-Design
You may have noticed from our kitchen renovation post that we didn’t actually have a kitchen table in the eat-in portion of the kitchen. Well, the only table Pavlo and I owned (the round one in the dining area) was picked out and purchased by …
As the title of this blog states, our foyer was never exactly what one would call grand. However, since the size of it wasn’t something we could change, we had to work with, and improve upon, what we were given. Let’s begin with the front …
Alright, let’s talk bathrooms! Well, we’ll talk one in particular, the upstairs guest bathroom, the first of the three to be completed. This bathroom was a great size for a guest bathroom but it needed some serious updating. To get straight to the point, just about everything was going to have to be replaced. The vanity and the shower door were well past their primes. The floor tiles were a 1960s excuse of a mosaic patterned tile while the wall tiles were standard 4″ X 4″ tiles in a not so standard color, a horrible hue of sea green! The only thing that could make this worse would be an ugly wall paper…which, of course, was there too.
The wall paper posed quite a challenge in removal so we decided it would be faster to simply replace the drywall in the stubborn areas. This was the best decision not just because it saved time but it also allowed the paint we would be applying to have a smoother finish. In addition to replacing some drywall, cement board was installed in all locations to be tiled. Once finished, new tile floors were laid. We actually stayed with mosaic tiles, given that it is a classic look, but choose a basket weaved marble in a neutral color. This looked amazing next to the new 3″ X 6″ white subway tile of the shower surround. Such a clean classic look!
Since we were going to remove the shower door we weren’t sure if the bathtub could be salvaged and we didn’t have to look far to find out that tubs were expensive! With that, and a very tight budget in mind, Pavlo used his “spare time” to build a new vanity in an attempt to save money in one area just in case we had to buy a new tub. To complete the new vanity we selected a carrera marble counter top (to match the floors), a new square undermount sink and new fixtures, also squared, to coordinate. The sink is the Rattan sink by American Standard and the fixture is part of the Town Square series, also by American Standard.
Fortunately we didn’t need the funds saved by building a vanity because the bathtub was able to be salvaged! With a lot of elbow grease and patience the hardened caulk left by the old door was carefully scraped off the surface of the tub leaving it shining like new! We were so happy we didn’t have to buy and install a new bathtub.
Last but not least the walls were given a fresh coat of Sherwin Williams’ “Diverse Beige” paint.