I can only laugh at myself as I write this post. What started as a "quick and easy bathroom zhuzh" turned into a month-long disaster. LOL
Ok, not quite a disaster, but there have definitely been a few "what the heckkkk" moments.
- when the handyman busted the circuit for the back corner of my whole house and I didn't have electricity or wifi for 3 days.
- when the handyman couldn't do either of the jobs I hired him for. cool.
- when the plumber billed at $379/hour and he moved slow as molasses. HOLY MOLYYYY. (husband doesn't know about that bill yet.)
- stopping and restarting my floor treatment 10 times because of all the contractors I had to schedule.
- when my floor stencil turned out like trashhhhh and I had to start over and cover it up.
So there's that. Now that you're up to speed...haha! I can't believe all of that happened during one small "zhuzh" project. BUT there have been some good moments, too! Well, the only one I can think of is that I discovered an old medicine cabinet behind the mirror when I removed it, and I definitely plan to leave it in tact and use it! Hooray for extra storage. That's the plan, but I do have to build/bootleg a mirror to fit over it on a hinge, so we'll see if I can make that happen. ;)
I won't go into detail of ALL of the things that went wrong, but it's been pretty comical! My husband just wanted some extra storage in our bathroom because there was NONE, but of course I turned it into a huge project. I *think* I'm learning my lesson and getting better at this...I've resisted the urge to start a few new projects in the past few days because I'm determined to finish this bathroom!
The above photo is the before. Super small full ensuite master bathroom. The pink tile is original to 1955, when the house was built! Eventually, I'll gut this bathroom, potentially enlarge it, and rework things, but for now, I just wanted a refresh and to add some storage. Sadly the tile isn't in great shape on the floor, and you can tell by the shower floor that there was a leak at some point and pink tile was ripped out, shower pan was replaced, then repaired with white tile. It wasn't done well, as you can see if you look closely at the white tile grout lines...so I definitely want to replace all of that.
What do I do when I want a refresh? PAINT THINGS BLACK!
First, I removed the mirror (that's when I found the medicine cabinet!), then replaced the light fixture with a black one. I *spray painted* the sink facet, knobs, and stopper, along with the shower knobs. The shower knobs were cute, so I painted them and kept them, but the shower head was a disaster. It was super low, plus I added a water filter and it made it even lower. My husband was not pleased to be hitting his head all the time on the shower head.
SO. I decided to replace the shower head and arm (pipe that connects the head to the plumbing in the wall) altogether. I thought this would be a simple fix, so I hired a handyman. Wrong. The shower arm would not come out of the wall. SO I had to hire a plumber...he broke the pipe off inside the wall...then the had to go in from the other side of the wall through dry wall to access the pipe, remove the old one, and attach the new one. Wow.
BUT after all that, I have about 12 extra inches of height on my shower head, so that's a huge win for everyone! I used this shower head and shower arm and am loving it so far!
FLOORS
Next, let's discuss the floor. As I mentioned, the tile was not in great shape. Quite a few cracks on the floor pieces, and a couple missing pieces by the door jam. So I decided to try a floor stencil in black and white, but use a vintage vibe patter that I love...mini hexagonal tile! I was so excited to create a fresh look with this pattern.
I'll go into more detail in a floor painting post later, but I primed the floor with a high bond primer, then painted it gray (my grout color). I had seen a few people do stencils over existing tile with grout lines and knew that it would be tricky and take a while!
Turns out....it was a huge fail. You can see in the below photo as I'm removing the stencil, how uneven the lines are, how the paint is bleeding underneath the stencil, etc. I tried a few different patches and paint application method, but it didn't get much better. So sad. I was bummed it didn't work! If I had sprayed the paint onto the stencil, I think the outcome would have been much better, but honestly I couldn't bear to spend even more time and energy on this space!
I decided to just paint the floor white and have it blend with the shower floor tiles, so it will look kind of seamless. If I decide that I want to paint a pattern in the future, that's fine, but I also think at that point, I may just re-tile the bathroom. You know what though, you never know if a DIY will work until you try it, so I'm not mad about it!
I think the biggest transformation that is happening is the addition of this shower divider! It's a half wall made of glass, and attached the the wall and ground, so it doesn't move. The back half of the shower is open (no door). I was worried how this would work, but it has been awesome so far! It splashed a little bit, but I don't think it's much worse than with a shower curtain, and we have a bathmat there anyway.
I didn't want to spend $1,500+ on a shower door because I'm not sure what we'll want to do when we renovate this space down the road. SO the glass divider I opted for was only $300 and it comes in various widths that you can choose based on your shower opening.
It. looks. so. good.
I know it's hard to tell since the rest of the bathroom is still looking like a mess and none of these photos are styled (on purpose!!). I wanted to show you a real update, and next time you see this space it will be completed, accessorized, and looking amazing! (hopefully!)
