RenovationsProgress in the Master Bath January 22, 2016Well, this post is going up much later than I planned today. If you came by here this morning and got an error message, I’m so sorry! Technical difficulties are the least fun part of this job, for sure. Thankfully, we got it back up and running quickly and I’m able to share a really exciting post with you… The master bath progress!!! Oh my goodness. Seeing this room start to come together is so exciting on so many levels. If you missed the plans, you can see those here and here. Now on to the progress. Here’s the floor plan of this room again for you to get a little refresher. From the door in our bedroom, this is the current view. You can see from all of the renovation materials and the paper on the floor that we’re still working hard in here. We’re finishing up all of the paint now, so most of the floors are covered. But that tub! I’m dying over this view. Exactly what I pictured! The tub isn’t set into place yet, but that’s basically where it’ll sit. Right inside the door, the shower is to your right. It’s simple and classic, but I loooooove it. It does exactly what I’d hoped in this room. It blends, but is still beautiful. The initial plan was to have two sides be frameless glass, so this “back” wall wouldn’t have been there. I loved that because it didn’t close off the room, but that is so incredibly expensive! The quote for both sides of frameless glass with a door on this long side was $2,500. We’ve decided to minimize cost by putting up this wall and tiling it. Even though we had to pay for materials and the tile labor, it was minimal compared to the cost of the glass. Plus, having just one open wall allows us to put off the cost of the glass altogether right now. We’ll use a shower curtain for awhile and install glass later once we’ve recovered from the rest of the reno costs. We went with standard subway for the walls. I love that look, but it also saved us so much money. We wanted a close fit between tiles, so the grout lines are 1/16″ (as small as you can get). I wanted a little something extra for the floor, but still wanted cost effective. This tile was the perfect fit. It coordinates with the subway, while letting the floor be a little special. And I love how this shower looks against the tile floor. I’m not sure if you can tell in photos, but none of the tiled shower has been grouted yet. That will happen Monday. We’re going with a dark gray grout (same as the floor) to minimize wear and tear. We had a subway tiled shower in our last master bath with black grout and it was awesome! It always looked clean. Tile was obviously one of our biggest expenses in this space. Here’s the cost breakdown for all of the tile work: Shower Materials: $600 The tile was under half of that, but the waterproof liner, shelf insert, corner seat, etc. adds up. We bought the tile, but our tile guy purchased all of the other materials and we paid him for them. Floor Materials: $300 The tile was $1.50/square foot, but we had a huge area to tile (150 square feet). Labor: $3,000 Obviously, here was our huge cost for the room! Laying tile is something Chris has done before , but it’s very time consuming and we would’ve needed to hire out the shower. While this is really expensive, it didn’t surprise us for a standing tiled shower and 150 square feet of floor. While this shower is going to be great, my favorite part of this bathroom is the main wall you see when you enter. When it’s all said and done, this wall is going to pack a major punch! The farmhouse style vanities I talked about earlier this week will be mirrored on each side of the tub with matching mirrors and lights (still deciding on those). We’ll hang a big, statement light of some sort down over the tub. I’ve got to find a good solution for that window. The goal is complete privacy, while still letting light through. Several people have suggested a plantation shutter. Any suggestions? The two “side” walls in this room are the old exterior planks. You can see them here above the shower. They go all the way up the steep 15′ pitch. I absolutely love the vaulted ceiling in here! I’m still so grateful to our contractor, Travis, for that suggestion. It didn’t cost us any more money because the space was already there, but it makes all of these rooms (bath, bedroom, and office) feel so much bigger. My closet will be through this door behind the shower. All of this here is a sort of tight fit. We’ve measured and measured and planned the layout perfectly to have enough clearance. But there isn’t much extra. The storage cabinet we’re planning will go right on that shower wall. It’ll be narrow and the door will open back against it. We really considered putting the door opening into the closet, but then it really messed up the closet layout and severely minimized storage. A pocket door wasn’t a good fit for here based off of how the walls are. It’s not absolutely perfect, but it’ll work great when it’s done. I do hate that shower wall had to be there. It really divides up the space. But, that’s one of those things that we’re doing for budget-reasons even though it isn’t what we’d ideally want. I know when the whole room is finished, it’ll be just fine. The other side, planked wall will have the toilet tucked back into the corner there. And that tiny square room to the left is Chris’ closet. That’s the current state of our bathroom, friends! I’m going to pop in tomorrow to share details on our budget-friendly tub! I don’t have a complete budget set for this room. Our goal was just do it as cheaply as possible wherever we could, so we’re kind of learning as we go. But when it’s done, I’ll do a complete budget breakdown showing how much we spent and where every dollar went. *** And a big congratulations to MJ Moore for wining the White Fringe Clutch giveaway from Given Goods! She’s one lucky girl!
Elizabeth says January 22, 2016 at 4:27 pm For a budget solution (even if it is just for the time being), we got privacy window film that makes the window look like privacy glass, and still lets ALL of the light in without any of the “view” into/out of the bathroom. It looks nice, holds up well (we’ve had ours up for 2 years without any peeling or discoloration) and is nice on the wallet. Although it completely eliminates the ability to look out of the window, I’ll take the total privacy and full light any day. It is easy to find at Home Depot or Lowes. Reply
Lindsay says January 22, 2016 at 4:37 pm That’s what my husband wants to do, Elizabeth and I wasn’t sure. Good to hear from someone who’s had it! Thank you 🙂 Reply
Mary says January 22, 2016 at 4:35 pm We renovated our builder grade bathroom 7 years ago. We also decided to wait on glass doors to recover from all the expense. Since then I’ve made several shower curtains for the space. (I like my curtains to go to the ceiling.) I’ve decided a curtain is easier to throw in the wash every now & then compared to keeping a glass door clean. And I like the color it brings into the space. So don’t feel bad about not having shower doors. Reply
Lindsay says January 22, 2016 at 4:38 pm Thanks Mary! I am excited to have a little color there…maybe we’ll stick with that, who knows! Reply
Katie says January 22, 2016 at 6:16 pm Oh, WOW! This is going to be so beautiful. That tub is killer, and I love all the classic elements that I know will be the perfect backdrop to the more personal touches (lighting, mirrors, etc.). How exciting!! Reply
Sherri says January 22, 2016 at 9:13 pm I think you are very smart to be budget- friendly. The glass shower doors are a pain to keep perfectly clean all the time and we even have a water softener system. These days things are so expensive! Granted, there are many people that have the money to do whatever they want. But many of us can’t! And I’d much rather not be in debt and be able to enjoy my home and not fret about what we spent and feel guilty. I love what you are doing with the bathroom and your blog. I know you will reveal more about the tub, but I was wondering if it came like that or did you have to paint it black? I LOVE IT! Reply
Courtney says January 22, 2016 at 9:29 pm Maybe, to help save some room and make things feel less cramped around the shower and your closet, you could hang drapes as your closet door instead… the drapes could make statement and add some extra interest/color/coziness; they could match the drapes you hang over the window and could be tied back onto a chunky hook with some super thick rope (more texture/rustic opportunity!). I keep picturing some thick, dark, velvety drapes for some reason… but anything would be awesome I bet!! Drapes as your closet door also would allow you to access the shelves behind the shower much easier/quicker! Just an idea 🙂 Reply
Jenny Bright says January 23, 2016 at 9:36 am We did this as well as we never closed the doors to our closets. Just kept the doors in the attic until we listed our house but gave us a lot of extra space to move around and kept it from feeling so cramped! Reply
Lindsay says January 26, 2016 at 2:11 pm Oh my goodness, Courtney!!! I hadn’t even thought about drapes, but that is the best idea ever. And the true test…I ran it by the hubby and he approved and was excited! That really is the answer here – it’s going to make such a difference in this cramped space! I’m sadly realizing that drapes on the window may looked too cramped once everything is in here, so doing drapes as my door would soften up the room some and provide an opportunity for adding a pop of color. And velvet…yes! I have several colors of velvet right now I found clearanced and saved that would be just enough for curtains. Now to choose one! Thanks so much for the suggestion! Reply
Courtney H says January 26, 2016 at 3:27 pm Oh my goodness, yay yay yay!!!! I can not wait to see ;D And don’t feel sad about the window not having drapes.. I was wondering if that might be too much, too, but figured it’d all come together and balance out somehow… and seriously, it will! You got this, you know what you’re doing, and it is going to look/feel amazing! It already is!!! Reply
Kris says January 22, 2016 at 10:28 pm For your closet door could you do a split door (down the middle)? That swings both ways. Picture an old western saloon door. But the full length of the opening. Reply
Jenny Bright says January 23, 2016 at 9:34 am Hey, we had the same issue with the window over our tub at our old house. There is a frosted window film you can buy at Lowe’s and apply (& is pretty inexpensive). It allows the light to filter through but gives you complete privacy & still looked as good as new 5 years after we installed it. Reply
Whitney Shortt says January 23, 2016 at 10:44 am Really love following the progress and budget. We’re looking for a home to renovate so seeing the breakdown of process and budget is super helpful! Thanks for sharing! Reply
Brenna@Domestic Charm says January 23, 2016 at 2:24 pm It is looking so beautiful! I love all of the tile you have chosen! Reply
Jen Karelus says January 23, 2016 at 3:58 pm We have shutters in the lower half of our bathroom window and I love them. They give privacy but let in light and can be opened for more light, if your not doing something so private in there! From your tub you can easily peer through the slats if there’s something out outside you need to check on. Reply
Lindsay says January 26, 2016 at 2:09 pm Great idea, Jen! This is actually the first option I thought of. I need to do research, but heard they were pretty expensive. Do you know where yours are from? Reply
Linnea says January 23, 2016 at 11:06 pm For that front window, I have 2 suggestions. We recently fogged a window using spray paint made for that purpose. I found it at home depot. We’ve also used a textured peel and stick sheet, basically, that allowed in light while maintaining privacy Reply
Melissa hoffman says January 25, 2016 at 3:27 pm You could try frosted glass. Younghouselove has a great tutorial they used for their bathroom. ? Reply