Ah, my old friend wallpaper. We meet again! This was the hardest wallpaper I've ever had to peel because the paper backing was super stuck to the wall. I've been working on this bathroom ever since we moved in, and I just finished it a few days before our 1 year anniversary in the house. So, here's the before:
Blue and pink used to be the thing, not so much anymore.
Some close ups of the amazing wallpaper.
So, really I didn't do a ton of stuff in this makeover, it just took a long time.
And here's the after...Ok. Maybe I did do several things to it.
We used this bathroom while we renovated our master bathroom, so the reno of this one was delayed because of that. The first thing I did was remove wallpaper, wash, sand walls, prime with oil based primer, and paint Behr Mindful Gray.
I also changed out the handles on the vanity to brushed nickel from brass/white combo.
One of the huge costs of our other reno was the cabinets. So, I did everything I possibly could to save this one. Being 6 ft tall, it kind of drove me crazy how short the vanity was. Notice how it's coming up to my thigh? Kind of odd. Maybe people were just shorter 20 years ago. But, it got on my nerves. So, when we redid the floor, our contractor (per my request) built a box out of 2x4's for the vanity to sit on and then used trim pieces to make it look like a built-in. I caulked and painted it and it looks like it was made that way.
New mirror from Home Goods and new light fixture in brushed nickel finish from Home Depot. I love bathroom lights that face downward. So much more light that way! You can also see our new granite countertop and the single hole they drilled so we don't have to use that base that comes with the faucet.
Before and after faucets:
Let's talk toilets: Our old toilet was a regular bowl, not elongated and apparently had a screw rotting or something to make the tank feel like it was propelling you forward on an already small bowl. It was also not chair-height. So sad. The new one has a smaller non-propelling tank, elongated bowl (apparently men like this better, who knew?), and it's taller, so of course, better for me.
The floor was the most costly thing to fix in here. The linoleum was already discolored, but after washing off the wallpaper glue from the walls, the discoloration got even worse. We opted for a travertine inspired tile that is the same shape and size as the tile in our master bath to provide some cohesiveness throughout the house.
This is what it looked like before we did the floors, raised the vanity, and got a new toilet. It was totally livable, it just wasn't my favorite.
Since this is the main guest bathroom, I have been told my an unnamed source that guests don't want to be heard while they are taking care of business. We have 4 light switches in this bathroom, so per the request of my source, I have made a fan label for guests to have complete privacy. It was kind of confusing because the switch is in the shower nook.
This is the shower nook I was talking about. When we moved in, there were double doors across here blocking it from view. I guess it was to make it feel more like a powder room than a full bathroom. But, I took the doors down. I like how big this bathroom is and we actually have used this shower when the boys come in from outside and they're crazy dirty or when our baby was throwing up so much before he got his adenoids out. It was much easier to run to this bathtub than it was to run upstairs. And, we used it when our shower was out of commission during the reno. I left this ottoman in there because I think it's nice to have a place to set your phone or purse when you go potty. There is a door right across from the toilet that leads directly into the playroom, so it would be nice if we ever adopted or had someone stay with us long term that this bathroom is an ensuite to the playroom/bedroom.
I think that's everything!
Some close ups of the amazing wallpaper.
