bathroom: before and after

It’s kind of ironic that the first home renovation post is showcasing our bathroom considering our bathroom wasn’t one of the first things on our list to renovate. We were intending to just bear with it and put up with it for a few years. That is, until one Saturday before our move in day when I showed up with supper in hand and found my husband sitting on the toilet in a bathroom with everything except the tub and toilet ripped out. So, yeah. I guess plans changed. Without me knowing.

Now? I am very very glad that he made this decision. I’m not sure I could have lived with that sick nasty bathroom for long. Witness, exhibit A:

Wow. I couldn’t even manage to close the lid before snapping these photos? Bah. I guess I was just excited. They were taken the first time through after our offer was accepted.

Really, adding the bathroom renovation to our list didn’t take a lot of money out of our pockets because Evan was able to repurpose many of the materials he already had. In the end, the only things we purchased were the toilet, the beadboard for the walls, the baseboard, the counter top, and the outlet covers/fan. The sink and shelf were given to us by my Aunt, the vanity and medicine cabinet and mirror were removed from a job Evan did last year, the paint is the same colour used in our hallway and the light fixture was sitting around at my Dad’s store not being used. The flooring is the same that we put in the kitchen, entryway and (eventually) playroom. It was also free because it has a slight flaw running through it, so my dad couldn’t sell it.

We did end up leaving the tub the way it is. Which is clearly not ideal. But? This bathroom renovation is really just a facelift. The bathroom sits between the master bedroom and the tiny extra room (which will be a playroom for now). Eventually, our intention is to tear out the wall between the bathroom and the playroom and make a larger main bathroom and a small ensuite bathroom. Eventually. Needless to say, because of that plan, we decided not to put the time, money and effort into tearing out the old tub (including tiled walls) to replace it. So, we pull the shower curtain closed and ask you to refrain from looking at the few inches at the bottom where you can see the lovely turquoise peeking through. The hardware in the tub, faucets, showerhead, taps are relatively new so it’s working out just fine for us for now.

So, for a couple hundred buckaroos and a little (lot) of time, we (I) think it was definitely worth it and makes the room much more comfortable and home-y while we wait to undertake a more major renovation.