Bathroom Reno // The Inspiration + Phase 1 Plans

Happy Wednesday!

Last week I announced my first ever 100 Day Challenge (HERE), and that Phase 1 of my long desired bathroom renovation would be part of it! Hooray!!! I’d love to be able to do a full blown overhaul right now, but the truth is I can’t afford it at this moment. So while I save my monies for the bigger items on my list, I’ll tackle Phase 1, which includes all of the tasks I can do (and feel fairly comfortable doing) without getting a contractor or any tradesmen involved. While I officially started the 100 Day Challenge on Monday, I haven’t actually begun the bathroom reno quite yet. I think it will have to be more of a weekend warrior project. But I promised to share my plans today, so here I am!

In addition to my plans for the renovation, I’ll also be sharing some inspiration photos (from Pinterest, of course) and the moodboard I created with my vision for the entire, eventual renovation. I’m so excited to get started transforming this space!

The Inspiration

I’m going for a modern bohemian, semi-streamlined spa. That’s quite a mix, huh? I love the simplicity of black and white. With touches of either polished chrome or brushed brass (I was originally leaning toward polished chrome but when I did my mood board—see below—I was suddenly more into the idea of brushed brass…) and light wood tones. Then if I get bored, I can swap out any of the shower curtains in my growing collection and it will go with all of the stationary elements in the space.

My Mood Board

And here’s a reminder of what bathroom currently looks like (if you missed it, you can see the full tour HERE).

The Plans

Phase 1

  • Remove Chair Rail: the first step to streamline this space and get it out of the 80s is to remove that chair rail! I watched a few YouTube videos and it looks fairly simple. Fingers crossed!
  • Remove Peel & Stick “Tile” Near Vanity: I put this in and while I still like the look, I want to simplify. I’m hoping a hair dryer to loosen the adhesive is all it will take, and that the wall underneath won’t be damaged. Luckily it’s a small area.
  • Remove All Hooks, Towel Rings, etc.
  • Replace the Mirror??? This one I may not be qualified for lol… so I will either forgo replacing it or enlist someone’s help.
  • Repair Walls, Fill Holes, etc: after removing all of the elements above I will have to do some repairs.
  • Paint Walls White: I want a clean canvas and I think the same creamy white I’ve used in the hallway will be just right. Plus, one of my least favorite parts of the bathroom is the tile baseboard (which isn’t leaving anytime soon) so if I paint the walls the same color I’m hoping they will blend in and fade away.
  • Paint Vanity Cabinet White: I toyed with the idea of sanding off the current finish and leaving it as raw wood, but I think after I sand I will probably just paint it the same white as the walls.
  • Install New Hooks & TP Holder: I found some streamlined black finish metal hooks that I’m considering (HERE)…
  • Install Product Shelf: I’d like to remove the countertop clutter. I tried to keep all of my products in a basket under the sink but they always migrate back to the counter where they stay. I think putting a shelf near the sink I use will help this phenomenon. 
  • Replace Medicine Cabinet: from the outside the current cabinet is not awful (though it has sharp edges) but the inside is heinous, the cheap plastic molded shelves are warped and don’t hold much. Hoping this won’t be too complicated.
  • Replace Shower Curtain Rod: going for the black/aged bronze look to tie in the other hardware. Same curved style though.
  • Replace Shower Curtain: this will be a DIY out of lace IKEA curtain panels! Just add grommets!
  • Install Floating Shelves Behind Toilet: my initial plan was quite involved and will require wood, tools and a custom build. The intent was to store my bath towels there, thus freeing up space in my hall/linen/laundry closet. However, I have read that towels don’t necessarily do well in the moisture of a bathroom and shouldn’t be stored there. I’ve also since realized that my original plan would probably mean hitting your head on a shelf while you sit on the toilet. So this is still up in the air…
  • Paint the Tile Floors…for the most part the floors are okay, though I don’t like the green inset square tiles. I really want dark gray large format tiles, but that is for Phase 2 (see below). So I think I would like to attempt to paint the tile (possibly only the green ones) and then use a grout pen to make the grout dark. What do you think? I think it might look nice. This is also up in the air and will be the last thing I do, if I do it, in Phase 1.

Here’s the mockup of what I’m thinking on the floor…what do you think?

Phase 2

  • New Tile & Fixtures in the Shower: I covered up the awful tile in the shower with decals. They’ve held up pretty well in the last 4 years since I installed them, but I’m getting tired of them and I want to ultimately replace with white subway tile. Possibly the beveled style. Or white scalloped tile per my mood board… And I’d love built in niches rather than the corner shelves that are currently there. Originally I wanted black fixtures, but I’m afraid my hard water will totally destroy them, so I might go with polished chrome, or brushed brass. TBD…
  • New Vanity/Sink: I am convinced that the height of the counter on my vanity is lower than what is standard these days. I am only 5′ 3″ and it is very low even for me. So ideally I will get a new double sink vanity of the proper height.
  • New Floors: eventually I want to get new flooring (probably some type of laminate, in a mid-tone grayish-brown wood finish) throughout the whole house and would love to have a seamless matching look run into the bathroom as well. So a wood-look tile perhaps? Or just a similarly toned gray tile like I mentioned above. We’ll see!

What does your dream bathroom look like?

Many thanks and much love,
laf

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