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Going to the Bathroom Down Under : AFTER

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You suffered long enough.

Time for some after photos of our basement bathroom.

Please note that this bathroom doesn’t yet have art or hooks for towels or accessories in general.  Just standard git-in-&-git-it-done-functionality…if you know what I mean.

It started out as a tall box of tile.  Seriously.  It is tall – ten foot ceilings…in the basement (crazy, huh)…and the entire thing is tiled.  Yup.  Thorough should be the previous owner’s middle name.

It also already had the electrical done and it was fully plumbed – which made our job a lot easier and the project as a whole less expensive/stressful/divorce-oriented.

And now – it is totally usable.  The bathroom got a whole new vanity & matching mirror.  It also has a new toilet and showerhead and light.

The vanity itself turned out to be a perfect fit.  It allowed enough clearance on the wall-side to allow for a little trash can to be tucked in (which is something I never would have thought of if I had planned out the layout myself) and the new faucet is really set off by the lighter countertops.  I am also awarding this vanity bonus points for having those drawers that fully extend.  How did I ever live without those before?  You can store like ten extra towels…not that I have em…but I could totally store them if I did!

The old shower curtain (we actually registered for this at our wedding years ago) acts as a smooth transition for the color scheme, dontcha think?  It contains all those browns and greens…it’s like the Jerry Seinfield in a room full of Elaines and Georges.  Totally makes it all work together.

Those wide spread faucets cost a pretty penny – but in the end, I think they are worth it.  They look so classy!  And I love how this one nods at the new light fixture.  They are like brother and sister.  Like Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.  Like Janet and Michael.

I pushed the curtain over to the other side so that you could see the whole thing.  Not too shabby, huh?

Before & Afters…sorry about the creative photography 🙂

 

 

All in all, it wasn’t the cheapest bathroom makeover in the world (not like my $67 kid’s one upstairs…or my $100 one on the first floor)…but not too extravagant (especially considering all of my family would be using this one on my sister’s wedding day)…so here’s the budget breakdown…

  • vanity – $269
  • mirror – free!
  • faucet – $120
  • shower fixture – $99
  • light fixture – $29
  • light shades – $15
  • toilet base – $210
  • toilet tank – $81
  • toilet seat – $28
  • misc supplies (wax ring, mirror hanging kit, Liquid Nails) – $35

GRAND TOTAL – $886

Of course, we also used things we already had too…so that helps out the pocket book.  But since I consider any bathroom makeover a success that costs less than a cool grand, I count this sucker as a home run.  Or as a wedding gift to Nornie (and myself) and her guests.  Like I always say, What better gift than indoor plumbing?!

p.s.  I do have some photos from my camera of my sister’s wedding that I plan on sharing on Friday.  It’s not a lot so don’t get too hopeful – but there are some darling details that I’m sure my relatives would love to revisit 🙂

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  5. Awesome Katie! Even though you don’t have a big budget to work with you always seem to make it work. Also I can’t wait to see some of the pictures from your sister’s wedding. Who doesn’t love a good wedding!?

  6. Wow, once you see it all pulled together, the tile looks so nice. It looks great. And I love the vanity. I’m looking for a smaller one to put in my half bath. I never thought it would be so difficult to find one!!

  10. Katie, it’s so beautiful! The colors came together so beautifully. From the before pictures, it seemed so dark and creepy, but now it looks so elegant. You have such a great eye for design.

  14. Home Depot – and it was on sale last summer…so I don’t know if that means they were clearancing them out or something…it would be worth checking though!
    xo – kb

  15. Your basement bathroom is AMAZING and 1000 times better than my main floor/main bathroom. Awesome job, as usual! 🙂 I really really like that vanity. Everything goes together so well. I have perhaps a dumb question, but I have never had to buy a toilet before so I just don’t know. Is there a reason why you had to buy the tank separately? And is that a pretty standard price? The reason I ask – I was at Sam’s Club last weekend (because I’m classy like that), and they had a “toilet in a box” for $99. I remember thinking, “Oh good to know. New toilets are cheap.” But yours is considerably more, so I am curious if there is a reason. Please educate me on your toilet-buying ways. 😀 Anyway super good job with the baffroom. I would shower in there any day.

  16. Well ours was more expensive for one reason – it was not a standard toilet. Most toilets are cheap – even the best brands – like Kohler can run you a brand new toilet kit for only $100! But you have to have the standard 12″ rough-in. Ours only allowed 10″ (and we squeezed that bad boy in there!) so we had to specialty order it…thus the extra cost.
    xo – kb

  18. The bathroom turned out great. Love the storage in that vanity! Perfect for hiding all the towels or extra linens for your guests. I noticed you removed the not-so-cute tp holder from the wall. Was there any damage to the tile from that?

  19. Nope – it was attached with some two sided sticky pads. Like the padded kind. Annoying to remove but thankfully didn’t cause any damage.
    xo – kb

  23. Do you ever wonder why the previous owners, I think you called them nepoloian at one point??, needed to have floor to ceiling through ceiling tile? Wonder what the heck they planned to do in that bathroom!! I mean, super easy to clean, just squirt some soap on those walls and drag a hose from the backyard to spray them down!! Crazy people I tell ya! On a better note, looks great, thanks for not making us wait a week before seeing the afters:)

  24. PS: did you ever pick a winner for the last giveaway? The prints one? And also don’t remember ever seeing a mention of a winner for that soap one? Only reason i remember that one is because my son has terrible eczema so trying new soaps that are gentle is right up my ally!! Lol

  25. Looks fantastic. Great job and yes, I agree about the curtain. It ties everything together so well! I can’t believe you had that on hand and it worked so perfectly! Thanks for sharing 🙂

  26. Wow, awesome! I really like the vanity. Even if the floor to ceiling tile isn’t your first choice, at least it looks nice! Maybe a small rug will help soften it up some more too.

  28. Looks great!! The dark vanity and accessories don’t make the floor to ceiling tile look that bad either….

  29. Looks really great! I wish I could re-do my bathroom for less than a grand. Forrest green bathroom tiles should be illegal 🙁

    So, this has been bugging me since you first put pics of the house up… whenever that was… do you think the previous owners sold the original fittings or was it just never finished?? It seems so strange to go to the effort to sell the downstairs toilet but none of the others!!!

  32. It is gorgeous! I thought 100% tiled bathrooms were so bizarre until I moved to Europe where all the bathrooms are literally floor-celing tile (with tile floors and tile ceilings, lol). I guess it helps cut down on mold from all the moisture? Who knows! I do know that yours looks fantastic, though. Great job!

  37. Maybe a steam shower? I think those have to be tiled all the way around to create the ‘seal’. THOROUGH. It also looks like they could have been going for a glass wall/door…talk about a huge chunk of change. With their house, mystery abounds. Ground beef & toothpaste walls.

    Even your idea of squirt the soap and hose it down. I could use a bathroom like that with five kids!

  38. The bathroom looks awesome. Way to go Bowers!
    I can’t imagine how much more it COST to tile the ceiling. Just imagine that design moment when the previous owner was like, “what’s a few thousand more dollars!? TILE IT!”

  40. We had that same faucet at our last house. One day I was cleaning the sink using a simple scrub brush and it peeled the stain off of the little drain thing. It wasn’t as pretty when it was half antique bronze and half silver. Thought I’d save you from the same fate!

  42. Love it! I think you’ve convinced me that I want ORB in my next bathroom makeover! Not that that’s happening anytime soon, but a girl can dream, right? I think the vanity is my second favorite part, if we’re counting ORB as the first! Maybe it counts together though, since they’re both part of the vanity? Either way, it looks great!

  45. Lookin’ good, Bower. Lookin’ good. I like a place that gives me the freedom to turn the shower head so I can pee and wash my hair at the same time. Floor-to-ceiling tiles allows that.

    Pssst. I gave you a shout out on my post today. You must be thuh-rilled.

  46. Well, a paint is gonna go a LONG way in that room! And I love your idea of totally gutting and starting over but if you need to buy some time, one gallon of paint will be life changing 🙂
    xo – kb

  47. I love the new tp holder! My friend has a similar one in her bathroom. It’s nice that you don’t have to drill through the tile and still have a fashionable way to display your toilet paper!

  51. You know, I wanted to take some time out of my day (i.e. I don’t feel like working right now) and tell you that I LOVE how you have been making everything work in your tight budget. I mean, I don’t love that you find yourself in a tight budget, but I love that you make it work. So many blogs show “here’s the $15/ft tile we got…” and it just doesn’t translate to my home/life. Goodwill, spray paint, etc? Song to my heart. We are in the same hobo boat… hobo-at? I guess that doesn’t work… bad.

    ANYWAYS the bathroom looks FANTASTIC! I agree that the curtain really works in there & ties it all together. Kudos!

  52. Great makeover…..thanks for the budget breakdown. P.S. Nate Berkus show today has some inspiration for an “English gentleman” room similiar to the look you are going for in Will’s room. love the burlap BTW. great idea!! xo

  53. Have you thought about how in the world they would tile a ceiling? How do they keep the tiles up there?! Anyways- looks fantastic! We finally got a cabinet installed this past weekend. Now I just have to paint the trim (it’s only been 7 years since we’ve installed it and never painted it…. something about having 3 kids?) You make me feel motivated. Thanks!

  55. It’s from Bed Bath & Beyond. I got it a while ago so I don’t know if they still carry it but it’s worth checking!
    xo – kb

  57. Congratulations! I love a good organization project. Unfortunately it rarely happens around here. My closet and pantry are my biggest problems. I think I need an intervention too. Or maybe a Lowes gift card. Hee hee

  58. Hey there,

    Love the bathroom, you making the house look more beautiful every month.
    I do think though – in my humble opinion – a glass shower enclosure instead of the curtain is going to bring out the tile much better and would look beautiful/simplistic.

  62. Katie,
    You don’t happen to remember who made that shower curtain, do you? I have the same one and would like to make it longer. I’ve checked Bed Bath & Beyond and all over the internet but can’t find it. If you weren’t using yours, I’d offer to buy it from you! 🙂 I might have to try adding a coordinating piece of fabric to the bottom instead.

    Thanks!

  64. Hey guys, I just installed a new bathroom vanity so I don’t have a use for this. But I thought I’d share in case any of you do! Cabinets To Go (who I got my vanity from) is actually giving away a free bathroom vanity. Just click the link: http://www.cabinetstogo.com/Bathroom-Vanity-Contest.asp and vote for which vanity you want. Then you’re entered to win that exact one…pretty easy! GOOD LUCK :))))

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