On the Homestead: Update on Bathroom Remodel

So it's actually been over a year since Ben and I began the process of remodeling the bathroom, but because we've now started to work on the kitchen (and I just finished taking photos of the progress), I realized that I never talked here about the bath and so decided, months later, to do so. And so, without further ado: the bathroom remodel.

Ben and I began the process last March and it was finally finished by the end of August. We had big ideas for the crumby bathroom that we were tolerating. Glass shower doors, a shower seat, a new and larger washer and dryer (oh, we pined for that new washer and dryer for months!) in the bathroom rather than in a closet outside of the bath, subway tile, glass tile, and so on. Surprisingly, most of the ideas came to fruition in the end--after much deliberation and angst.

A couple of months into "Demolition 2.0" (that's right, the second iteration of remodel--Ben did the first round when he moved into the condo in 2003) we realized that our warm summer evenings and weekends were quickly being filled with trips to Lowe's, drywall dust, 2 x 4's and a whole lot of frustration. Ben decided enough was enough, that he would hire some contractors to take over the job. In the end, I'm not sure what would have been easier on him: the long slow process of piecing together the bathroom ourselves or dealing with contractors and sometimes downright shoddy work. Alas! By August we had our bathroom and we love it.

Higgins at four months, helping dad.

Yes, I did help in this process, but I was also in charge of documenting the progress!

In this picture you can see the new beam we've installed. We wanted to take out the old door frame but still needed enough support in this load-bearing wall to keep the ceiling from caving. After much sweat and cursing, we did it. But it was the tipping point. After this, Ben hired help.

Choosing floor and shower tile was tough for us. I didn't think I had the eye for design and I was so worried that the three different types and colors of tile we eventually settled on wouldn't work together. I'm into simple, clean looks. Solid colors. Yes. My wardrobe is a testament to that: all solid colors and maybe a few striped shirts. Plain Jane right here. I'm the first to admit that. We spent a lot of time searching for bathroom designs online; weeding through endless god-awful tile and paint jobs. At the end of it, we both liked the subway shower tile look, Ben chose the blue glass tile and we both picked out the 12x12 floor tile. I wasn't completely sold on either the large floor tiles or the glass tile. Our bathroom is small so I worried large tile wouldn't work. And I wanted to keep the shower clean and simple with all subway tile. In my mind, painting the walls light blue in combination with the floor tiles and dark wood vanity was enough. But we bought some samples and had the contractors test out the glass tile and flooring. It looked great!

Believe it or not, our bathroom and the washer and dryer are in the middle of the condo. With.no.ventilation. You read that right. Needless to say, the top priority was installing ventilation. The HOA approved venting to the north side of the complex. This meant venting from the middle of the condo all the way through the dining area, living room and out. It was major task and the contractors did a great job on it. We used to have a 1-inch lip in the wall where the living room and dining area meet, so the contractors pulled the wall out flush and managed to install the vents for a nice clean look.

And Ben's wonderful idea of putting in a heated floor worked out. He installed it himself.

The finished product:

We decided to skip the bathtub in trade for a larger washer and dryer (we're lacking in the space department) and added the shower seat instead. Love it. Frameless glass door. Delightful.

We have yet to hang the towel racks, shelves and decorations -- we're trying to wait until we have the kitchen done and the house re-painted (thanks to the lack of ventilation, we have mildew on the walls of the hall and our bedroom). One decoration I'm really excited about hanging is the Mayan mask I brought back from Honduras:

So that's it, the new bathroom! We love it, but what do you think? Would you buy a place that has a bathroom like ours?