It's Time for a Dance Party!

All of my closet doors (22 panels) have been painted and hung. Let's dance!

The Bathroom: After

So, my bathroom is now complete and, overall, I am very happy with it. It has the classic romantic look that I was going for. Despite the fact that it was supposed to be finished early on in my renovation, it ended up being the final project my contractor completed.

Here is the bathroom before:

And here it is now:

I replaced the old laminate hollow core door with a beautiful five panel wood door. My only issue with this door is that I painted it myself and just can't get a good finish (I can't seem to paint it fast enough and it goes all funny where my brush strokes meet at the vertical and horizonal junctions). I am going to try one more time!

The old tub was removed and replaced with this beautiful soaker tub by Hytec from Kohler. I knew exactly what I wanted for a tub and it took a while to track this one down. Persistence pays off!

Large subway tiles were used for the tub surround and I also added an accent band of recycled glass tiles. I love these and wish I had gone for a wider band. They were ridiculously expensive though!

For the vanity, I wanted something that looks like furniture so I tracked down this piece from American Standard. It is a bit large for the space (actually it is the same size as the old vanity, but couldn't be tucked into the corner due to an angled wall) and I think it overpowers the space a bit, but I still love the piece and it gives lots of storage. I replaced the original drawer pulls with sparkly glass knobs. I love glass knobs.

The faucet I seleted is modern and I chose it for it's simple and clean lines. It is hard to find faucets without swirls and swoops.

And last, but not least, there is the floor. My beautiful floor! These lovely Carrera marble hex tiles set my bathroom remodel back by about 6 weeks. The original tile seller I selected was TERRIBLE and it we waited about two months before we finally gave up and bought them elsewhere. I almost gave up on these tiles a few times, but I am so glad I didn't.

I love them! I think that they are my favourite part of the whole renovation.

With my pretty new bathroom complete, I had to update my shower curtain as well. I originally bought this one in pink, but it was too much in both size and colour. So, I returned it to the store and begged the owner to order in this one for me instead (this took a bit of convincing, but now that she has seen it I think she will be carrying it at her store). It is so cute.

Overall, I love the materials, fixtures and furniture I selected for the bathroom. The tub, the vanity and the floor are exactly what I wanted. Things that I would do differently include:

(1) Think about the position of the vanity in comparison to the position of the lighting! Mine are a bit out of sync.

(2) I love my vanity, but I wish I had chosen something smaller. This time I chose the style of a single item over the space usage in the room. I think I would do the reverse in the future.

(3) It is hard to paint a flat ceiling! I don't know how to fix this so I am getting painters next time.

(4) Don't paint a small room white unless you have a window. I thought that white would keep my bathroom clean and fresh, but without a window, it feels a bit too sterile. I think a warm colour could help.

My last tasks are to (attempt to) repaint the door and find some art. Then I will take a nice long soak.

The Bathroom: Before

My renovations are *almost* complete. I feel a bit funny about showing pictures at this point as things don't look quite finished yet. However, I am unsure when I will ever have the (a) motivation, (b) time and (c) money to finish things, so I might as well post now, before everything is passe.

When I purchased my 1981 condo in April, almost nothing had been updated. The original floors had been replaced with laminate (not my favourite, but it will do) and it had been painted at some point, but otherwise the cabinets were ugly melamine, the stove was 30 years old and the bathroom was . . . . just gross.

Here is what the bathroom looked like when I took possession:

I am not sure if the ugliness comes across well, but let me assure you, it was yucky! The counter top was stained, the sink was almost rusted though, the floor was 30 years old and pockmarked, there were TWO medicine cabinets, the shower wall above the tiles had small holes and the whole thing smelled like mildew. And, to top it all off, the housing inspector told me that the toilet was in danger of exploding (apparently it had been recalled many, many years ago). None of this mattered to me however, because I wound't have bought this place if gutting the bathroom wasn't an option.

Here is the bathroom during the renovation:

The wall removal revealed some gross insulation which had to be replaced. I used the fancy blue cement board around the tub to prevent future mould damage and now I wish I had replaced all of the gyp-rock. The two medicine cabinets and counter top removal caused major wall damage and, no matter how much patching I do, more holes and lumps and bumps continue to appear.

As a first time home owner, this was my first renovation and it taught me a lot. First, that no matter how good I think my taste is, I am not a decorator and things probably won't look like the cover of a magazine. Second, it is better to leave small issues alone because attempting to fix them will probably make it worse. Third, stick to the products you really want. Waiting a few weeks (or months) for something to arrive won't matter in the grand scheme of things. But (fourth), don't stick to things you want when something is "off" about them (I made this mistake with my paint colour).

The "after" pictures will follow shortly, but here is my bathroom at the midway point:

Changes

My food box deliveries and baking extravaganzas are on hold while I renovate. I thought that I'd have a kitchen by now, but it looks pretty much like this:

I will post more pictures as the rooms are completed (and once my head stops spinning). And, one day, I might even get to cook again!