The Last of the Horsey Wallpaper

Neigh! This is the final reminder of some bad wallpaper boarder choices (and the paint colour, 'Pepto Chic', isn't too far behind.)

Two Options for the Main Bathroom

I've been playing around with some tile choices for the main bathroom for a while, and I've finally put together a couple of sample boards to see if my picks work. I'm stuck between two floor tile choices -- but still open to ideas.

(Bonus points go to those who can choose the option with the tile that Trevor doesn't like!)

Before and after: The main floor bathroom

Here's the official unveiling of the bathroom on the main floor.  It's just a small half bath, but it originally sported lino, a large mirror glued to the wall, and a horrible light we affectionately nicknamed 'the baguette'*.  We ripped all that out, but kept things that still were in good shape like the vanity and countertop, and the toilet and sink.  The faucet, light fixture, knobs, towel bar, toilet roll holder, mirror and moulding were updated.  With some crafty thinking, we didn't break the bank on this one (yay!).  

The existing countertop isn't horrible, although some yellow gerbera daisies help.

Good budget tips: We found a mirror for $40 (Homesense) and sprayed the frame white; we used a very moderately-priced tile for the main squares and highlighted the edge with the more expensive glass tile (I think the total floor cost was $140).

More of a 'during' shot rather than a 'before', but hey, you get the idea.

*There's still a 'baguette' in the house, in another bathroom we didn't go too crazy on.  More on that beauty later.

School's in: Staging a bathroom

Small, neat, and tidy.

I'm going to focus on the master bathroom in this post as it seems to have the most value placed on it.  Gleaming sinks, polished fixtures and a squeaky clean bath and toilet are all musts.  Toothbrushes, floss, deodorant -- you get the idea -- gives the impression that someone lives here, and that those someones have fuzzy teeth and stinky armpits.  No potential buyer wants to see that, or imagine that (or smell that!).  

So how do you manage to present a bathroom that has the nice little details?  Let's investigate some photos:

This bathroom is one of my favorites.  I love the little punch of the poppy red and fresh green with the cool greys.  

One guess why I picked this bathroom.  I know you already have the answer (if not, you must have this blog mixed up with another)-- the green accessories of course!  

This bathroom feels lived in, but has a nice quirky edge to it. 

The addition of the baskets in this bathroom make the blue tones stand out.

Choices, choices

This is the wall of the bathroom on the main floor, and the three paint colours I've scrounged from other rooms.  (I think I may have another one...somewhere.)  I'm going to get a piece of floor moulding and prop it up against the floor and wall -- hopefully that technique will let me make a decision.

Tiling another bathroom

No, this strapping young lad is not available for hire...

This is the last floor in the house to be tiled.  (Just reading that sentence makes me want to jump up and down.)  I must say, Trevor has become quite the tiling pro -- tackling this latest floor with a diagonal pattern and glass tiles on the perimeter.  We got the middle tiles on sale at Home Depot (rock bottom $1.98/sq. ft.!) and added the glass tiles ($14.99 sq. ft.) to give the room some 'sparkle'.  Trevor initially dry-fit the tiles in place, then numbered them and stuck them down last night.  Makes for less surprises that way.  Now for the grout...

Tiles are dry-fit and ready to be numbered.

Welcome to my new master bathroom

*Cue the biggest, loudest, dreamy-est music, please*

Yes, you are not looking at a heavily Photoshopped image -- the bathroom is really, truly FINISHED.  I am so pleased and excited to know that we can put this room to rest and start finishing up other areas of the house.  (And we won't bring up the fact that we blew past our original -- and laughable -- goal of February 1st...a ha ha ha haaaa...reality strikes again!)

Just so we can all look back on what the bathroom was...

And what it is now...

And the little details...I have to go and take in all of it's wonderful-ness in person now...

Bathroom update

I think we're almost at the halfway point (that February 1st deadline is starting to look a little hard to meet).  Painting has been done, but touchups are needed -- it's amazing what you can see on the walls once you have decent lighting in there.  The floor tile is down and finished.  All plumbing details have been taken care of/reworked/fixed.

The bath fixtures will be coming soon!

Portrait of an unfinished bathroom. 

The new light fixture! (Bought so long ago that we had forgotten what it looked like.)

The mess. M-E-S-S. A trip to the dump will be needed soon.

And what's coming up next -- shower tile! Hurrah!

Master bathroom reno is underway

This is our master bathroom that we've torn apart (okay, Trevor's manned this one mostly, but I'm quality control).  We've had the supplies purchased for a while (tiles, vanity, vessel sink, fixtures, toilet, mirror...) so there's no extra decisions to make -- it's just a matter of putting it together.

We've set a goal of February 1st to have it done.  (And I, for one, am looking forward to the new bathroom, because the shower we're using in another bathroom has the nozzle set to fire hose pressure.)