When we first moved into our house 4-5 years ago, it was a total dump. Completely disgusting… like, the bath tubs were black and there was hair inside the refrigerator. I spent days scrubbing the place before we even started moving in. But, we were young and poor with a tiny budget and somehow I managed to see through the filth and saw potential. We would fix-it-up! Years later, this place is starting to come together and feel like a pretty home.
We recently finished renovating our bathrooms. We still have a few little touchups and details to add here and there, but we are about 99% finished. I’ll show you guys the downstairs bathroom today. The before vs. after photos of this space are so drastic that it makes me laugh!
Now, this before picture is from when we FIRST moved into the house, before I even cleaned it. You can get a general idea of how the whole house looked based on these lovely pictures! Also, just a little note: we did a mini renovation (new toilet, sink, mirror, lighting and paint) very shortly after we moved in. So… here’s our bathroom BEFORE!
Nice, right? So, we did our mini renovation, which didn’t include the tub. We wanted to tile the walls, get new fixtures in there and reglaze the old metal bathtub. Greg was going to do it all himself (with what time, I’m not sure) but when we pulled those gross plasticky shower panels off the walls, we found THIS:
That’s when we decided to hire some professionals. After renovating the kitchen ourselves (which took MONTHS. Actually, it’s still not 100% finished…) we were both pretty over the DIY thing. Plus, Greg is so busy at work, it’s nearly impossible anyway. So we hired some wonderful contractors and they went to work! Here’s what it looks like now: (PS The bathroom is super small so it was really hard to take pictures.)
BIG difference, right? :) They boxed in the unsightly plumbing pipe and matched it on the other side of the sink for symmetry, which really brought everything together.
I’ve always wanted a really dark room, and was a little nervous when I picked the paint color, but I’m so happy I went for it because I absolutely love the way it turned out. It feels really clean and calm. And the way all the lighting and colors come together, the mirror becomes one of those magical ones that make you look prettier than real life ;)
Here are some specs, if you’re interested:
Wall Color: Soot by Benjamin Moore in Eggshell
Mirror : Custom
Light Fixture: Mercer Double Horizontal Sconce, Chrome Finish – Pottery Barn
Shower Curtain: Chevron Shower Curtain – West Elm (apparently it’s no longer available)
Rug: a wedding gift, from Anthropologie
Art: Charmaine Olivia
Frames: cheap-o Target frames, spray painted with Rust-oleum “Berry”
I’ll show you the new upstairs bathroom soon, which I also totally love. ♥
