Before & After (& Really After): Studio Bathroom Redux
When I moved into my home, the bathroom in the studio over the garage was sad and depressing. When I embarked on my very first home improvement project to update it, I was really proud of the work I did, but it only held up to daily use for two years. The subfloor wasn’t level, so the composite floor was cracking, and the cheap composite counter top on the vanity had a corner chipped off.
As pleased as I had originally been with my renovation, I have learned a lot over the past 2 years from renovating another unit and realized the mistakes I had made the first time around.
So, when my tenant moved out in mid-September, I decided to properly correct my errors and level the subfloor, install Traffic Master Allure Vinyl Flooring in Ironwood (mostly because of its claim to be the most waterproof flooring available and because its inherent flexibility would keep it from cracking in case I didn’t level the floor perfectly) and trade out the rubber baseboard that never quite stayed glued to anything with proper moulding (which needed to be 5 1/4″ high to hide the damage done to the walls by the rubber baseboard adhesive). Replacing the vanity was another must-do and I decided to install a Caroma Sydney dual flush toilet that had been part of a great twofer deal I got off craigslist when I first bought the house.
I got a great deal on the vanity because the store had mis-marked it by $50, so I was able to put that money toward the matching mirror. Once I found the lovely espresso colored vanity and mirror, I decided to go with Behr’s Burnished Clay for the walls and Gallery White for the trim. The ceiling is my lazy default color, Swiss Mocha.
The last two improvements I made were installing a new door (the old one was literally disintegrating at one corner) and called my trusty electrician, John, to install wiring for a fixture above the vanity.
Other than the wiring, I was determined to do all the work myself. Though, my handyman, Juan, did sneak in and caulk some of the moulding for me. I certainly didn’t complain!
(Images: Michelle Chin)