Before & After: A Brand New Look for a Beige Bath
Tara’s bathroom had the sort of tan look that was popular during the heyday of Friends. Deciding enough was enough, she set out to create a bathroom with more storage, more space and more style.
From Tara: We knew we needed to re-do this bathroom from the moment we bought this house. This is the main bathroom in our three bedroom, to bathroom, 1950s ranch. I have been dreaming of the day this project would be finished. As soon as we had saved enough to comfortably cover the costs, we went for it, and the results were worth every penny.
The original bathroom only had room for a 24″ wide vanity and was tiled in tan, porous tiles and dark granite floors and counter tops. The entire room was dark, cramped and stuck in the late ’90s.
Once we had all the materials picked and ordered, the whole project took two weeks from demo through completion and cost us around $12,000 with materials, labor, etc. We knew we weren’t equipped to do this job DIY because it involved removing a built-in from the hallway to make room for a much larger vanity. So we hired KDJ construction to do the work. We picked out all of the materials and finishes and ordered them before construction started. We knew we could get a great look with inexpensive tile, so we spent more on the vanity and the glass door and plumbing fixtures to get us the storage, functionality and look we wanted throughout the space.
While picking everything out on the front end did take time, two weeks of construction caused minimal disruption and prevented delays from materials being out of stock or backordered.
The biggest surprise was on the front end. We thought we would only have to remove the built-in from the hallway to create room for the vanity, but our contractor quickly identified that the vent for our heater was also in the wall. That ultimately meant replacing it with a newer unit that could be vented out the side of our house instead of up through the ceiling.
I love the space. While it’s still a small bathroom, it feels so much larger than the original space. The finishing touches, including the mirror, the lucite knobs, the ferris wheel picture and the rug, brought everything together. Everything else in the room had a stark feel, so the final touches warmed the entire space up and gave us a final look we love, instead of a hospital bathroom.
The water pressure out of the shower head is a dream, and our hot water heater now heats enough water to fill the entire tub before it goes cold. We also now have plenty of storage between the shelves and vanity for all of our stuff.
If we did anything differently, I would have extended the glass door a couple more inches. It just barely keeps the water inside, so two more inches would have been perfect.
Thank you, Tara!