Saturday, March 5, 2011

Our First Bath Reno

This was Mr. Stinky's guest bath. He had seen better days. You can't tell from this first picture that there was wallpaper but oh trust me there was! It was that thick "vinalish" stuff from the 80's and was a pain to remove for sure. Lots of hot soapy water with one of those wallpaper perforator thingies and hours of elbow grease finally got it off. We ended up putting in a new low flow toilet which we either got for free(through a city of austin waterwise program) or minimal costs(this was 7 years and three pregnancies ago;) I can't remember.  See that hot pink stripe of tile in the shower?  We lived with that for the 4 years we were in the house and finally did something about it right before we put him on the market(see next picture with handsome hubby, cute kid, and beautiful new subway tile and hardware).  Shower curtains are great for hiding that kind of thing but why is it that we wait until we want to sell to do all the things we wanted to do?  Budget of course!  The truth is I do wish we would have done it sooner because it looked like someone had removed a couple of rows of the original white tile and put those in with super thick calk lines.  Needless to say we had to replace the backerboard and everything when we finally decided to do it.


We replaced the flooring(same tile through most of the house), added a new mirror, new vanity lights, new paint of course(I would't do this color again but 7 years ago it was okie dokey), new sink, faucet, added some blinds(to cover a not so nice older window), oh and a new door and trim throughout the room(we got the crown molding at a salvage store) and the absolute best thing we did was make the concrete countertop!  We  didn't have a clue what we were doing but thankfully the first one turned out great.  Concrete is cheap and so is MDF do we knew it wouldn't  hurt to try.  We cut a piece of mdf to size, added 4 edges or ends(picture a shallow rectangular open top box) and then cut out 2 pieces of mdf in the shape of the sink(the template was provided with the sink).  Then the mdf in the shape of the sink hole was screwed into the middle of the rectangular form.  We then painted on a sealer and added a bead of silicone in all the joints so it wouldn't absorb the wet concrete(in hind sight we should have used melamine so we didn't have to seal it but it was more expensive) then we put our little electric palm sander on the edges of the form to get the bubbles out.  After it was hard as a rock(imagine that) we unscrewed all the pieces of the mold and oh so carefully flipped it over.  There were lots of tiny holes on the smooth side so we made a little concrete slurry and wiped it over the top until it gave us the smoother look we were going for.  After that dried it was time to polish it with a beeswax sealer and some crazy  little cloth wheel thing that attached to our drill.  The only challenge after all that was getting it inside.  Oh how I wish I had a picture of that! It involved a wheelbarrow.....



So what do ya think? Have you tried any concrete projects? I don't have any real #'s here but I bet this whole project cost us under $250.00 not including the professional tile job that we had done right before we moved. Have I mentioned we are determined not to tile anything ourselves again and have the utmost respect for professional tilers?
Linked to:
Extreme Personal Measures
Be Different Act Normal
Funky Junk Interiors
Tatertots & Jello
The Shabby Nest
Finding Fabulous 



Christinas Adventures

17 comments:

Taylor Made said... Best Blogger Tips

You guys are so inspiring! We have several more projects in our house, one of them is remolding the bathrooms. I have already told Zach about your concrete counter top! It looks great!!! Love your new blog and may borrow some ideas ;0)

Julie Walker said... Best Blogger Tips

I remember that bathroom and loved it! Everything you and Jay do looks so good!

Mrs. James said... Best Blogger Tips

Yep, I was hoping to see this project on here! What a great job and I think of that countertop often, even suggesting it to Dave, but it's been a no go for us thus far...maybe one day we'll work on our baths!

CM said... Best Blogger Tips

This bathroom was gorgeous! I never knew the story behind how you made the countertop...AND I didn't realize you were hiding pink tile behind that beautiful shower curtain. Good tips!

Rachel {BubblyNatureCreations.com} said... Best Blogger Tips

it looks wonderful!!! I'm having a party over here if you'd like to join... http://www.bubblynaturecreations.com/2011/03/project-party-weekend-5-ways-to-re.html

Jessica said... Best Blogger Tips

Thanks Rachel..I'll hop over now!

Jamie @ DIY Home Sweet Home said... Best Blogger Tips

Wow. It looks amazing. Don't forget to join me for More The Merrier Monday and link up all of your great projects.


http://diyhshp.blogspot.com

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips

WOW! LOVE it!!!

Casey said... Best Blogger Tips

So great - I love a good makeover! When you run out of things to make over at your house - come on over to mine!

Emily Love said... Best Blogger Tips

That looks awesome!! Wanna come to my house and do mine??

Amy Gilman and Emily Lee (Sisters of the Wild West) said... Best Blogger Tips

I love the concrete. I think we are going to try in our bathroom. Hope it turns out as well as yours. The looks is so great, and so is the pricetag!!!

Christina said... Best Blogger Tips

Even though it wasn't under $20, I think your bathroom is beautiful!!!

Thanks so much for linking to "20 Below Thursday"!! :)

Jessica said... Best Blogger Tips

@Christina
Well yes the whole project exceeded $20 by a tad but the countertop didn't;)! Thanks for hosting!

Sarah said... Best Blogger Tips

That is gorgeous, I love every part of it! The color is perfect!

I am a new follower from Chic on a Shoestring, I would love if you could stop by www.mooseandtater.com

At The Picket Fence said... Best Blogger Tips

Wow! That concrete counter is gorgeous and I am super impressed with how you guys transformed the space. It looks fabulous! Thanks for linking this up to Inspiration Friday! :-)
Vanessa

Alison Agnew said... Best Blogger Tips

oh my...what an improvement...doesn't even look like the same room...love the vanity top especially...thanks for sharing at fridays unfolded.

blessings,

alison
stuff and nonsense

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips

looking good! stopping by from Thrifty Decor Chick. I bet you love the after!