It has been an absolute whirlwind of a month for us (and really everyone) due to COVID and we’ve gone to getting our house ready to sell this Spring to trying not to kill each other in quarantine and deciding to live with what we’ve got at least until all this madness is over. Selling the house can wait.
When we decided that we were selling our house pre-COVID, one thing that had to be addressed was the kids’ bathroom. It hadn’t undergone a major renovation since we moved in and everything was original from 1986. I did do a little, very little, refresh a few years ago by painting the vanity and the walls, adding art, changing the shower curtain, and installing a towel hook rack. I had intended to do a total gut job because it needed it but I never got around to it.
With us wanting to sell the house, I decided that we’d better do a renovation ASAP since we had a showing lined up. Well, that never happened because of COVID, and good thing too because the bathroom STILL isn’t done and it’s been over a month!
So, let me tell you a little story of lavish dreams and broken promises… I had my inspiration photos all lined up showing what I wanted the bathroom to look like. For me, the problem is never coming up with an idea of my vision, it’s the other stuff that I can’t control. So, here were my inspo pics:
I loved the fact that these bathrooms looked light and airy because they were mostly white with light wood. The bathroom that I’m working with is on the small side and has no natural light so I wanted it to look as big as possible with light colors.
I loved the metal accents that were black or gold or really anything other than polished silver or brushed nickel. I also knew I wanted to incorporate an accent wall and after renovating my laundry room, I thought shiplap would make for a great looking and speedy-to-install accent. Remember, I was under a time crunch to get the bathroom done before the showing so I needed something quick and dirty.
So, I installed the shiplap wall lickety split.
I hired a contractor to install a new bathtub and tile surround as well as a new floor (money well spent because it looked like a pain in the a$$).
I installed the toilet.
I painted the walls Dove White by BM and installed some hooks for the kids’ towels.
I also installed a light fixture and this pivot mirror that I found on Amazon.
And finally, I had a shower curtain fashion show where I installed a tension shower rod (this really is the most stable rod I found) and tried a whole bunch of shower curtains and came up with this one as the winner:
Here’s the where the glitch came: I ordered the bathroom vanity from Lowe’s. I picked it up (and it was heavy as a *^%&*), brought it into my garage to unpack, and it was damaged like a forklift had punctured the wood. Okay, fine, I order another one. I pick it up from Lowe’s and again, it’s damaged. I call Lowe’s and they agree to pick up the damaged one and deliver another free of charge. It arrives. DAMAGED. I’m now 3 for 3. I figure that I’m just having bad luck with Lowe’s so I order a vanity from LampsPlus. It arrives. DAMAGED! So that, dear reader, you don’t think I’m crazy, when I say that there are damages to the vanities, I’m talking cracked bowls and gouges in the wood on the front side of the vanity. I’m not talking about nit picky stuff here.
So, that’s where we are… A half finished bathroom where my kids can take a shower or bath and do their necessities (as my mom would say) but not wash their hands afterward (unless it’s in the bathtub which I’m really hoping they’re doing).
I’ve ordered another vanity and it should be here in about a week and I have grand plans of whitewashing the wood so that it looks more like my inspo photos. I’d love to document that process for you all if I ever get a vanity that is functional and not damaged. Cross your fingers that I receive that miracle this week.
In the meantime, below are a few of the sources for the items that I’ve used so far in the bathroom. I plan on adding a lot more as the project moves forward and will add to the list.
