A Full Bathroom Reno Meant for Under $2000
It is not frequently that a before photo in fact makes me laugh out loud. But I did so I will cop to it right now. Simply check out the shower tile in Erin’s main bathroom for yourself. Thankfully the incredible overhaul that she and her husband did means that old tile is nothing but a (somewhat hilarious) memory. Here is her letter:
Hi The house team, we have been working on remodeling our foreclosure mess for simply over a year now, and so far we have completed three bathroom remodels! I am still doing a glad dance from how this last one turned out. This room began out as bad as it could get with dirty white tile & brown grout, a rain shower mural in the bathtub, and pink walls with a goopy, drippy texture applied to them.
Every time I used it I thought, “I cannot believe we picked up this dump.” Note the rain shower mural in the tub.
We were going for a quite modern and natural look – something that was minimal but not cold. The piece de resistance was a shoji style inspired sliding door that I custom built to fit the space (it slides to the right to close off the toilet/shower without blocking too much light). I am still shocked that it fit and worked well in the space right away. Those moments when what you had in mind in fact works out perfectly… yeah, those never happen to me, so score 1 point for the DIYers.
The best part is that doing all of our own labor and using affordable items like the Ikea vanity and mirror (along with clearance 12” x 24” floor tiles for simply $1.22 a tile!) made this renovation incredibly affordable. The whole project was less than $2k.
We also brought in lighting underneath the floating vanity, which not only accentuates the open floor space down there but provides a truly cool nightlight to the room.
The lights are plugged into an outlet directly under the vanity, and that outlet is controlled by a switch right at the door so it is simply a flick of the switch to turn them on. I hope you like it! -Erin
I simply gotta give Erin another “bravo” for that door she built. I mean, the whole space makes me want to come over for a visit, but I have gotta hand over some serious props for making a door that fits on the first try. Erin’s got more photos (including a close up of that before shower!) on her journal, so be sure to check it out. Thanks so much for sharing your excellent bathroom, Erin! What do you folks think? Any go-to parts? Sherry’s obsessed with the mirror that also doubles as a shelf and of course that stripe of penny tile. As for me, you already know I am crushing on that sliding door.
Psst- The latest round of Clara Conversations are up on the house Life, including one exchange that is likely our go-to of all time (it involves talk of a future sibling and what Clara hopes will come with the deal).
