SUBURBAN * POP

Get ready for some glamour shots! First let’s get a few things straight: This has already been “updated” once – see way below for the true befores. We’ve been living like this for three years. Yes, what you are seeing is indeed bathroom CARPET + bare bulb + giant wall hole. Yes, the master bath really is this small. And it usually isn’t even this clean. Also, am I the only one who has a feeling that cultured marble is on the verge of coming back? Either way, I’ve got a thing for it. We are beginning to make some small surface improvements in here, so before that happens I present the befores/currents and the plan for this round of the master bath update…

 

PHASE I

Believe it or not, this bathroom has seen an even lower point than today. We did a serious amount of work to just get here before we moved in:

• Repipe the entire house, including this shower
• Build a new shower dam (entire bottom half of shower was torn out to the foundation and rebuilt)
• New shower tile to patch all the repair work (on walls, floor and door frame)
• Remove wallpaper
• Remove mirror/medicine cabinet
• Remove light fixtures
• Remove towel bars, towel hooks, and a million safety bars
• Remove mini blinds
• Prime and paint walls
• Paint vanity
• New drawer pulls (vintage)
• New bamboo blinds

 

PHASE II

This week we are hoping to begin to tackle some smaller surface updates and address some electrical issues. The goals for this phase are:

• Rectify and rewire the wonkiest electrical situation ever
• Install a second wall outlet on my side of the sink
• Patch giant hole in wall and all the small ones too
• Install new mirror
• Install new (vintage) lights
• New faucet
• Towel hook (this knob from CB2)
• Remove carpet (GUYS, I STARTED THIS YESTERDAY AND FOUND THIS!!!)
• Install floor tile = ???
• Install a light and a fan and in the shower prison
• Retouch vanity paint

 

PHASE III

A meatier renovation awaits us on down the line. This bathroom is TINY and cramped (only 25″ between that vanity and the shower!) so the 72″ long, one-sink vanity is a bit comical and lopsided. However, both of us agree that a small bathroom and a shared sink are a-ok. We could push out the bathroom into the bedroom and/or the dressing room – and I know that would technically increase the value of our house – but it’s not something either of us want so I don’t think we’ll be doing a full on remodel. However, I’d love for the shower to have a full glass enclosure instead of a dark box to allow more light and visual openness into the cramped space, and to gain a few inches in there. The shower currently sits at 31″x37″!  I’d eventually also love to have a different countertop and sink, though I’m happy to bask in this 70’s cultured marble in the meantime!