The Starting Scene
Besides being pink, the bathroom has the added challenge of only being about 30 square feet (not counting the tub) and the only natural light it gets is from the upper glass block window which actually has the master bathroom on the other side. (This also explains the difficulty in getting good photos of the bathroom.) More details:- The light bar was cheap builder grade and not mid-century.
- The vanity was just crazy. Pink. Marble. Laminate. It was shorter than average. It always smelled slightly funky. And the sink was flesh colored, rusty, and disgusting. The faucet was leaky and the finish worn. Even if I could have sourced a new pink sink with the rim, I really wanted more counter space and I was really having a hard time keeping that silver rim clean. When we demolished the cabinet, the grossness under that rim almost made me hurl.
- The pink toilet had to be replaced with a white toilet the first month we moved in--the original pink one could not be repaired and we didn't have the time to source a pink toilet.
- The pink tub was flesh colored as well, and had hardly any finish left on it. Even after I cleaned it, it looked dull and scummy. Plus, it no longer matched the toilet and that was not going to fly with the OCD part of my brain.
- The mosaic floor had flesh color tiles in it, which clashed with the laminate and the pink tiles on the wall. Plus, it was the exact tile that was on the bathroom floor of the hospital that my mom was in last summer and being reminded of that on a daily basis was not exactly uplifting.
- There was a 36" wide mirror with a crack in it.
Ta-da! This is the photo from the real estate listing for our house.
This is the interim version of the bathroom. The walls were greige and I was able to find a shower curtain at Target that had pink, flesh, brown, and white in it that sort of tied everything together. But there were just too many patterns going on in such a small bathroom.
The first thing I did was have the tub professionally re-glazed. Immediate improvement. Bright and so much easier to clean. About $300. (Update one year later: The finish on this has not held up as well as I had hoped. No chipping, but doesn't look as clean as I'd like even though we are careful and have followed all the suggestions of the vendor. I suspect we may have to reglaze a few years down the road.)
After getting at least two dozen samples, I decided on matte white one inch hex tile with gray grout. Vintage looking, though not exactly period. But I wanted something small because the bathroom is so small and the scale works perfectly for the room. I considered carrera but didn't want the upkeep and also thought I should stick with as much plain white as possible. Because the original floor was so solid, we tiled over it. I used an underlayment product called Durock and it worked fantastic. The tile and underlayment was about $400 and it is a huge improvement.
Even the built in medicine cabinet was pink laminate. I have primed and painted this white but have bigger plans for it. Stay tuned for a future project post.
Here's another shot of the vanity. When we moved in it had the original handles, but one was being held together with duct tape. I just replaced them all with these cheap handles so they would at least match. The holes for the handles were not a standard size, so my options were limited and since it was laminate, I couldn't drill new holes, because there would be no way to fill the old ones.
Fleshy and rusty sink and little counter space.
Here is the new vanity counter. Because I wanted the sink to be offset so that it would center between the original ceramic toothbrush and soap holders, I couldn't really go with anything "off the shelf" from the home centers. And the vanity could only be 36" wide. Quotes on custom built vanities came in at $700-900 and a quartz or carrera marble top was another $700-900. There was no way I was paying $1400-1800 for a vanity in such a tiny bathroom. It just didn't make sense to me. I eventually found the perfect vanity online for only $950 including the carrera marble top and the undermount sink. I was terrified to order it without seeing it in person but the risk paid off. The quality is fantastic, the marble is gorgeous, and I love everything about it, even the single hole faucet. I was really skeptical about that but I really like it. It is easy to clean around and easy for Audrey to use. I had to get that online too ($250) because the selection of single hole faucets was kind of pathetic locally.
So, here is the reveal. The vanity, flooring, and tub make the biggest impact, but I also replaced the giant flat cracked mirror with a very large mirrored medicine chest ($200) and of course, replaced the broadway lights with a light bar that looks more period to the house ($200). Those were a little challenging too, because of the offset sink. But again, it all turned out great.
I made some artwork to brighten it all up and added a crisp white cotton shower curtain with gray trim. So even after adding in paint (a white shade called "You're The Boss") and a few supplies like a grout paint pen (best invention ever!) and a silver paint pen (to brighten up the shower rod flange), I came in slightly under my $2,500 budget.
Tiny paintings. Most fun.
Ta-da! A beauty! So bright and clean and she looks like she belongs in our house. By keeping the pink tile, installing a retro-style light bar, and having the vanity top match the window sills in our house, the bathroom keeps a vintage vibe that works with the rest of the house. The orange, black, and turquoise in the artwork injects some modern pops against the white, which helps to tone down/balance out all the pink. Storage galore! I'm elated with the finished project.
Now I would not have begun to come in at my $2,500 if I didn't have my dad doing the bulk of the labor. We completed most of this project in just three days. He and my mom are INCREDIBLE in about a thousand different ways and I can never thank them enough for all that they do for us.
