I have wanted to update the half bath on the main floor since we moved in. Not only is it the bathroom that gets the most use, it is the bathroom that guests see when they come over. The primary issues I had with it were:
1) There was a spot on the vanity top that was starting to peel.
2) All of the fixtures were gold.
3) I also really disliked the shape of the mirror.
4) The paint color was too light and always showed the dirt around the light switch where the kids tried to turn it on with messy hands.
We finally decided to make it a project for this year.
Here is the before.
And here is the after.
Here is what we did, along with approximate costs.
new vanity top - $680
Because the wood floor carries over from our hallway and kitchen into the bath, we decided to keep the cabinet of our vanity, rather than trying to replace it. It was in good shape and it matches the cabinets in our kitchen. It is cherry in color, which then limited what would work for colors for a new counter top. Eric had decided a long time ago that he wanted to use quartz in the bathroom. He liked the look of it best and it is less maintenance than granite. We decided to get it from Menards since they were having an 11% rebate, making it a better price than Home Depot. It was a little more expensive than we thought that it would be because you get charged extra for the cuts for the sink and faucet, mounting the sink, etc. The supplier was Riverstone Quartz and we selected the Galena color, which is a mixture of gray and white. The vanity top came with directions on how to install the new one and with the help of the internet, we were able to remove our old one pretty easily. Eric also did a great job caulking it. The new one looks so much nicer.
painted walls - $50
Our walls needed a new coat of paint, desperately. The back wall is textured in the bathroom. I am not sure why, but it is. I really wanted to try to remove it or cover it, but was worried that it might not work or look nice. In the end, I decided to paint it a darker shade of the primary wall color and just leave it alone. I wanted a light color and picked out Behr's Oceanic Climate for the primary color because it tied in best with the new counter tops and the cabinets. We then used Half Sea Fog for the back wall. We had to buy new painters tape and more rollers, so the price of painting was a bit more than typical.
new mirror and mirror frame $25
We initially bought a new rectangular mirror from Home Depot to replace the arched mirror. Eric then realized that the original bathroom mirror was in the basement. It was much larger, so rather than a 37" x 24" mirror, we now have a 45" x 31 1/2" mirror. Eric was very excited because it meant he could actually see himself in the mirror. I cleaned it up and Eric hung it. We think that the previous owners didn't use it because the bottom right corner was chipped. I wanted to frame the mirror, so you would not see the chip anyway.
Framing the mirror was not difficult, but not easy since we don't own a pocket jig. In the future, I will buy one if we do this to the upstairs mirrors. I bought some floor trim and Eric cut it at 45 degree angles. He also had to chisel out holes in the back to allow space for the hangers for the mirror. I glued it together with wood glue and then taped it firmly to hold in place. It took a couple tries since I didn't add enough glue at first. I then caulked the corners where the angled pieces met and then painted the trim in a gloss white. We then used liquid nails to adhere it to the mirror. This didn't work all that well since the trim was ridged on the back and it was hard to determine where to place the glue. There are spots that didn't stick and aren't flush against the mirror. They are not very noticeable and it still looks nice.
new faucet and towel ring $130
I couldn't wait to get rid of the gold accessories in the bathroom. I love oil rubbed bronze, so we looked online and found a faucet that we liked. We wanted something simple and not too expensive. We ended up getting the following Delta Porter matching faucet and towel ring.
new picture and vase - $5
I also wanted something a bit larger for a picture in the bathroom. I decided to paint a picture of a bird in blue hues to match the walls. I already had a free frame, so I just framed it in an Ikea frame I had on hand. I found a cute fake peony at Target for $5 that I also placed on the shelf.
We spent about $50ish dollars in other misc supplies - caulk, caulk gun, etc.
Total Cost: around $950
Not cheap, but not bad for an updated bathroom. The only thing left to do is to replace or paint the handle on the toilet.
-Anna
1) There was a spot on the vanity top that was starting to peel.
2) All of the fixtures were gold.
3) I also really disliked the shape of the mirror.
4) The paint color was too light and always showed the dirt around the light switch where the kids tried to turn it on with messy hands.
We finally decided to make it a project for this year.
Here is the before.
 |
| old bath |
And here is the after.
 |
| new bath |
new vanity top - $680
Because the wood floor carries over from our hallway and kitchen into the bath, we decided to keep the cabinet of our vanity, rather than trying to replace it. It was in good shape and it matches the cabinets in our kitchen. It is cherry in color, which then limited what would work for colors for a new counter top. Eric had decided a long time ago that he wanted to use quartz in the bathroom. He liked the look of it best and it is less maintenance than granite. We decided to get it from Menards since they were having an 11% rebate, making it a better price than Home Depot. It was a little more expensive than we thought that it would be because you get charged extra for the cuts for the sink and faucet, mounting the sink, etc. The supplier was Riverstone Quartz and we selected the Galena color, which is a mixture of gray and white. The vanity top came with directions on how to install the new one and with the help of the internet, we were able to remove our old one pretty easily. Eric also did a great job caulking it. The new one looks so much nicer.
painted walls - $50
Our walls needed a new coat of paint, desperately. The back wall is textured in the bathroom. I am not sure why, but it is. I really wanted to try to remove it or cover it, but was worried that it might not work or look nice. In the end, I decided to paint it a darker shade of the primary wall color and just leave it alone. I wanted a light color and picked out Behr's Oceanic Climate for the primary color because it tied in best with the new counter tops and the cabinets. We then used Half Sea Fog for the back wall. We had to buy new painters tape and more rollers, so the price of painting was a bit more than typical.
new mirror and mirror frame $25
We initially bought a new rectangular mirror from Home Depot to replace the arched mirror. Eric then realized that the original bathroom mirror was in the basement. It was much larger, so rather than a 37" x 24" mirror, we now have a 45" x 31 1/2" mirror. Eric was very excited because it meant he could actually see himself in the mirror. I cleaned it up and Eric hung it. We think that the previous owners didn't use it because the bottom right corner was chipped. I wanted to frame the mirror, so you would not see the chip anyway.
Framing the mirror was not difficult, but not easy since we don't own a pocket jig. In the future, I will buy one if we do this to the upstairs mirrors. I bought some floor trim and Eric cut it at 45 degree angles. He also had to chisel out holes in the back to allow space for the hangers for the mirror. I glued it together with wood glue and then taped it firmly to hold in place. It took a couple tries since I didn't add enough glue at first. I then caulked the corners where the angled pieces met and then painted the trim in a gloss white. We then used liquid nails to adhere it to the mirror. This didn't work all that well since the trim was ridged on the back and it was hard to determine where to place the glue. There are spots that didn't stick and aren't flush against the mirror. They are not very noticeable and it still looks nice.
new faucet and towel ring $130
I couldn't wait to get rid of the gold accessories in the bathroom. I love oil rubbed bronze, so we looked online and found a faucet that we liked. We wanted something simple and not too expensive. We ended up getting the following Delta Porter matching faucet and towel ring.
 |
| faucet |
 |
| towel ring |
new picture and vase - $5
I also wanted something a bit larger for a picture in the bathroom. I decided to paint a picture of a bird in blue hues to match the walls. I already had a free frame, so I just framed it in an Ikea frame I had on hand. I found a cute fake peony at Target for $5 that I also placed on the shelf.
 |
| new picture |
 |
| peony |
We spent about $50ish dollars in other misc supplies - caulk, caulk gun, etc.
Total Cost: around $950
Not cheap, but not bad for an updated bathroom. The only thing left to do is to replace or paint the handle on the toilet.
-Anna
