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It's been 2 weeks since my last blog post (oops!) but I've actually been quite busy behind the scenes. Besides taking care of our sweet new baby and our busy almost-two-year-old, I've also been working on the itinerary for our upcoming trip to Kauai and making plans for our first real remodel project--our guest bathroom! I never realized how indecisive I was til I started trying to plan out this bathroom. I feel like there are sooo many decisions, and it's just one little room! Decorating is so fluid, and can be quite inexpensive to change. But a remodel is much more permanent AND so much more expensive. Plus, most of it we can't take with us when we move, so there's the added complication of considering resale value. My design-loving side and my money-saving side are at war! Please, if you've done a bathroom remodel before, I would LOVE your advice. We are total newbies, and we're feeling intimidated by all the decisions! Let me talk through everything we've decided so far (mixed in with some lovely before photos) and you tell me if you think we're making a mistake anywhere, k???
We have three bathrooms in our house, and all three look very similar: beige walls, builder-basic tiles, 90s oak vanities, and tub/shower combos with plastic surrounds. The light fixtures are dated, and the bath accessories (towel bar, etc.) are the same honey oak as the vanity. The rooms are in decent shape, but they could certainly use some cosmetic improvement! We hope to update all of the bathrooms eventually, but with a limited budget we can only do one right now. We went back and forth on which bathroom to start with, and finally decided on the guest bath since it's on the main level and everyone uses it when they come over. Selfishly, I would also like to make the master bathroom feel more luxurious, but for now we can live with it since we're the only ones that use it. I do think an updated master bathroom might be better for resale, but since we plan to do them both eventually that doesn't really matter.
Next, we debated over doing another tub/shower combo or a walk-in shower. We went back and forth on this sooo much. At first, I thought it would be nice to get a deeper, soaking tub for Ben since he's fairly tall. But then he pointed out that it's a guest bathroom, and guests will rarely (if ever) need to take a bath at our house. Plus, an extra-deep tub means extra-tall walls for guests to step over (not ideal for older people including our parents). So we decided to save that idea for the master bath. But it felt like a waste to rip out a perfectly decent, workable tub just to put in another standard tub. I know we could have saved some money by leaving the existing one, but I hate the plastic surround. So the next idea we had was a walk-in shower. We both like that idea, but we're not sure what it will do to the value of our house. We don't plan to live here forever, so we want to be conscientious of making smart decisions for resale. What do you think??? Walk-in shower is where we're leaning, but they're sooo trendy right now, I worry that they won't be popular anymore by the time we're ready to move.
The next decision was, to hire or DIY? There are aspects of it that we feel comfortable doing ourselves, like painting, installing the vanity, switching out the light, and hanging a new mirror. Those all seem pretty straightforward. But removing the tub, getting the walls prepped and waterproofed, and doing all that tile seems intimidating. Part of me thinks, if we're planning to do any more remodeling in this house (which we are!), then it will totally pay off to learn how to do tile and basic plumbing ourselves. But another part of me thinks, if we mess up, we're going to be so annoyed that we wasted part of our summer and part of our budget on something that looks terrible. Also there's a part of me that's straight up lazy and just wants to enjoy our summer, which is already going to be fairly busy! :) What would you do?
I'll share the plan for this bathroom, since that obviously makes a difference in how DIY-friendly it is. We have a pretty small budget ($5,000 or less) and we want to use it wisely so any improvements we make will pay off in resale value. As such, we are keeping the layout the same and not making any major changes to plumbing or electrical. Ben really wanted to add multiple showerheads (which does sound amazing!), and I loved the look of custom tiled shower pans. But for the sake of saving money, I think we'll just do one showerhead and a ready-made shower pan. Do you think that's the right choice? There's a fine line between being smart with money and being too frugal, and I tend to be a cheapskate (I know this about myself!). Do you think we'll wish we had splurged to make it amazing...or will we be glad we scrimped so we could afford to do other areas of the house sooner?
As for the design, I'm going for classic and neutral. I'd rather err on the side of boring than do something super trendy that we'll be sick of in a few years! We're using basic, inexpensive subway tile for the shower walls, and a Carrara marble hex tile for the floors. We're also getting a new vanity, new fixtures, a new mirror, and of course we will paint the walls too. I'm planning to be pretty budget-minded with the things that stay in the house (tile, toilet, faucet, etc.) and splurge a little bit on items that will be easy to switch out and take with us when we sell (like the mirror).
That's basically it! I'm excited to get started on this room, and I would love to hear your thoughts. I know it's just a tiny project compared to making over an entire house, or changing the floor plan, or doing an addition, etc. But for us, any remodeling at all is new and nerve-wracking!
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Although you err on the side of boring with the color palate, I think the details in items you chose make it not boring. I love the hexagon floors!! Also, when you add a towel or rug or whatever else, you can add a little more interest.
I vote, keep the same shower! Unless it is gross, then get a new one. Save the splurges for items you'll appreciate most because you are the one living there! The bathroom mirror is a great splurge because you will see it every single time you use the bathroom and, like you said, you can take it with you when you leave.
Thank you!!! I really hope it turns out well. I totally agree, on a mood board it looks a bit flat...but a rug, towels, and other accessories should really help to soften all the edges.
And you're definitely right, keeping the tub/shower that's already there would be the biggest way to save money in this bathroom (and we could just pull the shower curtain closed to hide it). But I do think the surround is kind of gross and embarrassing! We will probably keep the existing tub in the kid's bathroom upstairs though.
Lastly, I'm so glad you agree on the mirror! I've seen so many inexpensive round mirrors, I know I could have probably gotten away with one for under $50. But I really felt like this mirror would be right for the room (I like that it's wood so it'll add some warmth, and it's thick and chunky to add some interest). We'll see once it all comes together! Hopefully I was right about that!
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