For the last year, my husband and I have been immersed in a large-scale renovation on our ranch-style home. It all started with the removal of our carport, and it progressed into the addition of an attached two-car garage, mudroom/laundry room, kitchen addition and bathroom renovation. In this post I will share with you the progress and completion of the bathroom renovation, and in future posts I will describe other parts of the project.
The plan
Our plans to create a larger, well laid out kitchen involved making this bathroom smaller as they shared a common wall. We moved the wall between the two rooms 16 inches into the bathroom space, meaning the bathtub was moved to the end wall by the window. That left the space for a vanity/countertop to became about 1/3 of its original size.
We already had a BainUltra therapy bathtub, which was purchased at a clearance sale years ago at CANTU Bathrooms and Hardware and let’s just say, I’ve been waiting a very long time to use this bathtub.
For the new floor tile, I really had no idea what style, shape or colour I wanted, but I knew that when I saw it I would know. Isn’t that true for a lot of our decorating decisions? My clients are way better at telling me what they don’t like than what they do like.
I went to Tierra Sol in Burnaby to start my search for tile inspiration and there’s where I found both the floor tile and the wall tile for the shower. I couldn’t believe that I found what I wanted the first time out! Honestly, that rarely happens.
Tiling Process
Here is a progress photo after the hexagon floor tile was installed.
Once all the tile was installed we had to pick the grout colour. Here’s a tip to remember when selecting grout for your next tiling project: when grout is installed and dried, it ends up looking lighter than the grout sample.
Once the shower walls were grouted, we had the tiler finish off the bottom of the niche and window sill with a custom cut piece of quartz. Using quartz for your ledge allows you to customize depth/width of your sill. We opted for a slightly deeper surface, great for the larger size shampoo/conditioner bottles that we tend to buy.
Door or no door
Another decision we had to make was whether we wanted shower doors or a shower curtain. The tub is used mostly for relaxing and soaking, and many styles of doors can make an awkward configuration. We didn’t want to go with a frameless glass door as this would mean that there would be a stationary panel on the edge where the controls are. With that configuration, we wouldn’t be able to reach around it to turn on the water to fill the tub without having to step into the tub. Also, I just wasn’t feeling the love for the bi-pass shower door systems because that would mean there would be a frame on the edge of the tub. So we opted for a shower curtain and I love how the fabric of the curtain adds softness to the bathroom.
The choice of going with a self-assembly flat-pack vanity instead of a custom one was based on budget for the most part; and, if I’m being truthful, that other part was because I was tired of making decisions. When you are renovating, the amount of decisions you have to make is exhausting isn’t it? I can see why people hire interior decorators/designers when they renovate their homes. 😉
We decided on the Ikea Godmorgen sink vanity in the walnut finish. What this piece lacks in size relative to our old vanity, it makes up for in simplicity and ease of assembly and installation.
The Aquabrass hand shower/tub filler set was another item purchased at CANTU. Since the tub was mostly going to be used for soaking in, I wanted a hand shower (instead of a stationary rain shower) which makes for easy tub cleaning.
We are very happy with this bathroom renovation. As intended, the new tub is wonderful for long, relaxing soaks. The space feels fresh and modern, while still fitting with the style of our 60’s rancher-style home.
Are you dreaming of a bathroom renovation or bathroom makeover? A great way to start is to book a consultation with a design professional and an idea book of bathroom photos and products that you love.
For more inspiration, check out my bathroom inspiration ideabook on Houzz or my dream Bathroom board on Pinterest.