You must know that Andrea and I are very much alike. We love home improvement projects. It is something that is just simply "in us." She gets it from her dad who is a handyman. She and I both know that we are handier than our significant others would ever dream of being.
There were quite a few things I wanted to do in the kids bathroom before Gwenyth arrived. I wanted to neutralize it and make it brighter. Since it is the bathroom used primarily by the kids and overnight guests, I wanted it to be for the kids without being filled with characters that might be over the top for guests. Some of the projects I had in mind were replacing the flooring, painting, new toilet, new storage cabinet, new shower curtain/towels/trash/rugs and towel hangers.
I knew that I wanted to complete this project, but didn't really plan on tackling it while she was in town, but after seeing how willing Andrea was to help, I decided I should accept the help and do it! Luckily, I had done the painting the day before she arrived so that was out of the way. We started by taking out the old toilet. It was actually much much much simpler than I thought it would be. Next came the ripping out of the linoleum which was glued to the floor. We got the crow bars out and went to town. It was quite the task, especially with 30 lbs of belly in front of me. Andrea and I took turns ripping more and more away. I chose to just do a peel and stick laminate. I will eventually do a ceramic or porcelin tile, but not til both kids are about three. This decision was made due to Jude being so accident prone and the possibility of Gwenyth being the same way. I can only imagine one of them slipping on it and breaking their teeth! We have actually made the decision not to change the carpet in the common areas to hard wood for this same reason! Boo! Andrea was amazing at cutting the tile to the right size and I was responsible fot laying it. After the tiling was done, we installed the new toilet. At first I was nervous since neither of us had done this before, but the instructions that came with the toilet walked us through the process step by step. We literally got the entire project done in less than a day. That includes the time spent shopping! We literally worked non stop for about 6-8 hours. I cannot remember exactly but we were unstoppable. I must mention we completed the project while having Jude to tend to and watching my friends son, Maddox. I was hurting te next day. I cannot express to you the level of exhaustion that I felt. I think that baby Gwenyth inside my belly thought that I was trying to off myself! Needless to say, my doctor was not thrilled either when I met with him the following week.
Here is a before picture of what the bathroom looked like. The walls were a dark green. I questioned the color as soon as I put it on the wall, but I figured it was from the $5 oops section at Home Depot and could always change it. I am glad I did. Everything in the bathroom was functional and clean, just pretty blah though.
Now for the after. The painted walls and trim brighten up the room along with the new toilet and flooring!
I must say that the redo of this bathroom was SO economical! I paid $130'ish for the new toilet, the paint I had on hand left over from Jude's room and the flooring was about $18! I must talk about the accessories as well. The storage shelf above the toilet was $5 at Salvation Army. I thought this was a GREAT deal. It was dark brown to begin but I painted it white and cut vellum I had to fit into the glass. That way you could not see what was inside. The basket on the toilet I found at the dollar store for a buck, it houses washclothes within reach for while the kiddos are taking baths. The trash can, towels and rug are from Walmart. I made the wall hangings to hold the kids wet towels and discussed how I did them here. The decorative mirror I got at a garage sale for fifty cents and the shower curtain with the rings were at the same sale for $5! I had been looking for a shower curtain that was right for months! This one was perfect! It matches the trash can, which cannot be seen in the pictures, but is different colored polka dots in shades of blue and teal.
There are still minor things left to be done in this bathroom that I would like to do soon. This includes getting a new, more modern faucet and installing crown molding. The molding is purchased, wihch cost about $25, so it is just a matter of making the cuts, painting it and installing it. I also want a new, matching soap dispenser but that will wait a little while since I would be refilling it constantly as Jude loves to spend half hour washing his hands just to make bubbles with tons of soap. For now, I will stick with the $2.00 bottles from the grocery store that can be recycled. When I redo the bathroom in about three years, I plan to redo the flooring with new tile and also get a new vanity, medicine cabinet and lighting. Here are some possible items that I am considering for that project.
This one if from Ikea and I LOVE the storage it provides. The drawers can be divided so they could share the top one for toiletries/personal things and the other one can be for towels and toilet paper. I also love that this mounts to the wall providing space underneath.
I like the above vanity with this sink bowl. I love the accessories that can be used with this sink bowl. So functional, especially for kids! Everything is within reach.
And so is this.....
This is the faucet I love from Ikea as well to go with everything above!
Love the shape of this toilet and the center flush. (KOHLER Persuade Biscuit High Efficiency Elongated Toilet)
This floor tile is to die for! I <3 it so much. It is available at Lowes. (American Olean 24"W x 6"L Terreno Colorbody Porcelain Tile).
With this as a back splash.....Ahhhhmazing! This is also from Lowes. (American Olean 13" x 13" Frosted Smokey Ballad Brickjoint Cream/Beige/Almond Glass Tile).
Or maybe in this color....(American Olean 13"W x 13"L Whispering Stream Blue Glass Tile)
And I also love this lighting. (:USE 3-Light Chrome Bathroom Vanity Light )
Wouldn't these choices in products make for an incredible makeover? I am so looking forward for when the time comes to do this project yet again. Andrea should be aware that around the time I plan on taking on this project, she might just get an invite o come visit again. Her help was so appreciated and I am truly indebted to her. I am so lucky to have a friend like her. She knows that once I get an idea in my head, it is better to go with it because if not, I will become obsessive over it and do it anyways.
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