Bathroom Reno: Mood Board

Well, the time has come. The time to renovate our upstairs bathroom is here!

Usually in the spring, Ted and I will save up our pennies to travel to one of our favourite vacation spots — either Orlando or Hilton Head Island. After much thought, we decided to forego a spring vacation and to spend some of our saved up dough on renovating our bathroom. Sure, a vacation would be nice, but renovating the bathroom is the smarter, more responsible adult decision.

Since we live in a bungalow, we don’t have the luxury of having a “guest bathroom” or a “master bathroom.” Sound familiar? You might recall me lamenting about not having a master bath in this post. Alas, this bathroom has to work hard for its money — it has to be functional for both Ted and I (and any future kiddos that come into our life), but it also has to look….well, for a lack of a better word, pretty.

What do I mean by pretty? Well, for one, it needs storage. This is the bathroom where we do the majority of our primping, so I’d like to hide away our day-to-day “things” (for lack of another better word), such as our electric toothbrushes, Ted’s electric razor and all of my products. I don’t want our guests to use the bathroom and see all of our hygiene products and other personal items. Sure, they can snoop in drawers and cupboards to see all that junk (who doesn’t?!), but I don’t want it to be in their faces (or mine either). A girl has got to keep some secrets hidden, no?

For a few months, I have been trolling Pinterest for inspiration for the bathroom renovation. Everything I pinned followed the same sort of formula — light and bright! Here are some inspiration bathrooms that I pinned:

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Do you spot a theme? Light blues, crisp whites, nickel finishes, Carrara tiles. So light and bright, calm, soothing and, well….pretty! It’s so unlike any design or decor in our house (which I hope to finally get around to blog about!), but I just love it.

During our discussions on whether to renovate or vegetate, we agreed that if we were going to reno the bathroom that we would hire our contractor Stevie Boy (who has done a lot of the work in our house for us). Of course, Ted and I are both ga-ga over DIYing projects, but we’re also realistic. Between two full-time jobs, commuting, a social life and other responsibilities, it’s just not possible for us to undertake this project. We know that we will be living at The 236 for many years to come, so spending some saved up cash on a quality bathroom that we will enjoy is a smart decision. Plus, we love working with Stevie Boy! Did I mention that he has his own key to our house on his key ring at all times? Yeah. Love the guy!

Before I show you the bathroom before photo, I thought I would share our bathroom mood board.

1. Our current bathroom has electrical for two sconces over the vanity. We will replace the current fixtures with two Martha Stewart Living, Skylands Wall Sconces.
2. Rather than just a standard, boring mirror, I’d like to add some sparkle to the bathroom with this mirror – Tangerine Mirror Company, The Beverly Mirror
3. In the summer, I bought a vanity base on Kijiji for $75. Originally, it was a honey oak vanity that I have sprayed in Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace. I also found some cabinet hardware at the Habitat for Humanity Restore for a buck a piece.
4. That same summer, I also bought a white cultured marble vanity top on Kijiji for $50. I like how the sink and countertop are one piece.
5. To keep the straight lines of the sconces in mind, we have chosen Moen’s Boardwalk Faucet (that I scored for 20% off at Lowes!)
6. Our Kohler toilet, which we already have installed in the bathroom, will remain (we installed the new toilet a year or so ago when our city was offering rebates on new toilets).
7. Benjamin Moore Gray Mist paint will go on the walls — the paint was another Habitat for Humanity Restore find for $10 a gallon. The actual colour is slightly more blue than the paint chip above.
8. Here’s the big winner, chicken dinner! Daltile Marcello 12″ x 12″ floor tiles that we scored….are you sitting down…..for 75 cents a piece PLUS 25% off at the Habitat for Humanity Restore! Sure, they are ceramic and not actual Carrara marble, but heck, I’m all for getting a look for less! This was a HUGE score, as the floor tile for the bathroom reno came to under $30 with no tax. Yup, awesome.
9. Our current bathroom does not have an exhaust fan, which is annoying because we always have to crack open the bathroom window when showering and then remember to close it before we leave the house (and not when we are half way to work – yup, it’s happened). Having an exhaust fan in the bathroom will be a beautiful thing.
10. While I purchased the sink faucet at Lowes, I also bought Moen’s Boardwalk Tub & Shower Kit for 20% off. Love the lines of this set!
11. We will be replacing the current shower insert that is in our bathroom with a tub and tile surround. We have opted for the Sydney Acrylic Skirted Tub by Mirolin from Home Depot. Should be just right for a leisurely soak! And, we’ve opted to pass on jets and other bells and whistles. We have a hot tub in our backyard that we can use if we want bubbles. Oh, and it was quite the experience getting the tub home from the store. You can read and laugh about that over here.
12. While we were at the Habitat for Humanity Restore, we also found some white 3″ x 6″ subway tiles that we will use for the tub surround. An economical, but also beautiful choice.
13. To break up the subway tile, we will run a row or two of mosaic tile. We are eyeing Sassi’s Arctic Grey Linear Blend Glass Tile.
14. To match the wall sconces, we will likely also install the Martha Stewart Living, Skyland Bath Kit.
15. And, lastly, to make the inside of the shower feel a touch roomier, we will likely install a curved curtain rod like the one shown.

So, there you have it! Stevie Boy is going to call us this evening to let us know when he can start on the job. We’re hoping he can start next week to get the job rolling. In the meantime, Ted and I have some additional sourcing/shopping to do. We are heading down to Buffalo, New York, on the weekend to do some cross-border material shopping to help stretch our reno bucks further (the difference in price for a lot of these materials is staggering!)

Check back this week and I’ll share some “before” photos of the bathroom! UPDATE: The “before” photos have been posted — most likely to the chagrin of my mother-in-law! More on that over here.

Linking up with…
Serenity Now — Weekend Bloggy Reading Link Up