The Fall 2018 One Room Challenge is HERE! I can’t believe it’s already been 6 months since the last ORC, when we remodeled our kitchen! You can check the final product out Here. If you have never heard of the ORC before, it is a 6 week challenge sponsored by One Room Challenge and Better Homes & Gardens (SO EXCITING Y’ALL!) It encourages all participants to rally behind one another to tackle a one room makeover in just 6 weeks! There are 20 Featured Designers, who reveal their rooms every Wednesday, and then loads of amazing Guest Participants, who link up their rooms each Thursday! So much inspo to be found!
So I’ve been planning this bathroom reno since our last challenge was complete, and I am so excited to get started. Similar to the kitchen, I have been prepping like crazy – including tons of shopping for materials, doing small side projects (like refinishing some statement mirrors I got for $20!!!! on OfferUp), and the biggest preparation of all – hiring a contractor to remove our old tub and install a new one.
We did the entire kitchen ourselves, and I would have loved to have done that with our master bath, but I’m no plumber, so I knew I was going to have to hire someone. After a LONG process (because 90% of contractor’s are flaky), I found an amazing one who has been FANTASTIC! We actually already knew him, so it worked out perfectly!
So for this ORC, we are basically starting from a demo-ed state. The contractors work took about a week, so I knew I couldn’t lose that much time and try to tackle it during the challenge itself. But not to fear, we are really starting from square 1 here. So let me show you the bathroom BEFORE, and then the bathroom as it stands now, which is virtually the same, just with a new tub and some hardi-backer on the walls ready for me to tile.
BATHROOM BEFORE:
So a pretty typical 1990s builder grade bathroom.
The fiberglass tub/shower combo had definitely seen better days.
And then our little water closet!
So as you can see, our master bath is fairly small, but we do have the luxury of a double sink, and that was my number one wish in our bathroom. And now, with this challenge, I am so excited to make this the luxurious space I’ve always wanted my bathroom to be, and with that added luxury, I have a feeling the space is going to visually expand as well!
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE NOW:
This is really the only change! New tub, and drywall down with hardi-backer up (not pictured – I wanted to get this post up ASAP and the lighting is atrocious at the moment – I’l be sure to get a picture as the tile is going up!)
One other slight difference is that I installed some backer board over that plywood in preparation for floor tile. Our new tub is narrower (but deeper) than the old one, so that means we needed to add flooring where the old tub used to sit. Luckily, I will be painting the floors, so I just bought some fairly comparable tile, and am hoping you wont be able to tell there is a slight size difference once its all painted and done! (Fingers crossed!)
SIDE PROJECTS:
So I mentioned refinishing some mirrors above. I also got our shampoo/conditioner bottles ordered and labeled, and added a wood frame to our medicine cabinet. I also got all of the hardware off the walls so I could start with a blank slate. Oh, and I almost forgot – I built a barn door so we can close off our bathroom from the bedroom!
Here is the medicine cabinet frame. I planned to tackle this during the challenge, but we actually removed the mirror and I had a bad feeling that the longer it sat off the wall, the more likely it would be to get broken. So, I just decided to finish is and get it back up to save any potential headaches!
I refinished these gorgeous mirrors I got for $10 each – just a quick sand, re-stain, dry brush with white/grey chalk paint, and wax! I still need to get the stain off the mirrors themselves, but I will worry about that later! Don’t they look just perfectly vintage though?! I’m in LOVE! And can’t beat $20!
These are the cute labels I made for our shampoo/body wash etc bottles! I’ll give y’all more details on that in the upcoming weeks!
And here is the barn door! Built this baby all by myself and seriously, EASIEST. PROJECT. EVER. Everyone over on my Instagram went crazy over this thing but I swear it was easy peasy! Definitely will get you guys a tutorial as soon as I can!
And that’s where I’m at y’all! I cant wait to really hit the ground running this week!
And if you’re wondering what exactly we are tackling, here is our giant list for ya:
To Do list:
- Tile shower and mirror wall
- Grout tile and seal/caulk
- Install new floor tiles
- Install barn door
- Install wallpaper in water closet
- Spray paint sink fixtures and reinstall
- Have contractor return to install shower fixtures
- Paint cabinets (we’ll be using Giani, Inc. cabinet paint)
- Paint countertops (also with a kit from Giani, Inc.)
- Paint floors (I’ll be using a stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils)
- Install new cabinet hardware
- Install new shower rod and towel hooks
- Install new doorknobs
- Install trim on water closet door and paint
- Fix baseboards (some were ruined during the tub demo and install)
- Remove closet door and install curtain
- Install new light fixture
- Style and photograph!
WOWza that is a LOT of work to do! But then again, I said the same thing during the last ORC and it came out amazing! This time though, I’m pretty much flying solo, as hubby is now in business school. So wish me luck y’all, I’m gonna need it!
Oh, and this time I decided not to create a week by week project list. One, because I will be out of town for an entire weekend (week 2), and two, because I basically married the list I made during the last ORC and it wasn’t the best – I need to learn to be more flexible! So this time, I’m just working from that GIANT list above, and will work like crazy to cross as many things off each week as I can!
BUDGET:
Well, who knew a small bathroom would cost more than a kitchen?! NOT I! But alas, here we are. The contractor’s work alone was about $2300. From there, I think I am spending approximately another $1200 or so. I plan to calculate everything at the end, so I’ll report back then; but if I add everything up now I may or may not give myself (and my husband) a panic attack, and what good would that do? We’re already IN this, so let’s just do the dang thang! Besides, a gorgeous bathroom will soften the blow of the $$$. 😛
And that’s it y’all! Happy ORC, and I hope you’ll follow along with us! And follow along with all the other participants at the One Room Challenge Blog Page HERE!
Now, time to get to tiling! 🙂
XO,
Ana
P.S. I post loads of updates on my Instagram throughout the week, so feel free to follow me there for more!
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