02 August 2010

Boys' Bath Renovation: Before & After


We had fun with the boys' bathroom makeover.  We did our best to be "green" as possible (I do admit it was not so much for the environment as for our pocketbook...the more you can salvage the cheaper the renovation!)  In here, we saved the cabinetry and the good ol' cast iron tub.




This picture can give you a little perspective of our home.  It is your typical ranch home seen all around the south, and specifically a lot in the Atlanta suburbs.  Chris and I both grew up in a ranch home, so this is probably one reason why we loved this layout so.  We do kind of live on top of each other, but we love that.  I don't want my boys in another wing...yes, we do wake each other a lot, but I love that we are near in proximity.

Bath to bath...

I knew I wanted to keep the home as neutral as possible.  Mostly we thought that neutrals are timeless, and as frequently as my tastes change, keeping the paint, tiles and finishes more classic means that we can play with the accessories.  We both wanted to choose something that we are likely to still like in 20 years.




This is the only bathroom where we used the oil-rubbed bronze fixtures.  They are a little more masculine, no?

The tiles are old world black dot hexagon....we got it from special order from Home Depot.  We love this tile!  We used the medium gray grout in here (which is really almost black) for obvious reasons; this is the boys' bathroom!






We used subway tiles for the tub & shower.....and went all the way up!  I recommend going all the way to the ceiling.  When we were in our former home and we were redoing our baths, I remember watching a ton of design shows.  One day I saw that Jeff guy on "Flipping Out" and he told his tile guy to go all the way up.  I thought, "of course!"....so we had to do the same thing.  The light bounces off the tile, so it leaves a pretty glow on the ceiling.  It is also practical to have more tiling in the bath.  Don't you remember how that old wallpaper above the tile would peel after a while?  I sure do.




At first our contractor said this light box above the mirror had to stay.  "Are you kidding me?" I asked.  This was a dealbreaker.  This instantly dates the bathroom, but not in a good way (for us).

We did remove it, as well as the wallpaper, light fixtures, mirror, and countertop.




We added limestone counters in here (like the kitchen), barnwood mirrors from the West Elm outlet, and oil-rubbed bronze lights from Lowes.  Surprise, we painted it Navajo White by Ben Moore in here as well.  







It is a fairly simple bath in here, but it works.




Some silhouettes of the boys.



black & white hook from Anthropologie



Raccoon Hollow by Ben Moore paint (a great green/gray/brown) and pulls from RH



some IKEA frames on the opposite wall



And those little toothbrush holders on the mirror are from Urban Outfitters.  They are great to (somewhat) keep the toothbrushes clean.

Happy Monday....Julie

25 comments:

  1. wonderful job, Julie. We recently re-did a guest bath and now I wish I had gone all the way up with my white subway tile around the bath. what a great idea. Love your barnwood mirrors, they make the bath and are a great style for the guys.
    Donna

    ReplyDelete
  2. The boys bath turned out wonderful and timeless. Once again, such great choices. I like the mirrors and anthropologie hook too! I really enjoyed the tour!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Julie - you did a beautiful job. Love the limestone (my favorite stone in world!) , love the tiles and beautiful fixtures. Bravo! and the silhouettes are adorable.

    A bientot!
    xo

    ReplyDelete
  4. oh your boys are lucky to have their own bathroom! Especially love your tiles, silhouettes, anthro hook..mm actually love it all!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Julie- it looks so great!!!

    And so does your new blog layout!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What an amazing transformation!!! I love every little touch you did including the subway tiles (I used them to transform mine too), but my fave are the silhouettes of your little boys. How adorable! Luv your blog.
    -marie

    ReplyDelete
  7. The bathroom looks great! The tile and all of the details are beautiful. I would love it if our bathrooms were that big.

    -Rene

    ReplyDelete
  8. It's beautiful! I love the classic look of the tile that you chose... We recently remodeled our bath using white subway tile + dark grout, too: http://homeinthecountry.wordpress.com/2009/08/17/bathroom-reveal/ (Almost a year later, we're still working on some of the details... yikes.)

    I do wish we had gone all the way up the wall with the tile, though...

    And the barnwood mirrors? Love them.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Well done again! You are so lucky to do this work before you moved in. We are working on our master bath now and it's rough. I'm taking out the boxes above the sink too. My family thinks me wanting to do that is extravangant but I know when it's done they'll see why I wanted it. Love the silhouettes!

    ReplyDelete
  10. One word: Amazing! I totally agree about keeping paints and tiles, etc neutral. It looks perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love the renovation! The silhouettes are precious!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yes! Always take the tile up all the way. I've had to fight a few contractors with that. Love the cabinet color with all that classic black and white tile too. I have to ask about your countertops. Since you've had the limestone in the kitchen and bath for awhile how do you feel it's holding up? Do you feel like you're babying it or worrying over when any stains might appear? I love limestone but haven't recommended it because I'm worried about clients whining about maintenance issues later on. Would totally want it for myself too. What do you think?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow. Your renovation is hands down the best I've seen. The colors are really great and the oil-rubbed bronze really makes the entire bathroom look very classic and sophisticated! Also, the neutral color really complements your wood floors. It's like something from a magazine!

    If anyone's interested in the cool faucets, I always go to Modern Bathroom for my clients. Personal fave is the distressed bronze. :)

    http://www.modernbathroom.com/bathroom-faucets/default.aspx

    ReplyDelete
  14. Just realized that it didn't link properly. :) Here ya go!

    bath faucets

    ReplyDelete
  15. Beautiful, just beautiful. I have to agree with you, I enjoy being green as well and always feel really good about it but am more motivated by the money savings ... thank you for being brave enough to admit it as well :) I also happen to love anthropologie. I am on a magazine "do not mail" list (now that I do do unselfishly :) ) but I still get theirs because I love love love the way they set up their photos.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hey Aimee...as far as the countertops, no, I don't feel that I have to baby them. I do keep a dish towel folded in front of the coffee pot, though, and I keep the pot on a tray (Chris loves his coffee and it does spill a lot!) It is not perfect, so the red wine and coffee will live a patina, but we don't care. I know it isn't for every client, but we like it. It's like wearing high heels....sometimes I gotta choose style over function (but not always). Thanks for reading & commenting! Julie

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks Julie! I could totally live with the "patina" but I'm not sure it will be on my recommended list for clients. We will eventually do a full blown kitchen redo and limestone is on a list of possibilities. As my sister likes to say, sometimes you have to suffer for fashion!

    ReplyDelete
  18. this looks great! your before and afters amaze me!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Julie! Do you mind if I move in? hehe! I love your attention to detail! Perfection in every way girl! Job well done!

    ReplyDelete
  20. JULIE! I am so, so, so inspired. This is such a look that I adore - and here you've gone and explained how you did it in great detail. I love that it's not super high-end, and totally attainable. Adore. Wonderful job. Thanks again for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  21. What a stunning transformation! I love your little details like the robe hook, the monogram on the shower curtain and the silhouettes! And of course your choice of tile is fab!! : )

    ReplyDelete
  22. you are brilliant, it is incredibly stunning. i dream of ripping out our baths and doing the same, but in a new construction its hard to justify it.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I L O V E it! Classic and elegant. Wow.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Wow!your bathroom really looks beautiful and the colour combination you have selected is mind blowing.I really love to have shower in such bathroom...

    ReplyDelete