Yes. We live in an old home. Built in 1946 by one of Troy's only Jewish families, the home has so much character but was still in need of modern "fixin" up." When we moved in here back in the Fall of 2002, we put a giant band-aid on it (painted) and made ourselves at home!! Every room in the house (except my office and the hallway) was stripped of its hideous wallpaper and/or painted in a 2 week time frame before we closed the week of Thanksgiving that year. We ripped out disgusting carpet from the family room and dining room (yes, it had carpet), ripped up hideous red linoleum from the kitchen and pulled up those peel and stick laminate floor tiles from the bathrooms. Someone between 1946 and 2002 actually covered up decent (original) ceramic tile with those peel and stick tiles. *sigh* Two years ago, we renovated the kids bathroom and our kitchen with the help of good friends Barrett Foster and Julius Pittman. This year, the master bath was the center of attention!!
Brett enlisted the services of his best friend, Rob Holley who is a wizard at construction. He not only renovates but builds custom, high-end homes in the Atlanta area. He came down the first week of May and took charge of this project! Brett and I did the demolition the week before so the room was ready for all new stuff! Demolishing the tile almost did us in. It was set into concrete and took two days to get up. We removed an old, built-in gas heater, had the plumbing moved and had new sheetrock put up. It was a major project, but Brett and Rob knocked it out in no time!! We are so grateful to Rob for his hard work and perfect tile setting! It is fantastic!
We had a budget for this room and for the most part, we kept under it. I have very expensive taste when it comes to decorating, but also have the unique ability to find bargains for almost everything. As soon as someone opens a "Bathroom Fixtures" Liquidator Supply Company, let me know! The sink console, toilet and faucets are the only items we paid retail for. They made up about 3/4 of the budget. Yep. That means all that tile was the other 1/4.
If you have ever shopped RETAIL for tile, you know that it is generally the most expensive item on your list. Thanks to the AWESOME Tile Liquidator showroom in Montgomery, we saved about 80% on our tile!! The tile that would have cost us $16 a foot retail was $3!! It is a gorgeous honed TRAVERTINE that we put on the floor. Yes, that original white octagonal tile had to go!! It was scratched and chipped. We made it work for 7 years, but that was all we could stand. The tub/shower surround is tumbled TRAVERTINE that was $1 per 6 inch square piece--retail was about $6. The border tile is also tumbled TRAVERTINE. We got it for about $5 a foot, retail was around $22.
The sink cabinet is from Costco.com (of all places, LOL)! I looked in catalogs, on websites, at furniture companies and couldn't find anything I liked better. It is beautiful, well-made and came with the sinks and the gorgeous GRANITE countertop! This was what we spent the most on, but it was cheaper than most comparable units. The faucets are "Contempra" from Price Pfister (cost more than the tile) and the toilet is el-cheapo from American Standard. The tub is the original cast iron tub that came with the house. I actually LOVE that tub and did not want to replace it. I take bath's everyday, but prefer a soaking tub to a jetted tub. It saved us a bug chunk to keep that giant tub.
The mirrors were a treat! We had a single mirror in the other bathroom. It was huge. I decided to have it cut and I ordered frames for the two pieces. The TWO lights (from Lowe's) went at the same exact level as the old ONE, so I didn't think the mirrors needed trimming. I custom ordered the frames to fit the mirror that was only cut in half. Well, I didn't take into consideration that we weren't hanging them as low and the one mirror was hanging and it now had a FRAME! Sooooo, I had to have the CUSTOM frames re-cut and the mirrors trimmed! After that long process, we finally got the mirrors to fit! We hung them and they are PERFECT!! I wasn't sure about the placement of them, so I checked one of my favorite blogs, URBAN GRACE (see my sidebar), and saw that she hangs mirrors with the lights hanging over them. YAY!! My mirrors would fit! I have decided that having the lights hang over actually makes the room brighter because the lights reflect in the mirror.
After some accessories from Target, the bathroom was ready for action! The shower curtain (giraffe print to some, river rocks to others), the glass jars, brushed nickel tray and towels are Target. My gorgeous antique mirror is from the mid 20th century--it was my mother's and my Nana's as was the awesome little antique stool! The fabric covering it came from Lewis & Sheron in Atlanta and can also be seen in my dining room! The paint is Benjamin Moore Aura Matte Finish Carrington Beige (HC-93)and the trim is Benjamin Moore Semi-Gloss High Hiding White.
This bathroom renovation is more than we could have ever dreamed. I feel like I am in a fabulous hotel every time I go in there. In fact, the shower head, faucets and sink cabinet are very similar to the ones used in the W Hotel, Westin or other Starwood brands. Brett LOVES the bathroom, too. He says it is calming and relaxing! Too bad I don't share it with him!! He has his own bath! As a consolation prize, he did get a compound miter saw thingy, a pneumatic nail gun (SAWEET!) and an awesome new tool box. He was so excited about the nail gun, he asked me what other projects we had to do!! WHAT? More projects? My pleasure!!
Without further adieu, here is our new bathroom: (wait for slideshow)
Here is the OLD bathroom:
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