Second only to a kitchen renovation, bathrooms top the home improvement wish list. Like a kitchen renovation, a bathroom renovation can be a budget buster, owing to the myriad of unforeseen or unintended consequences. Before you cross a bathroom renovation off your wish list, take a look at how this color-driven bathroom remodel could have you lavishly soaking in spa-like before and after splendor.
photography by Mark Samu
Demolition of any sort is the money-pit of bath remodels. To keep your renovation budget friendly, think hard about how many tile surfaces in your bath really need to go.
In this bath, the white wall tile, while needing some repair, was perfectly serviceable. The simplicity of the existing tile made patching a tile here and there a breeze. Replacing the existing tired faucets with a new pressure balancing valve and faucets and showerhead from the Kohler Pinstripe series, has the shower looking and working beautifully.
Anytime you can leave the rough plumbing where it is, money is saved. In this bath, the pedestal sink was starting to show its age, lacked storage and like the tub, the faucet leaked. Still, the rough plumbing was all to code and properly vented, so a simple ‘out with the old and in with the new’ Kohler Archer vanity was an easy upgrade. The polished chrome Pinstripe faucet is dazzling enough to take the edge off the simplicity of the mirrored medicine cabinet above, and the rich Black Forest wood tone of the vanity, not to mention the sweet swooping legs, sit proudly on the new floor.
Replacing the floor was the big splurge in this budget-friendly bath remodel. The small amount of floor tile kept the upgrade to a trendy mixed marble hexagon possible. Best of all, the colorful floor grounds the bath, helps to marry the old white tub to the new Kohler ice gray sink and toilet. If there’s a single tile surface you can afford to demo, I suggest it be the floor. Removing the old plywood substrate gave us a look at the drains, the chance to ensure the stability and soundness of the structure, and check the new toilet installation is perfect.
Lighting upgrades are often another means to “more money spent than planned . . . .” Shop hard and keep your options open; here, a lighting fixture which increased the overall wattage in the bath, proved just enough to eliminate the need for new wiring.
For the final stroke of before-and-after splendor, the unusually high walls are just as pretty as can be in a dazzling pink, Benjamin Moore’s Peony 2079-30.
The color is high drama, softened just enough by the vintage chintz fabric which inspired its choice.
An unexpectedly vibrant color will always make a bathroom appear clean and inviting, and divert your attention from any less than perfect elements you may have thought needed to be changed. Peony pink walls, Kohler’s Ice gray fixtures, and shimmering new faucets–who could care about a few simple 4×4 inch white wall tiles when surrounded by such fabulousness!
Stay colorful,
Lu
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where can i get this shower curtain!?
Hi Blair
Sorry to say it is from the owners collection. It is so lovely isn’t it? It’s actually a lined drape, hung and protected behind, (on the water side), by an extra long clear shower liner. Perhaps you could find a floral fabric you find equally delightful and have your new curtain custom made?
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