I Once Owned Ottawa’s Worst Bathroom

                                                                               Thanks to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting Metamorphosis Monday!

 

Really, I did.  Hideous, mildewy, disgusting, pink.  Need I say more?  Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I’ll just show you.

 

That’s not even the worst.  The next one is:

I can hardly stand to look at it.  The bathroom was mostly original to the house, built in 1973 (the Pepto-Bismal coloured sink was replaced later, since it didn’t match the tub and toilet).  We had a leaky roof and pretty substantial water damage to the ceilings in the bathroom and our bedroom, so mold was becoming an issue.  I remember at one point watching a stream of water pour out the bottom of the light switch plate. 

Anyway,  we saved our pennies and gutted it last October (I know, I’ve only finished/styled it now!).  Everything went – from the ceiling, to all the drywall, to the subfloor.  Here’s a picture:

 

We found something interesting under the tub when it was ripped out.  It wasn’t treasure, unfortunately, but it was funny and I’m keeping it as a souvenir.

 

 

 

 

So someone was drinking on the job while building my house.

That sure explains a lot!

 

 

 

 

 

 

After 5 days of noise, mess and a nap-less baby, here is the finished bathroom:

 

The door opens into the bathroom against the towel wall, so I took the door off the hinges to get this shot.  You gotta do what you gotta do, right?

So much better!  It’s clean, fresh and pretty!  And, believe it or not, the whole renovation cost only $7000.00!  I really wanted a budget friendly makeover, so I chose inexpensive tiles for the floor and shower.  Laying the tiles in a brick-joint pattern creates visual interest for standard 8”x12” tiles.

I had hoped to add a border of glass mosaic tiles, but it wasn’t in the budget and I couldn’t find the right colour combo.  Don’t you hate when you have something in your head but can’t find it?

A laminate countertop in cream with white and blue specks is fresh and neutral.  White cabinets and fixtures are clean and simple, and if something needs to be replaced in the future there’s no worry about mismatched colours (ie. the Pepto-Bismal pink sink).

 

I made the artwork myself with a $20.00 pack of canvasses from Wallack’s and some leftover paint from my main floor. I mixed the paints in various ratios to achieve a gradation of colour for the backgrounds.  Then I went online and found some flower silhouettes that I printed out, X-acto’d, and painted with more leftover paint and some shimmery mother-of-pearl paint (that’s why the pic in the bottom left corner doesn’t show up too well – the paint is only semi-opaque).

My only real issue is that I didn’t specify to the guys doing the work that I wanted the shower curtain rod a little further out (more even with the edge of the tub) and a little lower – though in a bathroom, the “flood pants” look might be more suitable!  They caulked around the edge of the rod so I can’t move it.  Well, I guess I could, but it’s so neatly done that I don’t want to wreck it.  So it stays.

The bedroom makeover continues.  I’ve got the walls all painted and the colour looks great!  The drapery panels and rod are back up, but one of the roman shades has to be replaced (the clips holding it onto the track broke).  I’ll update as I go!

Sarah

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