Archive for June 2013

one of the biggest challenges in our bathroom project was the sink.  as you can see from this old photo (after we did our temporary update when we moved in), the bathroom is very narrow, and i actually always felt like the old sink was too deep.  for reference, the top portion was about 19", and the bottom was 16.5".  we had a tight budget for this remodel so moving plumbing or re-configuring the layout was not an option, the new sink would be installed in the same spot:

we looked everywhere for a sink/vanity/cabinet/something that was 16" or less in depth.  ikea had one, but the style did not really match what we were looking for, plus the length was not really right.  i found a few options online, but they were all super expensive...  i even looked at pre-made console tables, or end tables, hoping i could find something that matched the dimensions we needed, and that we cound install a sink in.  eventually, i gave up trying to find something that would work and decided instead to explore the option of making our own from scratch.

enter ana white.  have you seen this website?  it is fantastic - lots of tutorials on how to build various pieces of furniture.  i found this tutorial for an end table, and decided to use that as a starting point for our sink base.

i found a white ceramic undermount sink on overstock, and came up with this:

building the top took awhile because we had to biscuit join each board, cut to length, and then add the mitered frame to finish it off. and then cut the sink hole... i should mention that in the middle of this process, our (very old) table saw tried to kill us, so we also ended up buying a new table saw.



then we started working on the legs... murphy was obviously helping.



and the rest of the base...


and finally added the top and the bottom shelf.



murph kept helping.



once the sink base was assembled, we drilled the holes for the faucet, and then stained the entire base.  we used a walnut stain to match the door.  after the stain dried, we coated the entire thing with many coats of waterlox.  this was a long process because you have to wait 24 hours between coats, and then almost a week before attaching the sink.  and it still needs 30 days to cure!  we are hopeful that the waterlox will create a waterproof finish though.



finally installed in the bathroom!

i really like the contrast of the dark wood with all of the other light/white finishes.  we still need to do the closet, but the rest of the bathroom is done.


i'm very happy that we decided to tile the entire bathroom, i love how it turned out.

i promise that it really hasn't taken us this entire time to work on the bathroom, i've just been horrible at posting updates.  we finished the tile and installed the toilet in march/april so we've had a mostly functioning bathroom for a few months now. the sink took more time (more on that later), but is installed. there are still a few little things that need to be completed, and we decided to wait on the closet project until after the baby.

on to the photos - after installing the floor tile, we began working on the wall tile.  our old bathroom did not have any tile on the walls, but we loved the look of white subway tile, and felt that it was worth the extra effort to install it all the way around the room.  since the floor wasn't exactly level, figuring out our level line was a little difficult.



meanwhile, we also began working on the ceiling.  this bathroom had a lower ceiling and we were not sure why.  in theory it was because the fan was vented to the exterior and they needed to drop the ceiling to run ducts for the vent.  but, we could not see any vents on the exterior wall and i wasn't convinced that they had installed the fan correctly.  the ceiling was also below the window height, which really bugged me.  we talked about trying to raise the ceiling to at least clear the window, but after some investigation we discovered that half of the walls ended at the lower ceiling height and in the end, decided it wasn't worth the effort to gain a few more inches of space.  and it turned out that the fan was vented, just through the roof.  when we removed the tile above the shower (the ceiling of the shower was previously tiled), the gyp board came down with the tile.  since the rest of the bathroom had a textured drywall ceiling that we thought would be impossible to match with our new gyp, we decided that the best thing to do would be to re-drywall the entire ceiling.

nice idea, but turns out that pregnant people can't really hold drywall above their heads for long periods of time...  poor mike ended up doing some crazy acrobatics trying to hold the drywall with his head while balancing on a ladder and screwing it in place.  luckily it all worked out.  we also kept working on the wall tile, and started installing new trim around the doors and window.  and yes, we were showering in that shower with the plastic walls.

fast forward a few weeks and the bathroom really started to come together. i apparently forgot to take photos, but this was the week that my parents were in town, so the extra people really helped with our progress.


what?  distracted by the super cute dog?  the bathroom has always been cooper's favorite space (something about dogs being cave animals), and now he loves it even more because the tile is nice and cool.  i'm pretty sure he hangs on in there all day while we are at work.  we also installed some extra trim around the window and now the fact that the window ends above the ceiling is not nearly as noticeable.  we also had the tub reglazed to be white, and have been really happy with that decision so far.



can't help it...  the sink had yet to be installed in these photos, but you can see the plumbing to the left of cooper.  i'll do another post about the sink soon.


we used a gray grout on all of the tile and installed new stainless shower fixtures.  love the rain shower head.  the walls are painted a medium gray.  the space is really difficult to take photos of, but i will try to take a few more now that the sink is installed.

my goal for this room was to spend as little as possible because we were buying so many new things for the baby's room. in the end, we didn't end up spending anything, and were able to use furniture and accessories we already had. most of the items came from the old guest room, but the rug, curtains, and side table we pulled from other rooms in the house.  i think it's a comfortable room and hopefully our guests will like it.

and just for fun, because this room has one of my favorite "before" house pictures, it's come a long way since this: