Our bathroom is in dire need of an overhaul. Inspired by this thread, I’ve started looking for ideas and found the one I hope to replicate. The layout pictured is almost exactly like ours!
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Our bathroom reno starts in a couple of weeks. This thread was so helpful. Just picked out a quartz remnant for the counter. I read some not so great reviews of MSI brand but seeing as it is a small piece in a bathroom, I am not too concerned. (A kitchen where there is much more happening - hot pots, knives, tomato sauce, red wine etc - perhaps I’d have second thoughts)
I am very excited to have a better showerhead and a hand held option. That will be game changing for cleaning. And HEATED FLOORS! In this weather I will appreciate them for sure.
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Let us know how the heated floors install and process goes - how big of a line item was it for you?
Would also love to hear more about your heated floors! The cost, etc :). That’s on my ‘next-house-wish-list’!
When we had bathroom renovation estimates about 5 years ago, there heated floor feature added almost $2K per bathroom. We were considering it for our bathroom but not the downstairs guest bath. (Ended up not renovating either bathroom.). I’m assuming costs are higher now.
This article has more info
Regarding the floors: I don’t have an exact break out but all the electrical work in total is $2000. I believe the floor mats are just a couple of hundred, so that is worth it to me.
The bathroom is not that big, but I cannot stand being cold when I get out of the shower!
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Our bathroom is a DIY mess from the previous owner. The shower floor doesn’t drain properly because they set it level. They used the wrong mortar, which means water is getting through the “stones,” causing mildew/mold to pop up at the edges. Oh yeah, they “stones” are actually kitchen backsplash they repurposed for the shower floor. Don’t get me started with the vanity! It has a shared P-trap, so we’re going to be having the plumber fix that so it doesn’t clog-up every 6 weeks. Wondering if we should go for real tile or just the fiberglass surround. We plan to stay in the home indefinitely.
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After being burned in our starter home with poor shower installation, I went with a fiberglass surround. The good news is, no grout to worry about. No leak possibility except around the drain.
Some people think a fiberglass surround is not as “high end” as tile, if that is the sort of thing that matters to you.
We ended up choosing a large format tile with very very thin grout joint. I think the products have improved greatly and either way, you have to clean the tile or the fiberglass to keep ahead of soap scum. We went with a pebble like floor and the grout/mortar was treated with something and sealed so supposedly it is easy to clean. Easiest to clean are the glass door and uppers because the glass is treated with something. I just squeegee after showering and it looks brand new.
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Yeah, we’re leaning towards the fiberglass surround and the shower pan, because it’s $10,000 less. It doesn’t feel like a downgrade because the current tiles we have are hideous.
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I would totally go with fiberglass to save that much money. Fiberglass looks fine and is easy to clean.
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Agree. Just be careful with things like the Mr. Clean sponges and the other abrasive cleaners which folks seem to love.
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Bathroom reno coming up for me, too. Following this thread for ideas!
Getting ready to make some decisions:
I an soliciting to constructive criticism
Unpopular opinion: I like real stuff. I don’t prefer laminate, I like wood. I don’t prefer quartz, I like the stone.
Free standing tub v built in (undermount?)
I know freestanding are popular, but it’s a small space and would be tucked between the shower at one of the short ends and hidden along side the 18" deep sink counter on the other side
How would I ever clean the back corners of a freestanding?
Wouldn’t the built in be better for age in place?
If undermount, do you really have to waste an entire slab to get that top piece of stone? I have seen some places with stone large format tlle on a tub deck.
Thinking Karissa Perfect tub for this. There is 80" between the back wall and the side of the shower- so, 60" or larger tub?
I want to do the one side wall of the shower in a blue (aqua ish) and the rest of the bathroom in a light, but not stark white.
Floor and tub deck in the same surface, countertops coordinate? That floor large format tile, all the way up that window wall where the tub is? The ‘long’ wall of the tub is also the short wall of the shower, thinking the same material on the side of the tub just covers that whole wall.
Metal?
I mostly am using brushed nickel in the kitchen, do i consider the brushed brass that is so popular? I do keep seeing it on Pinterest blue tile, though might have 1980s shiny brass PTSD
I like the continuity of material on the walls. I would do the same tile on the tub deck.
Then a coordinating counter and something non slip for the shower floor.
For metals, I think that’s one of the quickest ways to date a bathroom to go with trends, usually you are really in love with something. We ended up matching what was I. The rest of the house (which was chrome).
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I agree about continuity of tile wherever you’re using it. Additionally, you may want to give some thought as to whether you want to use tile for the bath surround or if you want to use the material that you’re using for the vanity (if you’re using something white-ish), which might help with the “having to order a whole slab” thing for the bath surround.
Is the aqua-ish color a color that you LOVE and that you’ve loved forever and will love forever, no matter whether it’s in or out of style? If so, that’s fine. If not, however, I would do all white tiles and then style/decorate with aqua so that if/when you want a change, it’s much easier to do, rather than having to rip out the aqua tile or always having to keep aqua in your future bathroom decor choices. Maria Killam’s blog (Colour Me Happy) has some really helpful posts in terms of selecting timeless finishes that are accessible to a variety of styling preferences. And speaking of finishes, I’d probably go with the brushed nickel.
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Go for it. I’d use aqua tile on the wall above the vanity and light colored tile elsewhere. That is our plan.
This is my inspirational pic (just no gray floor!):
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A lot of the good manufacturers guarantee and replace components for life. We had a cartridge and a couple parts fail in the shower of our beach house. The shower was installed in 2002 when my in-laws did a reno (we bought the house from them). We happened to find the original paperwork in a file and Grohe sent the parts for free. Pretty sure Moen and Kohler are the same.
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When a $20 cartridge fails, I’d rather get one from Amazon overnight and fix the faucet the next day instead of waiting for the manufacturer to ship one the slowest way possible.
Moen replaced our first kitchen faucet THREE times with their lifetime warranty. When it broke the fourth time, they said…no.
We didn’t even consider them when we had a new sink and counters put in our kitchen.
Re: surfaces. I’m a big fan of NOT busy.
I would choose the undermount tub which would also have a nice ledge on each side for whatever…I would not choose freestanding because of the cleaning issues both behind and below the tub.
If we ever get around to doing our master bath, it will have a very simple tile floor, a complimentary counter top, and any tile surrounds will need to be very simple. But that’s my preference.
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I love watching Rock the Block on HGTV (where each of the 4 teams each design an identical house).
But sometimes I look at those bathrooms and think who really uses (or needs) a shower that large or a fireplace in their bathroom?!
I think you are practical to be…practical. Thinking about how to clean behind a free standing tub, for example.
You do you!
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