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Before. Loved the tile. Durable (until the
drywall disintegrates behind it!)
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In my seven years as a homeowner, it's clearly obvious the house is actually in charge; forcing your hand into the most interesting things you weren't exactly prepared to do at the time you're presented with it. Case in point, my bathroom.
When I moved in, I liked my bathroom. Tile enclosure for the tub, glass block window, tile wainscoting, adorable floor tile (see the black accents?), and plenty of storage despite its tiny size.
When the shower wall caved in, I thought I'd patch the hole, maybe replace the entire enclosure; however, since I'll be in my home for at least another five years, I opted to take the room down to its studs and replace every single item, right down to the switch plates.
What to expect.
My contractor (A&S Improvements) and I scheduled the remodel in and around my family's vacation. We have only one bathroom, so getting us out of the house saved us from figuring out which neighbor had the closest toilet and allowed Aaron and his crew to work without rush.
I had some four months to source ideas for the design and to researching what to expect/what to plan for in a bathroom remodel. I found this article, by Pam Kueber to be helpful. Your bathroom is a complex room. It serves multiple functions, so be patient, take a deep breath and focus.
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My contractor left the toilet for about four days so I had somewhere
to go besides my neighbor's. Once we left on vacation, this
component was yanked out.
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| Lots of insulation; this wall meets up with the exterior of my home. |
My favorites.
I was about two weeks into my research when I was introduced to Houzz. The site is aspirational, providing hundreds of ideas you can place in an "ideabook" complete with your comment as to why you've saved any one particular idea. Houzz allows you to sort based on numerous variables (drilling down to my area's contractors), and you can purchase through Houzz. I was able to easily share links with my contractor allowing greater communication between us.
Pinterest served its purpose in the selection of colors, storage opps and innovative ways to remodel. My contractor wasn't as impressed with this site's ability to share, but the two of us worked through it.
Locally I visited The Tile Shop and Tile & Stone Warehouse. I got a recommendation to visit Faucet Direct , and I used this site purchase items.
Home Depot and Lowes, of course. I found navigating the Home Depot site infinitely superior to Lowes. HD's layout is easier to maneuver through and it offers multiple filters so you can narrow your search quickly to avoid looking at items that won't work.
Look. It's all finished!
I'm thoroughly pleased with my newly remodeled bathroom. A&S Improvements did an outstanding job, were tidy with their work and kept me grounded while providing options to sustain my vision.
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