Saturday 8 April 2017

A Bathroom Makeover


When I bought this house eight years ago, the bathroom was resplendent with peach & green floral tiles straight outta the 70s. Not having any spare cash at the time, I slapped some white tile paint over them, painted the walls grey, and hoped for the best. Over the years a combination of peeling tile paint, hair dye stains on the grout, and mouldy sealant had left the bathroom an absolute embarrassment; I dreaded people coming to stay and having to use it.

A makeover was well overdue.

My talented friend Abby, who also redid our kitchen, came to the rescue. With her handling the tiling and drilling, and me on interior design and painting duties, we turned this...
... into this (note - taking photographs of a dark room with a big window is extremely difficult).

This is one of the first rooms that I've done a complete makeover of; my usual approach is to change a bit at a time, as and when we can afford it. It was really fun to go into it with a clear vision - I wanted white metro tiles, dark blue walls, reclaimed wood, and the contrast of textures provided by industrial wire accessories and woven baskets together with lots of plants.
As much as I possibly could, I reused items we already had in the house. The vintage pharmacy labels came from an antique shop near my dad's in Lancashire years ago, while the plants and pots were all rehomed from elsewhere in the house. The chest of drawers - an IKEA cheapie - had lived in the bathroom for years and just needed a lick of paint, and the bathroom mirror is one I salvaged from a charity shop and repainted.

Abby found a section of old railway sleeper while walking her dog and wasted no time working her magic on it, cutting it to size to make two shelves before sanding and oiling them. The basket - a handy home for toilet rolls - came from Ikea and I painted it with a couple of coats of the same paint I used on the walls.

The only things bought new for the room - apart from tiles and paint - were a sparkling chrome shower curtain rail and riser rail, the industrial wire shelving for the alcove, and a beautiful print by Eloise Renouf.  To save money, we retained the wood-effect lino which, to my surprise, actually goes really well with the new look. Overall the total cost for the makeover came to about £600, however this includes the cost of a plasterer after half the wall fell off when the old tiles were removed. That hitch aside, we could have managed it for less than £300.
One of my favourite things in the room is this mobile, which my step-mum made from sea glass and driftwood. Can you see what shape each piece of sea glass is? I was so touched when she gave it to me.

Overall, both Thomas and I are completely thrilled with our new bathroom. Whereas before it was a room I avoided unless absolutely necessary, now I love to light some candles and lie in the bath to relax. The blue walls give the space a cosy, cave-like feeling at night, and during the day it's fascinating to see how light affects the shade - sometimes appearing grey-blue, at other times a brighter navy.

Details:
* Basket: IKEA * Print: Eloise Renouf from Mustard  * Window film: B&Q * 
* Shower curtain rail: Homebase * Shower riser rail: Homebase
* Metro tiles: Homebase *

19 comments:

  1. It looks great and seeing your bathroom has given me a few thoughts for mine! I say mine, the bathroom I'm mentally designing isn't mine yet, we're in the process of buying our first home and it has a really tiny bathroom that I want to replace before we move in. I'm getting ahead of myself though as we're not all signed and sealed yet and had two house purchases fall through last year! This one should go to plan though!

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    1. Eek, good luck! Buying your first place is equal parts terrifying and amazing, but it's so worth it.

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  2. It looks fantastic - I love the metro tiles against the dark blue, and all the little personal details you've encorporated (incorporated? I'm getting a red line under the 'e' version but I'm not sure which is correct!) I long for the day when we're able to buy our own little place and really make it our own - just seems impossible in London though!

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    1. Oh gosh, I don't envy you at all trying to buy in London!

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  3. This is lovely! I adore dark wall paint - every room feels so much cosier.

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    1. I'm a huge fan of white walls, this is the first time I've used a bold colour on the walls and I'm so pleased with how it looks - especially against the bright white tiles.

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  4. It's gorgeous, I always think your home is so stylish and cosy :)

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    1. Oh thank you! That's lovely to hear, I think it's very cosy too.

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  5. Your bathroom looks so good now! We're definitely working on the little bits of work when we have the spare cash at the moment. I'd love to do a complete room makeover but I think I'm too impatient to wait long enough to save for a big project!

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    1. Oh gosh, when you first own a house it's SO frustrating because you want to do everything but nope, no money. I then went through a phase where I had the money but couldn't really be arsed, and now I once again have no cash (thanks to leaving teaching) but want to do ALL the jobs!

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  6. You have done a great job. It looks lovely. Really liking the dark blue. xx

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    1. Thank you! Yep I love the dark blue so much.

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  7. So so so beautiful! I thought my bathroom was OK but nope, now I want to rip it all out and paint it navy!

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    1. It's amazing to me how much difference just the new tiles and paint have made - I hated our bath, it looked old and stained and horrible, but now it's surrounded by fresh stuff it looks so much better.

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  8. Oh my, it's beautiful!!! I am also massively embarrassed about my bathroom but we're saving up until we can do the whole thing at once because there's too much to do a little at a time (we'll have moved out by the time it's done ha). This looks absolutely stunning, such a lovely style and such a brave colour which pays off beautifully with the big window. Please feel free to send Abby my way haha!

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    1. Haha I'll ask her if she's up for travelling north for work!

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  9. Wow, it looks amazing Janet! Amazing transformation that shows you don't need to do a (complete) overhaul for dramatic change. I love the little decor touches and the dark wall colour looks lovely with the light tiles. I have to say my shint new bathroom isn't that fun as I can't hang stuff on the walls (apparently, grr). Just makes me want to move out into my own place even more! It really is the small touches that make a home. x

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    1. I'd go completely crazy in a home I couldn't hang things on the walls - so much of what I love about my house is the random mixture of art we have displayed.

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    2. Try the 3M hanging stuff, either the strips or they do do hook versions, but I've only ever found those online. They don't work on wallpaper and I was really sceptical of them at first but they've done a great job for pictures in my rented place. Haven't tried taking them off anywhere yet though so can't testify to how easy that is.

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