Our Bathroom Renovation

My Beautiful Bathroom

Earlier this year an exciting thing happened. We got a leak!!!! I came downstairs one morning to find the kitchen table covered in water. At first I blamed a leaking flower vase. But nope. It had come from the ceiling and run down the crappy light fixture. I did a quick investigation of my ensuite that resides just above my kitchen table and saw nothing obvious. I immediate called my good friend and contractor, Billy Boyes, to schedule a reno check things out. Long story whatever it did require a total gutting of the shower and bath tub and floor. YAY!!!
This was fantastic news for a couple reasons.

1. I love a good reno
2. I hated  the old ensuite.
3. I would get to design my dream bathroom! Sort of. There was nothing we could find wrong with the vanity and sinks and light fixtures so they had to stay.

Here's the ugly before photos

To be fair, it wasn't so bad. Recently updated, just not my style. And I could have even lived with it except for that SHOWER. It's like a damp cave. I have a grout and mold phobia. This shower was testing my limits. Also, I can't stand the feeling of my arm brushing up against a wet shower curtain. It's weird. I don't care. The dark brown walls with the dark brown tiling also lent to the cave-like feeling.

I knew I wanted a bright, light and calm bathroom to relax in.
I wanted a frameless glass shower, marble tiles, chrome accents, and a stone floor in the shower. I also wanted a cutout inside the shower to rest bottles on. And I wanted a free standing, modern looking bathtub.

For the mirror, I wanted one long one instead of the two individual ones over each sink. It opens the space up a lot more and is more practical. I hated doing my makeup over the sink! One problem, we need to lower the mirror. Dave and I did actually spend quite a bit of time measuring and making sure it was being hung in the right place but nope. Missed it by a lot. On the bottom of our to-do list now.
The old vanity, counter and sinks do work okay with the new bathroom. Not what I would have chosen myself but they don't ruin the room by any means.

The freestanding tub and hardware are from Rona. I wanted a separate shower wand for the bathtub so I'd be able to wash my hair when I have a bath and rinse off from bubble baths. Cause I get to have so many of those.....

Billy had to redo all the plumbing to install a waterfall showerhead. I decided on a square shape to stick with the clean, modern lines. He was also able to build out the shower giving us more room to do what we do with room to stretch.
I had two options for my shower glass. I could have it come up to the ceiling as we did or only have it come as tall as the door all the way around. The deciding factors were money (as usual) but also having it come to the ceiling is apparently more secure. Some may argue differently. I like the look of it coming to the ceiling so factors aside, I'm happy with this choice.
I had the beadboard panelling ripped down. It's a nice accent to have in a room. It creates visual interest but again, didn't work with my modern, clean lines.
The paint is the best light grey I've ever seen. Bold statement, I know. I feel that strongly about it. It's called Stonington Grey by Benjamin Moore.

I decided I wanted the white waterfall tile on the walls and marble tile for the floor. At first I didn't think marble tile would be a possibility with our budget but then I found faux marble ceramic tile at Home Depot for $2.50/sq ft!!!It's super shiny and so smooth. And because it's ceramic it's much more durable. I love the texture of this white, waterfall tile. It's a high gloss tile and reflects the light beautifully. I also love its size. For both the wall and the floor tile I chose large tiles. The wall tiles are 12" x 24" and the floor tile is 12" x 18". I feel the larger tiles make it feel less busy lending to the calm atmosphere.

 

Originally, I had considered black stones for the shower floor and cutout but decided a bold contrast wouldn't fit in as well as the paler grey stones. 

Moen

Jessica Rowe via Made by Girl

I love this print from Made By Girl. It adds some colour (Pink!) without being too girly. It is 20 50% Dave's bathroom afterall. I'm still planning to add more personal touches so it doesn't look too sterile but it's still pretty new.

Thank you Billy Boyes!!! You are one talented man!
What do you think? I hope you all like it as much as I do.