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September 5, 2010

“It’s not easy being green” bathroom makeover

greens If you’re a regular DesignTies reader, you’ve heard me complain more than once that our whole house was painted pink and green when we moved in. Seriously, WHY would anyone paint a whole house pink and green?! And to top it all off, there was one all-pink bathroom and one all-green bathroom. UGH.

Hubby absolutely refuses to rip out the tiles from the bathrooms, so I have to work with what’s there. Although if I was smart, I would do what my aunt’s friend did when her hubby said NO to a bathroom reno — she pulled out her trusty sledgehammer and took matters into her own hands!!

See?? The master bathroom — all green. The marble tiles on the floor and the tub surround, the green marble countertop with sinks, the green walls, the green blinds…

tub corner

I hate this shower so much. I’ve been nagging hubby to replace it, but it’s been 9 years and it still hasn’t happened. Grrrrrr!!!

IMG_3013 IMG_3014

The first thing that we replaced was the ugly Hollywood light fixture. But there was still so much to do, where to start?! Well, as usual, we did things backwards and started with a new paint colour. I think hubby was fed up with hearing me complain about the ugly green bathroom, because one day he went out to Home Depot, picked up a gallon of paint, and painted the room. I don’t have a pic of the wall colour, but I didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was kinda icky. It was a sort of fluorescent pastel lilac (Behr Silent Ripple).

silent ripple

Thank god hubby didn’t like the colour either — a couple of days later, he went back to Home Depot and picked up another gallon of paint (Behr Sparrow).

sparrow

Ah, MUCH better!!

wall colour

We took down the big builders mirror, and made two smaller mirrors from it. And in case you’re wondering, no, the light fixture isn’t properly centered on the vanity. I think the electrician was drunk when he worked on our house.

vanity before with new mirrors

Next, I wanted to change the white vanity. I had about half a gallon of Farrow & Ball Mahogany left from another project, and decided that would be the new vanity colour. I removed the doors and drawers, primed them, painted them, and sprayed them with a matte varathane. Much better than the white, but that green countertop had to go!!

vanity after

We decided on Corian in Silver Birch. The entire ordering & installation process through Home Depot was a breeze, and the countertop went in earlier than scheduled. As you can see, there was a bit of damage to the wall when hubby pulled out the old countertop. Luckily, it was an easy fix.

Countertop

What do you think of the faucets?? We bought them off Ebay for $30 each :-) And I love the new rectangular sinks.

IMG_4220

Next, the new backsplash went in. We bought sheets of 1” x 2” charcoal grey glass subway tiles from Home Depot. We decided to create our own pattern, incorporating some cool pebble & resin tiles we’d seen at a home show. This is what we came up with:

Bath 5

A quick peek over at the side of the bathroom opposite the vanity. It’s pretty boring — just the linen closet, toilet, and bidet. (Yes, even the garbage cans left behind by the previous owners were green!!)

closet 1

I have no idea what to do with the bidet. Although it’s a great attraction at parties — ever played “how high can the bidet water go”?? ;-)

old failthful

It also makes a great doggie water fountain ;-)

A mini chandelier, new white 2” wood blinds, and some artwork from Home Depot, a few accessories, and the bathroom was done. Here’s the before one more time…

tub corner

And the after… still a lot of green, but the grey helps tone it down a lot.

Bath 2

Bath 3

Bath 6

Not my dream bathroom and definitely not fancy, but a definite improvement!! It’s certainly not at impressive as V’s bathroom makeovers here and here, but I wasn’t allowed to tear out everything down to the studs and start from scratch ;-)

It’s Metamorphosis Monday over at Between Naps on the Porch… be sure to stop by and check out this week’s makeovers.

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22 comments:

Beverly {Flamingo Toes} said...

Ok - the fountain picture got me here but I loooove the bathroom! The color is great and those faucets are the coolest faucets I've ever seen. Thanks so much for sharing your great renovation!

Sara said...

I think your makeover looks great!

susan said...

You've done a great job working around the green! I think it looks like an entirely new bathroom and I love the faucets. Great job on the backsplash too!

Anonymous said...

Excellent use of the neutral gray to down-play the green. Very practical advice for all of use who have to work with what we've got. Thanks.

Sharon said...

Excellent call on the mirrors! The new backsplash is beautiful. I was unsure of the mahogany, but looking at the final after picture, great job. Love how you worked around the green.

Gayle said...

Wow! You did an amazing job! I really love the tile work and those faucets are so cool!

Kat said...

What a transformation. The new wall color really does tone down the green, and your new backsplash, faucets, sinks and countertop are fantastic. I love tile work, and I really like what you chose. The mirrors came out great. And I think we must have had the same drunk electrician, our guest bath light fixture is off center too :) Kat

Dane said...

Wonderful job! Our master bath was a horrid blue with black tiles. It's been gutted for months now. The draw back of going back to the studs. The tub was installed late spring so we could use it (air-jetted)...still waiting on a toilet, sink shower...tiles....

Ok. Having a bit of bathroom envy. You are so lucky!

BTW, where did you find the chandi?

I think it is great and could see it in my (someday to be completed as it is part of the bathroom reno) dressing room.

Unknown said...

Kelly,

Way to go. I think it looks fab and you did a great job adding and changing things up a bit.

Bette

Decor To Adore said...

What an amazing transformation~ well done!

Lisa said...

Great Transformation Kelly! It looks so much better and you guys did a great job toning down the green tiles! A great lesson in how to work with what you have...after all most of us can't remove everything and start from scratch!

Anonymous said...

I adore those pebble and resin tiles and what an impressive job you have done, an impressive amount of work too !

Atticmag said...

Kelly, it went from ick to elegant and I think the lav faucets are a total hoot. They are their own little waterworks. Great job!!
Please stop by if you have time. We'll have a great teen bedroom giveaway starting Friday. -- Jane F.

Renae Moore said...

Way "mo bettah" for sure.

Shannon @ What's Up Whimsy said...

Holy moly! I have never seen a faucet like that! Amazing job!

Vanessa@decor happy said...

Great job toning down the green and those faucets are so unique!

margie said...

kelly, that looks so similar to my old bathroom in centrepointe!!

DesignTies said...

Margie, maybe you had the same bathroom designer!!

Kelly

Unknown said...

You've done a great job here, Kelly! That's one major visual overhaul considering you didn't fully remodel. Hang in there with the green tile - it's not so bad!! :)

Kathysue said...

Great job, it really did make a huge difference!! Kathysue

Unknown said...

Kelly, I love what you’ve done with your bathroom! The transformation is incredible, and it definitely looks much more inviting. Your faucets are so cool! I love their futuristic lines and I think the Silver Birch Corian® vanity top looks great with them. If you’re interested, you should post some of these pictures to our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/corianhome - I know that the rest of our community would love to see your inspiring bathroom renovation. Christine from DuPont

Paul Anater said...

Kelly,

Your master bath looks terrific. Great job! Are those faucets you bought on eBay KWC originals? They sure look like it. If so, that has to be the best deal I've ever heard of!

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