Since the first moment I saw my bathroom and decided to put an offer on our home, I knew that it would need to be remodeled as soon as I could afford it for the sake of my sanity. It’s our upstairs bathroom that I use, exclusively. Although guests didn’t trek upstairs to use it and Ryan had his own bathroom downstairs, the yellowed plastic shower walls and spongey laminate floors creeped me out. But, it was functional. I had a working shower, toilet, and sink, so it sat untouched for a year. . .until it didn’t.

This was my first full remodel and I changed every single thing about the bathroom. I bought a new toilet, sink, bath, faucets, shower head, put tile on the floor and on the shower walls, picked a new light fixture and fan, had the handyman knock out the hallway built-in (where I previously got ready every morning due to lack of counter space) to give me room for a true vanity and built-in shelving, and, because of that, had to refinish the walls.

The Details

I wanted tiny hexagon tiles and I wanted the space to be bold. Black floor tile with white grout was a fantastic way to accomplish that. When it came to the shower tiling, I went with subway tiles and a dark grey grout. I wouldn’t say subway tile is my very favorite home trend, but the dark grout helped it feel fresh and more modern to me.

I also had this very specific vision of a wood vanity with legs in a particular stain color that I love. Ryan and I spent so many hours hitting used furniture markets, calling West Elm, and scouring the internet for the right piece. What ended up working perfectly was this dresser from Amazon. It came damaged on the back, so we were able to get a partial refund (thank God). I had my handyman customize the drawers to accommodate a drop-in sink (similar to this one) and the plumbing that extends down and into the wall. I paired it with this round mirror from Target.

As for my faucet, I can’t find the exact Moen chrome faucet I chose online, but it’s affordable and from Menards! Same goes for my light fixture (that I think I’m buying clear bulbs for). My tub is a deep one, but not dramatically so. I think this Delta tub is mine, but I have the right-hand drain version. It does seem to scuff easily, but I like the look of the front of it and the depth. My toilet is an American Standard one and it’s so much taller than my old, which I love. Picking that out was probably the only decision I assigned fully to Ryan, haha.

Instead of your standard over-the-toilet cabinet, I ordered these brackets from Home Depot and had Ryan make some custom shelves for me. He stained them to match the vanity. (I love that guy.)

My mom tackled the painting and coated the room in “extra white” from Sherwin-Williams. It helps the gorgeous vanity wood and shelves to pop and makes the flooring more of a feature, in my opinion.

As for styling, I didn’t expect to choose pink. A dramatic floral shower curtain was what I pictured, but seemed like way too much once I started looking for them. I fell in love with the Project 62 geometric fans shower curtain and hand towels, plus this super cute white rug from Target.

I ALWAYS planned on live plants. I wanted my accent color to be green from plants, but nothing else. I found my black and white pots at Hobby Lobby and Wal-Mart, then potted little Home Depot indoor houseplants in them all. The room gets great light, so they’re all thriving two months later! And I will say, that plant in the shower wasn’t just for the photo. I love showering with it and it’s healthy as ever because of the steam. 🙂

What I Learned

If you can be around during a remodel, do it. The handyman’s availability lined up perfectly with the week I had off work already, so I was there to check in, provide answers when he had questions, learn about the remodel process, and correct any prior decisions that ended up not working out. I loved hiding out downstairs in the bonus room with Penny (our corgi) all week while the key demo and initial installs were completed.

Things will never go smoothly. Plan for hiccups and have room in your budget for them. Some of my shower’s plumbing had to be redone, which was more $$$. I originally wanted sconces and had them ordered and ready, but a massive pipe in the wall prevented that from happening. And I also had a different sink ready to be installed that would have made the vanity way too tall. Roll with the punches, people! 🙂

Give yourself time to create your dream space. I decided to get a quote on this bathroom overhaul when I had a VERY loose idea of what I wanted the new space to look like. By chance, he was available to start 9 days after he’d come to do the estimate. I made a lot of crucial decisions in a single weekend (God bless Ryan for dealing with my prolonged panic mode). That was fine for me because I knowingly do everything last minute, but regular people who think ahead would have likely not loved the pace.

My only regret is not doing enough research on wall texture. I’d never given the texture of walls a second thought until I was told that the only option for my bathroom would be going with “executive knockdown.” I now know I’m not a big fan of that texture and am more of an orange peel texture gal (although using that texture would have shown my old home’s flaws post-demo). Now I know!

So, have you redone a bathroom? If so, did you DIY it or have a contractor tackle the job? I think I’ll learn to tile, myself, before I overhaul another bathroom.