The Bathroom Saga

Back around MLK day I posted about remodeling the girl's bathroom. Who knew at the time that the project would take almost as long as our kitchen remodel! The primary reason for the slow progress is the fact that Brad has worked on it from about 9pm-midnight most days by himself...that is slow going progress. Plus the tiling took a long time...it's not something he could do well at night since he needed to use the loud tile saw and cut outside in the freezing cold. That means he had to hold off and save most of the tiling for Saturday or Sunday when he could work outside and have enough time to mix mortar.

So that is the background that gets us to this past weekend...a weekend that we were going to make a lot of visible progress as we were ready to install the vanities and counter tops and some of the hardware. As we pushed the 48inch vanity into the alcove we discovered it wasn't a true 48inches...it was somewhere like 47.5inches. They don't make 47.5 inches. We assume the 22 year old wall had shifted over time...regardless we had a dilemma. Since the difference was fairly small we decided that cutting 1/2 inch sheet rock would allow us to slide it into place. This solution worked. However...we didn't consider that when we replaced the sheet rock it would prevent the drawers from being able to open since the style of the vanity had drawers that went right to the edge of the face of the cabinet. So...problem wasn't solved. And even if the drywall wasn't an issue we also realized that the drawers on the left would hit the molding around the door after you opened the drawer about 6 inches. So basically the vanity wasn't going to work. Off to Home Depot and Lowe's.

The only criteria we started to look for was a 48 inch vanity that had drawers that were inset a few inches so we could put the vanity in place and then add the drywall in front of it and essentially it would be built in. There was actually only one vanity that fit that criteria. It's a white vanity so the entire look of the bathroom is changing since the initial vanity was espresso color.
So this is the new vanity with our counter tops...which were 49inches to hang over the edge of a 48inch vanity. This meant cutting into the drywall on both sides of the wall and then notching into the studs. Thankfully the splash guard pieces hide most of the drywall deconstruction so we don't have to repair it...but there is still drywall to replace, tape, mud and paint in front of the vanity.
The new cabinets came with stainless hardware so we bought antiqued bronzed to go with the faucets and lights. The white has grown on me...the tile is a dark tan as well as the walls so the white looks nice since we put in a white tub, toilet and sink basins.
Here is a glimpse of Brad's tile project in the shower. He still has to grout which will fill in any cracks you see. I complicated life and added a lot of hours to his project by suggesting we do a design on the back wall and also cut in a recessed area for shampoo and soap. He has done a great job and is so sick of the project. I know he is anxious to get it done...so am I since we really aren't doing anything to get ready for the baby until we wrap up this project. We're having a birthday party at the house for Brooke on March 7...he promised we'll have everything done and cleaned up by then. That will be my last big cleaning of the house and then we'll be sitting around waiting for the baby to arrive!
Hopefully I'll have some finished product pictures to post in another week.