Powder Bathroom Reveal

Hi everyone! Today I am sharing our powder bathroom reveal and a few steps we took along the way to get what we wanted done. So if you remember a couple of days ago I showed you the before pictures here. Yeah, they were bad. So, after we removed the sink and most of the toilet (we kept the base in place, removed the tank) we painted the corners where the tile would butt up against the walls. I chose Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams.

The sink and cabinet base needed to be installed flush up against the wall so we removed the baseboards in this area using a dremel to cut into the baseboards and then a hammer and chisel to remove the actual pieces. It was pretty easy.

At least it looked that way from where I was standing 😉

Getting the measurements for this was easy. We just put the cabinet up against baseboards, made sure it was centered exactly where we wanted it and made pencil markings where we were going to cut.

Then after we removed the baseboards we put the sink cabinet back up against the wall and traced around it completely in order to give us a guide as we put the tiles up.

Then once we removed the cabinet we placed a temporary 1 x 4 where the top of the sink would be, this way our tiles wouldn’t start to slide down the wall since that was going to be our starting point as we tiled. up the wall. Below is a visual so you get what I am talking about.

This ended up not being necessary since the tiles stuck well to the wall, but it was nice to have it as a guide. This was our first backsplash project so we weren’t sure what to expect. Better to be safe than sorry! 

 

And as you can see we started on the bottom left and worked our way up, then moved over and did the same again (working around the sink/cabinet area. At first, it was hard getting the right consistency of the mortar, but once we got it, we flew through the installation.

And in case you thought my husband laid the tile… you guessed wrong! I actually did this. He assisted. Say what?!

One tip, NEVER EVER attempt to mix mortar or thinset or grout without this tool right here. You attach it to your drill and let it do all the work….. However, if you are the type who wants your arm to fall off from excruciating mixing pain, hey, be my guest (but seriously, so worth it).

Moving on! We grouted and cleaned up and finished painting the rest of the room,  but I won’t bore you with any of that, it was pretty basic stuff. Installing the sink was really simple (hubby did most of that, I assisted). And here is what it looks like now.

BAM!!!! That is one sexy wall. I apologize for not being able to show the entire bathroom in one full shot, but it’s a tight space and taking pictures of it is really tricky without awkwardly showing myself in the mirror with my camera in hand.

I chose those this style of sink and cabinet for a couple of reasons:

1.  I actually liked the contrast of the nice rich brown wood with the sleek white top.
2. It had storage! I could put toiletries in there with room to spare.
3. It had an opening underneath, which is where I store the kids step stool, so it comes in pretty handy. Later I can always dress it up with hand towels in a basket or something, but for now, it suits my needs.
4. It was affordable (which is the most important reason). If I remember correctly it was on sale for $199 at Home Depot and it included the mirror – not the greatest mirror, but I like it better than the oval one we had there originally. I tried looking it up on Home Depot’s website to reference, but I cannot find it – it doesn’t look like they sell it anymore.
5. It had counter space (a little, but nonetheless, counter space).

You like that Bombay Sapphire soap dispenser? You can read about how I made it here.

The faucet was a little pricey by my standards, but affordable compared to most models – those things are just crazy expensive! We got it for around $69.00 if I remember correctly. Again, I don’t see it on Home Depot’s website either so I am not able to reference like I usually do.

The light fixture we got for $66.97. Home Depot currently has them on sale for $53.58 until March 31, 2016. You can check them out here.

Here is some more of that awesome tile work (If I do say so myself). And if you remember, this tile was only $2.99 a square foot at Floor & Decor. When we asked why it was so inexpensive, the rep told us that it was because it was a new line of tile cut thinner than ordinary tile. Cutting the tile thinner uses less of the material so it brings down cost and saves the customer money. Once installed you can’t even tell they are thinner than regular tile.

Fine by me! Woot woot! 

Then across the toilet, I replaced the little wooden cabinet with this baby from Target. It probably won’t stay there forever, but it works for now.

Well, I hope you enjoyed our powder bathroom makeover. It is nice going in there everyday knowing that we accomplished such a transformation. Guests totally dig it which is even more awesome! I would love to hear your thoughts on the work we did and let me know if you have any questions regarding the project!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pssst! You can check this and other awesome DIY projects at DIY Like a Boss Link Party!