The Upstairs Bathroom

The only word I could use to describe the upstairs bathroom in our house when we first moved in? Frightening. The bathroom alone would have sent most prospective buyers packing. The claw foot tub had been ripped out, leaving a hole in the floor. In that hole? An animal skeleton. Possum or Cat. Still not sure since the skull was missing. Besides that, there was a rusted sink that wouldn't stop running, and at the far end, a toilet that didn't work. The upper part of the walls were covered in creepy black wallpaper and paint, while the lower half sported lavender and black chipped tile. It may have been the bathroom that got our place nicknamed "the Money Pit" by friends and family.



Today? It might be my favorite room in the house. It is now a light and airy, vintage inspired bathroom.













What did this amazing transformation take? Less money than you might think. We did much of the labor ourselves and saved money whenever and wherever possible. We used the money saved to splurge on the items we really wanted.

Here's the full scoop...

We found a replacement for the clawfoot tub through a friend. It needed work though. We had the inside professionally sprayed, painted the outside ourselves and (first of the splurge items) had the feet re-chromed. Another bathroom splurge came in the form of the pipes and shower surround for the tub.

The sink and toilet are from the Kohler Memoirs series. The faucet is from Home Depot, though I plan to replace it when I have money for the Restoration Hardware one I want. Swoon.

The light fixtures, mirror, towel hooks, robe hooks, toilet paper holder and toothbrush holder were all from Restoration Hardware. I really can't say enough about their bathroom fixtures and accessories. In fact, one of the interior designers I worked for installed their fixtures in every bathroom he did!

The paint was Behr from Home Depot and the blinds were custom ordered through my awesome shades guy, to the trade only. The floors? Another great deal. This one from Lumber Liquidators. They have a once a year clearance sale for odd lots and overstocks. Since we only needed 80 square feet, there were small lots left. We ended up with Brazilian Cherry floors for $.99 sq ft! Side note - the sale is popular and we were in line for a good two hours with a list of what was available. By the time we got the front of the line, half of the options were gone. Certainly worth it, but get their early for the best selection.

The rest? Some serious man hours. Especially since it was one of our earlier projects and were still honing our skills. I laboriously stripped all the black paint off of the built-in, window trim and chair rail, while hubby patched walls and installed the bead board panels.

The full breakdown -

Toilet $309.00
Sink $320.00
Tub $200.00
Light Fixtures $400.00
Paint $70.00
Floor $75.00
Floor install $200.00
Mirror $259.00
Hooks $45.00
Towel Ring $39.00
Base Molding $90.00
Beadboard $175.00
Tub Glazing $250.00
Foot Chroming $211.00
Plumbers $1,500.00
Tub pipes $1,300.00
Blinds $80.00
Electrician $200.00
Hardware for Built-In $64.00
Sink Faucet $99.00

$5,886.00

FYI - The national average is $10,000 for a bathroom remodel. Considering we have three (!) bathrooms to replace, that $4,000 savings will certainly come in handy.