Not to get stereotypical, but as the only girl in a house with 5 boys, the master bathroom is my sanctuary. I take a hot bath every single night – it’s my self care. Our sweet house also happens to have the smallest master bathroom I’ve ever seen. And it was a hot mess, in keeping with the rest of the house.
Notice that hole in the wall above the toilet? Apparently someone put a hole in the wall up here and down in the laundry room below as a makeshift laundry chute, except it was too small for clothing . . . and had nails sticking out . . . and WTF.
So we tore out the vanity, sink, medicine cabinet, hanging cupboard, and light fixtures. I painted the walls and assembled a new sink cabinet and Joshua installed that along with the sink and faucet. I first installed a vanity that matched the sink width but it somehow made the bathroom feel smaller and created an awkward dead space above the toilet. So I got a vanity the full width of the bathroom and it was a game changer. The bathroom feels so much bigger, reflects more light (with twice the mirrored surface), has way more storage, and looks perfect. We installed a new light fixture at a higher height to heightened the room, I installed a matte white subway tile backsplash with gray grout (not yet installed at time of photo), hung a new shower curtain in blush with a matching rug, put my toiletries in wide-mouthed mason jars, and this lady is clean and happy.
We ran laminate floors in a gray-brown driftwood style throughout the rest of the house so I wanted something for the bathrooms that would be durable enough for the waves that come from a boy-filled bathtub yet stylish and cohesive with the overall design of the house. I found a white-washed wood vinyl plank that fit the bill to a T, ran it into the master closet as well (which you have to walk through to get to the bathroom), added the modern white baseboards, and the flow is perfection.
On to the hall bathroom. This is the boys’ domain. It is twice the size of my master bathroom and was painted a hideous purplish black. It was a cave. That slanted cabinet was a bleach splashed rattan and everything else was a mismatched mess. After we demo’d the master bathroom we tried to take a bath in this bathroom for the first time and it rained downstairs. Plumber 911. This was the only time we had to actually hire a company to come out to do all the work for us. Well, “all the work” is relative as they really destroyed much of the house in fixing the leaking pipes.
We ripped out the vanity, which was actually huge, and had to saw it into pieces to get it out the doorway. I hauled out the above toilet cabinet, mirror, baseboards, fixtures, and yucky what nots.
Then I painted and assembled the sink cabinet, mirrored towel cupboard, and vanity that matched the cabinetry and fixtures in the master bathroom. Joshua and I installed them (Joshua gained some serious plumbing skillz, and since it’s with a z, you know it’s baller) and we laid the new flooring and baseboards and installed the light fixture at a higher height and I tiled, again, consistent with the master. We put in the final details and I just could not be happier. The boys collected some of their own pretty things to display, including special rocks, seashells, and bath salts they made themselves.
There is 1 more bathroom downstairs in my Dad’s suite but I’ll share that one when we tour his space. Spoiler: cohesiveness lets me sleep at night.
