Master Bathroom Renovation // Before + After

I've teased and sneak peeked the heck out of our bathroom renovation and now it's finally time for the big reveal!  I have been counting down the days to share this one.  It's been a labor of love and a long time coming, to say the least.  When we moved into our 1941 abode nearly four years ago, we definitely had our list of projects.  Before we moved in we replaced the flooring in almost the entire house and painted nearly the entire interior.  There have been projects like removing a giant tree and replacing our sprinkler system as well as creating a back patio space, but never have we ever embarked on a project like this my friends!  When we updated our kitchen, we really liked the bones of it, so a little paint, a new backsplash, and some fresh accessorizing and that project felt complete.  With our bathroom on the other hand, we took everything down to the studs and started from scratch.  Like any project, there were highs and lows and more decisions to be made than I ever dreamed possible, but I couldn't be happier with the result!  Ready to hear the exciting tale of the master bathroom renovation journey?  Well, when we first started talking to Lowe's about partnering on a bathroom makeover, our bathroom looked like this:

Pretty fancy, right? Sooooo much white and not in the good way.  I had been dreaming of gutting this little space since the day we first got the keys, but this wasn't a project we could just throw a thousand dollars at and call it a day, so it took some saving, some time and some prioritizing.  Being on the other side of it now, I can say it was well worth the wait and the investment!  The positive of the space is that it has just that-- a lot of space!  Also, the flow and how the major pieces were positioned worked for us, so we didn't have to do any major plumbing overhauls, just a few tweaks here and there.  In just a couple days into the bathroom renovation, the space looked like this:

When we first began the project, I planned to just subcontract all of the work out myself.  We have a plumber, electrician and tile worker that we love!  However, I have never done a project of this magnitude before, so I was anxious that I wouldn't do things in the right order and end up with a costly mistake on our hands, so I ended up going with a contractor and I'm glad I did, at least for this first big project.  (We ended up using Designs by Decor who we found through a neighbor on our street who was doing a project with them.)  While we had already picked out all of our main pieces from Lowe's, I really had my heart set on a larger hex tile floor in a unique color that would allow to everything to pop and was counting on that to anchor everything else.  A few different people recommended Fireclay Tile to me and I'm so glad they did!  It's certainly not cheap, but each of their tiles are serious works of art and the customer service is amazing!  If you're working on a project, you can actually request up to 5 free samples from their site.  When I saw the color of this blue in person, I was sold!  Soon that empty space started to look a little more like this:

Every night Parker and I would walk back to assess the bathroom renovation progress and she would throw her hands up and shout "Wow"!  The last remaining piece to finish off the space was to choose paint.  I tend to really gravitate towards light grays or dark navy when it comes to paint color, but funny enough, Aaron and I both really liked the way the green dry wall board looked with the white and blue tile, so we tested a few shades and ended up going with Sherwin Williams Comfort Gray, lighter than the drywall board, but it definitely has some distinct green tones.

The number one change we knew we wanted to make was to enlarge the shower and get rid of the oversized jacuzzi bath.  Aaron refuses to take a bath so that space is totally wasted on him and, while I do enjoy a bath, no amount of bleach could get me used to a jacuzzi bath that other people had used for decades and decades before we moved in.  Is that weird?!  I just feel like with all of the tubes and jets in those things, how can they possibly ever really be clean?  This bath tub is just 60" wide which is perfect for me and gave us an extra two feet to work with in the shower, which now feels amazingly enormous! (Parker can actually climb in while I'm taking a shower and play in the far end without even getting wet if I position the shower head directly downwards.)

Over on the other side of the world, I was pretty ecstatic to have all of those hollywood lights ripped out along with that entire mirrored wall. The giant built-in vanity was gone too, which, while convenient, was really more space than we needed.  In order to keep things light and airy in here we opted for a free standing vanity (from Lowe's) that didn't feel too clunky or heavy.  I loved the open shelving at the bottom and the simplicity of the piece overall.  This was hands down the hardest decision to make and I second guessed myself right up until the point they were installing it.  I had originally wanted something in walnut that had a more mid-century feel, but it was a challenge to find something that checked all of the boxes and had a reasonable price tag.  Now that the vanity is in, I love it.  I like the dark contrast with all of the white and light colors in the room and I like the way the black looks with the blue tile.

Aaron and I have already decided that if we ever sell this house, we are taking the mirrors and light fixtures with us.  We found them at Rejuvenation and I just don't think I can ever part with them!  We had the electrician replace the existing light switches with dimmers, a seemingly small detail, but it's amazing!  It's all about good lighting, right?

Since we lost a lot of the storage we had in our old built-in vanity with this bathroom renovation, we added storage by putting closed baskets along the bottom shelf and this freestanding wire shelving unit next to it.  I had originally designed the bathroom to have built in shelves in between the vanity and le toilette, but in the end opted for something freestanding to save on budget and to keep the space feeling big and airy.

Of course, after all of this major construction work, it's still crazy to me how much the accessories and final details can bring the look all together.  I hunted, searched, and investigated every possible rug destination before settling on this runner from Lulu and Georgia.  I love that it adds a big hit of color to the space and the geometric design complements the floor tile.  The next layer was to add a few live plants.  There are 5 in total!  One rubber tree, one ferny little number in the smaller pot, a mini olive tree on the vanity, a succulent atop the wire shelving, and a mix of succulents on the lowest shelf.  These are some of my favorite details and they're so inexpensive!  Plus, you can move them around the house as you have a need.  I also found great accessory details at Anthropologie, like this capri blue candle and dreamy trinket dish.

That's a wrap on this project, friends! ( If you need me I'll be soaking in that tub.) Anyone else been through a bathroom renovation? Leave your tales below!

white wall and shower tile, Lowe's / freestanding bathtub, Lowe's / blue hexagon floor tile, Fireclay Tile / moen bath faucet,  Lowe's / gray and white bath towels, Anthropologie / moen rain showerhead, Lowe's / mirrors, Rejuvenation / trinket dish, Anthropologie / sconces, Rejuvenation / rug, Lulu and Georgia / kohler toilet, Lowe's / vanity, Lowe's / sink faucets, Lowe's / small planter, Anthropologie / large planter, Lowe's / capri blue bath candle, Anthropologie / waste basket, Anthropologie

Photography by Stephanie Godfrey

Huge thanks to Lowe's Home Improvement for their hand in helping with this bathroom renovation project.  They are seriously the best neighborhood one-stop-shop you can ask for when it comes to renovation projects!