Bathroom Reveal

The master bathroom project is complete (and has been for a few weeks, but I'm just getting around to uploading pics)! I have to say, my DIY husband has outdone himself on this one...check it out!

Remember the boring, dark and almondy "before"?

Welcome to our "after"...light, airy and much more functional.

Not to continue bragging, but just so you know, SJ built the vanity (complete with inset shaker-style doors and soft-closing drawers) and the built-ins over the bathtub. We did all of the travertine tiling ourselves, and the tub surround is wrapped in a quartz stack-stone tile (so easy to apply, btw!) that we found on Craigslist.  I will take credit for a small amount of demolition, decision-making and decorating, but other than that (and only ONE plumber visit!), this was all SJ. Here are some of my favorite features:

Didn't realize how little storage we had until we added built-ins. I found this idea on Pinterest and it fit perfectly into our cozy bathroom (with no linen closet!). The hair dryer, straightener, products, bath toys, etc. are all hidden away in baskets, and I love that there is now some space for displayiing personal decor, frames, towels, and toiletries.

We went with a more modern, streamlined soaker tub...it's super deep and takes up much less space than our old gigantic (and almond-colored) garden tub. Don't you love the stack-stone?

We used travertine for all of the tiling, since it's such a small bathroom and we both really wanted subway-style. To save money, we bought 18 X 18 inch tiles, and cut each one to 9 X 18- this did involve a weekend rental of a heavy-duty tile saw, but well worth the time for the money we saved. I really love how much bigger the shower seems, the rainfall showerhead, and the mosaic floor. The built-in niche was a major headache for SJ, but it's perfect for shampoo storage in such a small shower. Notice the frameless glass shower door?! It was our splurge for the project but since we installed it ourselves (please don't try this at home!), it was justified, and makes it look very high-end!

Hooks instead of a towel bar (another Pinterest idea!)...found these at Kohl's for $8 each. Bonus!

My accessories were inspired by the quilt I have for our master bedroom (that project reveal coming soon!), and I adore the gray, chocolate, tan, and golden-yellow accents. My friend Christine gave me the glass jewelry jar for my birthday, then I found a few more mercury glass accessories at Target to coordinate. The hand-towel is an Anthropologie find....typically I would never spend more than $10 on a hand towel, but I couldn't pass this beauty up. The granite countertop was an all-in-one deal from Menards. The undermount sinks and backsplash came with it and I think we spent under $300 on the whole thing. What a find! All of our fixtures (including pivot mirrors, hardware and faucets) are from online retailers...ebay, csnstores.com and amazon.com are our go-to places for great deals!

Not sure we'll tackle a job this big again, but the result of this project are pretty impressive if you ask me. Now it's time to enjoy it....but I can guarantee that it won't be long before another Kruse project comes along! Claire's big-girl room and the loft playroom transformation coming soon...