Our Farmhouse Bathroom Reno with a touch of Mid-Mod!

Ok, guys! I am so sorry this post has taken me a while to get around to and, in fact, it has taken me a month to write this from my original renovation post a month ago to the day (on July 20th). I wanted to start with our bathroom renovation because this was my favorite part of our whole renovation! I had so much fun designing it and seeing it all come together; however, the most money went into it as well. I mentioned in my last post that I would spend hours in front of the tv watching Fixer Upper on HGTV. I would sit down with a pen and paper,  pause at points of interest and write notes. I would rewind and watch episodes multiple times in a row to get ideas for this renovation…I didn’t want to miss anything and I was pregnant on bedrest so what else could I do?! I love the farmhouse look, but I also love mid-century modern elements. Our downstairs is primarily farmhouse, but I incorporated the simple, clean black iron, black doors and black paneled lines on the shower glass to bring some of the mid-mod into the space. JoJo did an episode in Season 2 (episode 9) called The Mid-Century Modern Home that I loved!!! I have probably seen it a hundred times! Our bathroom is well lived in and the pictures below show that (plus I am terrible at taking pictures!). I guess I didn’t really get “after” photos! 

Before

 

The first hurdle we had to overcome was an issue with our septic tank. We Eads people have septic systems (#countrylivin’) so we had to first see if ours was large enough to accommodate the number of rooms and an additional bathroom. NOTE: Code rules go off of the number of bedrooms, not the number of bathrooms, which was strange to me. Our septic tank is located in the front yard and with this bathroom addition being on the opposite side of the house, downstairs in the walk-out basement we had to run piping and place a pump down the hill to pump up to the septic tank.

It was confusing to me and so overwhelming to wrap my head around, but it was approved and got done. Our back patio was torn to pieces and the concrete was never put back the way it was before even after the contractor sent people out multiple times to fix it. Our brown paint is peeling off and the old red concrete, plus new concrete that was poured peaks through everywhere.

I sat down with an architect I knew from church. Him and his wife had been on mission trips to Haiti and I knew they were really awesome people. I really enjoyed working with him at Conway Design Group and I remember sitting down to tell him my crazy ideas…he did a double take when I said I wanted the freestanding tub in the center of the room! Again, I knew I wanted a freestanding bathtub dead center of the room so I could look out and see our backyard and lake. I also knew I wanted a partially open tiled-shower. I had my heart set on a laundry style sink and rustic shelving. The original drawings had our toilet separated by walls and a door, but I wanted to cut cost so I asked for the walls to be removed. My contractor warned me I would want those walls with a locked door option so I deferred to his decision and we left them. I am glad we did because when friends come over to swim in the lake we use that bathroom. We have the exterior doors with locks, a door to the living room that has a lock but the sliding barn doors do not. I know friends going in there to use our restroom would have been so uncomfortable knowing there was a door that anyone could walk through. This way we have walls up and a door they can lock.

People ask me who designed our bathroom and the answer is, I did. I found all elements to the design and either our contractor ordered the supplies or I did. We had a shared google spreadsheet that we could both look at. I love incorporating diy pieces and handmade items from people I know. For me, it just makes the room feel more homey. Some of my favorite elements in the bathroom were done by my friend Caitlyn — the mirror frame, towel ladder and tray for the bathtub.

I started with a design style I liked and looked on Pinterest for pictures. I picked out colors and flooring and went from there. Below are the specifics to the room. *Disclaimer: I did purchase a whole lot from Wayfair before their recent controversy was made public. I am so sad, but I will not purchase from them moving forward. I wanted to give you the links so you can decide for yourself and maybe find a comparable alternative.

MY BATHTUB

My awesome bathtub is a freestanding bathtub from Wayfair that we had placed directly in the center of the room. I prefer baths and knew I needed a tub! We do not have another one in the house. When we first moved in, we were bathing the kids in a bucket upstairs! This bathtub was a lifesaver after many long days on my feet during pregnancy, a way to unwind after long days at work and today it gives me a quiet place to drink a glass of wine after long days filled with screaming kiddos. The tub filler is freestanding as well. I cut back in other areas so I could spend a bit more here!

SINK

The sink was another item that I knew right away the direction I wanted to go. It was probably the single most expensive item in the room. I picked out a Kohler Utility, Service, Laundry Sink in White with two Kohler sink faucets (which are currently out of stock). Everything I wanted! It may not rank high on resell lists as it isn’t a true double sink, but oh well, I got my farmhouse sink. Because we went with this sink, I didn’t want to cover it up with a vanity piece. I chose to go with wood shelves in place of the vanity. I did them myself and saved a heck of a lot of money! I went to Lowe’s and got some plain wood boards that I sanded, stained and sealed. I also bought the brackets from Lowe’s and our contractor had the shelves installed. There is one long one underneath the sink measuring 7′ wide and a short one next to sink measuring 4′ wide. I finished off the sink area with a beautiful bathroom mirror that cost less than $50. My parents had an old piece of glass that we took to Pitman Glass Company on Summer Ave. to get cut and had my friend Caitlyn frame it with wood. It runs the length of our sink.

Shower

I chose to go with a partially open shower. I wanted floor to ceiling tiling and a cutout for our shampoo. The shower floor tile is the same as the bathroom floor tile; however, the grout spacing is different and it bugs me! The shower wall is a white subway tile from Lowe’s which they currently do not sell anymore. I tried to use the leftovers for my diy kitchen remodel, but they are individual pieces and being a first-time tiler I wanted to go with something less intense. I love, love, love our shower cutout tile.

Matt and I went to Mexico for our 30th birthdays. I love the hand-painted ceramic look from Mexico, so I just had to purchase these tiles even though Matt thought I was crazy and who knows if they were actually made in Mexico (we told ourselves they were!). This was before we knew we would be renovating a house. I just loved them and figured one day I would use them. I had the contractor install those tiles in the cutout and every time I look at them I am reminded of our favorite trip.  Just a couple more elements to the shower:

• The shower faucet: Dryden Pressure Balanced Shower Faucet from Delta
• The shower glass: I chose a frameless glass panel from Home Depot, which I can’t find anymore.
• The small towel hook outside the shower is an elephant. When we had Charlee, I did her entire room around elephants. I love Africa and my trips there were so memorable I guess I fell in love with elephants! The hook came from a thrift store, but not sure which one.

Walls, Flooring and fixtures

I wanted to incorporate Joanna’s favorite shiplap look, but didn’t want the room overwhelmed in Shiplap. Plus it is more expensive than just drywall. We went with cedar planks from Lowe’s and originally I wanted them painted in Magnolia Home’s Shiplap, but when I saw how beautiful the wall looked unpainted, I decided to leave it raw. The remaining bathroom walls, I picked out Beryl Pearl (0509) Farrell Calhoun paint which is an off-white color with a hint of blue.

I searched and searched for the perfect flooring for the bathroom. I wanted something different, but durable. I found this brick entryway picture on Pinterest and loved the look! I ended up picking this for the bathroom floor: Rustico Brick 2-1/3 in. x 10 in. Glazed Porcelain Floor and Wall Tile (5.17 sq. ft. / case) – BEIGE from Home Depot. I had them do a half of an inch grout spacing because I wanted the white grout to stand out. Again the 1/8in spacing on the shower floor bugs me because it doesn’t match the rest of the floor.

For the fixtures I stuck to the farmhouse feel. I went big and bold over the tub and I LOVE IT! It is my favorite light in our whole house! If you stand up in the tub you will hit your head, but it is perfect to relax under and makes a statement when walking into the room! I purchased it from Overstock, but had to wait a few months because it was out of stock. It is currently out of stock again. Must be popular with others too! Here it is… The Gray Barn Vineyard 4-light Globe Chandelier.

The light over the sink was a bit of a headache. I went back and forth on two lights or one above the mirror. I didn’t tell the contractor, though, until I was sure of my decision. I was advised by a close mentor at church who is an interior designer to get two because of the way the light intersects it shines a good light on your appearance. I had two pendants picked out, but our contractor and I were on different pages and instead of putting the wiring from the ceiling they did wiring on the wall. I switched my search to wall mounted lights and I fell in love with The Original Warehouse Gooseneck Light from Barn Light Electric Co. that I found on Instagram. I placed an order for two and when I went down to look at the progress, I realized they only had one hole. They ended up putting just one light above the mirror, but in the end it turned out just fine because they are too big to have two and I like the lighting.

Miscellaneous things

The toilet I decided to go cheaper on and found one from Home Depot for $89.00. I didn’t really care where we did our business and as long as I could touch the floor (short people problems), I was good to go!

The barn doors are always a crowd pleaser. They separate the master bath from the master bedroom. I found a local woodworker on Facebook, The Taft Company. They did beautiful work — my barn doors, my dutch door upstairs and my swing on the front porch— but they were incredibly hard to work with and had no sense of a time table. In our bathroom, we got two wood sliding doors 36×80″ two panels with cross boards on bottom. The hardware for the track came from Amazon. We have still yet to put on the handles!

This project was so fun for me. I was a bit much for the contractors and they were a bit frustrating to me, but the end results are worth it. I have always been interested in design work and remodeling. I remember being no more than 8 years old, sitting on the floor of my parents’ bedroom at our one-story house in Clearwater, Florida. We had people come work on their master bathroom. I sat there the entire time watching them and asking questions about what they were doing. I am sure I was such an annoying little kid, but from what I remember, they were patient and answered all my questions!

I leave you with a couple things. Have fun and try not to stress. I wish someone would have told me this. Incorporate meaningful items. I did things from my travels around the world and my friend’s handcrafted items. I have two paintings in my kitchen from a young lady in college who grew up in the youth group when Matt was the youth pastor. Think outside the box and be creative!

 

 

Up next is the master bedroom!