• September 15, 2010

Bungalow Bathroom Remodel

It’s Finished!

Bathrooms, Before and After

Bungalow Bathroom Remodel, Before & After

The bathroom project is finally complete. Whew! We are thrilled with the results.

Starting with an inspiration photo, to picking out all the fixtures, to taking the room down to the studs and slowly putting it back together again; this has been the most difficult project completed in our house. So many decisions…

The updated bathroom is the project that has increased our enjoyment of the house the most. It is hard to believe that such a little room can have a big impact.

Our contractor built a door to match the original closet door and framed out a larger storage space.


For the first time in 98 years our house has a shower!

The ceiling fixture and sconce from Schoolhouse Electric help pull the room together.

My favorite things about the remodel? The marble floors…

the additional storage space…

and the color…

All the soft white tones make me happy!

Comments { 46 }
  1. The Stucco Bungalow

    I love love love it! I am adding your photos to our bathroom inspiration folder (hope you don’t mind)! Keep up the amazing work ~


  2. A from Is it a house yet?

    Gorgeous!!! I have to ask – where did you get the medicine cabinet? We’re in the midst of a bathroom remodel ourselves (http://bit.ly/dabJwk) and we’re having a hard time finding anything…


  3. Heather

    Thanks. The medicine cabinet is original to the house. I have seen medicine cabinets similar to ours in Van Dykes Restorers catalog (http://www.vandykes.com) and at Restoration Hardware. Good luck with your bathroom!


  4. Melkorka

    beautiful job!! congratulations!


  5. jessie

    the bathroom looks great. love all the details.


  6. Tamara

    I have a big smile on my face here! You have restored this bathroom to a most beautiful state! It’s very tastefully done, appropriate to the era of the home, light and bright and clean, totally functional, every single detail from the switch plates to the threshold is absolutely perfect … there is nothing even the slightest bit wrong, everything is so right! Truly amazing. All of the other work you’ve done on this house has been equally fabulous. If you ever sell your home, prospective buyers are going to be walking around the house with their mouths hanging open!


  7. Tamara

    I want to add that your choice of lighting could not be better. Bathrooms and kitchens in homes of this age should have utility lighting, but utility doesn’t have to be unattractive. Your lighting is perfect, very simple, very appropriate, and yet so wonderful! I’m running out of superlatives. Love your blog!


  8. Eric

    Beautiful job! It’s perfect!


  9. HPH

    Congratulations!!! !!! !!! It is truly gorgeous and so… ‘crisp’ and ‘pristine’


  10. Leslie

    Looks great!


  11. Amanda@House Revivals

    I just love how your bathroom turned out! So glad, you decided not to do the chandelier over the tub, like in the Nate Berkus picture you shared in an earlier post. I recently posted about those types of installations here:
    http://houserevivals.blogspot.com/2010/10/e-is-for-electricity-and-water.html
    Love the corgis!


  12. evan

    great job on the bathroom… very tasteful and timeless


  13. Cathy

    Your bathroom turned out beautiful! We are struggling with our own second floor bungalow bathroom remodel. The room is no bigger than 6×8, with sloped ceilings and no windows. Due to the size, I think white paint is probably the best choice for the walls – what brand/color white did you use on your walls?

    Thanks!


  14. Heather

    Cathy,
    Our bathroom is small, too, but we are lucky to have a window. Going with white in our bathroom has definitely made it feel brighter and perhaps a little larger. The paint is Benjamin Moore. I started with Paper White but hand mixed in other paint samples until I got a color I liked. Good luck!


  15. Double Glazing Oxford

    Great work. I love how the bathroom turned out. It looks very perfect specially the lightning effect.


  16. Eric

    The bathroom is gorgeous and very well designed. I particularly love the marble floors.

    Can’t wait to see your next project. :-)


  17. Heidi

    I have been following your trials and tribulations about your bungalow for years now. I LOVE your new bathroom. It is absolutely gorgeous. My husband and I own a 1910 wood frame Chicago-style bungalow and are looking to restore it to it’s original glory. Your story has been our inspiration! Keep up the great work!


  18. Ryan

    I looked at your previous bathroom posts, but couldn’t find anything about the bathroom fan. did you buy the grate separately or purchase it with the fan?


  19. Heather

    Ryan,
    We got our fan and fan cover from KitchenSource.com. It says they have discontinued the fan cover: http://www.kitchensource.com/bathroom-fans/lu-bf1222.htm
    You may be able to find it elsewhere online. It is called Luminance Traditional Bathroom Fan Grate. I really liked that it could be painted.


  20. Nancy

    Wonderful work! How is the color match with Toto
    and St. Thomas Creations – I’m thinking of a similar combo. Which Toto white did you go with?

    Thanks – lovely!


    • Heather

      Thanks! We purchased the Toto Promenade (CST423SFG-01) in Cotton White. It is a perfect match for the St. Thomas Richmond sink. We are very happy with both.


  21. Sarah

    Your bathroom is beautiful. I particularly love the gray paint color that you chose. I’d love to know the name of it.


    • Heather

      Thanks! I had a difficult time finding just the right shade of soft gray, one that wasn’t too blue or too green, so I hand mixed my own color. For a similar color I recommend trying Farrow & Ball Pale Powder, Donald Kaufman DKC-37, Pratt & Lambert Pearl White or Benjamin Moore Horizon OC-53.


  22. Sharoon Cesiro

    HI,
    I’m in the process of picking out fixtures, floor etc.. to re-do my vintage bathroom. Could you please tell me, where did you get the medicine cabinet? What are the dimensions?
    You bathroom looks great. Its just the look I’m going for. Thanks so much for your help.
    Sharon


  23. Veronica

    This looks amazing! Where did you get the wall vent grate near the sink?


    • Heather

      The wall vent cover is original to the house. I had the nickel finish re-plated.


  24. kylie

    Love this! Where did you get your subway tiles? And floor tiles? Do you share budgets for a makeover like this?


    • Ruth

      Your remodel is absolutely beautiful, actually gorgeous! My question is similar to others as I grew up in one of these tubs and how does a 6′ 7″ person get a decent shower and the answer to that is they don’t. In addition getting in to and out of a ball and claw tub is a safety issue. At this stage in my life taking a shower should not be considered risky behavior. That being said it looks fantastic, congratulations I hope you enjoy it for years to come.


  25. Bev

    I’ve been enjoying your before/after photos. I’m working on a bungalow remodel too. Where did you get your shower curtain rod? Are you happy with it or does it make the shower curtain a little too “friendly”?


    • Heather

      Hi! We got our shower rod from DEA Bath. It was a close-out. They only had nickel plated left in 38″ and our tub is 30″ wide. But, it was on sale and a great price so I hoped it wouldn’t look ridiculous once it was installed over the tub. It looks great and the extra 4″ on each side actually makes it feel less claustrophobic and the shower curtain not so friendly! :)

      The shower rod is very heavy and great construction. It has held up beautifully. Here is a link to a shower rod like the one we purchased: Ultimate I Wall Mounted Shower Hoop (at the bottom of the page): http://deabath.com/SHWR/Ultimate/ultimate.html


  26. Kerry-Lea

    Are you reusing existing doors and painting them? If you are using new, where are you getting your five panel doors from? Love everything about your bungalow look. We are adding on to / remodeling some of a ~1920 four-square farmhouse and you have brought to life the look I hope to accomplish!


    • Heather

      Hi! We are reusing our existing doors. We have purchased a few doors from salvage yards for the places where doors were missing. We have a lot to choose from locally, but I have seen salvage yards or architectural salvage places online. Hope this helps!


  27. amanda

    What are you tub fixtures? We have an old tub and we’d like to get fixtures just like those…

    Beautiful bathroom!


  28. Julie

    Hi Heather, your pictures are lovely and inspiration, and VERY similar to our bungalow remodel in progress (however, we are having to use beadboard on the walls instead of subway tile due to the slope of our floors.) Is the upper half paint color “Paper White” with custom color tweaking? Thanks!


  29. Tyler

    Hi Heather,

    I’ve been looking all over for a marble transition piece like the one you’ve got between your hardwood and the marble in your bathroom. Can I ask where you found yours?

    Thanks,

    Tyler


    • Heather

      Hi Tyler. We ordered the marble thresholds through the DalTile showroom. Hope this helps!


  30. Natalia

    Hi Heather,

    I’ve read and re read your site, poured over images and longed for your lovely home for years. Well done, you two… Erm, three. ;) I have a question re: your claw foot tub/shower. Now that you have lived with it for some time, how does it work for you? I have a deep love of old homes and aesthetics like yours. My beloved hubby prefers more modern and convenience. We are on the cusp of remodeling kitchen and bath. I’ve listed after a clawfoot or pedestal tub since childhood. Realistically, we need something that won’t drive my hubby nuts but works for our 1912 house w/ it’s mini bathroom. No chance of adding a separate shower stall so…. Your thoughts? Thank you so much and congratulations both on your beautiful home and your beautiful daughter!


    • Heather

      Hi Natalia. Thanks for your sweet comment.

      The claw foot tub question…
      We were coming from just a bathtub with no shower. After 5+ yrs of that my hubby was thrilled to have any type of shower. I’m a bathtub person and never use the shower. So maybe we aren’t the best people to ask. :) My husband doesn’t “mind” the shower, but likes a “regular” shower better.

      Like you, I lusted after a claw foot tub for a long time. The truth is once you are in the tub you really don’t notice the difference. If having a “proper” shower is really important to your husband, I would look at the deep, tiled in tubs and traditional style showers from the 1920′s and get the hand held shower attachment (super convenient for washing your hair if you’re a bath person). Even being a bath person, I’m not necessarily sure I would do a claw foot tub again. Don’t get me wrong, I really like it…but it is not the must have that I thought it was.

      Best of luck with your bath and kitchen remodels!


  31. Sheri Cassidy

    Hello. Beautiful job. I can tell you researched and agonized over every detail! Would you mind sharing what you learned about the various white subway tiles on the market, which one you chose, and why?! Thank you!!!


  32. Susan

    Nice renovation work. It’s a pleasure to see the retro feel retained while bringing it up-to-date. It looks like it fits the house, too.

    I’ve seen some strange house flips. I always wondered if someone just went to the big box store to get something so the place could be fipped.

    Nice to see the house get some love!



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