Our Final Home Renovation Project: The Bathroom

It’s here, the final project of our 8 year home renovation – our bathroom! With it being our only bathroom, we kept pushing it off. The thought of not having access to a shower or toilet for weeks had us prioritizing every other project first. In fact we’ve gotten quite comfortable with telling our guests, “Ignore the bathroom…it’s still on our To-Do list.”

But the time has come for us to tackle it head on. We’re going to be sponge bathing in our basement with a bucket and we’ve got a camping toilet ready to go. Let’s do this!

In the 8 years that I’ve been designing, this is the first project that I bought everything before even starting demo. I’m a “make decisions as we go” kind of designer and I thrive when I have the opportunity to make selections on finishes and colors as the space evolves.

BUT, with shipping and fabrication lead times, we don’t want to be out of a bathroom for months while we wait for the materials to arrive. Which means I’ve been making decisions strictly off of what I can envision in my head. As materials are chosen, I’ve been adding them to my bathroom mood board to help me visualize my choices. Here’s a glimpse at what I have purchased.

As for the mood boards, I made two because there’s one element that I can’t seem make a decision on. I love absolutely everything…but I have yet to find a shower wall tile that sparks an immediate yes for me. It’s a classic case of overthinking. I’ve narrowed it down to two options. Which would you pick?

The Bathroom Mood Boards

The vibe is “Naturally Dramatic.” I want drama, but not in a glitzy showboating way. More of a “look how striking natural materials can be” way. Which lead me to choose stone tiles floors with natural variation, black granite countertops with the most dramatic veining, and unlacquered brass fixtures. At this point, it’s just a matter of picking a shower tile that compliments the rest of the space.

The star of the show will be the granite countertops, and I know what you’re all thinking….granite? Isn’t that kind of…dated? I always thought we’d go marble or soapstone, that is until I saw Kismet House share her granite countertops on TikTok. Her countertop is like soapstone’s more dramatic sister and I was fully on board after that. (We already found a slab remnant and I can’t stop looking back at photos of it!!)

So What’s Next?

Demo starts today and the camping toilet is set up so we’re ready to roll! Of course I’ll keep you in the loop here. But if you want behind the scenes documentation of this project in real time, hang out with me on Instagram.

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