Hey guys! It’s Anne here on the blog today. I’m sharing my recent bathroom remodel and how Matt and I managed to re-do it on a dime and some key information that helped us through the process.
We live in a townhouse in outside DC and while this isn’t our forever home. We decided to update the bathroom for a few reasons.
- It was old and needed to be update. Having moved in a year ago we knew we wanted to eventually do the bathroom over.
- We knew that updating the bathroom completely, tile, vanity, toilet etc. that could only help the value of our house when we go to sell in a few years.
- I wanted to enjoy it NOW rather than updating when the time came to sell it.
- We priced out the job and went with a handyman to do ALL the work. We thought about having a specialty person just do the tile then getting a plumber in, but since we only have 1 bath we needed the work done ASAP.
Where we saved money:
- When it comes to house remodeling and renos that is something Kate and I have been doing since we were little. We always worked with my parents to pull up carpets, tile, demo day etc. We learned that if your looking to save some money, put it that work yourself
- Price it out. Tiles and toilet we researched. I found these tiles HERE for a lot cheaper than Home Depot. However, we stumbled upon Floor and Decor and found them for under $3 a sheet.
- Vanity. Again, knowing this wasn’t going to be our forever we found this one and knew that even updating the knobs in the future would give it a new look. This looks exactly like ours too
- We had a handyman come in for ‘Labor Only’ –meaning we supplied everything. From the grout to the backerboard to the bolts (thankfully Buddy knows all about this)
- Our drywall ripped when the old vanity was coming out. We decided to fix it ourselves. SO easy!
- We saved money mainly on everything, where it would have been easy to spend a little more. Our vanity light, mirror and our shelf (see below) is from Hobby Lobby (similar here)
What I wish I knew:
My parents and brother Buddy (who would have done the remodel if he wasn’t in MA) prepared me for a lot of these thing headed into this remodel. From the grout to the specifics of a toilet and what to watch out for with contractors.
- If you are supplying the materials be prepared for multiple Home Depot or Lowe’s runs.
- Don’t be afraid to speak up. Ask to see how they are going to doing something i.e. how the tiles would be laid. My handyman was really good at walking me through step by step. I was paranoid that they were going to increase the price of the work because of something unexpected. (they didn’t lol)
- Measure everything. First we measure vanity size, then toilet to make sure it height and bottom bolts would work. Then made sure we had the right size faucet for the vanity.
- This grout (charcoal color) is fast setting so it you don’t have to wait a long time for it to dry.
BEFORE
AFTER
Bathroom Decor
This is small scale in a ‘reno’ department, but if you are like us and just starting out and doing some of your own projects I hope this can help! Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions!
xo Anne
