Reflections on a Bathroom Reno 5 Years Later

by Dans_le_Lakehouse

Medium

We see lots of bathroom renovations everyday, on sites like HomeTalk and Pinterest. Do you ever wonder what people thought of their space years after the renovation was completed? Or perhaps you've been curious about how finishes held up? Five years after renovating the bathroom in my first home, I highlighted what worked/what didn't, what stood the test of time and what didn't wear well. Below is an excerpt from the post on my blog, Dans le Lakehouse. Everything I've said below is based on my limited experience - you might have had different experiences. I'm just sharing my two cents :)
Here is what the bathroom looked like when my spouse and I moved into our former abode, a 1970s townhouse. I think I could have made the beige/pink work, but the room was falling apart and was barely functional - the toilet was actually broken!

reflections on a bathroom reno 5 years later, bathroom ideas, flooring, home improvement, tiling

Here is another view of the bathroom before.

Having never tackled a bathroom reno before, my spouse and I hired out the replacement of the bathtub and tile surround. We knew everything else would be manageable, but I pictured the two of us sending a bathtub crashing down the stairs.

The rest of the work we tackled ourselves. Here is the finished room! I've got more details here: http://dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.ca/2014/09/townhouse-bathroom-reno-do-over.html

I rarely showed the tile on my blog because I was disappointed with what I chose. I picked the least imaginative tile for the tub surround. I don't know what I was thinking. The tub was a "package deal" and this tile came with it. I had the option to swap out something else and pay the difference but it was overwhelming and we hadn't yet moved to the city where our townhouse was located so everything was rushed. We were making snap decisions and I just opted for the white tile in the package. I regretted not choosing a classic white subway tile (which I ultimately chose for the townhouse kitchen). I asked them to install this tile like subway tile but the salesperson scoffed at my "ridiculous idea". I still think it would have looked cute.

This might surprise people, but I LOVED our vinyl flooring! Vinyl flooring gets a really bad rap for looking and feeling cheap. Certainly there are a lot of cheap and ugly options out there, but I loved our vinyl flooring. It took me awhile to find it (it's from Home Depot) but literally everyone who visited complimented it - some people got down on their hands and knees for a feel because they didn't believe it was vinyl. (Luckily, it was easy to keep clean!) It was a snap to install and incredibly affordable, plus it wasn't slippery with wet feet. After four years it looked brand new.

On the other hand, I did not like our marble counter top. The marble was a nightmare to keep clean. In the beginning I thought it was the best thing ever and decided every surface I ever own should be marble from that point on, but I quickly learned that marble was not my friend. It stained easily - even from the water - and needed lots of care and cleaning. I now know white marble patinas, but ours discolored in random places. There was a huge variety in the quality of marble cleaners and I spent a fortune trying different ones. Granted, this was not good quality marble and it was from a big box store so it's entirely possible it was a marble composite. But still, I have been scared away from marble and am now looking at quartzite - a more durable stone, like granite, that has a similar look to marble.

In a very long, detailed post on my blog, I go into more detail with these two finishes I liked/disliked, as well as discussing the merits of other finishes and fixtures I chose for the room. Ahhh, the magic of hindsight, right?