To the Rescue! DIY Disaster Made Right in a Triple Bathroom / Laundry Reno



DIY Disaster from the previous owner:
Duct taped pipes

In the month of July, we basically ate (does sawdust count?), breathed and lived bathroom renovations (and kitchens, but i'll get to that later). One of the nicest families we have ever met had called us in last minute to look at renovating a laundry room and three bathrooms, which had long been victim to a DIY disaster caused by the previous owners. Duct tape, as they found out, could only hold for so long. The band aid solutions were just not going to cut it anymore, and it was a perfect opportunity to create three fully functional and classically designed bathrooms. Because of the quick start date and tight timeline (exactly 3 weeks), most of the materials used were from Lowes or Home Depot.

Exhibit A: Old Layout- The classic older home layout (40 years+) with a squeezed in ensuite bathroom addition with no place to shower.

The New Layout

 Master Ensuite Before (Left): A tiny ensuite with a small pedestal sink.

After: A one piece toilet was installed for easier cleaning, and a new Archer Kohler pedestal sink was installed. The walls are painted in Benjamin Moore's Rocky Road (CC-470).
A stand up shower was added to the ensuite with tiles with a band of parquet design accent tiles from Lowes.

 

 

 Main Bathroom Before (Left):  The bathtub (which had previously been leaking to the basement washroom below), had become the shower stall in the ensuite, so a shorter 54" x 30" tub (a hard find to come by!) had to be installed to accomodate the smaller space.
After: A warm, family-friendly design with modern clean lines, painted in the cozy shade of Ranchwood (CC-500) by Benjamin Moore. The floors are chocolate brown Blown 16" x 16" by Ciot.

To accomodate teeth brushing time for three kids, we designed a custom 66" shaker-style vanity with quartz countertops and rounded rectangular undermount sinks. The faucets are Mistos by Kohler. 

 Below: the old shower stall was removed and a one piece toilet was installed by Price Pfister.

 

 Before: The laundry room had poorly done plumbing, and very little storage space.

 After: We custom designed shelving and updated all the plumbing.

 Basement Bathroom Before: The old bathroom was a mishmash of buttercream slathered Victorian replica porcelain and outdated blue tiles.
After: A 24" custom but simple shaker door style vanity, which is a pre-curser to the contemporary design.

Before: An awkward dark corner shower, that the family couldn't use because it would back up on them.

After: A whopping 72" x 42" shower base was installed with a custom glass door and wall. A tub filler was installed to wash the kids feet. The washroom is painted in warm and inviting shade, which reminds me of chocolate mouse Benjamin Moore's Cobblestone (CC-454)

 

 

Before & Afters: Basement Renovation

We recently were called in to do a basement renovation, which was originally supposed to be completed in later months, but due to new circumstances, the renovation needed to be done right away. The project was fast tracked to be completed in 2 weeks time, with a minimum budget to get it done. I definitely love a challenge, especially when we try to make the impossible possible for a great young family like my clients! It was a joy working with them and their super friendly kids. Here are the before and after pictures:

 



The Bedroom Before

 

After painting, and brand new laminate flooring (although the picture was taken as the basement was being cleaned ;)

The space underneath the staircase was utilized and a new storage space was formed.

The Staircase Before & After: Matching laminate was installed on the stairs to save on the project cost (as opposed to solid oak treads)

The bathroom previously had a moulded shower and vinyl floor tiles.





The owners wanted just to refresh the bathroom so we retiled with 12" x 24" grey tile, replaced the toilet, pedestal sink and shelving. Due to the short time frame, we also had to find a ready made shower stall that fit the area, so this off the rack shower with a moulded shower pan was installed. We dressed up the subway tiled shower stall with some glass mosaic tile.

The furnace room before

The laundry was previously located right next to the electrical panel, and we felt like this back room space was being under utilized, so we moved the laundry to the back of the basement, tiled the floor and created a hanging area for drying clothes.

Totally Renovated Townhome Part VI - The Loft

Here's the last stop on our totally renovated townhome tour: the loft. First of all I want to pause on these gorgeous custom stained stairs again!

 BEFORE: The loft had hunter green carpets and dark taupe walls. (Photo from Century 21)

 PROGRESS: During demolition, carpeting and underpad is cut into small manageable pieces, rolled and disposed of.

AFTER: The loft was painted the same beautiful grey shade (Benjamin Moore's Wickham Gray HC-171) as most of the hallways and spaces of this house. A large open space like this also required a substantial light fixture. I chose a chrome "sputnik" type design, that would diffuse light throughout the large space

 Another look at the newly redone stairs and hardwood flooring. It is very important to keep the hardwood flooring consistent throughout the house! (With very few exceptions)

A shot of the staircase looking down to the main level.
That concludes the tour! Hope you enjoyed and please do drop us a line if you have any questions about renovations or get your very own quotation.

Totally Renovated Townhome Part V- Master Bedroom & Bathroom

We're nearing the completion of this tour of our major renovation for this totally transformed townhome, and I wanted to show you the amazing renovation of the master bedroom.

 BEFORE: Master bedroom closet - the room featured two separate closets with sliding doors.

 PROGRESS: The clients wanted to have a flat screen tv mounted in their bedroom, and the closet  wall was the only wall that it was possible to do so. It was also still the only wall in which we could have a closet, so I designed another custom built-in closet still with plenty of space to store clothing.

 

AFTER: In keeping with the rest of the house, we had the popcorn ceilings scraped, pot lighting installed, and shaker style cabinets. The flooring was also changed throughout. Slate grey roman blinds were also added to help soften up the room without making it look fussy.

BEFORE: A yellow victorian style bathroom

 AFTER: Sleek, modern yet still classic, featuring ajax marble 12" x 24" tiles, a custom vanity and a spectacular shower!

 PROGRESS: The client loved to go on the sourcing trips, so we scoured showrooms for the perfect shower fixture. Believe it or not, this shower kit is actually a fairly decent price at $1000 considering you receive 4 body sprays (usually about $300 each), a hand shower with a slide bar, and a rainfall shower head. Of course in my opinion the best part of this would be the thermostatic valve, which allows you to control the water temperature to a tee.

 Anoter look at the rainfall shower head, which is controlled separately. These can be mounted either on the ceiling or as seen above in the showroom. Notice the beautiful detail of the grigio 1"x4" tiles on the ceiling and the floor!

 The glass shower was designed to sit slightly on top of the bathtub, so the clients can rest their amenities on the ledge. A good glass shower door swings in as well as out!

Another shot of the gorgeous tilework.

PROGRESS: Every detail counts! The design process included picking out all the hardware in the house. Length, feeling and look are all very important factors when picking hardware.

 I custom designed this vanity with the client's requests in mind for a place to do her makeup and put her cosmetics. The countertop is a beautiful Caesarstone quartz, and it features two undermount rectangular sinks with waterfall faucets.

 This vanity should hold plenty of bottles, lotions and necessities. The cut out in the middle is to accomodate the plumbing.

This is the makeup drawer that was put into the vanity to accomodate nail polish bottles, powders, and everything you would need to get ready!

Totally Renovated Townhome Part V- The Second Bathroom

This post will be short and sweet until I get photos of the bedroom once it is completed. Until then, I'd love to share photos of the renovation we did in the second bedroom with you.

BEFORE: The bathroom was certainly in keeping with the country style the house had. Photo by Century 21.

 AFTER:  A custom designed vanity with a beautiful Caesarstone countertop (4600 Organic White) with an undermount rectangular sink and a waterfall faucet.
The flooring is a warm grey polished 12" x 24" ceramic tile which main design function is to warm up the space.

 The walls are painted a gorgeous hue of blue green. The shower was tiled with a off white 8"x12" tile from Ciot, and we installed the soho shower system from Ginger's.

Totally Renovated Townhome Part IV- The Dining Room

In the space adjacent to the kitchen, was previously a tiled family room (all open concept). Since we were getting rid of the tiny breakfast area in the kitchen and they wanted a larger dining room to entertain in, I suggested that we turn the space into a dining room. In a staging scenario, they could always change it up in the future.

BEFORE This family room was tiled, and had a very strange configuration. We couldnt change the thickness of the bulkhead because it vents the gas fireplace, but you'll see soon what I dreamed up for this space below (Photo by Century21).

The future dining room's tiled floor was removed.

 I went to work custom designing built-in cabinets that would provide plenty of storage for the client's dishware and things. The clients wanted to be able to watch tv while cooking, so we had it pre-wired and ready to go for a tv mount.

 AFTER:  I chose a medium grey tone to contrast the cream shaker panel cabinetry, which matches the adjacent kitchen's cabinetry. The drawers in the middle were designed to house things like flatware and loose items.
We also had custom california shutters installed to create a clean look.

Since we could not change the height of the bulkhead, I had the contractors box out the fireplace and face it with a gorgeous splitface slate coloured stone to create height and grandeur.