This spring we completed a huge house project that I’ve been meaning to do literally since we moved in 12 years ago. Our master bathroom was dreadful. Skinny, mold-prone shower. Scalloped edge sink that was hard to clean. Woefully out of date brass fixtures with mauve and gray tiles. And CARPET. The house only had carpet in the basement theater room, spare room, and our bathroom! What the heck?

I spent weeks looking for a builder and many more weeks planning the new layout. Then many more weeks shopping for the endless list of items we’d need to complete the job. I’ll skip over writing out all the details and obstacles I tackled in getting this remodel finished.

The minivan proved itself over and over again while I hauled materials to the house. I’m glad I decided to hire builders instead of DIY-ing it. This project was definitely above my skill-set.

Before pictures:

That was Ben’s closet. We bought a wardobe for the bedroom instead. We discovered a heating baseboard in the back of this closet! (??)

After pictures:

Same view from the bedroom.
Heat lamp for after shower chills
Shower replaced the closet
More spacious! (Still narrow as ever though)
Three-way showerhead options, and I took out the regulator for max water flow (shhh, don’t tell!)
Corner shelves, moveable teak stool, safety grab bar
The color in this pic is the most true-to-life – rich green with a hint of blue
Toilet moved slightly away from the wall
Cute new plants and a doctored-up photo from out Japan trip
Adjustable light tones. Solid wood vanity and tower.
My cool swiveling sink faucet
I ultra-organized my bathroom goods.

In the end, it took exactly one month (March 3 – April 3) with the builders from demolition to finish, plus another week or so for decorating/organizing. Although the room is not any larger, the layout if much more useful and the shower is a DREAM. Each day I use the shower I appreciate how blissfully beautiful and large it is.

It’s a delight every time I enter the bathroom, even months later. Hoo-boy it was a lot of work of money. I’m glad we finally did it and also that it’s finally over.