So we have this master bathroom.
We bought it like this:
Then we demoed it. Removed the popcorn ceilings, took all the junk off the walls and mudded over the holes so it’d be ready for paint.
Just when we had it demoed to the PRECISE point of maximum ugliness, we screeched to a halt and left it there.
(for six years.)
*Hangs head in shame.* *Reluctantly hands over Home Blogger Credentials.*
THIS IS SO STUPID, you guys.
STUPID.
Every morning I go in that bathroom, with its unpainted sheetrock ceiling, craptastic vinyl floor, hanging bare bulbs and ugly everything, and things start to get a little more tense and uncomfortable between me and the master bathroom. At this point we’re barely on speaking terms. I’m mad AT the bathroom, as if it is its own fault that it’s stayed this way for six years.
Andy and I are both at the same point, thankfully. He totally backs me up in my awkward fight with the bathroom. It’s helpful to have your husband on your side when you have a falling-out with a room in your house.
(It’s not stupid because it’s ugly. It’s stupid because it’s halfway demoed and has sat that way for 1.5 complete presidential terms of office.)
A few years ago, I talked about this room and why we just couldn’t pull the trigger on updating it. The problem is the layout.
The shower stall is a tiny coffin of despair, and the tub is functional but ugly. In that old, old post, we mentioned that we were going to leave the tub and shower as it was and just start fixing other things. But lots of you piped in with incredibly helpful ideas and suggestions for how we could improve the layout.
We loved all the ideas, but we couldn’t settle on one that felt completely right. So we left it there. Again. Did nothing. Closed the door and let NO ONE PASS THEREIN. It was our little secret.
(Except that we put it on the web and all.)
(Details.)
Anyway, we’ve come full circle now. We’ve gotten angry enough at the bathroom that it’s finally, actually going to change, and we have a real plan of attack that we’re going to actually do. (See all these definite action words I’m using?)
Here’s where we are: it’s too much for us to think about ripping out the tub and shower right now. We just can’t wrap our brains around with all the other stuff going on in our lives (more on this in a future post soon – all good stuff and no, there are no babies on the way!). But we think we can make some changes that will make it a reasonable, less STUPID room, and still allow for big future changes if we want.
So the plan is, for right now:
1. Leave the tub and shower as they are.
2. Rip out the vinyl flooring and replace it with something fancy.
3. Completely make over the vanity/sink wall with something beautiful.
4. Don’t make any changes that preclude us from tearing out the shower/tub later.
I think we’re going to tile the floor, and buy some extra tile so that if we decide to do something different with the shower/tub section later, we can easily re-tile that section to match the rest of the floor then.
We’re essentially going to draw a line through the bathroom, fix up one half and neglect/ignore the other half, willing it not to exist.
(The whole floor, of course, will get updated.)
I’ll show you my tentative plans (and ask for your thoughts and opinions! Get ready!) in another post, when I have a chance to pull together photos of what exists only in my brain right now.
But THINK MARBLE.
Marble counters. Marble floors. Marble walls. Marble everywhere! Bathing in marble! Brushing our teeth with marble toothbrushes!
Tell me you’ve been there with projects-that-go-on-for-a-lifetime. Have you ever just felt like, this is STUPID?
PS: I’m over at SAS Interiors today talking about creating a meaningful home. Say hi to Jenna for me!
Hi, I'm Kelly. Glad you're here! This little blog is where I chronicle our efforts to fix up our beaten-down home on a tiny budget. We're not there yet, but here's a peek at the view along the way...
you are going to have to toss you’re “i’m with stupid (bathroom) tees, because it’s gonna be awesome.
I hope that all the stuff that’s going on right now is good stuff!
My stupid room right now is my living room….and that’s where we spend most of our time! Argh! It’s a builder beige nightmare, down to the walls, carpet, AND ginormous beige sectional, and no light seems to grace this room. I haven’t picked a paint color yet because I’m too afraid I’ll hate it and my ceilings are so high. I have fantasies about sending you pictures so you and your readers can tell me what to do.
Are we living in the same house? This is exactly my problem! Ugh.
Sadly, I’ve left half done projects for a long time! A bathroom addition for my teen son has an unpainted closet we built and unfinished molding, going on 2 years! I should follow your inspiration and get it finished! Can’t wait to see how your master bath turns out. ~Sonya
Andy is a lucky man…. when our project sits for years, and yes some as long or longer than six, I just blame Brawn.
When is the bundle due?
I hate my stupid outdated master bathroom too. Ugly 4 inch white tile floor
Wallpaper that looks like a garden exploded. Icky yucky shower stall that is impossible to clean. Brass builder special light fixture. Ugh! Need to remodel. It’s always a money thing.
Our master bath has a large corner tub and small single person shower w/ useless built in stool. We hate it, and like you, want to kick it every time we walk past it. Now that we have an awesome patio with hot tub, we never use the bathtub. We’re going to replace the tub with a large walk in shower with multiple shower heads and put a nice open linen closet where the tub is.
My suggestion for your room would be to replace both with a walk in, or, if you’re a tub user, a spa tub with shower doors and tile the entire thing. Our last home had a teeny tiny master bath. But we loved our spa tub (which was a little wider than a standard tub. The entire thing was marble tile and had large glass doors. I really couldn’t have been done any better considering the limited space. Oh, and having the potty closed off entirely is pretty awesome too.
be careful with marble on the floors. very slippery and dangerous when wet.
I agree.
Tiny coffin of despair, LOL!! Seriously, this is something we might do too and have done to some degree with unfinished projects in our house for years! I like that you are going to tackle it but do it in stages. You don’t HAVE to do everything all at once and sometimes we think we should. Marble is queen of the bathroom and it will look all regal and stately in there. Can’t wait to see what you do in here!
Yes, I disliked this house so much that I didn’t do anything for 3 years. That’s really bad. I love all the marble, love, love, love that idea.
“Tiny coffin of despair” had me cracking up. This is exactly how I feel about the shower in my master bathroom!
What is in the other room that’s taking up the corner space between the shower and the vanity? If you could somehow open that corner up to be included in your bathroom you would have SO MUCH MORE space to do an awesome shower and tub – just a thought. Might be worth it to cut down some closet space if it’s in a guest room or something.
Good luck!
We’re living through the same stupid bathroom reno! Complete with tiny showers and ugly tubs that are too overwhelming to deal with. I’m a mere two years into neglecting my bathroom, but I think it’s entirely possible it’s going to look exactly the same four years from now. But I hope not. Also, marble=fabulous.
I feel sorry for it. It was born ugly. It reached those awkward teen years and you gave it acne scars. You’ve probably been stinking it up on a regular basis and now you call it stupid. Sigh. I’m calling Bathroom Protective Services. We need intervention here.
I like the way you think Amy! Thanks for the laugh!
You know I’m joking, right?
Oh, come on! Who doesn’t have a stupid room in their house? Mine just happens to be, ahem, the entire house right now but I do have a bathroom that tops the list and has been in the middle of a tear-out–think formica-covered walls, people!—for eight years. Yes, eight! So, I’d take some marble and some more marble on top of some soapstone… yeah. I can’t do it just yet because of other crises that have come my way but I can live vicariously thorough your bathroom reno. Go for it!
ooo i’m so excited to see what you really do with this space! i would not believe this room was in your home if i walked into that room.
If you want to keep your tub, have you seen the super cool enclosed tub areas?? Like on this post: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/bathroom-trend-putting-a-tub-in-a-shower-200080
Such a great idea! Especially with little ones. I would have LOVED to have one of these when our daughter was little.
Good luck! (Oh and if it was me, I’d get rid of the tub. LOL)
Thank you!! My master bath looks the same way (holes filled, various preps, etc.) and has been that way for almost 3 years. I get so frustrated when I go in there and just have to make myself imagine what it will look like ONE DAY. But, then again, I feel that way about every room. We bought a foreclosure and not one single room is complete (totally finished including decorating). We did have a 2nd baby in the middle of things, but still!!!! Craziness!!
We should be real life friends… We have so much in common. I finished my daughters nursery and then we moved. She was 2.5 months old. She’s now 15 months old and I JUST painted her room. Well- I started painting her room in December and I just finished. So it sat half done for half a year. And we had a house warming where everyone wanted to see the house *hangs head in shame* and countless other friends who wanted “the tour”. Lol. Oh well. It’s done as of yesterday and I am totally happy dancing!!!
Oh, yes. I started painting our kitchen cabinets in January of 2013. We decided to finally FINISH painting them this summer (1.5 years later), but we are STILL not finished, and it’s almost fall. Sigh… And now I’m thinking that I really just want to gut the whole kitchen and start fresh. And my husband is *almost* on board. At least we’re only out the cost of a gallon of paint (oh, and countless hours). HA.
I was starting to feel guilty about neglecting our guest bathroom’s light for the past 9 months but now I don’t feel so bad! I’m excited to see more of your marbilicious plans!
I have done many stupid things, of which was partial remodel of our bathrooms, ie doing just the counters and not the vanity, or tub/showers on 2 of the baths and the master just the vanity and counter. Well once they took off the counters in the other 2 baths we realized how crappy the vanities were, so we then decided to replace. Once that was done then we realized how crappy the tile was in the shower. Did that too, these decisions in the long run were the right ones, but had we planned on them in the first place, we would have saved a lot of time. (All the tile and cabinetry was in stock so we didn’t save money on that). Same thing with master bath for the shower and tub surround tile.
I can only go by your layout plan posted, but what if you rotated your tub to under the window and that would leave you enough room to expand your shower space?
Uuuuuugh, I feel your pain. Not 6 years of pain because we’ve only lived in our house for 2 years, but it DID take us over a year to add baseboards to our family room after we re-did the floor. BASEBOARDS! We just had mis-matched, naked oak trim when the rest of the room was dazzling and white. It looked ridiculous, and yet I didn’t feel compelled to fix it until recently. Bah!
We all have these rooms! I have like three of them in my new house. The problem rooms that don’t have a good answer. Love the marble idea. One cannot have enough marble in a bathroom. More is more 🙂
first let me say it is such a relief that you are not perfect! we don’t have a stupid room, but rather a stupid house. we are really good at getting something to 90-95% done but then pretty much stop. we had painter’s tape on our walls in our workout room so that we could paint the ceiling for maybe 3-4 years. then i heard when you peel it off after leaving it on too long, it no longer comes off easily so i was afraid to take it down and just forget painting the ceiling. thank goodness we hired a painter to paint the whole house and for a small sum, i sent them down there to peel off the tape and cover our sins. can’t wait to see what you decide!
We always say the first 80% is the easiest, and we are *experts* at leaving the last 20% sitting for all time. Your painter’s tape example made me laugh, because I would TOTALLY do that. For example, there’s a mysterious tupperware bowl in my fridge right now. I have no idea what’s in there, but it’s been in there for weeks, so I know it’ll be moldy when I take it out, so I’m afraid to take it out.
Kelly, I am the weird one who reuses everything–sandwich bags if they’re not gross, plastic shopping bags, aluminum foil (sometimes)….but that Tupperware container? Take a deep breath, then don’t breathe at all till the end of the dastardly deed described here, crack the corner of that … thing…., slam the corner shut before you can actually smell it (the point was to see it and hopefully identify the contents), and then toss it. Yep. The whole thing. Sometimes life is just too short to try to resurrect dead Tupperware and remove the mold, smell, germs, smell, and all that Tupperware inhales from the mystery meal inside. Then stop and admire your flowers, or whatever you like to admire while you think about how fun it is to NOT try to redeem that nasty container. Whew. Your olfactory cells will thank you forever. The end.
It’s a glass pyrex. :/ Does that still remove my responsibility or do I have to act like a grown up? haha
I see you stepping out of the tub or the shower and skating across the floor before crashing headlong into the toilet. Are you sure you want marble on the floor?
I don’t know why rooms have to get all attitudinal on you. Stupid. I’m totally on board with the marble plans. Just put it everywhere.
A marble floor sounds majestic, looking forward to the big transformation
Marble, marble, marble!
“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…”
(Apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning)
I read an excellent article on houzz about marble–cautions, what to look for, etc. Of course I can’t find it now to give the link–bah. But the article gave several enlightening things to remember. Marble is indeed beautiful. I personally love natural stone, so marble sounds wonderful.
One thought: is this the bathroom where the kids get their baths? We have a tub/shower and always have. I am anxious to ditch that and have a curbless shower with a handheld shower fixture. This would allow me to bathe young ones without drenching myself, allow olders to bathe safely and specifically, and get rid of the tub.
Found the article!
http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/12133357
So much potential there – it will be amazing! And MUCH sooner than later! Lol 😉
Our entryway is mudded and ready to be painted. It has been this way since we moved into this house. A year and a half ago. And it is the ENTRYWAY. You know, the place where everyone enters the house. Yeah.
Maybe I should just marble over it all……..
It is going to look amazing when it is done. I have a matching “Stupid Master Bedroom” if you want to pair it up with this bathroom 😉
Shhhhhh soothing tones….soothing tones…go sit in your beautiful closet with some chocolate and let it all fade away…
Seriously tho, I mean, it’s not *that* bad but I understand the angst. Just painting will help a ton! A friend of mine has one of those tiny showers with the glass door & she put a tension rod above/in front of it with a shower curtain & you will never know what kind of shower door was behind it. Camoflauges it beautifully (that may be one of the suggestions already). So with all the other things you’re already doing to the sink & floor, add painting and some cool art or shelves & bet the “neglected” part won’t bother you near as much as that whole red-mess does now.
Best of luck — can’t wait to see the final product!!!
I LOOOOVE marble!! We put gorgeous carrera marble in our master bath and kitchen counters. Let me tell you, this was not a wise decision, especially with our young children. Young boys learning to use the potty in Mommy and Daddy’s bedroom because they don’t want to walk downstairs to use their bathroom. Yup, not good. It only takes a drip or two of pee on a gorgeous marble floor to leave a mark. Ugh. Also, if you use hair spray, you have to be very careful that it does not get on the marble since you are unable to use an aggressive cleaner to break down the hair spray. I mop my floors twice a week and I use a very “soft” hair spray (no Aqua Net!) But it leaves a film which is difficult to remove.
That being said, I’d put carrera marble in my bathroom again if we move. Perhaps I’m a glutton for punishment. I just love the look of a clean, white bathroom.
Hi, Kelly!
I’m the one that had your identical floorplan in Kennesaw. We had to rehab our home after 10 years of tenants and were content to “do the minimal” and sell quickly. Here is my before and after of that same bath – but with only superficial and cheap cosmetic changes. (last couple of pics) http://theoldpostroadblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/rental-house-updates-before-and-after.html
Yeah, there was this moment where I was eight months pregnant and realized I’d been walking on subfloor in our upstairs hallway for almost four years. I think I foamed at the mouth. It got fixed a little bit after that…I don’t understand why some things take so long? Except because they’re just stupid.
I have been in such a funk with my house lately. Like, we are on the verge of breaking up. It’s not me it’s him. Specifically all of my accessories. I want to clear out each room and start all over!
Whoa. That’s intense. I love finding out dirty secrets bloggers hide!
You know, I was thinking about your bathroom problem this morning. And I decided that if you cover every conceivable surface with mirrors, you won’t even notice that the bathroom looks bad! Perfect!
I’d be tickled to death to have your bathroom…just as it is,,,the size alone makes me squeal with joy, 🙂
Story. Of. My. Life. Such a relief to know that I am NOT alone!
lol – Love the post title. I have a stupid master bathroom. It was built stupid. The shower has leaked four times and the ceiling below has been reopened three times. Yep! That is stupid and very, very annoying. We have not used the master shower for almost a year and it will require a complete demo. Maybe I should use dollar bills to wallpaper the walls. 🙁
I am totally with you about the marble. LOVE! But, so expensive. 🙁
Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing what you do. Maybe I will live vicariously through you and your master bathroom. lol
This post made me laugh! I feel this way about every single bathroom in our home. They are awful! I also think that way about my laundry room too…ok the list goes on my I get really frustrated and think,,”who the heck designed this layout?”
I hate my master bedroom. It’s stupid. We hung a picture. And bought matching nightstands. But beyond that, we haven’t done anything. There’s a dumb electrical box that screams, “HERE I AM TO HAUNT YOUR SOUL! I’M IN THE STUPIDEST PLACE I COULD POSSIBLY BE AND COVERING ME UP IS CAUSING YOU NIGHTMARES!!” And please don’t even mention those ridiculous built-in shelves a previous person put in the corner on the way to the master bath that are too skinny to hold anything but like… a dumb candle. And because it’s in the corner NO ONE CAN SEE THAT CANDLE – WHAT ARE THOSE SHELVES EVEN FOR?! Wow – I feel pretty passionate about this – hopefully we can do something about this bedroom soon…
Oh Kelly. Yes, I have been there and I’m still in the middle of it – popcorn ceiling, vinyl floor and all. Can’t wait to see your design and how you transform your bath. I close my eyes everytime I walk into mine. Disgusting, I tell you, just downright disgusting!
Wow your entry looks amazing!!
I have a few stupid rooms in my house.
The stupidest laundry room ever that a new washer and dryer won’t fit it in and have the door be able to close.
It’s so, so stupid it’s actually diputs.
P.S.
Marble is not stupid. Cha, cha, cha.
That’s the one thing where I’m always okay with just renting my current apartment: I’m just not allowed to do anything more than painting the walls. But I’m heavily considering buying my next one instead of renting. But only if everything’s right, because if there’s one of these stupid zones and I can’t afford to change it, it will drive me crazy for sure! Because I know, I could, I’m allowed. And then I want to do it!
Oh, and can I please get a pic of you with your marble toothbrush? Thanks! 😀
Love, Midsommarflicka
We are getting ready to redo the floors and work on our guest bathroom. We’ll be in this together! 😉
Oh girl. I feel this exact same way about our kitchen. It will be SUCH a big project to take on, so we’ve just sat here and dealt with its ugliness for years out of intimidation. I love your plans for your new space and how you are able to do it in phases so it doesn’t seem quite as intimidating! Can’t wait to see how it turns out! Hope you’re having a wonderful LONG weekend!!
~Abby =)
3 YEARS the kitchen has remained unfinished. 3 years. Ya know why? Because I can’t decide what kind of countertop material to go for and so every time I start to think about it, I feel panicking and uncomfortable and decide to work on a different room. Sigh.
I’m sorry about your stupid bathroom but I am digging the idea of lots of marble and marble toothbrushes. Whoop! Bring it!
xxx
Check out how sarah richardson combines tile. She use high end with low end products and gets beautiful results. She has a show on hgtv but just Google her.
Can’t wait to see this project along the way! Will love to see what tile you go with as I have had the worst time finding something for our home renovations. Since the bathroom is bare and has to be tiled soon I have to move forward… otherwise, I’m sure I could put it off for years! I totally get it!
I feel like that’s just the life of a DIY blogger. And it always seems to be bathrooms. Haha. The bathroom in our old house was terrible. And it stayed terrible the whole time we lived there until it was time to sell, in which case we did the quickest bathroom make over ever. I know whatever you guys do will look amazing!
Hi. Not stupid at all. Long story short…I love the layout of our bath, but hate everything else builder about it. Anywho, back to you… Make the window glass/synthetic(?) block (they have ones that open now so air can come in). then remove the tub, cap the plumbing, and then build a new shower in the current tub/shower space all the wall with the entrance to the shower at the window end. Use the Kerdi system or find someone versed in it (you can use kerdi right over plywood subfloor if applied properly in correct sequence according to directions)….Toilet area, bonus DIY project – pony wall gone, then glass panel floor to ceiling or diy one from Habitat (1/2 a sliding glass door) with framing to hold it up.
bathroom Window follow up…. That operable acrylic “glass” block window I mentioned – Hy-Lite Block Windows: http://www.hy-lite.com/Hy-lite-US-Block-Windows-Features-Products-Layout.cfm?featureID=46&featureCategoryID=12
We have a stupid bathroom too! I’ve had about 12 gray paint swatches on the wall for almost 3 years, and they shower tile is so old it’s almost beyond cleaning… we’re *almost* fed up enough to do something about it! 🙂
Nice blog.
Keep posting something like that.
Thanks
I know this is old but then so am I. Lol. Well, when I was seven we moved into a house and I lived in my bedroom for one year my father ripped out the ceiling because he could raise it 4 inches. I slept on the living room couch until I was 17. He finally finished my room and I got to live in it for one year. Yay. Then I went off to college and never came back. Do I get the prize for the longest no fix up house? Lol. I have to say that because of all those years staying up late while my parents watch Johnny Carson I am now a night owl and cannot go to bed early and get up early. Finish your bath so you can have peace of mind. If you wait too long, the styles will change and you will never get it done! Lol keep in mind that no one else sees your master bath but you and your husband anyway so just do what you like, not what everyone else would like to see.
I read your ‘Decorating 101’ just prior to reading about the 6 year stupid bathroom blockage. This thought came to my mind, you probably were not able to achieve the ideas you love enough to actually “crap your pants” in a bathroom, since the toilet was close enough to prevent this from happening…=6 years of blockage! Lol! I love your sense of humor!
My new years resolution this year was to finish all projects I start…so basically that means I haven’t started anything yet! Haha