1. Become really behind on business finances.
2. Drink to get you through catching up on said business finances.
3. Become ashamed of how short of a lifespan the alcoholic beverage had.
4. Find solace in repurposing empty bottle into a means for rooting pothos.
Making the best of a bad decision.
The Glenwood flip was a very tight budget in general. It was the most expensive house we had acquired to date. And also happened to coincide with tax season and the birth of our first child.
In past flips, we've allocated $5,000-$6,000 towards master bathroom remodels. That is of course keeping in mind that we put a lot of our own sweat equity into these types of remodels. For Glenwood, we only had about $3,000-$4,000 allocated for the master bathroom update so we had to get creative without skimping on the high-end aesthetic we love to have.
First things first, we thought about what features are the most expensive with a bathroom remodel. A few immediately came to mind: floor-to-ceiling tiled shower, relocating plumbing, and of course, the double sink vanity itself. Well, the floor-to-ceiling tiled shower was non-negotiable. It is something that buyers expect in a newly remodeled master bathroom. We weren't about to put fiberglass anywhere in that space. The location of the plumbing had to be addressed, too. We did not like how the toilet was right next to the shower and especially how there were two separate, single vanities in different parts of the room ("before" pics below to see what we're talking about). Therefore, the layout really needed some work and couldn't be ignored.
That left us with the vanity. A decent vanity could have easily been 40%-50% of the budget itself. And we knew we wouldn't be putting in anything builder grade either so that meant we had to get creative.
We determined we'd do the popular thing nowadays and convert a dresser into a vanity. There was an awesome vintage dresser at a local thrift store we had been eyeing to simply buy and use for staging, but never pulled the trigger on it. It had been sitting in the store for quite a bit of time along with a matching nightstand, headboard, mirror, and tallboy. We decided this would make the perfect vanity as the color and condition were perfect. Since it was sitting for a while, the store let us buy it separate from the set for $100. Probably not the greatest deal in all of thrifting history, but still pretty cheap in the grand scheme of things.
Vintage dresser sat with accompanying pieces for months in a local thrift store before we rescued it.
The dresser, while we could see the potential in it, had to be paired with the right sink tops, faucets, etc., otherwise it could look real hodgepodge—the exact opposite of what we were striving for. Again, it's such a delicate balance of trying to save money, but also not cheapen the look. We carefully picked out some modern square sink tops from Houzz for $62 each. We decided since we were relocating plumbing anyway that we might as well do wall-mount faucets from Amazon to further enhance the modern aesthetic. These faucets were a little bit of a splurge; however all-in-all everything was still significantly cheaper than a typical double sink vanity.
After getting everything together for the "new" double vanity (for about $600, instead of the usual $1,200-ish), we discovered that we couldn't notch out the drawers based on the location of their tracks and new plumbing so we had to get creative again. Jim decided to gut the inside of the dresser and convert the drawer fronts into doors. I was so anxious to see this in the works as it would have been a total waste if something went wrong. Luckily Jim is really good about not screwing up these types of things. Below is a video showing you the rough finish of the drawer conversion:
I remember when I posted the bathroom's old wallpaper on Instagram I got some playful digs from people for my plans to remove it. I can assure you it looked less Anthropologie in real life. Even if it wasn't moldy in lots of parts (and it sure was) I would have removed it anyway. From a resale perspective, you have to appeal to the average buyer. Most buyers will not want 80s wallpaper in their newly remodeled house. If it was a solid or modern pattern, maybe, but it was floral. I personally would have been cool with it sans mold, but I knew most buyers who want essentially a new master bathroom, would not. So the wallpaper went bye-bye along with the popcorn ceilings and a non load-bearing wall to open things up.
The floor, shower walls, and niche tile we got at Lowes on sale. The black shower floor tile was from Wayfair. The vanity mirrors were on sale from Target (totally purchased for staging purposes; however they looked too good in here). And lastly, the vanity light fixtures were from Amazon.
I'm still truly impressed with how amazing this bathroom turned out ESPECIALLY considering 80% of everything was purchased online instead of in person AND the fact that it was on a strict budget. I was planning the master bathroom when our son George was only 1 month old so going to a bunch of stores during flu season with an infant (and the whole lack of personal hygiene as a new mom) was not really an option. The only items I would probably never buy again were the light fixtures. They required some finagling from the electrician as they were made differently than typical light fixtures here in the US. They were also a lot more yellow in person than shown online, but it turned out aaaaaall good once everything came into place. So I ain't mad.
We originally aimed to be around $3,000 for the master bathroom. We ended up spending about $4,000. We decided to use the pricey Schluter system for the shower to give the future home owner a peace of mind. Jim also decided he wanted to outsource the tiling to save on time which I really can't argue with since I was no help and mostly barking design directions from an armchair with a newborn attached to my boob.
While this was the cheapest bathroom remodel we had ever done, it is our favorite by far. The before-and-after pictures are quite astonishing. See for yourself!
Before: very outdated single vanity and fixtures.
After: converted dresser into new double sink vanity. Non load-bearing wall taken down to open things up, too.
Before: outdated almond-colored fiberglass tub.
After: floor-to-ceiling tiled shower. With the elimination of a wall, a door no longer crashes into the shower.
Before: toilet next to shower.
After: toilet relocated.
Before: random outdated single vanity outside master bathroom.
After: toilet replaces random single vanity. Knee wall replaces full non load-bearing wall—ultimately increasing the size of the master bathroom.
Aerial view of new master bathroom.
I love buying and transforming unsightly things from Goodwill, Salvation Army, and Habitat for Humanity ReStore that people wouldn't even give a second look. It's especially exciting when I use part of what I buy (at a good price mind you!) and then donate what I don't use back to these stores. Here is the step-by-step process of what my latest ugly purchase at Habitat for Humanity ReStore looked like:
Step 1: Find hideous faux plant arrangement at your local ReStore.
Step 2: Be judged by your husband as it's brought up to cashier. Take mental note that husband leaves you in store to pay for it by yourself so he can discreetly load into pickup.
Step 3: Have your mother who never questions your design decisions stop dead in her tracks upon viewing your new purchase.
Step 4: Gut the thing like a fish, delicately set aside remains.
Step 5: Have minor meltdown when realizing peach cowgirl boot of all things is glued to basket. Separate carefully.
Step 6: Stick new plant in basket. Debate for hours whether or not you want to keep rope detail. Decide you can cut it off at a later date.
Step 7: Donate the remains back to ReStore. Circle of life complete.
I should also note that I wasn't done shopping when I found this thing so I wanted to carry it up immediately to cashier for them to hold in fear that someone else would see the potential. Jim quickly assured me that "it would still be here" when we were done. He was not wrong. (That doesn't mean I didn't take the tag off when he wasn't looking to ensure it was ours muahaha).
The before. That's a peach cowgirl boot with beads coming down the side. Yee-haw no.
The after. Still debating whether to keep the rope, but once it's gone it's gone and I don't like that kind of commitment right now.