a slow renovation: our downstairs bathroom

These pictures are a reminder to me of how far we have come in renovating our home, but it also reminds me that going slow is not a bad thing and can be helpful to the design process.

We moved in to our house and the first floor bathroom looked like this…Except the paneling was dark wood (we painted that before I took a picture.)

I struggled to figure out what to do with this space. The flooring was just so terrible and it seemed like we would have to tile it. And sometimes with renovations - its like dominos. If we replaced the floor, would we need to replace the wall tile?

I decided - let’s take up the linoleum and paint it. Did you know you shouldn’t paint a floor before tiling?

Apparently it makes it hard to tile in the future. This is how we ended up using removable tile. (links to some of my favorites here) I can’t say I recommend these for a long term use, but they have been a very happy solution for us for the last year until we decide on a permanent solution.

So we put down the removable tiles - you can see a little of how we did that here.

We painted the walls (Metropolitian by Benjamin Moore) Got the tub refinished - sorry didn’t love the blue! Hung an old mirror we had on hand.

I’m not sure what our long term plans for this bathroom is, but I am so glad we didn’t rush into an expensive renovation when we have some beautiful bones to work with.

I love the light and the cabinet more than I realized. The tile feels sort of charming. We will tile the floor. I might put some wallpaper up and replace the counter, but this is one space, but I am grateful we didn’t rush.