One of the (many) benefits to being with child is that I’ve been exiled from the bathroom for some of the rougher renovation undertakings. Although it’s sort of sad too, because I love to swing the ol’ sledgehammer from time to time. But the boys (John and his handy tile-slingin’ dad)…
… mysteriously sealed themselves into the room with a big plastic tarp just to foil my view (ok, really to keep the house free of flying debris and dust, but still).
The good news is that I could still manage to hear pretty well through their plastic bubble of sorts, so every once in a while I’d catch a fraction of their mano a mano conversations. And boy were they weird.
Here are a few examples:
- “It’s like a baby saw. Not a saw you would give to a baby, but it’s baby sized.” – John
- “Oh man I hope this works.” – John’s dad (and yes, I did sweat bullets after this one)
- “Fire in the hole!” – John (who knows what they were doing…)
- “(Muffled) I’m glad we have these gas masks on.” – Couldn’t tell, too muffled (this might have been a fart joke)
- “I feel like the Queen of England” – John (what on Earth was going on in there?)
- “Hi honey!” – John’s dad (in his defense, I think he was answering his cell phone)
- “Don’t cry for me Argentina!” – John’s dad (this was the punch line to some joke he was telling)
In short it was really odd to hear snippets of their chatter about the bathroom reno, life in general, and even the odd bad joke. Have you ever overheard part of a conversation and desperately tried to make sense of it? It’s hard work, and usually nearly impossible. At least around here it seemed to be.
But enough jibber jabber, I know you’re all are tapping your feet and muttering “pictures please” so I’ll share these few tub/shower tile teaser photos. Of course we still have to cram all those cracks and crevices with sparkling white grout (it’ll look even more seamless after that crucial step), but here’s the first phase of Operation Subway Tile:
And here’s the second phase (John went all the way up to our slightly uneven ceiling with those babies):
And here’s another shot taken after we primed and painted the walls and freshly laid the floor (which also needs grout- it’ll be a rich chocolate color to blend with the dark mocha marble tiles). It’s amazing how it’s slowly starting to look like a room again- and we love how the wall color we chose (which we’ll share in a later post) works with those pretty marble tiles. It’s really coming along in there, eh?
After all, it did look like this just a few short weeks ago:
Stay tuned for the full tiling play by play (after all the end-of-year madness comes and goes) along with more details on the paint color we chose and the rest of the finishing details. In the meantime, what’s the weirdest thing that you’ve ever overheard? Do tell.
Psst- Wanna read about the first few chapters of the big bathroom makeover? Check out Chapter One, Chapter Two, and Chapter Three right here.
Yep, we can get pretty punchy sometimes when we are working – But really, great work on the tile job. How did you handle the un-evenness of the ceiling BTW?
Eric- We made the decision to keep the subway tile totally level in the shower so when it came to the uneven ceiling (and our tub, which actually slightly slanted to one side) we just cut every edge tile to keep things level (which took time but was worth the completely level result- nothing veers down or up and we love the finished product.
Wendy- Luckily we also have a half bathroom, so the toilet isn’t an issue since we have an extra one of those. As for showers we’ve been using the gym and John’s sister’s house (we’re so lucky she lives super close). Hope it helps!
Sandra- Yup, John took the whole week off so we could balance family and bathroom work! We’ll hopefully get most of the finishing details done by the time he goes back to work on the 4th (although we’re thinking it might take us a bit more time to find things like towels and accessories for the full reveal). Stay tuned…
xo,
s
Not sure about the weirdest thing I’ve heard…that would take some thinking. Another question, during this reno, what are ya’ll using as a toilet? If I remember correctly, this is your only bathroom.
Beautiful! Do you guys have this week off? Seems the entire state of Michigan does. I bet there will be lots of progress, if so!
HA! When my husband is doing such things, I hear more “Oh NO!” than I ever want!
I am waiting on the edge of my seat… this has been a great project to follow! Thanks for sharing :)
i mean, i am ridiculously excited to see the reveal of this bathroom. like, i’m more excited about it than my plans for new years eve.
That flooring looks great! Amazing choice!
Wow! I am in love with the wall color/tile color combo.
I can’t wait to see the finished afters.
You guys should start a quote board for all of the weird and random things that are said during home reno projects! My college roomies and I had a quote board from our apt.–it cracks me up to this day.
The bathroom is looking spiffy! Can’t wait to see the posts!
Hey Erin,
Haha, that’s a great idea! I’m sure we’d laugh hysterically at some of our random quotes over years of reno. It’s definitely on our to do list!
xo,
s
Hi Sherry, John, Burger and “Bean”,
I’ve read your blog for months now and finally decided to make a comment. Your sneak peak pictures look awesome! I can hardly wait to see when it’s all done. I LOVE the paint color you picked to go with your floor tile!
My husband and I have been renovating our home now for several years, and it certainly seems like a neverending process. You are both such a source of inspiration for getting it done, and I love your style! Thanks for writing my favorite blog our there! :-)
Haha, “mano-e-mano” is funny in this context, but the phrase you probably meant is mano y mano, Spanish, means literally “hand and hand” and translated for meaning is “hand to hand,” like hand to hand combat. Which also works when you’re talking about two guys working together to destroy a bathroom, I guess. :)
subway tiles…how classic…i heart your tile to the ceiling…we did that with glass tiles in the kitchen and it makes all of the difference…i just wish i was brave enough to post the pix…..:)
this post is such a tease! can’t wait to see all the tile grouted and to find out the paint colour! looks like a soft celery green??
hope you two had a great christmas :-)
Wow! It’s looking so good, you must be getting antsy without a bathroom at this point.
Oh, and you’re completely right about trying to figure out what the heck is going on in a conversation someone else is having… “If it wasn’t for that horse, I wouldn’t have spent that year in college.”
It is so hard to fathom that the sealed off bubble disaster zone is just yards away from all the Christmas loveliness in the rest of the house! When we tackle a project, the whole house is a disaster. LOL
Its looking great!!
i have to say, i’m a little skeptical about that wall color/floor tile combo just based on that pic. but i’m giving you guys the benefit of the doubt! looking forward to more pics!
Love the marble floor.
Did you guys put in any kind of shelves/ledges in the tub surround?
Hey Foobella,
Good question! We definitely need something to rest shampoo bottles on (since our tub has been refinished and will be refinished again we’re not supposed to leave bottles on the tub). We’ve heard that there are great porcelain corner shelves (in the same white subway tile finish) that can be glued to the tiled wall with high-strength epoxy adhesive to create a nice white ceramic corner shelving system so we’ll be looking into those in the finishing stage. Stay tuned…
xo,
s
Fire in the hole…so funny! It looks great so far.
Nothing comes to mind as the weirdest thing I’ve ever overheard but I’ve got to tell you that I’m sitting on the edge of my seat dying to see more pictures of your finished bathroom. This really is my favorite project by far!! I’ve got to tell you that I was cleaning our bathroom this weekend and was thinking I wonder what John and Sherry would do to this bathroom…lol. Keep up the good work and the posts!
So… I imagine the how-to instructions are on the way? You guys are total rockstars! It looks awesome, and I’m sure you’re looking forward to having the shower back. Make sure to SEAL, SEAL, SEAL that white grout before you start using the shower! Bellissima!
Hey Renee,
Yup, tiling tips and the whole play by play are on the agenda after we get through all the New Year’s madness (between family, blogging, and actually finishing the bathroom it’ll take us about a week to churn out that post). Hope it’s worth the wait! And as for seal, seal, seal- we’re with you! We’re even going to go back and reseal it in about a month or so after a few rounds of sealing it this week. We’re all about low maintenance grout!
xo,
s
I can’t wait to see the finished project!!
Wow! It looks awesome! You may remember a comment I wrote a month or so ago…about the fact that my husband and I purchased the exact same tile at Lowes. Well, we’re laying the tiles in just a few hours! Your post couldn’t have come at a better time. I am wondering what size spacers did you use. We prefer the thinnest grout line possible. I’m off to do some research then off to tiling! Thanks so much!
Leigh-Anne- We’re assuming you’re talking about the mocha marble tile from Lowe’s (since we got our subway tile from Home Depot) so for that we just used 1/16th spacers since we too wanted the slimmest grout line possible. We also plan to use grout that matches the tile color for a seamless look. Hope it helps!
Diane- Well, nothing says classic like white subway tile so we thought choosing something that was around 50 years ago (when our house was built) was the way to go. Perhaps researching what tile styles were popular when your house was built is a foolproof way to choose tile? We also went with the brown marble since marble has also been around for years (as opposed to newer finishes like honed travertine or glass mosaics) and because the rest of our house has mocha hardwoods, so it’s a seamless look. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Wow – the bathroom is looking really good! The floor tile is gorgeous and the subway tile is one of my favorites. Any tips on picking finishes, etc that are timeless? I’m always worried that the choices I make today will go out of style tomorrow!
We’re remodeling our bathroom right now, and the day that my dad and my husband were installing the new window themselves I heard, after some muffled muttering and mysterious thumps, my dad say, “Okay. We need to stop right now so that we can pray, because I’m getting really frustrated.” HA! I would have laughed if I hadn’t been so concerned–that was the first time either of them ever installed a window. Thankfully the quick prayer break restored nerves and order, and they finished the window shortly thereafter. It looks great! Jesus really does perform miracles.
It’s looking marvelous! Love those snippets of conversation – just too funny!
The bathroom is looking great and I can’t wait to see the reveal. Do you have any suggestions for decently priced subway tile? I want to use a grey shade for the backsplash in my kitchen we are renovating. Thanks! Love your blog!
Hey Gia,
We got ours at Home Depot (after seeing something similar at Lowe’s for a few cents more per tile) so that might be a good place to start (they may have more colors and finishes available online as opposed to in the store). Otherwise there are lots of online tile dealers and you can also check your Yellow Pages and just call around (or drive around) to compare prices and styles. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
OMG…Congrats yall on the baby..I have had a crazy last few months, and missed the news. I am so happy for you guys. What a blessing to your family.
tam
I love that you used the same color flooring for the whole house (and basement too!), even though they’re different types/textures. You’re absolutely right that it makes the enitre space look seamless. Filing this little tidbit away for our Forever Home! ;)
Beautiful! I love it! I am surprised at the floor tile you picked.
Great progress so far!
I love those overheard conversations!
The bathroom is looking great so far! I love that the tile goes all the way to the ceiling. When I said that’s what I wanted to do in our bathroom everyone thought I was losing it. Now I have proof that it will be great! Thanks! :)
I’m curious what you’re gonna do with the bathtub. We renoed our bathroom, but left the old tub and BOY was that a mistake. Once everything else was new it stood out like a sore thumb.
Hey Carolyn,
We’ll be getting it reglazed since it was done about a decade ago and looked great for years. As long as you find a good refinisher (check references, even try to see other tubs they’ve done years ago) the result can be long term loveliness. Plus you can save a ton of money (and keep a large gorgeous cast-iron tub out of a landfill!). Hope it helps.
xo,
s
I love the paint color. I painted my kitchen a VERY similar color a few years ago, and I still love it! It is such a happy color to me!
You guys are really speeding along! Can’t wait to see the reveal!
Ooh la la, i love the hint of green in your wall paint.
Can’t wait to see the finished results!
It looks beautiful! The tile…the wall color :) I can’t wait to see the whole room. I’ve been waiting anxiously!
It looks just fantastic! I’m taking notes and plotting away since the downstairs bathroom is also on my to do list. Have you gotten an estimate on reglazing the tub? My upstairs bath has the original (1927) tub in it, and I was considering going the same route.
Hey Sunny,
We haven’t gotten any estimates yet (since anyone who could come over wouldn’t be able to access the tub since we we’ve been busy tiling the floor) but now that the room’s coming together it’s definitely the next step. We’re expecting to pay around $450 since we’ll need someone to strip the decade old reglazing job from the late 80s and do it again (it’s usually around $300 if your tub hasn’t been reglazed to begin with). It may seem steep but because we want a top of the line result that lasts for the long haul it’s well worth it to us (and we love that we get to avoid the labor and cost of installing something new while keeping our old cast iron beauty of a tub). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Wow! I cant believe all they’ve done!! It looks amazing. It makes me want to get started on all our projects. I enjoyed reading about replacing the rotted floor boards. We have so many that need to be replaced in our bathrooms and the Master bedroom. I’m not looking forward to that. I cant wait to see the finished product.
I love the wall color…can’t wait until you share with us what it is. The subway tiles look awesome and I’m looking forward to the tile play by play as well.
And the weirdest thing I’ve overheard lately? “She’s not going to look normal…” as the doctor gave me a super-trippy knock out drug right before my c-section. I guess he was telling my husband so that the blank stare on my face wouldn’t freak him out, but I don’t know if I was supposed to hear it before I went to la la land. :)
Hahah that’s hysterical! I hope I’m not the one hearing that in 5 months when our bambino comes!
xo,
s
Just wondering what type of grout you have picked? Not color. I have been doing my own bathroom work due to a water leak and have finished the floors in the bath and powder rooms. We chose a white hexagon tile that would have been used around the period our house was built and it was suggested we use the Spectra Lock grout at Lowe’s as it is an apoxy grout with a built in sealer. We have been told it will last forever. Our tile guy suggested this to us. Ours is said and done and it was pretty expensive for all the grout. So it got me wondering what you would choose.
Hey Madelaine,
Wow, the grout that you picked sounds awesome! The fact that it should last forever and doesn’t have to be sealed is a lifesaver! We selected non-sanded grout that we’ll mix ourselves from Home Depot since they had the most color choices (and we needed non-sanded since our subway tiles and floor tiles are placed very close together- plus marble can be scratched by sanded grout). It’s called Polyblend Non-Sanded Grout and it only ran us about $11 per box (we’ll be able to do each area with one box for a grand total of $22). Of course we’ll then have to seal all the grout multiple times so there’s that added expense to factor in. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I’m so excited to see the final reveal of the bathroom, and just as excited to hear your tips and tricks for renovating the bathroom! I’ve got a horrible looking bathroom that I would love to renovate with some bright white subway tiles, and though it’s going to be a long way away, I’m excited to see what steps I’ll need to take to get rid of the cracked ugly tiles in my bathroom and replace them with some nice shiny new ones! :-) I can’t wait to see what you have done with your bathroom.
I love the “baby saw” comment – hilarious! Love the paint color, subway tiles, and marble tiles, can’t wait to see it all finished!
Good luck guys! It looks great – I am biased though, since I did the same thing to my bathroom shortly after buying my house. And by “I” I actually mean my dear friends who run their own tile company and gave me their labor as a house-warming present!! Awesome! I wanted to second the person who commented on the porcelain corner sheles (mine were installed directly against the backerboard; they were modular and the tiles fit right around them) – also, I was told never to use the grout they sell at Lowe’s or Home Depot. You should go to an industrial tile supply place and get the self-sealing grout. It was definitely more expensive but it has been SO worth it. My grout looks brand new and I have never done anything more than wipe down the shower walls occansionally.
Anyway – good luck and great job!!
Thanks for the tip JenG! We’ll definitely look into other grout options! We did hear from a few friends/contractors that they use the Home Depot stuff since it has a bunch of color options (and people like Katie and Jeremy Bower over at Bower Power love it too) so we’ll see where we end up! Thanks again for your advice though- it really is appreciated!
xo,
s
Fun comments!! Reminds me of when my son and husband were down our basement moving the washer and dryer, and they had to replumb some of the pipes and move an electrical outlet. During the replumbing I heard a huge burst of laughter followed by “oh well, its ok, we’re not plumbers!” and more laughter. I chose to not ask questions and everything is working fine.
The comments were hillarious. Thanks for sharing. What color paint is the bathroom?
Hey Amanda,
We’ll be revealing the paint color we chose along with a lot of tiling details in our next bathroom post coming soon. Stay tuned…
xo,
s
Can’t wait to see the end result! In the Spring we will start gutting the first of 3 bathrooms that need to be redone in our house….so we need all the tips/ideas we can get!
My two favorite types of tiles– subway and marble!
In this case, GORGEOUS brown marble.
I can’t wait till you’re done!
I’m an elementary school teacher, so as you can imagine, I overhear interesting things on a daily/weekly basis. This, from the week before Christmas:
one girl (speaking, in a very serious tone, to the rest of her table): “You know guys, you should never get an elf! Because if you do, you will have to change its diapers.”
another student at the table: “Nuh uhhhh!!! Because elves are ADULTS!”
Haha, that’s hysterical. I love how serious they all were when having that discussion!
xo,
s
So exciting!! Can’t wait to see the finished project. We’re redoing a bathroom of our own in the basement and I am curious what magazines you like for ideas. I browsed a couple but have been disappointed by the bathroom ideas.
Hey Sarah,
Good question! We like House Beautiful, Do It Yourself, Better Homes & Gardens, Canadian House & Home, and Elle Decor for glossy inspiration, but we also love browsing sites like pointclickhome.com, http://www.desiretoinspire.net, and even houseandhome.com for tons of bathroom eye candy. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
First – congrats on the baby. Bambino, ha? So, it’s a boy? :)
Your bathroom is looking great! It’s getting me all excited for our bathroom renovation in 5 or 6 months.
I was looking for your tutorial about subway tiles this weekend because we need to tile our kitchen backsplash with subway tiles but didn’t like the instructions we found in a tile book. Something about starting with the 2nd row first to make sure the tiles are level and then going back and filling in the 1st row later.
But, as usual, we took forever to prep and didn’t do any tiling. Your tutorial will come in handy this coming weekend. We are not as fast as you guys are, but we are hopeful that we will be able to finish the project then.
I can’t wait to see the after photos of your bathroom.
PS. By the way, not that it really matters, but it’s: “mano a mano”… someone said “mano y mano”.
Hey Tatyana,
We actually haven’t announced the sex of Baby P yet (we just found out the day before Christmas Eve) but we’ll be spilling those beans shortly. Stay tuned…
xo,
s
I’d love to hear John’s explanations of these!
I can’t wait to start working on fun things around the house, rather than just the boring but you have to do them kind of fixings.