This latest before & after comes from one of our neighbors to the north, Kahley from Ontario, Canada. She and her husband Steve revamped their home’s only bathroom. And in the process proved that going dark and sophisticated can still be bright and airy. Here’s her letter:
We are a young family of four – me, my husband, and our kids Noah (4) and Lexie (2). The only bathroom in our house dated back the 1950’s, so it was HIGH TIME to reno!
Since it was our only bathroom, we wanted it to be insanely multi-purpose. We needed a tub AND shower, some closet space, a dirty laundry area, lots of concealed storage, etc etc etc!
I had the color (BJ Moore “Gray”) picked from the beginning. These built-ins were created according to plans that I developed. Above you can see the shower curtain that I made myself from some discount fabric in the women’s “suiting” area at Fabricland. The fun striped roman blinds were made by Tonic Living in Toronto. The accent color that I chose in the end was a golden mustard yellow. The towels are from Sears!
Here’s the bttom view of our vanity. I fell in LOVE with an oh so unaffordable vanity at Pottery Barn (they used to have a larger double version that was amazing) – so I had it built for THOUSANDS less.
Here’s what I like to call sexy tile!! I believe it’s a Centura tile (it’s an enlarged subway tile – 4″x12″ – in a high gloss gray finish). It feels oh so chic. Now if only I could have done a walk in shower (oh the joys of only having one bathroom, and children to bathe!). Anyway, thanks for checking out our bathroom makeover. I hope you love it! – xo, Kahl
We’re not sure what we like more – all of the function they added (a set of built-ins on either side of the shower) or the brave color choices (dark gray tile and a gray ceiling). So we’ll just choose to love them both equally. How about you? What’s your favorite part? Oh and you can read more about the project over on Kahley’s blog.
Psst – Got your own awesome before & after project? Send your story, pics, and related links to [email protected] to be considered for a possible Reader Redesign feature. You know we love a makeover.
Love it!
I would like that bathroom in my house. Thank you.
Holy cow….it is impossible to love only one thing. I want and love EVERYTHING. I need it in my life… oh…one day my 1950’s bathroom (like the redesigners, we only have one in the house) will be so beautiful and chic. BRAVO!
Wow! What a transformation!
What an awesome makeover! I love the dark gray contrasting with the white trim and furniture.
Amazing! Love the built-ins. Ironically enough, I tried order the Pottery Barn sink console that she is referencing, only to find out PB doesn’t deliver bathroom consoles to VT :( Never thought of going custom!
I love the palette, it’s very popular right now. This bold version is really making a statement!
Gorgeous! Love the grey!
Wow, I’m in love.
Oh my gosh! It’s beautiful! Amazing job, Kahley! I love everything about it! Can’t pick just one thing. :)
Great renovation! It looks fabulous!
That tile IS sexy! A job VERY well done.
I love Reader Redesign’s!
Amazing! And diy your own shower curtain…what a great idea.
Very nice! Great job and such an inspiration! :)
Love the bathroom! I can’t wait to re-do our main bathroom that we use for bathing the kiddos…
On a random tangent from one of your Canadian followers though…Ontario is a HUGE province, and I betcha they live in a city…you could put “Toronto, Ontario” (or whatever city they live in) and people would assume Canada, or even “Toronto, Ontario, Canada.” It’s sort of like saying you live in “Virginia, United States of America.” Anyways…just a general pet peeve…still love you guys and check the blog everyday!!! :)
Thanks for the tip Kim! They just didn’t give us that info and we don’t want to pry! Haha. We share whatever folks are comfortable enough to tell us via email along with their submissions.
xo,
s
I thought the same thing, Kim!
oh, my gosh. i just came back from a vacation in a nice hotel and i’ve been DYING to re-do our bathroom. we can’t because it’s a rental– and now kahley is making me want it MORE!!!
gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous!!
My heart just started racing at the sight of the gray tile. Amazing.
I really love this! Gray is my favorite neutral (besides white) and I am so in love with yellow right now. The vanity is gorgeous!! I think that shower would be great for hiding dirt and stains until it’s time to clean!
Oh it definitely is!!
Definitely bold choices. Love the gray subway tile in the bathroom.
It looks great! I thought about doing grey for the bathroom I am redoing now so this is good fuel for the fire!
Wow! I love the color choice on the walls and those built ins on the sides are amazing (I’m a sucker for cabinets with glass fronts). Great job!
Soooooo pretty!
I’m having a love affair with grey and yellow. They were our wedding colors, and they’re all over our house.
Love it! I want to add a lot of gray to our bathroom so this is nice to see. We have ugly floor to ceiling tile at the moment and I have to work with it for now but that gray is inspiring!
This is great! I think dark bathrooms look AWESOME. Way to use all your space and make it look suppa swank!
Wow, I absolutely love it – stunning! So inspired!
That is a sexy bathroom. The built-ins are gorgeous. I love the gray. I could not imagine having only one bathroom in the house.
Were the built in’s custom? I love them!
Yes, so pretty, right?
xo,
s
Yes, custom built ins!
It’s gorgeous! Love the extra long subway tile. Punches of yellow are fantastic.
Beautiful! Since it’s their only bathroom, I’m wondering how long it took them to do this renovation and what they did in the interim… do you know? Thanks!
Here’s hoping she drops in with that info for ya!
xo,
s
We survived!! The toilet was only off for ONE day, and to shower and bathe we hopped on the 4 wheeler and scooted across the field to my in laws! The whole Reno took us about a month or 2… I cant even remember!
That gray is gorgeous and pops so nicely with the equally awesome creamy white! Beautiful job! Can you tell us a little bit about making your own shower curtain? I’ve been thinking about doing that myself but I’m a novice when it comes to sewing.
Super Easy! Store bought grommets for the top, and just a measure,cut & hem for fabric. I will add this was a full bolt width of fabric, plus about another half. The pattern is very faint so I didn’t need to worry about matching!
I love it all! The striped shade might be my favorite, actually-I have a weakness for stripes! Gorgeous renovation!
Wow- beautiful job!
What a gorgeous bathroom! The oversized subway tile is fantastic.
Love it! Woo hoo for a Canadian Reader Redesign from Ontario!
I’m loving the small bathroom redesigns! I’m getting so many good ideas for our bathroom redo!
And that tile is super sexy… as in can I take it home with me tonight?
That gray subway tile is SO SEXY. They incorporated my favorite color combination (gray and mustard) in one of the nicest bathroom renovations I’ve ever seen. Well, after yours, of course :)
What an awesome redo… I actually love that they painted the ceiling as well. And the cabinetry looks awesome.
If anyone else also wants that style of Pottery Barn vanity for less, I built one for around $400 (much cheaper than the $1400 PB was asking: http://diydiva.net/2011/05/how-to-build-a-pottery-barn-inspired-vanity/
I think their version with the modern handles is awesome as well.
GORGEOUS!
xo,
s
You are wonder woman [email protected]!
Very pretty, but I would not want the job of keeping soap scum off those tiles. If they were in my house, they’d never look clean.
What a difference. In thinking about it, i wondered what specific changes gave the biggest bang for the buck and I really think the bright clean lighting, decorative trim and high contrast paint make it seem very modern and elegant. I think all of those changes are relatively simple so there is hope to be able to do some great renovating on a budget (as YHL proves regularly).
Love it! We are a one bathroom house as well and need to reno desperately….just don’t know how we would live with our only bathroom in a state of disrepair during the job. Any tips?
What a beautiful job they did! I especially love the custom made cabinets (Pottery Barn what?!)!
Wow – what a great update. I love the gray, especially the tile in the shower and those built ins are gorgeous!
OMG that is GORGEOUS!!! Thanks for sharing! It gives me an idea now for my linen closet. Oh the possiblities!!! :)
I love everything about this bathroom!
Really loving this bathroom! Thanks so much for sharing these reader redesigns!
PS- Thought of you today as our DIY Magazine arrived in the mail! Yeehaw! Loving all the beautiful projects in this edition (and that was just with a quick scan, really looking forward to taking a deeper dive later)
Aw thanks! Ours hasn’t come yet, but we can’t wait to see it!
xo,
s
i LOVE IT! good job
Totally digging the sexy tile!! Very lovely!
I’m a huge fan of Tonic Living! They did a great striped cover for my futon (http://smallhomebigstart.blogspot.com/2010/07/summer-blooms.html) and I’ve just ordered new pillows from them too.
Who knew that a dark bathroom could look so inviting? And I agree that the build ins are fantastic!
If Kahley pops back , I would love to know…how did she go about finding someone to build a match to the Pottery barn sink? I also love a sink from pottery barn that we are considering purchasing for our new bathroom, and am curious to know where I can look for someone to build it for me.
Thanks!
Becky
Hi Becky – this is SO LONG overdue! I am not blogging anymore – and thought I should pop back here and see if anyone had asked any questions in the meantime! only a few years late;)I just used a custom cabinetry builder – same guys that build and install built-ins, custom kitchens, etc. :) Hope that helps!
Have mercy — Kahley just changed my mind about dark colors! I love everything about this makeover!