It’s not often that a before photo actually makes me laugh out loud. But I did so I’ll cop to it right now. Just check out the shower tile in Erin’s main bathroom for yourself. Thankfully the incredible overhaul that she and her husband did means that old tile is nothing but a (somewhat hilarious) memory. Here’s her letter:
Hi John & Sherry, we’ve been working on remodeling our foreclosure mess for just over a year now, and so far we’ve completed three bathroom remodels! I’m still doing a happy dance from how this last one turned out. This room started out as bad as it could get with dirty white tile & brown grout, a rain shower mural in the bathtub, and pink walls with a goopy, drippy texture applied to them.
Every time I used it I thought, “I can’t believe we bought this dump.” Note the rain shower mural in the tub.
We were going for a very modern and natural look – something that was minimal but not cold. The piece de resistance was a shoji style inspired sliding door that I custom built to fit the space (it slides to the right to close off the toilet/shower without blocking too much light). I’m still shocked that it fit and worked well in the space right away. Those moments when what you had in mind actually works out perfectly… yeah, those never happen to me, so score 1 point for the DIYers.
The best part is that doing all of our own labor and using affordable items like the Ikea vanity and mirror (along with clearance 12” x 24” floor tiles for just $1.22 a tile!) made this renovation incredibly affordable. The whole project was less than $2k.
We also added lighting underneath the floating vanity, which not only accentuates the open floor space down there but provides a really cool nightlight to the room.
The lights are plugged into an outlet directly under the vanity, and that outlet is controlled by a switch right at the door so it’s just a flick of the switch to turn them on. I hope you like it! -Erin
I just gotta give Erin another “bravo” for that door she built. I mean, the whole space makes me want to come over for a visit, but I’ve gotta hand over some serious props for making a door that fits on the first try. Erin’s got more photos (including a close up of that before shower!) on her blog, so be sure to check it out. Thanks so much for sharing your awesome bathroom, Erin! What do you guys think? Any favorite parts? Sherry’s obsessed with the mirror that also doubles as a shelf and of course that stripe of penny tile. As for me, you already know I’m crushing on that sliding door.
Psst- The latest round of Clara Conversations are up on Young House Life, including one exchange that’s probably our favorite of all time (it involves talk of a future sibling and what Clara hopes will come with the deal).
Wow – such a great update!
YHL – thank you for sharing these reader redesigns – they are always so inspiring!
Aw, you’re welcome Ginny! We love to share the love- and the inspiration! Makes me want to go build a door… ha!
xo
s
Love Erin’s blog, and this was my favorite remodel they’ve done! Check out her nursery too–they just had a baby who gets to live in a super cute space. I’m jealous.
seriously. that door is rather inviting. party in the bathroom?? i think so. well done!
Ohhh – she did it. It’s clean, but not cold at all! Lovely before (hehe) and after!!
Love it all but the vanity and the undermount lighting has me swooning!
I love it! Very clean looking, but still inviting.
I thought the “sliding” glass doors on our old bathtub were bad, but the rain shower montage might have us beat. My daughter and her obsession with Harold and the Purple Crayon might disagree! Well done, Erin!!
Haha, it’s very Harold-esque!
xo
s
This is so impressive, Erin! I can imagine you must have wondered who in the world put in that rain mural. :) You did the modern look without coldness.. nicely done!
I am in love with that mirror/extra shelf too!!
LOL! The rain shower is hilarious. The whole thing is beautiful. I really like the penny tile strip.
so awesome! well done Erin! Where are the tiles from?
Here’s hoping she drops in with that info!
xo
s
Thanks so much you guys, I’m totally blushing over here. :) The tile for the wall and shower was all found at Lowes, and the floor tiles were from Menards- although I found just a small amount left over in the clearance section, so they might be tough to find.
Gorgeous! I love the door, and the mirror/shelf, and the light underneath, and well, I just love all of it.
that is one beautiful bathroom! it’s hard to pick a favorite part – it’s really all so lovely! and what a budget, too! nice job, Erin!
Is it weird to think that bathroom is kind of sexy? ‘Cause that bathroom’s kind of sexy. That’s like the Alexander Skarsgaard of bathrooms.
Huh. That made sense in my head…
I’ll show myself out.
Hahah!
xo
s
Love this bathroom! The color palette is so natural and calm. Great makeover! By the way….we totally love this “reader-redeisgn” series. So inspiring :)
Aw thanks! So glad you guys like it.
xo
s
Wow, you did good, Erin! :) You pulled off a clean, modern look with added warmth owing to the wood furniture. Installing a slide door – and even a DIYed one – is such a great idea that I’ll defo keep in mind for any future bathroom renos. Very impressive!
Reader Redesign is such an amazing section of the blog. Always inspiring and well-selected. Keep ’em coming!
Thanks Anne!
xo
s
Must. pet. penny tile. Muuuuustttt pet penny tile.
OMG that door! that door! so beautiful, and the process… I’m in awe.
yeah, yeah, gorgeous, clever, stuff I could never do without putting a permanent hole in the drywall, whatever…
**future sibling**, Sherry? Ie, is there news? You can’t go hiding that in the italics at the bottom!
Nope, I promise there will be a big announcement when I’m prego (nothing hidden in italics)! Click over to YHL to see what I’m talking about. It’s just Clara dreaming about presents…
xo
s
J-Boom, don’t knock the rain shower mural…it’s helping to keep the shower grass nice and lush and green :)
Bravo, Erin! Love it all! :)
xox
Hahah! True dat.
-John
The addition of the shower grass is cracking me up the most about that mural. Glad someone else pointed it out too.
This is so great! I love all the touches, even the matching stool. Great one!
Wow what a great idea with the door. Looks amazing!
What a great redo! We installed Ikea vanities in our bathrooms this year and we’re very happy with them so far.
Also, I just wanted to mention it because I’ve read you don’t allow them, a pop-up ad for Scoreboard or something like that appeared when I came to check out this post…
Ahhh! Anyone else having that? They’re never authorized and we can’t see them so we don’t know they’re there (and can’t block them) unless we hear from you! I url to where the pop-up leads or screen grab is really helpful if you do see them, that way we can block them!
xo
s
I got one a couple day ago to take some kind of survey but I don’t know how to screen cap on a PC!
Boo! So sorry guys, we hate them! Always tell us so we can try to kill them.
xo,
s
Eminem turned 40 yesterday, just so ya know. Feel old now? I do!!
Oh yes I whisper sung happy bday to Burgee in honor.
xo,
s
Soo sorry, I didn’t realize that! I think it was something like a survey, it said Scoreboard Research, I think. Now I’ll know to do a screen grab if I come across another one.
Thanks Ainhoa! You’re so sweet.
xo,
s
What a fantastic job – I am still laughing over the rain tiles in the shower…..priceless!
Somehow it brings me comfort to hear that other people say, “I can’t believe we bought this dump,” – I feel the same way!! But the “afters” make it worth it.
Wow! Lovely work!
it looks awesome! The best part of the whole post: “I can’t believe we bought this dump” :)
wow, i love this re-design! very zen-like feeling in the ‘after’ & that rain shower mural is too funny!
xo julesinflats.com
I LOVE nearly everything about this bathroom! Nice work!
I can think of like 100 ways the prior owner could have done that shower mural that would have been less ridiculous, but that is what they came up with? I love this update. My house also had a ‘creative’ prior homeowner, so I feel Erin’s pain :)
Such a wonderful bathroom redo!!!
I agree with John- the sliding door is amazing! Gotta love a little extra privacy especially if it’s a shared bathroom!
The door is awesome but I LOVE the mirror shelf!!
Oh wow….that mural is BBBAAAADDD!!!!
But Clara’s new monthly picture….ADORABLE!
Love the colour! And the sliding door idea!! Love it!!
xx
hey $herdog –
totally unrelated…but did you see eminem turned 40 today?
Oh yeah it was yesterday. Die hard fan here. I even sang happy birthday to Burger in his honor.
xo,
s
I think Shoji style doors are the answer to all of life’s problems, they are soo pretttty
They did an amazing job! That door is really nice. I love all the reader redesign posts, especially the gut jobs. We are buying a house and would like to gut it, but will have to live with it for awhile. It is a charming house though so we don’t mind.
If possible can we see some reader redesigns that work with what they have and don’t do any major renovations? We need some inspiration/tips/tricks.
Oh yes, we love those too! We try to do a mix of styles/budgets/projects so some are lighter and easier while others are more major!
xo
s
That before is HILARIOUS! I definitely thought the green “grass” was mold in the very first picture… Questionable taste, for sure. The after is gorgeous though! Well done, Erin!
Maybe I can convince her to come do my bathrooms. I have dark purple wall paint still showing in some places AND pink grout. PINK GROUT!!!!
Love her redo.
I too have a “can’t believe I bought this dump” foreclosure that I’m working on. I love this bathroom, totally want that floating vanity and hope Ikea makes one small enough for our postage stamp sized bathroom. Less stuff that touches the floor makes for easier-to-clean floor!
I love the mirror shelf, such a good idea!
This reminds me of my own inherited bathroom mural which is still there a year and a half after buying the house. It’ll probably never make it into a reader redesign though (it involves unicorns and rainbows and is really innapropriate!)…
that lighting is so cool! And the shower mural is SO WEIRD.
My dad says he’s sad they got rid of the rain shower motif — he likes (liked) it.
How strange – I just saw the exact same mirror-shelf thing in a bathroom redo on Designsponge today. I really like it too. It looks great in both bathrooms
Such a small world!
xo
s
Oh, I love this! The colors are great and it’s so calm. Great job on the custom door too!
To start with, i love it when you have a reader redesign! Its so fun to see what others are up to. Now, on the other hand, that tile is like the chia pet of showers! Yikes lol. Absolutely love the penny tile and sliding door.
Ohh yes, the before photo is funny !
This bathroom really needed to be remodeled and it is well done. Beautifull.
Thank you for your blog, I love it.
Mina