The powder room was, like every other room in the house, basic and builder grade. Fortunately, the house is structurally sound so all we needed to do were updates.
Scott removed the baseboards, taking care not to damage them, so we could rehang them after the new flooring was installed. He then took out the toilet and existing vinyl and installed a cement board sub-floor. Then it was my turn.
I found this tile in the clearance department at Home Depot the year we moved into the house (2013). It had been sitting in the garage waiting for us to have the time to use it. It is a simple, classic 12″x12″ tile that matches the rest of my color palette perfectly. It is neutral enough that it will also work if I choose to change paint colors in the future. I considered using one of the 12″x 24″ tiles that are so popular now but decided that by using what I had I could put a little extra money toward granite counter tops! The room is only 5’x8′ and the walls were surprisingly square so Scott used the water saw to make the few necessary cuts while I used mortar to glue down the tiles. While it was not a terribly difficult process, my knees and back definitely reminded me that I’m not as young as I was the first time I installed flooring!
The race was on to finish this room since this situation was not really working for me!
As soon as the grout had a chance to cure Scott installed the sink, vanity and faucet. I found the vanity on Craigslist. It was part of a 3 piece vanity, sink and mirror set that sold originally for $1100 at Home Depot. SCORE! I got the entire set for $400. The sink don’t really fit with the style of this room so I will use it upstairs. It is perfect for what I have planned in that bathroom. I can’t use the mirror so I will either gift it to a fellow DIY-er or donate it to the Habitat for Humanity Restore.
Next came the sink and faucet. Scott was looking at his Speedway rewards and discovered he had enough points to buy a $200 Home Depot gift card. I didn’t even know you could use points that way! If you use Speedway, check your account!
We went shopping for a sink and found this discontinued 37″ Home Decorator’s Stone Effects vanity top on clearance for $89. The oiled bronze Price Pfister faucet was on sale for $104. With the extra from our $200 gift card the sink and faucet only cost us about $6 out of pocket. Another SCORE!
I added a $27 oiled bronze towel bar and a coordinating $50 clearance light fixture both from Lowes. The mirror has a has a heavy, rich, espresso frame with a bronze glaze that gives the room an overall elegant feeling. Believe it or not, I found it at Walmart and it only cost $30! Proof that quality doesn’t have to be expensive. The wall art is from Michaels. I used my 40% off coupon and paid around $17.
Classic, traditional, and functional, I love the way our powder room turned out.
I guesstimate that with all of our savings scores the entire remodel only cost us a little over $600 but probably increased the value of our house by $5000!
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