Bathroom Refresh

Here is the BEFORE....not bad, huh?  I loved the layout of our bathroom.   This is the walkway between the bed room and our walk in closet.  Off to the side is a doorway that leads to our toilet area and huge walk in shower.  I love it.  But we were not crazy about the cultured marble counters.
Back Story
I have always loved a vanity space to sit and do my hair, make up, and nails.  Even when I was in high school I had an old desk and my mom made dotted swiss curtains for the windows of my bedroom and a skirt around a table for my vanity.   Back in the 1980's when we were redoing the home we lived in that had belonged to my husband's parents we added a bathroom and did the work ourselves.  Well...almost.   We did the design ( and this was before HGTV to give us ideas!) and the carpentry work...and a plumber did all the plumbing.   It was great.  We took a little used and small bedroom right next to our bedroom and made a great bathroom and second floor laundry...and had a vanity with a place to sit and those "dressing room" lights!  Somewhere I have a photo of my cutting my mom's hair in that bathroom....
Then we built our first house...and once again, I did not want double sinks (what was I thinking), I wanted a vanity.  It was a small bathroom but I loved it.  Then we moved to have a better commute for me to my school and we built another house...and I loved that bathroom.  It was the early 1990's and it had a big corner jetted tub, a little shower, and separate sink areas...and I had a vanity area on mine.   After a few years we downsized and moved even closer to our jobs and had a bathroom vanity similar to the photo above.  I am so used to sitting down to dry my hair, put on make up, etc.   that when we decided to move to this new senior living community I wanted the same thing.   The original bathroom layout was double vanity area with a linen closet on the end.  I wanted my vanity!  In the past we had cultured marble in a darker color and I liked it.  This time the only options were light....and we discussed doing granite, but you know how it is.  We added so many extras that the budget was getting stretched - so we went with what you see above.  It was okay.
Fast forward three years...because of the lighter color it just did not hold up, stay nice looking, and we wanted an update.  Luckily the community where we live has a Renovations Department.  We got an estimate and said we wanted the same granite that was installed in our kitchen.  SNAG - that granite was discontinued.   Luckily we found one that works even better for the bathroom...and then my husband had a heart attack, the pandemic started, we did not want any workers in the house....so when the restrictions were eased last month we started the renovation.

One of the issues was this drop down where the vanity part was located....it really cut down on counter space...

First thing was to rip everything out...including the BIG mirror.  I was worried that it was going to crack apart - and I think the workers were, too.  But it came down with no problem.  Then the moved up the edge of the vanity so it was flush with the cabinets, and the new, rectangular sinks were delivered.

After the demolition was completed the workers from the counter top company came.  This was H. R. Ross in Lancaster County.  They did the Corian in our last home and we were always pleased with the work.   You can see the bathroom mirror sitting on the floor in front of the bed.  Besides being a bit disconcerting when we woke up to see ourselves in the mirror, it was also tricky for the workers to bring in that long slab of granite and get it into the apartment, around the doorways, and into the bathroom!

They were very careful with measuring and making sure everything was level...

Here is my wonderful husband inspecting the work....

The next day the workers from Renovations came back and installed the sinks.  We kept the same faucets ( I love them) and did not paint the cabinets at this time.   I think the granite makes a huge difference.  

We did not put a hole in the granite to add any electrical access to the counter...I bought a new make-up mirror in polished chrome and it is batter operated.   I added a little greenery, a tray, and am still on the lookout for new soap dispensers.  I looked online and did not see any that I liked better than these.  The few times I have been in any store there was not much of a selection...I guess because of the pandemic and stores not being stocked.   I think these look great for now and someday I will happen upon new ones...until then, these are fine.

One thing I am SO glad we did was add these tilt out drawers.  We have them in our kitchen and I asked the renovation guys if this was possible.  They said sure and I ordered two quiet close units from Amazon.   They were just a little too wide and I thought we would have to scrap the whole idea, but then I suggested trimming the edge of one side to make it fit...and it worked ! This is one of my favorite things...I love not seeing our toothbrushes hanging out on the counter!

I love the variation in the granite...and how it picks up the colors in the wall, sink,  and trim.

Found a new waste basket that is perfect with the chrome rim around the top!

This was the old vanity seat.  Had it for years...that is probably the third cover on the seat.

I found this pair of curtains at a local discount store for $5.99 and thought the color would work...

I cut out the fabric and used a staple gun to secure it...

Then re-attached the seat....

And it looked great !

But as you can see it was too short...once we moved the counter up it was not comfortable.

I found this at Target and loved the size, and the wood pulled out some of the dark in the granite, but after it was put together I did not like the brown "leather" cushion!

Eek!   How did I not notice that the closet door was open.  Please excuse the view into our closet...Luckily, that packet of curtains I purchased had two panels and I was able to cover the brown with this great fabric!  Then we just needed something to update the walls.  I removed the "Life is Good" sign from over the door and put it on our screen porch.  The metal scroll square that was on the wall was put there when we moved in...just to have something there.  It used to be in our Great Room in our last house and when we moved here we found we had a lot less walls to hang things...so it worked for the bathroom until now.  We were trying to be mindful of the pandemic conditions and not go out shopping too much, but when picking up groceries at Target I would look at the wall decor and not find anything.  Looked online...nothing.   Since John is 6 months out from his heart attack I felt he should not be out among too many people so sometimes I would stop at stored during "senior hours" when it was less crowded just to see if anything popped up.   On Friday, this did !   I found it at Christmas Tree Shops...took a photo and texted it to John who was home relaxing after cardiac rehab.   He loved it, so it followed me home.

We love the modern look of the canvas ( there are a lot of pieces like this in the lobby and hallways of our building) and the colors tie in some of the colors in our bedroom.  It also reminds us of all the beautiful sunrise and sunsets we have seen on our travels and from Our New Vista!

The door you see next to the painting is opposite the vanity area.  That area contains a private alcove with another door for the toilet and a HUGE walk in - zero clearance shower that we just love.  We have a great adjustable shower head, but while the renovation workers were here we had them install a second shower head!  Feels like a spa in there now....Bliss!

And that is it !  Project completed...at least for now.  It would have been so much easier if we chose granite when we selected our finishes for Our New Vista, but I think I like this granite better than what we have in the kitchen, so it is good we waited.  Also, we get to appreciate it more now when not everything is "new".  And I realize how incredibly blessed we are to be able to do this project...the world and the US is suffering so much now with Covid, unrest, and the loss of so much business.   We are so blessed to be healthy and enjoy our retirement together.

Thanks so much for stopping by Our New Vista and taking a look at our renovation.  I think a lot of us have been home much more during this pandemic and see things in our homes we want to change/update/add!  This is it for now...hoping that the vaccine soon comes and we can return to a new normal life. I am sure by then I will have some more projects in mind.

How about you ?  What are you doing ?  Any Pandemic Projects at your place ?  

Thank you so much for stopping by Our New Vista today...I would love it if you would leave a comment below.  Have a great day!