Renovating an Outdated Bathroom

Let me start by saying, I really love our home.  When we first laid eyes on our little slice of Grand Rapids, we saw an old home that had been used and abused for many years.  Over the past few years, we have lovingly restored or renovated every room back to its original glory.  Except our outdated bathroom.  Our home has 1.5 baths, so renovating a bathroom, leaving us without a place to bathe, did not rate high on our to-do list.

Our bathroom isn’t bad, but it isn’t good. The footprint of the space is only 56 square feet, so for being the only full bathroom, it’s pretty tiny compared to today’s standards.  Because the space is so small, we would call our bathroom “spatially-challenged.”  The problems start when you walk in the door- which doesn’t open all of the way, because the sink is in the way.  Head on over to the toilet, where you have to stand over the heating and cooling vent to use it.  It keeps things feeling very “refreshed!”

The problems don’t end there.  The floor to ceiling storage closet seems great at first glance, but the shelves are so deep that errant cotton balls, Q-tips, and half-used travel-sized bottles fall into the dark abyss.  Finally, the tub/ shower combination has a bath surround that is NOT at the height of style.  Not only is the surround a creamy tan shade, but the floor tile also coordinates, creating a homogeneously 90’s time capsule.

Needless to say, our bathroom was on our list to renovate, but was not a priority due to the logistics of hygiene in our home, so we put it on the back burner.

Fast forward to this summer when I attended the Haven Conference in Charleston, SC.  I was lucky enough to meet one of the sponsors at the conference, Jeffrey Court Tile and learn about their Renovation Challenge.  I am a sucker for any kind of challenge- organization, weight loss, couch to 5K- so I was immediately hooked.

Essentially, myself and 11 other designers will be going head to head for the next 6 weeks to renovate a specific space using Jeffrey Court Tile.  The challenge is completed in a bracket-style competition- which is perfect during football season!

Follow along with me the next 6 weeks as I detail the highs and lows of renovating an outdated bathroom, and end up with a (fingers crossed) winning design for our bathroom!

Looking for bathroom inspiration while you wait for our transformation? Check out our Half-Bath Renovation or our Ferndale Master Bathroom Renovation.