Laundry/Bathroom updateLaundry/Bathroom Update

Believe it or not, it has now been 2 months since we started the bathroom renovation.  Although I would love to announce from the rooftops that we have completed this space, we still have some way to go to the finish line.  Since it is only Paul on the tools plus the odd tradesman we were never going to turn this room around in a week, unlike our favourite show The Block.  However, I am confident that the finished result will be worth waiting for.  Here is a quick snapshot of how the laundry and bathroom are progressing.

If you are wondering what that ghost like shadow is in the background, well that is me holding up a white towel so we can take a photo without all the window light 🙂  Below is the true look of our laundry door.

Installing the laundry door was no easy feat as Paul had to build and pack out the wall to fit the cavity slider.  The door has been painted in Stonington Grey which is a soft bluish grey by Benjamin Moore.  I am so in love with this colour that every time I pass the laundry, I just want to press my cheek up to the slider.

We have decided to keep the love going by painting the bathroom walls in this colour at 50% strength.  Hopefully just enough colour to pop those white subway tiles, but subtle enough to let the strong vanity colour be the hero in the room.

On the topic of vanities we are yet to find something traditional in the price or style that speaks to us.   There is such a gap in the New Zealand market for anything other than Modern or Scandinavian pieces. So it looks like we are leaning towards finding a joiner to make us a custom vanity.  We just hope that there is someone out there that will take on our project at this time of the year?  Here is my train of thought on the design of the vanity.

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We only have room for a 900mm vanity so you will need to take a third off the above picture.  Here is a close up in the detailing I would like to achieve on the cupboard door.

Our vanity would be configured with 3 small drawers and one large drawer like below.

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I am swooning over these handles, but they don’t sell them in Brushed Chrome.  I am wondering if having mismatched taps and handles is a fatal design error?

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Moving on to the main event, check out the progress of our main bathroom below.

As you can see from the photos, new Gib line walls have gone up, insulation is near completion, and new double glazed windows have been installed into our existing wooden frames.  Industrial lighting and spotlights have also been wired up.

 My favourite additions have been our new toilet and Koehler deep bath. Living in world of dust and scattered tools, it is such sweet relief to see sparkling new items.  Paul will be framing out the bathtub this week to create a look similar to the photo below.

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He will also be framing the window with a farmhouse trim like this.

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The next major step in our bathroom renovation is smashing out the existing shower so Paul can create the new shower shell.  This means we will be without a shower for a couple of weeks and I will be washing my hair from a bowl – arrghh.

One of our biggest pain point in this room now is deciding whether to put up a pony wall (half wall) between the toilet and bath.  For me there is nothing less relaxing than having a soak in the tub and having to stare at the bog.

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There have been very heated reactions for and against this pony wall.   My mum is totally on my page (thanks mum!), but Paul doesn’t want to do it because of the extra work and dollars involved.  Even our plumber has chimed in saying that adding the wall will date the space?  It makes me wonder if guys are able to separate a bit more in their environment or perhaps it’s just a personal preference?  Apparently it is not too late to swing either way, so I would love to hear your opinion.  Putting a simple yay or nay in the comments section would really help us out.

Thank you 🙂