I almost can't believe our very temporary bathroom lasted for almost 10 years! It is so hideous that I never showed any images of it on my blog. Or wait, yes I did: as part of the ugly truth 😉
When we moved in, our bathroom was the first "project". The former ladies room of the factory (in pink) became our toilet, the men's room became our bathroom. The project basically consisted of adding new plumbing, installing a new toilet and a shower cabin. No fancy bathroom furniture and for the first 7 years: no heating either. That's when we learned how to shower with showergel that becomes solid below 5°C.
Well anyway, we have been dreaming of a real bathroom for a very long time. And right now, we're finally, finally in the middle of the real renovation! Like the rest of our home, we do everything ourselves (including plumbing & electricity) which means it takes a little bit more time, but it's exciting and hopefully worth it!
This is the plan, before & after:
Right now, all the walls are down and above the old ceiling we found a cute "Valstar super limonade" bottle cap. With a very convenient opening for a drinking straw. I guess the guys that built our home in the early 1960s must have been thirsty:
Well, we are thirsty too, because it has been pretty hot the past few days. Our 12 m2 bathroom has 3 huge windows with a total glass surface of 10 m2. And those windows don't open… So it feels like a greenhouse and it's too hot and dusty to do anything.
This is the plan: a double sink, a double walk-in shower, a smaller toilet and enough space for toiletries and towels, the washing machine & dryer. It currently looks a bit like our own Beaubourg (Centre Pompidou) with the red & blue plumbing:
We didn't expect a few walls would result in SO much debris. Our walls are 3 meters high, that's probably why 😉
It's very dusty, and I couldn't help but add a little <3:
Wally really loves the messy bathroom. His favorite is rolling in the dust. We think he secretly always wanted to be a white cat.
Our temporary shower is currently in the former laboratory, but the toilet is still working. A little bit strange without walls:
We thought by now, after 10 years of dreaming, we would know what we'd want to do with the new bathroom walls: tiles, stucco, tadelakt or concrete… but it's the only thing we haven't really decided upon. So we'll first build some walls and a new floor and decide later 😉 Until then I'll keep pinning inspiration to my Pinterest board. bathroomrenovation
For more before & after pictures of the renovation of our home click here.
I love that you find visual aesthetics even in the biggest chaos of renovation works! Your pics look just wonderful and the entire project is very exciting! Can't wait to see the final result!
Me too, I can't wait to see (and show) the final result! But for now we have to do with the chaos and dust. But I believe it will be worth the wait (well it cannot become worse anyway!). Thanks for your encouraging words, Igor!
This renovation is so cool, Judith! I love that you styled the renovation with a heart :) There is just nothing like a new bathroom….enjoy the process! Can't wait to see the pics when it is done! Jocelyn
wow, looks like a proper construction site. I'm curious to see how it looks in the end. good luck xo
Yeah it looks pretty serious right now! But I think it will be worth the wait (and mess & hard work) :) Thanks Petra for the encouraging words! xx
Can't wait to see the final result!
hihi me too, Anastasia :)
Oh my I'm so excited for you Judith! Doing it yourself really is so rewarding and you always end up with something so much more interesting than the regular builds. Can't wait to see the end result! Mel xx
Hahaa you said it exactly right: it will be more interesting than regular builds indeed. And with probably some mistakes and interesting situations along the way too ;) Of course I'll show & tell! bises!
Ha ha – i love that wally wanted to be a white dusty cat – look forward to the results :-)
Ax
Yeah he's such a cutie pie :) Looking forward to showing the results here too! Hope you're well & well-rested after your trip to NYC, Anya! xx
Oh boy this looks like a looooots of work! But I bet the final result will be amazing and rewarding. Cannot wait to see what you make of it. I also have the wish to renovate our bathroom so badly, as I have painted the tiles, but that wasn't a really good solution. But on the other hand , it's not our apartment and I'm not sure if I want to spend so much money on it. But on the other hand, I want to have it pretty! :)
Yeah that's a tough decision, investing when you don't own the place… maybe you can find an arrangement with your landlord? If you improve the current situation, he/she might be willing to refund it (partly). Very happy that we can do whatever we want, even though it's a lot of work. I think it will be worth it :)
How exciting, a new bathroom! As I was reading your post I was so amazed as how you can make rubble look so cool. You have a great eye and I can't wait to see your new bathroom Judith! All the best with the renovations xD
Thanks Doris, that's so sweet :) It's really exciting, I can't wait to take my first shower in the new bathroom. But we're not there yet… I have so much more respect for bathroom designers & builders now that we're renovating our own. Like I told you it's a giant jigsaw puzzle to make everything fit. And we still have to decide upon the wall finishes… tiles or some kind of stucco or something. But we have some more time to think about it, we just started building the walls ;)
LOVE the gif.. how clever! The new design looks awesome and having 2 showers is so great.
Good Luck with the DIY (impressive)
Look forward to seeing more.
x
Thanks Tina for the encouragements! It's still a lot of work, but we'll get there :) And of course you spotted the gif!! Happy weekend to you!
Oooh Judith! So exciting, looking forward to see the result – no doubt it's going to be striking good! Excited to see if you're going to add some urban jungle to your new space;-) Happy renovation and a great weekend to you!
Thanks a lot Mette! I'm indeed thinking of adding some urban jungle to our bathroom. Kind of “have to”, right?! It's still a lot of work, but we'll get there :) Have a lovely sunny weekend!