Greetings Lovers! I think it is high time for some ‘After’ shots, don’t you?

Today we’re going to kick off revealing the newly renovated Garden Apartment with the bathroom Before/After. Then we’ll work our way to the front of the apartment through the main room and finally the kitchen.

Why? Well… because I feel like showing the bathroom first. Or maybe it’d cause I want to save the kitchen for last. Either way, the bathroom is up first.

While the bathroom wasn’t the most disgusting area of our garden apartment {its kitchen proudly clings to that title}, it wasn’t exactly squeaky clean either.

I think this vanity had seen better days, don’t you?

While a bad shot, it the only picture I have with a peek of the medicine cabinet. See that black rimmed mirror? Tuck that back in the old noggin for the after pics.

Of course, things always look worse before they look better.

But, in the end, the time and effort is SO worth it!

TA-DA!!!! The walls are painted Navajo White with stock white trim. Yes, that is the toilet paper holder mounted on the back of the door.

I couldn’t put it near the shower {it’d get wet}. It couldn’t be mounted on the side of the vanity {you’d practically be sitting on it}. Oddly enough, even with the door closed, the back of the door was easier to reach than the wall in front of the toilet. So I figured, why not?? Who says you can’t mount the TP to the back of the door? It’s totally hidden that way while the door is open but – POOF! – you shut the door a it magically appears.

There the medicine cabinet in all it’s newly white glory. The flowers aren’t really my thing but it is practical.

1. It already fit perfectly in the hole cut into the drywall. A new medicine cabinet would mean a new hole and probably some patching. You know how much I love spackling!
2. They just don’t make them like they used to! Sad but true. This baby weighs a ton and is still in really great shape. The dark color didn’t go but a couple quick coats of white spray paint kicked it into gear.
3. It was free. Reusing = more money to spend on other things {like a new water-conscious toilet}.

On the wall opposite the toilet, just peaking out from behind the door is this {FREE!} strip of hooks. I love hooks so much more than a traditional towel bar in the bathroom. They’re just easier to use. Even better? This one is made almost entirely from materials already on hand. “How To” to come! {eventually}

Just what did it take to get things looking like this?

• Demo demo demo
• New drywall went in
• The medicine cabinet was painted (& I put another coat on with spray paint; way easier than with a brush!)
• Rob’s dad tiled the floor
• Then we realized the mastic wasn’t drying and had to rip the tile out
• The shower surround went in
• Then it sat untouched for about a year
• Walls & floor got painted
• Then everything got installed but there was no blogging & now we’re here.

Budget Breakdown (estimates)

1. New green board: $40
2. Shower surround: $150
3. Vanity: $74
4. Faucet: $25
5. Toilet: $118
6. Shower rod & curtains: $21
7. New shower knobs, spout, & showerhead: $25
8. Plumbing bits & pieces: $15
9. New bathroom door, casing, shims, lockset: $124
10. New light switches & outlets: $3 (portion of the contractors packs)
11. Paint: $25 for walls; ceiling, trim & floors was already purchased
12. Baseboards: $20 (~10′ @ $1.94/ft)
13. Caulk: $5
14. Towel Hooks: $5 (gunmetal spray paint)
15. TP holder: $7
16. Medicine Cabinet: $5 (white spray paint)

TOTAL: $662

I found it really surprising how the little things {like drywall, screws, plumbing pieces, shims, etc} that you don’t see in the final product really added up.

Colors used:

• Walls: MAB Navajo White in eggshell (MAB is a local company recently purchased by Sherwin Williams)
• Trim: MAB stock white in semi-gloss
• Ceiling: Behr Flat Ceiling White
• Floors: MAB Patio & Deck Latex Gloss Enamel in Bittersweet Stem in Semi-Gloss

And there you have it. One fully renovated garden unit bathroom.

Thoughts?