Where to start?! When we purchased our home we knew the master bathroom had some urgent significant issues that needed to be addressed right away. During the inspection a shower leak was discovered. The leak appeared to have been active for years, maybe even close to a decade. As a result, the bathroom floor was literally rotted out and sinking in and resting on the plumbing underneath the house! Not good. And not a cheap fix either. But we wanted the home bad enough that we took on the renovation and although it was extremely stressful at the time (we’ve learned we are just not renovation people) I am so happy with the bathroom updates.
Alright, so enough backstory! I have a lot to cover in detail so I’m going to break the projects up into a few separate posts. Feel free to pass over this series if bathroom renovations aren’t your thing!
Let’s dive in, shall we? A few BEFORE pictures so you can see what we were working with.
The first step in the renovation process was removing the floor. I actually didn’t mind the original tile in the bathroom but it had to go so we could replace the flooring and the sub-flooring. Once the tile was ripped up we then demolished the flooring.
Poof — in one afternoon the floor to our bathroom was GONE. You could literally see right into our crawl space at one point. We also discovered that the floor joist wasn’t sufficient for the weight of our bathroom so we had to replace it with a new one. This was actually the most expensive part of the renovation. Once the floor had the correct support we then laid new and improved sub-flooring and then new flooring.
After the demo was complete it was time to begin tiling. To keep the progress moving quickly we had to find tile that was in stock and ready for immediate delivery. Well, apparently that is not how tile shops operate, which we learned after taking a half day off of work to trek all over town to various tile shops. After awhile it all started to look the same, the price tag had me in hives and the delivery timing was just not feasible to keep the project on track.
I carried these two tile inspiration pictures with me everywhere we shopped…
Dreamy, right?
Our last tile shop of the day was Lowes, which I had very low expectations going in to. However, I was quite impressed with the tile selection and grabbed a sample of Marble look-alike porcelain tile to bring home and compare to the other two tile contenders. Naturally, I then called an emergency meeting with my best friends to come over and look at my tile and pick their favorite. And because they are all super awesome, they did just that (don’t worry, I provided mimosas in thanks)! In pictures they loved #2 (middle) best, but in person they loved #1 (top) the most! Then I asked Instagram (duh!) which tile y’all liked best and received SO many helpful responses. One commenter said she went with a similar white marble tile (pictured at the bottom) and now sees a corporate lobby building every time she walks into her bathroom. LOL. After she said that, I couldn’t unsee it either. And tons of other commenters warned me that if we went too light the floor would show every single hair and speck of dust! I can always count on my Insta-friends! The advice and votes continued to roll in…
And the top tile won by a landslide, which was funny because the middle tile was actually my favorite, but of course the most expensive. Our final two contenders were priced at $1.49 sq ft versus $6.99 sq ft which was a ginormous difference in cost. And since we had budgeted zero dollars for a bathroom renovation we went with the popular, cost saving tile…
Honestly, I couldn’t be happier. We didn’t even have to cut the tile because there was an option to order it in 12×24, which is the size we wanted. We also went with silver grout.
On installation day the tile guy asked me which pattern I wanted to lay the tile in. I hadn’t even thought about a pattern so I asked him to lay out a few options. Once the samples were ready Matt and I both agreed that the herringbone pattern was perfect so we went with that.
And that wraps up the flooring! On to the shower…
Love the flooring and that patterns works so well!
Perfect choice! Can't wait to see your other posts on it!
We used that tile from lowes too and I love it!
Love the tile you chose, and love that you found it at Lowes! Such a steal!
It looks gorgeous! What a retreat it will be!
I absolutely love it – looks AMAZING & so classy!
I have to agree with you – the original tiling isn't bad at all, but major bummer on the forced reno. We were in a similar situation, but then realized it was not only the bathroom but all the framing of the house that needed fixing…and backed right out of that house! LOL! I think your friends/Instagram friends were spot on – your new bathroom looks INCREDIBLE!!
Obsessed!! Great choice on the tile!
Looks fantastic!! That would have been my choice too. Well done and how happy you will be walking in there every day. Woot!
The floor is beautiful! I wouldn't have thought about pattern either but the one you chose looks great!
The reno looks great and I LOVE the pattern of the tile. So pretty!!xo, Kristina
I love the flooring! It's just perfect!
OH MY!! This is literally the most beautiful bathroom I've ever laid my eyes on!! You have such great style, girl!!! -Katie | http://www.meshkomoments.com
Bathroom and kitchen, both the rooms are very special for every homeowner. Therefore, they used to take several kinds of beneficial steps to make these room more attractive and stunning. Especially in the case of the bathroom, we must need an attractive flooring along with the better-sanitized system, mirrors, bathing tubs, shower curtains or shower doors, and many others. Here this bathroom overview looks stunning and attractive, I was just wondering about the design and flooring of the bathroom, it looks really amazing. Kitchen & Bath Remodeling Encinitas
Ugh, the dreaded floor joists. We got to have that fun expense during our renovation, too… and we need to pull out some planter boxes that are draining water into our foundation (why? Just. WHY?) sooner rather than later…. but upside? Your bathroom turned out AMAZING!!!!!!
i love the hex 12×24. I have real marble and maintenance is difficult! On a reno I want to go with Porcelain. Can you please tell me the name of the Lowes tile? They have so many options. Online, some of them look too gray. Yours looks more white which I love. Thanks!
Luv the clean look of your bathroom. Could you tell me what tile you used on the shower stall walls? Was it the same tiles you used on the floor? Thinking of incorporating this look into my bathroom remodel.
What is the name of the tile you chose?
What is the name of the tile on the floor from Lowes?
What is the name or product number of your floor tile
It’s so beautiful and reasonably priced,
Thank you
What is the name of the floor tile? We’re about to start our bathroom remodel. Thank you!
What’s the name of the tile used didn’t see it in the listing thanks
I would also love to know the name of the floor from Lowes you chose? Your bathroom turned out beautiful!!