Renovation of Little Bathroom With Mirrors, Octagon Tile And Vanity

Renovation of Little Bathroom With Mirrors, Octagon Tile And Vanity

Last weekend Phil & I went out on a big shopping trip to find tile for our bathroom reno. I shared the other week about our original design idea, based off of the green glass vessel sink we scored. It would be somewhat vintage-inspired with gray & mint green as the main colors, & include an old dresser converted into a vanity –

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So we set off on our shopping trip with that in mind. Right away though, we wrote off glass tiles (like the ones in my photoshopped idea above), since we discovered that most of them started at $15/SF. Yikes! We found other awesome options too, like this gorgeous honed marble subway tile with a greenish hue, from the Tile Shop –

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Mmmm. But $12/SF, we knew that wasn’t happening. Finding expensive tile that we both liked…that was easy. But finding cheap tile that we both liked…that was more of a challenge. We went to 4 different stores searching for good deals. If one of us found an affordable tile that we liked, the other one thought it was tacky. Pretty much without fail. Haha. But we did eventually find some compromises. I fell in love with this green/beige/gray honeycomb tile from Home Depot, for the tub surround walls. Even though the color was a bit different than what I had in mind, I still thought it would look great with our gray walls & a mint green vanity –

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Phil liked it too. At $4.95/SF, it was a serious contender. And I thought it looked great with one of Phil’s favorites – this slate tile, also from Home Depot –

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I wanted to cut the square tiles cut in half so that they would be rectangles, & lay them in a herringbone pattern – like this (found here) –

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It was a serious contender too at $2.99/SF. Especially since our bathroom floor is just 30 square feet. But…the extra cuts with the tile saw didn’t sound very appealing to first time renovators. And even though the honeycomb tile is a very reasonable price, it would put us over budget. (We’re hoping to keep it as close to $1,000 as we can – realistically, $1,200-$1,300.) So we nixed that plan. I didn’t cry too many tears because we found some other options that we loved. Even cheaper ones! For the floor, we’ll be using this white ceramic octagon & dot tile from Lowe’s –

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It’s not at all what I originally had in mind, but now I LOVE it. It definitely has a vintage feel. And paired with a dark gray grout, it will make an awesome graphic pattern on the floor. And ya can’t beat the price –

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Just $2.93/SF! Comparable to the slate tile from Home Depot…but without all the extra sawing. And I like it even better! AND, to make it even sweeter, I have a 10% off coupon!

As far as the wall tile goes for the tub surround, we decided to go with plain white subway tile. Simple, classic…cheap! We found it at Best Tile for $2.55/SF, but I think Lowe’s sells it cheaper (we didn’t see it in the store, but they have it online for around $2.16/SF). Combine Lowe’s better price with our 10% coupon…and we’re sold! We found the same octagon & dot tile at Best TIle too, but they had it listed around $5/SF! Clearly Lowe’s has them beat there too…but we were able to put it up to the subway tile to picture the all-white look.

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Again…not at all what I thought we would be buying, but I think it’s the best option out there in our budget that fits the vintage-inspired design. Phil was a little worried at first that the all-white look might look a little stark, but he’s on board now & we’re both loving it. You have to envision it all with gray grout, a mint green vanity & green glass sink, gray walls, a shower curtain, art, accessories…which all will soften the look & add more interest.

Our budget got some more good news too – I bought a mirror for the medicine cabinet and the vanity, both for reaalllly cheap! I found this oval mirror at a thrift store for $3.97. I think it should work out perfectly – it fits over the medicine cabinet hole almost exactly. The only thing I’m not sure of yet is if it will bump the wall when you open it. Either way…I figured it was a $3.97 risk worth taking. (And yes, of course the frame will be getting a makeover!)

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And finally, the part I think I am the most excited about…

I found our vanity! I’ve been stalking craigslist for weeks trying to find a dresser to turn into a vanity for the vessel sink. But our little bathroom only allowed for a very specific sized piece, and I wasn’t finding anything that fit the bill. No luck at any thrift stores either. But then I went to a Habitat for Humanity ReStore (new favorite place!) and found this little gem –

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A perfectly sized metal cabinet with a shelf (yeah, the shelf it’s falling on the right side…but it can be easily repaired). And actually, the top piece is laminate, but I’m painting it so that doesn’t matter. But I thought it would look awesome once it was fixed up a little – it would give the bathroom a sweet industrial touch. And a masculine touch (though maybe not after I paint it a minty green…haha). It was just $14.99…

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…except that all of the office furniture was 50% off. Which means that I scored our bathroom vanity for $7.50!! Of course, it will end up being more than that once I paint & seal it & add some storage baskets. But still…that’s a pretty incredible price! To get a taste of the final product, I set it up in our office/studio with the sink & mirror, some storage baskets I had on hand, & the new soap dispenser I put together –

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Eeeeee now I can’t wait! Of course the cabinet will be mint green (but I’m leaving the chrome legs unpainted). And the pipes will be exposed. And it needs a faucet. And a mirror makeover…blah blah blah. But can you picture it?

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The new cabinet is about the same width, but it’s 4 inches smaller in depth. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but I think it will have a big difference in making our little bathroom feel less cramped. It’s 2.5″ shorter, but I think it will even out since the vessel sink is pretty tall. But I am considering adding some casters to the legs (kept in the locked position, of course!), since they could raise the cabinet up a few inches. I think it would look sweet, but it’s probably not necessary. What do you think – to caster the cabinet, or to not caster the cabinet?

Here’s the new, more official plan –

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I still need to find the right sink & shower faucets, and decide what to do with the light fixture. But we are loving it so far! What do you think?

Psst – our niece, Ella, was born last week!! She is so wonderful & the new family of 3 is doing great! I’m doing a newborn shoot with them soon so I’ll do an official post then, but I snapped a few pictures this past weekend – isn’t she precious?!

Author: Shauna Mailloux

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