Whether you've been in your home for years or are a first time buyer, there's no question that kitchen and bathroom renovations can not only dramatically increase the listing price of your home but also completely transform your day to day routine, particularly now so many of us can also call our house our office. "When it comes to adding value to a home it's all about kitchens and baths", says Andrew Gangi, founding member of The Gangi Group realtors, "today's buyer wants to walk into a home and see light and bright baths!" With an estimated 60% ROI in updating these high traffic areas it pays to do your research before you get started, and shop the best deals both in terms of contractors and materials particularly if you plan on completing some or all of the work yourself.
THE ORIGINAL
This bathroom was in desperate need of an overhaul with elements such as the pistachio green cast iron tub original to the house. The floor tiling (not pictured), walls and tub were all varying shades of green,The Hulk of bathrooms. We scrapped everything bar the toilet, which had been replaced by the sellers, but if you want to keep demolition to a minimum, reglazing the tub and tile are also options that can be more affordable and also offer immediate and impressive results. Reglazing kits are available from your local DIY store if you're brave enough to attempt this on your own, otherwise contact a local specialist for a quote. Reglazing a cast iron tub is usually in the $400-$600 range and requires little downtime.
CONCEPT & DESIGN
The house is a 1960s Cape Cod in the suburbs of New Jersey, which could have lent itself to a number of design schemes, but in keeping with the renovation scheme for the rest of the house, we proceeded with a Modern Farmhouse theme for the bathroom with a monochromatic black and white color palette, accented by brown tones from the vanity and amber glassware.
The wall tile, floor tile and bathroom vanity were the starting points for the design and we selected the remainder of the fixtures and furnishings to complement these. Originally we had planned to put in a fully black floor, but with the bathroom being small and the natural light being limited we selected this black and white Dela Torre tile to brighten the overall design.
DEMOLITION & ALL THE SURPRISES
Because we were increasing the vanity size from the original 24" to the 36" option above we took this opportunity to pull the front wall out by 1 foot to give a little more breathing room. Originally we had planned to add a floor to ceiling open cabinet for towel storage within this space but we felt this would be too claustrophobic.
After removing the tub we discovered the drain pipe had completely corroded through and the water had been draining into the floor, which because it was still draining hadn't been caught in the home inspection. Fortunately because we were already installing new pipes for the addition of the new shower format this wasn't a significant labor add.
When we came to remove the floor tile however, we discovered 2 previous layers of tile underneath and as we took up the final layer a lot of the subfloor came with it. Although this wasn't an expensive fix this added about a week overall to the renovation, pouring the new subfloor in layers and waiting for it to set before we could continue.
CONSTRUCTION
Once the subfloor was repaired we placed new drywall and roughed in the plumbing, we also built in a shower niche and finally we fitted the new tub (an acrylic soaking tub from Wayfair, which fortunately was about a third of the weight as the cast iron original). At this stage we brought in an electrician to rough in the cables for the addition of an overhead fan and the wall fixtures.
And then the fun began! We decided to extend the tile from tub to ceiling and to cover the wall where the medicine cabinet and vanity would be installed. This was the longest part of the renovation process.
Once the tiling was complete we fitted the new shower and tub faucets, the toilet and the vanity. We went back and forth over what to put above the vanity before landing on an oversized, recessed medicine cabinet from CB2, which then had to be retrofitted (don't recommend!). Finally we added statement wall fixtures and a Vigo glass shower door as the final elements.
THE FINAL REVEAL
And here it is! Tell us what you think in the comments below and contact West Orange Carpentry for your own bathroom vanity or cabinet updates today!
SHOP THE LOOK
TOP ROW L TO R:
MIDDLE ROW L TO R:
BOTTOM ROW L TO R:
Comments