3X

As in, we have three times as many bathrooms in our new house as we did in the apartment. That’s a ton of toilets for two people!

Mike and I have been enjoying the fact that we don’t have to share the bathroom in the morning (planning out who needs to get in the shower first was the topic of conversation more often than I’d like to admit), but unfortunately we are figuring out that they are all are missing elements of functionality and beauty.

Half Bath Downstairs

Guest Bath

Master Bath

All three have the same cabinet combo that we had at the apartment with the counter extending over the toilet. I’m not sure why this type of vanity was so popular in the 80’s but it doesn't leave much room for creativity. The previous owners did make an attempt to dress-up the bathrooms by replacing the lighting and framing-out the large mirrors but Mike and I want to take it a step further – starting with the half bath downstairs.

This bathroom is in the worst shape with peeling floors and a very smelly cabinet (we think it previously held a cat’s litter box). There are always surprises when buying a house and if this is as bad as it gets, we are lucky. As for what I want to do with it, I really love the look of planked walls. Most pictures I find have white painted planks but wouldn't it look amazing in a dark color? I stumbled across both these pictures this week (neither of them are bathrooms though) and think I could pull it off downstairs. I worry about it looking too nautical or cabin-ish and how that would work with the rest of the house, but my favorite thing about home décor is you don’t have to get it right the first time (even though it annoys Mike to no end to have to re-do projects). Another option that Mike and I both like is a half wall of beadboard and chair railing all painted the same color. I like beadboard but tend to think it's too traditional - seeing it painted all the same color made me thing twice though.

As for the two full bathrooms upstairs, I think they will stay how they are for now until we have the capacity for a full-bathroom renovation. I’m really not enjoying the color of the tile in the guest bath so that might change soon, but our master bath is pretty neutral with white tile all around. Our biggest issue with the master bath right now is there is really no storage for all the small odds and ends that we used to have in a drawer in our old bathroom. Mike wants to rip out the vanity in favor of a version with more storage options which I am all for if it is the right price. Down the line we’d actually like to expand the bathroom into our bedroom about 3 feet and switch up the layout like so:  

Original Set up

Possible Remodel

For now we are just on the hunt for a shower curtain that we both like. We made it out to Ikea for some table legs and new handles for the kitchen drawers but struck out in the curtain department.