Pinterest Unsupervised

Seriously, can you even imagine climbing into this tile-encased claw foot tub and through the ghostly curtain to take a shower? So much wasted space and lack of luster. It was not my style. So we gutted it and started from scratch. The process was long and a little painful at times — so much so that I am no longer allowed to be on Pinterest unsupervised!

This entire house is basically designed by Pinterest. When we decided to purchase this home, we knew it needed some serious updating while maintaining the classic charm we loved. And while I definitely have my ideas of how something should look and feel, I often turn to Pinterest to fine-tune my home choices. And this bathroom was no exception.

Before we gutted it (as pictured above), this bathroom was overcrowded and designed poorly. The water heater is hung high in the room, with the multi-colored pipes running right down the middle of the wall. There was a cabinet to store things, but it blocked the door from opening. Oh, and the worst was the massive tile work that encased the clawfoot tub that you had to climb into to take a shower. You were lucky to make it inside safely without twisting yourself up on the shower curtain that not only protected water from splashing on the floor but also kept the neighbors from looking right in at you while you showered. As I said, it was terrible!

I knew it needed to be redone. I knew I wanted a walk-in shower with white subway tiles. I knew that I wanted the floors to have black and white tiles. But the rest, well, it took me scrolling through tons of Pinterest pictures finding just the right images, and then piecing it all together. I saw this as any other home project we have taken on, and Pinterest has always served me well.

So while my hubby and a friend got to work on gutting the bathroom, replumbing, and moving the water heater pipes to a little more of a discreet location, I got busy coming up with a design of how I wanted things to look.

I started with my search for floor tiles. I am not sure why I started there, other than I knew I wanted something special. I didn’t want just black and white squares, and I definitely wanted something with a pattern. Let me tell you, there are a lot of different black and white tiles out there, but I finally settled on these beauties. As you can see, the pattern is compiled of four tiles that create this kaleidoscope of black, white, and gray. To me, this screamed classic, but with a modern twist.

Next up was choosing a pattern for the subway tiles. Again, I knew I wanted white tiles, but there are several different patterns for how you can lay the tile. I didn’t want them just running horizontal, but I also didn’t know how I wanted them to be. So, Pinterest to the rescue! I researched all kinds of patterns and looked at them repeatedly until I decided to go with a herringbone pattern. It was such a pretty pattern and, in my mind, was so much more interesting than the regular horizontal patterns you see. And let me say — it turned out gorgeous. But have you ever tiled a herringbone pattern before? No, me either. And do you want to know why you haven’t? Well, let’s just say that it involves a massive amount of cuts and piecing together patterns. So what usually would be a couple of days of a tile job turned into weeks and a lot of work. Now, are you starting to see why I am no longer allowed on Pinterest unsupervised?

While tiling the shower walls, we decided that I needed to pick out something else for the floors and the shower’s alcoves. I took this opportunity to find something that would tie the floors together with the shower. Lots of Pinterest images showed rock-style floors, and that just isn’t my thing. Again, I wanted a classic look that would last for years to come. So, I found this sweet black and white hexagonal pattern that perfectly ties the floors into the shower walls — and saved in a lot more tile work. I think we all were happy with this decision.

As the tile work was getting wrapped up, I realized I needed to scale back a few of my ideas and find ways to be a bit more budget savvy while still maintaining the style choices I love. Instead of trying to hide the pipes that were moved but still running down the wall, I decided that I would embrace the pipe look. So I found a bookshelf with rustic wood and black piping. I then ran with the pipe look, found a rustic wood mirror, shelf, towel rack, and toilet paper holder that all used piping. I painted the room a soft sage green and, I went ahead and painted the pipes as well. Painting the pipes was not to hide them but to make them a uniform color that made it look more intentional.

Lastly was the shower door. Again, I had been on Pinterest, and I really wanted the doors to have that farm door charm. We had gotten a glass guy to bid this out for us, and he wanted close to $3,000 to make the doors and install them. On a bathroom that had already cost us more than anticipated, we were really trying to cut down on expenses, so I went back to the drawing board. Kind of, but not really. I looked online and found a similar shower door to what I wanted, and it was only $700. I would still have to have it installed or convince my hubs to try, but I would be able to get the same look for a lot less money. Although I probably still won’t get credit for this, I considered this a Pinterest win!

The shower door turned out fabulous! And guess what, the hubby installed it all by himself, saving us even more money.

So here’s the deal, we have a gorgeous bathroom now! I absolutely love it. I wish it were in my primary home, and although the hubs now tells people that I am not allowed on Pinterest unsupervised, I just smile and say, “Don’t you worry Pinterest, I will be back!”.