Cass test blog: Dad's Mustard Yellow Bathroom Remodel

Today I wanted to highlight my dad's guest bathroom remodel. He did a terrific job with this project. He was very conscious about cost and reusing what he had to make the project a success. He did the bulk of the work and while we were in town we helped do all the painting and trim work to finish it up.

One of the main reasons i wanted to show this to you was because of the scary toilet and tub color that they worked around. Although not completely ideal, to keep those yellow fixtures I think the end product is beautiful. Here is what my dad said about the project.

This is part of the before picture of the guest bathroom. To keep costs low we chose to keep the toilet and tub, even though they were a matching mustard yellow color. The decorating colors were coordinated to complement the toilet and tub. The current floor was white linoleum and we chose to replace it with white tile.

Here my daughter begins the process of removing the vanity cabinet, the tall faux oak cabinet

and move the toilet. The vanity cabinet was saved, stripped and repainted.

In this image the wall trim was partily installed, and the linoleum has been removed. New

particle board was installed and tile backer board screwed into place.

Once the faux oak cabinet was removed we removed the drywall to build a new

extended corner, to add room to the new future master bathroom remodel (which I will show you later) on the other side of the wall. To give the new corner more flare, we put a forty-five degree angle on it, as seen in the next picture. The framing seen in this picture will be removed once the new wall is framed and drywalled.

With the corner wall framing complete, the drywall went on next.

Drywall begins.

Drywall complete. Green drywall was used on the lower half of this corner,

because it was next to the toilet and tub.

Wall trim and baseboard comes next.

The old cabinet has been stripped and repainted. We also added two inches to

the rear of the cabinet making the top 24 inches deep, to allow for easier baby changing

on the top. There are lots of grandchildren who visit in this house. The porcelain

sink is sitting in the cabinet top hole for fitting.

The tile was then laid out and cut. We used an extension on the lip of the top to which

we glued the rim edging tile. In an area of high traffic, extra supporting for tile

edges can be helpful. The mirror cabinet was repainted too, but was not too

attractive so it was eventually replaced as you can see in a later picture.

My daughters are in the middle of the painting process.

We selected a golden tinted paint for the upper half to compliment the tub and toilet color.

This also helped to bring down the garish tub and toilet color a notch and brought the bathroom together.

One of the problems with this bathroom is that you could look right into

the “golden thrown” from the entry way to the house, if the door was open. By

moving the door over, approximately one foot nearer the cabinet, the toilet was not

visible from the entry to the house. Cause who wants to get caught with their pants down!

The door was reinstalled. Next comes the drywall. The extra benefit to moving

the door is that the faux oak cabinet that was removed can be replaced with some

accent storage cabinets that add architectural interest.

One slight problem was that the cabinet drawer can bump into the door if pulled

out all the way. But the benefit of visually blocking the view into the room was worth it.

Focusing on the cabinet, the tile was glued and ready for grout and then the sink.

All the major elements of the room were not changed substantially but we were

able to take advantage of the existing cabinet by extending the top depth. The

choice of white tile copies the tub tile and does allow for color changes later.

The tub area was next. An aluminum window was replaced with a white vinyl

double glaze and is more energy efficient.

With almost a “stage” look to the shower side curtains,
it added drama to the drab former look of the shower.

The side curtains are hung on a specially made mounts attached to the wall.

This was a bit of an after thought, but with the drywall off, at the location they were

attached to a backing plate and installed while the drywall was off. It’s always handy

to consider installing backing plates at the corners of windows when possible.

Using a little silk rope and tassle helps add a classy detail.

The ropes are attached to a decorative hook on the wall.

With the door moved over it allowed room for custom cabinets that add space for the bathroom towels and supplies. And by repeating the style of the wall trim on the top of the cabinets it gave a nice architectural feel.