Here we are for part two of the big master bathroom renovation! We’ve been anxiously waiting for the hardwood floors to dry so we could see what the ultra-talented tile guy did in our master bathroom while we were on vacation. As soon as we got the official “go ahead” from the floor guy yesterday, we grabbed the camera and headed over to the house to check it out:

There’s a little preview of the finished floors, too! We love them and could not be happier with the result. We’ll talk more about that tomorrow and give you the full rundown as well as a final budget figures. Anyway, back to the room at hand!

Let’s take a little trip down memory lane.  Here is what the bathroom looked like when we purchased the house:

The vanity area was actually in the bedroom, while the shower and toilet were in their own separate room. Knowing this wouldn’t work for us, we decided to reconfigure the layout. (Read more about that process here.)

Aside from waiting for the hardwood floors to dry so we could finally take a look, the tiling process in the master bathroom seemed like it happened in no time at all. What once was a room full of drywall and 2x4s was quickly transformed– fully tiled and awaiting fixtures — in the course of just a few days. It’s amazing how some backer board and tile can totally redefine a room. It doesn’t even feel like the same place!

There are two specific decisions that we are especially proud of: First, we decided to add a bench to the shower. Second, at the last minute, we told the tile guy we wanted small square tiles on the shower floor. Now that all of the tile as been installed, we are really happy with both decisions.

One of my personal favorite features of the bathroom, though a small detail, is the hidden niche in the shower wall. Rather than having a niche in the middle of the full wall where everyone can see it when they walk in, we opted to have one installed in the half wall, next to the bench. This way, the shower won’t look cluttered with shampoo bottles and soap.

We decided to tile the ceiling not only in the shower area, but the entire bathroom. (Another reason we decided not to tackle this project ourselves.) This gives the bathroom a more spa-like atmosphere, and though you might think it would make our smaller bathroom feel more cramped, it actually makes the room feel larger and taller.

To improve the resale value (though that seems like one of those never-going-to-happen scenarios at this point!), we decided to add a second sink since we the plumbing was being moved, anyway. We’re most likely going to use small oval sinks in order to maximize counter space.

We’re really loving how the tile looks with the paint color in the bedroom and the new floors. It really brings out the dark veins in the tile and also creates a lot of contrast to the master bedroom. That’s exactly what we were aiming for, but since we hadn’t seen all of the materials side-by-side before the installation, we were a bit anxious to see what it would actually look like.

The next step in this renovation is to find a vanity and plumbing fixtures. Since the vanity for this bathroom won’t be as large as the one in the hall bathroom, rather than designing one and having it made, we are going to see what options our local stores have in stock. This should be faster; not to mention easier on the wallet.

Until next time, “Like” 7th House on the Left on Facebook to stay updated on the renovation process!