The downstairs bathroom at the beach cottage has come a long way in recent weeks. Even though progress has bounced around to other areas in the cottage, the bathroom is finally taking shape and today I’m sharing with you the progress in the bathroom so far.
The downstairs bathroom will be the primary bathroom until we tackle phase 2 of the renovations which will include one bedroom and bathroom upstairs. So, until we finish the first floor, this first floor bathroom will be the only one.
The bathroom is small so we’ve had to be smart about the design. The small bathroom layout will include a shower stall, toilet and sink cabinet. Overall, I think we’ve done a great job of making it feel comfortable and beautiful without feeling tight.
Of all the spaces we’ve been working on, the bathroom has been one room that B has really gotten involved in. Yes, he’s done a lot of the work with the tile and drywall, but he’s also had a lot of input in the overall bathroom design. I’m holding off on the bathroom decor and accessories until the space is done but this room, above most other areas in the cottage feels a bit more youthful and fun.
For now, we’ll focus on what we’ve done so far. I mentioned a few weeks ago that we were starting the tile floors and it was a major milestone when the toilet was installed. Now the drywall is just about done and the shower is complete except for hooking up the fixture and installing the glass surround.
Here’s the space after it was framed in and drywall was started. The footprint of the small bathroom is about 6.5 feet square.
Due to rising construction costs, we’ve made some changes to our original plan just to save some money. Maybe down the road, we’ll add in some of the extra details but for now, we are trying to balance beauty and keeping our basic vision intact while not breaking the bank.
We aren’t made of money and we’ve seen prices on simple things like 2 x 4s go from $3 – $4 each to $8 – $10 each. Plywood has risen from about $30 – $50 a sheet to $55 – $75 depending on the type. This is real life and if there is one thing I always want to do here, it’s be real.
Instead of adding beadboard on the ceilings in the bathroom and back hallway, we’ve decided to do drywall. It’s ¼ the cost and quite honestly, no one else would ever know that we skimped and didn’t do beadboard. In time we can maybe add a wood detail or even install beadboard over the drywall, but for now, we are keeping costs in check. Just another reality of the pandemic and how it’s changed things for all of us.
The floor tile is a light gray with white waves through it. It’s not marble and it doesn’t’ look like stone or marble but it’s fun and B picked it out.
The shower tile is a more modern take on white subway tile. The shower tile has a subtle wave texture that plays really nicely with the floor tile. It wasn’t the original plan but I have to say, it actually turned out better than our original plan.
The wall where the door is will also be where the vanity goes. This is the last piece but probably wont get installed for a couple of weeks yet. We plan to do a feature wall with wallpaper on this same wall and we’ve been waiting for that to arrive before we can go much further.
This room will likely be the first space to be finished and looking around, it should be finished soon!
Have questions about anything in this post or any post here on the blog? Leave a comment below and let me know.
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- Coastal Cottage Bathroom Design and Progress
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- Modern Farmhouse Bathroom Renovation
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