(photo by Michael J. Lee)
The alternate title for this post would be “painfully expensive lessons I learned by making mistakes the first time I renovated”. :)
When we first bought our house, we did the one full bathroom we had over as well as the kitchen. Because the cost do do those things was so expensive, I was looking for places to save money. So when our contractor suggested re-enameling the cast iron tub and tile in the bathroom to save a few thousand dollars (our tile is what’s called a “mud job”- the tile is attached to the wall in cement, making the demo much more expensive than usual), I thought it was a good idea. And am now paying for it.
(photo by Michael J. Lee)
The re-enamel job was terribly done and after about two years it started chipping and cracking. Now sheets of it are coming off the tub in 2″ sections and it looks horrible (and is not super safe with a little one around). And once it’s been re-enameled, it can’t be done again. So now I have to rip out the tub and tile to replace it, which means also demoing the the old archway framing the tub, which means replacing the floor. It’s a domino effect! Luckily, my custom vanity and top can stay, as well as the new toilet. So while we’re doing all this, I figured let’s give this bath a facelift too. I still love how it looks, but now that it’s mostly Henry’s bath, I want to make it a little more masculine.
I love this art (print from Artfully Walls, frame is antique) and am kind of using it as a jumping off point for the design.
So here’s the plan. I have long been obsessed with checkerboard honed marble floors, so since this bathroom is small, I’m doing them in here! I’m going to repaint the black to a deep smokey green and if my budget allows, update the plumbing fixtures to brass because I think it would look SO stunning with the marble and green color. If not, I’ll leave the polished nickel as is, and it’ll be JUST fine. :) The tub will be replaced by a more modern, streamlined alcove tub (maybe now I can actually take a bath, as our current one is so low it’s almost impossible to relax in it). Also, the elongated 3′ x 9″ raw edge subway will run from tub to ceiling (maybe even across the ceiling) and I’d use grey grout to emphasize the texture.
sconces // shades // mirror (or this one) // trim // hardware // shower set // faucet // towels // shower curtain // tile // tub // floor- honed Bardiglio and Oriental White.
As much as I am kicking myself for not doing this right the first time around I AM excited to see the finished product. We plan to do this over the summer while we’re away for a week- so stay tuned for progress shots!
Really enjoyed reading this blog post – I’d be slightly worried using such a dark colour on the walls but you’ve managed to balance it perfectly with the lighter elements of the bathroom.
Adore the gold frame and the soft greens that run throughout the design as well.
Looking forward to reading more of your content.
Best wishes,
Emma for Ironmongery Experts
Couple of thoughts – We put an acrylic tub in the old house and it’s held up well. Only problem was it gets installed first and then the tile goes in. The tile and plumbing guys would stand on the edges to work and caused a hairline crack on the edge. Structurally it hasn’t been a problem, but each year it becomes more noticeable. I wish I’d paid a couple hundred more for new cast iron. Second – We tiled to the ceiling in the tub alcove and I love it. Lastly, as the mother of a boy, I would urge you to think about the marble around the toilet. I don’t know if that means marble look tile (so it can be thoroughly cleaned – if anyone has a recommendation for something that is kind to marble, but really cleans up the pee that would be appreciated!) or making sure the piece around the front of the toilet is a black piece so you don’t notice the discoloration, or what. But make sure that they think about positioning the tile pieces so you don’t have a bunch of grout lines right around that toilet front. Little boys (or 12 year olds, regular or with disabilities like mine) are gross. You probably have a house cleaner (I don’t) but think about that bit and adjust.
I think it will look beautiful!
Our houses must have been built in the same era (1940’s?) as I have an almost identical full bath in our house in Milton, MA. We just recently removed all the old wall and floor tile and installed new white subway tile on the walls and basket weave tiles on the floor but decided to re-glaze the tub. It turned out beautifully but now I’m concerned it will start peeling!!. Its on our list to completely remodel if we wind up staying long term as we’ll need an addition anyway. I love everything about your new design, can’t wait to see the finished pics!
Timely post! We are planning on doing checkerboard marble in our entryway. My only question is: what kind of rug do you put on it? All the inspo photos I’ve found have it without a rug at the front door. Seems impractical.
I’d do a jute or a worn vintage Persian style!
Ugh! Last week our demo guys sledgehammered our beautiful cast iron tub; I also decided to “reglaze”. Not happy about it at all. Does this acrylic tub go over the cast iron tub? No removal? Thanks for sharing :)
Oh no, we need to gut the whole tub area :(
Love the new design! We had our tub reglazed and it worked out beautifully. Sorry you had a bad experience.
Live and learn…*sigh* My re-glaze is “worn through”…what to do, what to do…franki
So sorry to hear your reglazing didn’t hold up. I have a friend who had it done 10 years ago and it still looks great and another who has had the same experience you have now. I guess a lot has to do with the company that does the work. I LOVE your current wall color, especially with Henry’s whale print. Any chance you may change your mind and keep the color?
Love everything about this. And I’m going to keep some of this in mind for our future bathroom redo. The raw edge tile detail is new to me. Can you share how exactly it’s different than regular subway tile? Im going to Google it (of course) but would love your take on it. Thank you!
I noticed that the tub presented in the product list is an acrylic tub. How well do tubs made of this material hold up?
I had the same concern when we redid our bathroom. To me a lot of older acrylic tubs just felt cheap underfoot. The Fergusen people worked with us to find a cast acrylic alcove tub that actually feels like cast iron with enamel. It’s so much nicer and not that much more expensive. I think it was a Kohler tub. We also have a Victora + Albert soaking tub in the master that is acrylic and it’s fantastic. Still looks brand new six years later. There are lots of great material options out there now.
We have one in our kids bathroom and it is going strong after 10+ years. It is still white and is not dingy looking – we are careful to use non-abrasive cleaners. It gets the most use as a bath-taking tub, with a handful of showers taken in there a week too.
I did a similar thing too and now the whole bathroom needs to be gutted and it’s our only bathroom. I’m nervous to redo it because that 2 week time frame I was given will probably turn into 4. I love the design you came up with and I have that same tub picked out. I haven’t taken a bath in years because ours is so gross and peeling.
We purchased a house where a flipper also epoxy painted the bathroom tile and tub. Within a year, paint was lifting on the walk tiles and continues to deteriorate. Highly recommend against painting tile, and so sorry you were stuck with the same problem Erin!
We did raw edge subway tile to the ceiling when we redid our guest bath and it makes the small bathroom look so much larger. Our tile people thought we were nuts paying for the extra tile and installation, but it was so worth it.
It’s reassuring to the rest of us that even a professional can have these issues given you have access to the best trades people! I would urge you to tile the tub ceiling as well so there won’t ever be mold/paint failure way down the line.