- Dec 9, 2021
- 3 min read

Bathroom Reveal - 13 B Kracke

Before

When we were making plans for this bathroom renovation, we knew the first thing that had to go was the laundry. It just couldn't be in the bathroom. It was so dysfunctional and disgusting.

We sold the existing machines (they worked fine - they just weren't very nice looking), and began brainstorming where else we could add laundry machines.

TA-DA: Laundry Room Construction

There was this completely wasted outdoor space that you couldn't access without walking down a very narrow passageway on the piazza. In the photo on the left below, you can see how the prior tenants had stored random things, like closet doors, in this strange little spot. Well, with a little creativity, we saw it as the perfect spot to build a laundry room! It would be right next to the existing bathroom, so it would be easy for plumbing. We would just need to add an interior door for access.

Bathroom Inspo

My inspiration for the bathroom was somewhere coastal in France. I wanted to use gold hardware, light blue beautiful tile, and a natural wooden vanity with a white marble top. Now, let me show you the Pottery Barn vanity that gave me all the heart-eyes.

At nearly $4,000, it just wasn't going to happen.

With a little research, I came across one with a lot of similarities. With new hardware, I knew I could make it work in this space. After all, it was about a third of the price! No brainer.

Here was my final inspiration board :

Time to Tile!

Laundry Room Tile

Bathroom Tile

Fixing the Grout

Chad and I have a saying these days that "nothing can just be easy!" Here's a live and learn situation for you to keep in mind, because we certainly will. The spacing between tiles is very important. We have no idea why the the contractor used such wide spacers, but by the time we noticed it was pretty much too late. Also, when he asked what color grout to use, we just said "white should be fine." Well, combined with the really thick grout lines and the stark contrast, white looked like thick, gooey toothpaste. My sister suggested a grout pen to change the color, which made a drastic change! It's basically just a paint pen. In the future, we will always look at all of the grout colors AND talk about spacing beforehand.

Knobs:

The knobs I originally planned to use for the vanity are from Anthropologie. They're steeply priced at $32 a pair though, so I was thrilled to find similar knobs discounted at Hobby Lobby, making them $5 a knob.

While their weight is a little different (Anthropologie is heavier), they are nearly identical in person.

I love those knobs. But, I didn't end up using them in the bathroom after all, as those knobs looked better on a shoe console in the hallway. I found a blogger who highly recommended these knobs, so this is what I went with for the bathroom vanity: