Like many people, we’ve been spending a majority of our time right at home this past year. And, like many, we’ve been dreaming up changes to different parts of the house. In 2020, the house was quite a money pit, but not in a fun way. We had to replace our roof and rebuild our chimney in the spring following months of water issues; we had new drainage systems installed and our downspouts fixed to keep water from flowing into our basement during a heavy rain.
But in August 2020, we also got the ball rolling on a project we have wanted to do for several years: our main upstairs bathroom. While it wasn’t completely outdated looking, it had several elements we just didn’t like: a jacuzzi style tub where the jets got yucky from the standing water; white tile everything, from floors to shower to the countertops; a half-carpeted/half-tiled entryway; and not much in the way of soothing character or charm.
Our next door neighbors were remodeling their bathroom when the lockdown hit. After a delay, their project was completed in the summertime. I asked if they were happy with the company they chose, and they invited us to mask up and take a peek one evening. It looked wonderful!
In pre-COVID times, it would certainly make sense to call around and get quotes from other companies before moving forward with a project of this size. However, we are not in normal circumstances right now. Seeing the excellent work of a company and having a strong recommendation from a trusted neighbor gave us enough to move forward with the early parts of the process.
Getting started
I decided to give designer Cara Spleet of All in One Kitchen and Bath in Howell a call and inquire about their services. We had a great chat on the phone and she followed up with me via email that day to get started. A few days later, we had an appointment set with Cara at their showroom in Howell; prior to our meeting, I sent her photos of our bathroom space and some inspiration photos so she would have an idea of our style.
Beyond how kind and informative Cara was, what really sold us on using the company was seeing the renderings of our neighbor’s bathroom project. It was incredible to see just how close the design was to the finished product. As a visual person, being able to imagine how our bathroom would look with all of the changes was a big perk. Another plus about All in One Kitchen and Bath is that their construction crew, electricians, and everyone else involved in the projects are all housed within the same company. Communication and scheduling would be seamless, and we could track everything on the Buildertrend website. Having a project manager oversee everything gave us great peace of mind.
Within that same week or so, Cara and her team came by the house to see everything in person and do some measuring throughout the space. By going forward with the company, we had a tentative start date of late November 2020, giving us a few months to finalize the design elements with Cara. Having a very communicative designer devoted to our project made it easy to email her with questions about vanity mirror sizes, color samples, and whatever else we weren’t sure about.
Choosing materials
We went to the showroom in Howell two more times after our initial visit with Cara. The second meeting, which took the longest, was for picking out all of our materials. Cara was extremely helpful in steering us toward options that would work well together, while also embracing and encouraging our ideas. For example, I loved the idea of a painted wood cabinet in a color, and we fell in love with a dusty light blue shade. We really liked the idea of tile flooring that looked like wood planks, white subway tile for the shower, and a large freestanding white tub that didn’t look like an egg. Each decision helped lead us to the next, and soon our vision was coming together. We also knew we wanted certain upgraded elements in the project, such as a TOTO toilet and heated flooring.
The only other major renovation we’ve ever done before was on the kitchen at our old house about eight years ago. It was wild to remember just how many decisions need to be made, from the grout color to the door handles, the faucet style to the cabinet door designs.
Our final meeting at the studio came a couple of weeks later, where we had the opportunity to view our full rendering presentation and get the final cost breakdown. Any changes we wanted to make were noted and updated in the design, and aside from a couple of minor updates, the bathroom design was everything we had hoped for and more.
Due to some delays in materials and the projects ahead of ours, our start date moved from the end of November to the first week of January. While we were a little disappointed to wait longer than we anticipated, there were some benefits to this delay. We didn’t have to worry about having a torn-up bathroom during Christmastime, and the delay also meant that the crew’s workweek wouldn’t be shortened by the holidays. Our project would be completed quicker than we anticipated, even with the delay.
The work begins
The first Monday of January, the crew arrived first thing in the morning. It was a cacophony of sounds, from walking in and out of the front door to the plastic being placed along the steps and carpeting to the demolition in the bathroom to the barking dogs clearly not enjoying any of it. Our daughter Stella was also back to virtual school after the holiday break, which proved to be a different sort of challenge.
It only took us about a day to realize we’d need to move all of our online learning to the basement, giving us as much distance from the noise as possible.
The demolition period continued for several days, with a dumpster in our driveway for a few weeks. We kept our cars in the street so that the crew could store all of the new materials for our bathroom and do all of their sawing in the garage. Thankfully or perhaps not, we really weren’t going anywhere most days, but the guys in the crew were always very friendly and kind, especially with the girls. We got pretty used to having the crew at our house each day, and savored the quiet of the weekends when the dogs could roam free and not bark every ten minutes.
Each day, it really felt like we could see a lot of progress being made. I took photos throughout the process and we all enjoyed taking a peek at what was completed during the day’s work.
As you can see in these photos, the flooring was a lot of work, particularly with the heating coils and panels.
About a month into the renovations, the crew got our project to the point where they wouldn’t be coming back to the house until the countertops were ready to be installed, tub placed, and plumbing reconnected.
It was during this time that we scheduled to have the entire bathroom painted. We went with Royal Paint out of Holt, who painted the main level of our house several years ago and did a nice job. They were very flexible with our shifting timeline for painting, which ended up being delayed a couple of weeks. To get a sense of which paint color we’d like, I did a lot of searching for sample photos online of light grays and ordered a couple of 12×12″ peel-and-stick sample squares from Samplize. We settled on Gray Owl from Benjamin Moore, a lighter shade of greige than the Revere Pewter we have throughout the house. Compared to the original sage green color of the bathroom, we knew the light gray would help lighten everything up completely.
The painting team did everything from the walls to our trim and closet doors in a matter of three days, including driving to our house the day of the huge snow that arrived overnight. We were so thankful they helped keep things moving along, because the All in One crew was ready to return to complete plumbing and the countertops the next day.
Once the countertops were installed, bathtub and toilet placed, light fixtures swapped, and mirrors hung (we ordered these ones from Wayfair), the bathroom was really coming together. Having everything in place and the walls painted helped us to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
After a few fixes and final checklist items, such as new outlet covers and some paint touchups, we’ve entered the final days of our renovation project. The shower door glass and the window pane added to the shower wall were installed, finally making the shower area complete.
The window cutout for the shower is one of my favorite new features of the entire bathroom project. When we first met with Cara, we were open to considering all sorts of options for moving things around in the bathroom. The original shower always felt very dark and closed-in. By adding a cutout, we could maintain the load-bearing wall while giving a lot of light to the shower area. Cara also recommended raising the drop ceiling above the shower, which made the shower feel even more open and airy.
Finishing touches
With the final walkthrough scheduled for this week, we have started placing some of the accessories in the bathroom. We purchased these chenille bath mats from Target for the vanities and bathtub area, as well as a runner from Ruggable for the entry space. Cara included a runner in her rendering presentation, and we loved the look of it. The entryway to the bathroom is also where some of our closets are located, so breaking up the long stretch of tile with the runner makes the space lighter and more comfortable.
Here’s the rendering vs. the reality:
We realized that we will want an extra long bathmat for the shower area, so we are still in the market for the right style. I love the idea of a textured, cushy white bathmat, but also know it could get dirty fairly quickly. World Market, Pottery Barn, and Anthropologie all have some great bathmat options, but so far I haven’t found the right one.
We are also looking for a long, narrow console table that could fit between the bathtub and wall of windows. I’m thrilled that we’ve gained floor space by not having the large, tiled-in jacuzzi tub, but taking it out also meant losing a lot of surface space. I love the idea of something that won’t take up space by the vanities but could hold candles, bath salts, a book, a glass of wine, whatever! Wayfair had a ton of options, but it’ll just be a matter of measuring and making sure it’ll be the correct height and depth.
Final thoughts
In some ways, it feels like the actual bathroom renovation flew by. But to look back at when and how the process started, this has been in the works for almost half a year. I can’t say enough wonderful things about All in One Kitchen and Bath, from our work with Cara and the rest of the design team to the kind and hardworking crew who spent so many days at our house. Everyone involved was reliable, timely, and very kind to our family.
It’s never ideal or easy to be home when there’s a lot of working being done, especially over a sustained period of time. The circumstances of the pandemic meant everyone was home, trying to do virtual learning and work calls while hammers clanged and dogs barked.
I’m thankful the process is almost complete and that we now have the bathroom of our dreams.
I hope you enjoyed seeing photos and reading about the process. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments or reach out.
