Bathroom restyle

Our bathroom remodel is complete! It only took a little over a week, and no blood, sweat or tears. Maybe a little over- obsessing...we have been thinking about this project *for a while*. {I'll share the details and the budget in my next post} I'm all about a well thought out design- but creating something that is easy to clean is what I'm really after.
{Check out the before: here & scroll down.}

Choices that helped with our remodel:

Choosing tile/ stone:
We skipped natural stone and ceramic with a crackle finish in the shower to avoid any extra maintenance/ sealing. {Our small counter tops are marble, but I think I can handle sealing those!}

Go with medium/ dark toned tile:
Dark tile= dark grout= less scrubbing the grout with a toothbrush. Keep this in mind for the shower floor tile too.

Skip the trends:
Keep tile choices simple and clean.We all love those arabesque and chevron patterns but saving it for accents will extend the life of your design. {think rugs, wallpaper, and art}

Be picky about grout: 
Read up on types of grout to find what suits your space best. We chose TEC Power grout. It is mold, mildew and stain resistant and it never needs to be sealed.

Storage:
Don't skimp and buy only one corner shelf. If you have a standing shower I recommend three {two for storage and one installed lower for a shaving shelf.}

Be you:
We chose a shower curtain over a glass enclosure. Sure, part of it was the cost but I really prefer the look of a fun patterned shower curtain over a {watermarked} glass shower enclosure. I don't want to squeegee. Ever.

Pick colors you like, not *beige because of resale*. Plenty of customer confess to me that they hate beige, but it's easy and safe. You can still have fun with colors, even if you keep it neutral.

Small Bathrooms:
If you have a small space like us, keep things light and monochromatic to open up the space. I *adore* subway tile- the more the better. Tiling all the way to the ceiling really made the shower feel larger. We selected a threshold {4-1/2" wide} instead of a shower curb {6" wide}. This made the shower floor slightly larger. It all adds up.

Re-use what you have:
I kept the cabinets, 2 pairs of sconces, towel bar, and the wainscoting and worked it into the design. That's huge savings. I gave the wainscoting a new coat of paint and used the left over paint from our basement ceiling for the upper part of the bathroom walls.

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