When I say this renovation has been a long time coming….it’s been a long.time.coming. At least it feels that way. I mentioned earlier in 2019 that we would be tackling this project at some point this year and even shared the concept design back in February.
But… life got in the way and that never happened. However, it’s now our main priority for 2020. We most likely won’t start this project for a few more months, which is fine, because I love the planning portion before starting large projects. You know, the drive-yourself-crazy-over-wtf-you’re-going-to-do part.
The space we’re going to tackle?
Our main bathroom.
I’ve never shared an actual photo of this bathroom – mostly because the backstory is kind of embarrassing. But I can’t hide from this forever, especially now that this project is coming in hot.
Two years ago almost to the date (and long before I knew what I know now), I casually convinced Angelo that we needed to tear the wallpaper out of our main bathroom – the bathroom that we used every day, for everything. My idea was to simply remove the wallpaper, paint the walls black/dark gray and keep everything else as-is until we had the funds to renovate the full bathroom. Just a quick paint fix. Easy, right?
Here’s what the bathroom looked like before this decision:
It was not terrible, but could use a little botox (paint).
I told Angelo about my plans and asked if he wanted to participate in this wallpaper removal party – he happily obliged. Because he is a perfectionist (bless him) and needs to know exactly what he’s doing before diving in (whereas I like to learn as I go), I want to clarify that he made sure we both knew what we were doing before going to town on this wallpaper.
Long story short…we started removing the wallpaper and with the wallpaper…came the walls. Or at least the top layer of drywall. He suggested we stop after realizing the walls were not cooperating, but my persistent-ass said “no, let’s keep going! It’s fine!”
So…I ultimately committed the murder of the bathroom. Angelo was just an accomplice who tried to stop me.
I’m not sure if whoever originally applied the wallpaper did so in a way that no one could ever remove the damn wallpaper (wallpapering in a bathroom is not common to begin with due to humidity), but it was an absolute nightmare to remove.
Regardless of whether or not we were removing the wallpaper incorrectly or the wallpaper was applied in a way that no one could ever remove it, I am pretty sure we need to replace the drywall.
Oh and, BTW….
Our bathroom has looked this way ever since.
The door was stained after I spilled coffee one morning and thought “screw it, why even bother cleaning it.” lol
I’ve been dreaming of the day where I no longer have to look at flaky paper bag walls, and I’m excited that it will finally be happening next year.
There’s going to be a formal project kickoff blog post coming before we start this project, but for now, I’m just sharing this embarrassing space that I’ve hidden from you, along with initial thoughts and ideas that I’ve been sitting on for quite some time.
The design considerations and challenges:
Because this will most likely not be our forever home, we need to consider the ROI of this room. Over the last 2 years, we have gotten multiple quotes for moving the tub against the back wall and moving the toilet next to the vanity, and based on the value of our house and other homes in the neighborhood, the high cost of doing that is absolutely not worth the ROI (or lack thereof). So, bummer, but something we have to deal with.
Another huge bummer is the visual obstruction that I refer to as the “pimple” of the room, to the right of the vanity. That raised area has to stay due to a set of stairs that’s right underneath the bathroom. So this is going to be one, big ol’ challenge from a design standpoint.
I really need to challenge myself to think outside of the box – how to design a bathroom that makes a statement without actually changing the poor layout and visual obstructions of this room.
The (OLD) inspiration & concept:
This is the concept design that I shared for this bathroom in February of this year, when we thought we would be tackling this bathroom in 2019. It has since changed (dramatically), but I wanted to share just for fun because at one point, it was my vision.
Inspiration:
Via Waterworks
This will probably require a full gut given the condition of the bathroom. That means new drywall, new floor, new vanity, new tub, new lighting, new toilet…you get the picture. And this will definitely be mostly/partial DIY. I already proven to myself that I could renovate a bathroom on my own, so Angelo will be way more involved in this reno and we’re excited to tackle this space together.
I can’t wait to finally have this bathroom done so we can invite friends and family over without being embarrassed (lol) and also share the process of this bathroom renovation with you! The next few months will be all about planning and I’ll be sharing and polling via IG stories. I cannot wait!
Have a great week, friends!
xo
Alisa.
before you do a total gut of the sheetrock, you might want to check and see if you can “skim coat” what’s left of the sheetrock. It might save you a lot of time effort and money.
Thanks Doreen! That is something I need to look into.
Can’t wait to see how this project turns out! I know you have some amazing ideas and inspo here!!
Thank you so much for the kind words Jordan!!!
The same wall-paper person that put up ur paper, has also done all of the north ATL suburbs! They don’t ‘size’ the walls before they put up the paper. Sizing is some stuff that u roll on the walls wet, it dries clear. The only way u know it’s there is when u go to take the paper down next time. It comes down the way God intended it too!!
I’m originally from Staten Island, you could have heard the cursing up there when I tried taking the paper off in the kids Jack and Jill bathroom!
I gouged out the walls so bad, I hired a guy, who did an even worse job repairing them, we got into a big fight, and he stomped out. Didn’t want to get paid!
He learned, u don’t piss off us Italian girls!
HAHAHAH!! Never piss off an Italian girl. Oh, there were curse words flying.
Isn’t it so annoying?!! I appreciate wanting to do a good job with the application, but this is just too much. UGH!
I’m about to do the very thing I know will cause me such agita. I plan to remove the last of the wallpaper in the En-suite guest room bath. It’s a small room. The paper is already falling off in some places. Maybe I’ll catch a break! But I did watch the PITA guy skimming the walls. If I screw these up, it’s a small space. I’ll skim them and call it a day.
Check out Zinsser Gardz before you ditch the sheetrock. I did the exact same that you did- pulled off wallpaper and damaged walls (and then figured out how to fix it!). After some trial and error, I found Guardz, and it’s great. I followed the instructions – apply Guardz, skim coat, and then Guardz again. If you skim coat the brown paper walls without Guardz, it may bubble (water plus paper doesn’t work). Guardz seals the layers of brown paper, soaking it in like a sponge and gluing together. And you shouldn’t need nearly as much on the second layer of Guatdz. It is thin and milky but easy to apply (paint brush and roller). And you might have to go to a specialty paint store for a gallon (I have seen quarts at the hardware store). Its fantastic! Good luck! I am looking forward to seeing the bathroom – I love the colors that you use.
That’s a great idea Gia. I am going to do that. Ur right, skim coat on paper = a disaster. I forgot, that’s why I got the guy that I ended up fighting with!!
Thank you so much for sharing Gia! I need to look into this. It would be great if we didn’t have to replace the sheetrock! Would save a whole lot of time and energy, so I appreciate you sharing that.
wow! No need to be embarrassed at all – we all have messed up something in our home at on point or another!! You’re going to do an amazing job and I am so happy that I’ll be able to follow along another makeover of yours. You’re so talented!
thank you so much Meg!!!
Oooooh, can’t wait to see what you do!
thank you so much Jen!