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disneyrsh

Critique My Master Bath

18 years ago

I just finished gutting and renovating the master bathroom of my house that I'm putting up for sale next month.

The only things that stayed in the room were the tub and the tiles, which I refinished. Everthing else was replaced, including the fan in the ceiling and the vent.

Do I need to do anything else to the bathroom to make it more inviting?

Thanks for the feedback!

Comments (18)

  • 18 years ago

    I'm curious as to why you went with two separate vanities instead of one vanity with two sinks. I would think that space between the two vanities would become a trap for things that may fall between.

  • 18 years ago

    I don't like the two separate vanities, either. I would hate to clean in between them. However, other than that minor item, it looks beautiful!! I love it!

  • 18 years ago

    It looks nice, though I would finish the baseboard properly and try to figure out something that would be clever to use that gap for as I would as a buyer feel like that was a corner that was cut and I would want to re-do that part of the bath due to that gap and thus subtract money. Actually having had a house where the previous owner cut a lot of corners doing stuff like that to save money I probably would wonder what else wasn't up to my standards.

    Also I would consider adding trim to the mirror on the bottom too to make it look finished. I did this in all my baths at the old house and it had the lip of the vanities too.

  • 18 years ago

    Thanks for the feedback!

    The baseboard trim is made of 40 year old tile, I still haven't figured out how to transition that to the new vanity, which is a lot narrower than the old vanity. I purposely put that in the picture because that's a "hmm, what should I do" question for me.

    I bought two vanities because I'm not strong enough to wrestle one giant sink up the stairs. Also, the space there is 64", standard double vanities are 60" which would leave me with the same issue of a gap but in this instance instead of a gap in the middle there would have been a gap on the edges, which I thought would look worse.

    My budget for this entire reno? $2,000. What I did:

    1. Remove old double vanity (40 yrs old and truly gross)
    2. Remove cabinet under vanity
    3. Remove old toilet
    4. Remove hideous 40 yo wallpaper
    5. Remove old fan
    6. Remove old vent
    7. Remove old shower/tub faucets
    8. Remove all old caulking
    9. Prime, paint and repair old window

    1. Prime, repair and paint all walls and ceiling
    2. Install new low flow toilet
    3. Install new faucet in shower (hired a plumber to do this)
    4. Install two new vanities
    5. Install two new faucets
    6. Install new shower head
    7. 4 step "sand" paint finish (argh, it made the walls look great but now I have carpal tunnel)
    8. Re-caulk EVERYTHING
    9. Strip and re-seal all tile and grout
    10. Update GFI switches and light switches
    11. Update light fixtures
    12. Blow entire paycheck at Bed Bath & Beyond for "spa-like" accessories. This was the hardest part-I never voluntarily match anything.

    Time: 1 week, 3 days. And that's with my part time job and both kids home with me for the summer. They were like, this has been the most boring week ever, all we did was watch tv while you tore up the bathroom!!!

    I'm SO tired, and my fingernails look like CRAP.

    My husband came home from work a few minutes ago and said the bathroom looks so good he's afraid to use it! Yay!!!1

    I will trim out the bottom of the mirror, although there's only about 1/3" space there, I'm going to have to hunt for trim that tiny...

  • 18 years ago

    I am actually thinking of putting a little towel rack in between the sinks in the gap, there...

  • 18 years ago

    - The two vanities look very strange. I know what you were trying to do, you see two separate vanities in new upscale bathrooms all the time. However, those are the wrong kind of vanities and the gap is too narrow. Two pedestal sinks would have worked.

    - You've already addressed the baseboard.

    - The caulk above the tile in the shower is really messy and too wide.

    Other than that it's really bright and clean.

  • 18 years ago

    I would use the same trim on the bottom of the mirror as you did on the sides, it can cover part of the mirror.

    I think the bathroom looks very nice, especially since you only spent 2K. The two vanities might not be my choice but would not be a deal breaker at all.

  • 18 years ago

    Ditto on the above suggestions and hide the rugs during showings.

  • 18 years ago

    disneyrsh - here are some how to's to minimize things.

    1. To add trim to the mirror. Use the same as you have. You can put it on top of the mirror. I would use my table saw to notch it some for the part on the mirror to be at the same height as what you have. You could use one of those hand held that has a blade that trims the wood down too. I can't remember the english term for it.

    2. As for the baseboard, You could end the tile at the short wall and take out what is there and replace with wood base board, that is the same height as the tile and then notch it to go under the vanity base, or you could do the same if you found some tile that matches to put there.

    3. A 60" vanity placed in the middle could have been trimmed out on the edges with wood trim to cover the gap. Can you build something to put in the middle there so it looks intentional? You can put wood trim to fill the gap between the vanities, but not sure what to do to cover the gap in the two countertops. Coould you maybe build some sort of raised box maybe that has compartments to put things used in the bath, trimmed out and painted white. Try to think of something like that you could do so the gap would seem like an intentional and cool choice instead of looking unfinished.

  • 18 years ago

    This is a minor detail, but very noticable from your photos...

    Try ironing your shower curtain. I can't tell from the picture if you've got a liner and a curtain but seeing that the curtain falls outside of the tub I'm guessing that you do. If so, ironing the curtain so that it falls naturally will make a small, but noticable difference. Cheap too!

  • 18 years ago

    PS -

    I think you did a nice job. Do you have "before" pictures? I'd be curious to see them.

    As a builder/renovator, landlord and real estate agent, I've seen a lot of DIY bathrooms. I've seen a lot worse.

    Your bath is a good example of the classic conundrum for sellers - to update the bath, or not to update - before selling. You have clearly made the bath usable and clean. On the other hand, you've left enough small issues where a buyer might see the bath as a liability because he/she will feel the need to renovate before moving in.

    My rule of thumb for flips is to make sure everything works (faucets, drains, outlets, etc.) update paint (including stripping wallpaper, and priming in most cases) clean it up, and leave it.

    In most cases, buyers would rather renovate to their tastes and if they have it in their budget, are going to do it no matter what. If they do not have plans to renovate, then "working, painted and clean" is usually all they're looking for.

    Sorry for the long winded Post Script, but you got me thinking. Dangerous.

    Best of luck with the sale and NICE JOB!!

  • 18 years ago

    My intention with this bath is exactly what wigglyworm noted, that it needed to be "working, painted and clean". The bathroom was SO bad before that it was none of those.

    In fact, it was so bad, I didn't take "before" pictures because I never want to see it again. Ever. I've lived with it for two years and hated it every minute.

    What I tried to do with the bath is to make it clean and nice, but not "high end" or "remodeled". We're pricing the house to reflect that it's been maintained and repaired but not really upgraded.

    I'll definitely iron the curtain.

    The rest of the trim around the mirror isn't on top of the mirror, it's beside it. If I added trim on the bottom it sticks way out and looks weird. I know this because I tried it, said "that looks weird" and had to pull it off.

    As for trimming out the rest of the vanity to try and make it look better, my skills are not at that level. I'd just wreck it, ya know?

    Really, what I'm hoping for from buyers is a lot of what I've heard here so far, not loving the vanities, but not a deal breaker. They were made so the buyer can live with them for a year without HATING the bathroom, and then not feel bad at all about tearing them out when they're ready to remodel.

    I've done almost all the "yucky" stuff in the house- two new HVAC systems, new water heater, new central vac, all new lights and light switches, all new vents and returns, new paint on all the ceilings,and the exterior primed and painted, and some old buildings that were stuck onto the house demolished-the stuff that's a drag to do but the house needed it.

    The kitchen has original counters in good shape (almond formica) and original white cabinets in good shape, and new appliances and new floors. I'm trying to position the house as something that's been repaired and is in good working condition, that buyers could live in for a few years before making it fabulous. I dunno, it may work, it may not.

    I'll post more pictures of each room as I get them done. Thanks for the critiques so far!

  • 18 years ago

    If the trim looks funny added to the bottom of the mirror, then just skip it.

    If I bought your house I don't think I would do anything to the bathroom, it looks done to me. It has a nice warm feel to it. Some of the remodeled bathrooms look nice but cold somehow. They don't appeal to me. I like yours.

  • 18 years ago

    I like everything but the gap between the vanities. To me, the first thing that would cross my mind is that corners were cut and where else did they do it?

  • 18 years ago

    I agree that the caulk at the top of the tub tile needs cleanup.
    This may seem incredibly picky, but you asked.
    The little basket in the shower. I think it crows the shower hose and I keep imagining scraping my arm as I reach for the shower head. Can you move to the corner or better the other wall?

  • 18 years ago

    Yep, gardenspice, I actually took it out and put it in the kid's bathroom because once I saw a picture of it, it looked too busy.

    I'm going out today to find a slim towel rack to put between the two vanities to hang hand towels there. Originally we decided to go with two vanities because my husband kept complaining (rightly) that my crap would multiply and creep over onto his (immaculately clean) side of the sink. Now there's an abyss to trap my multitudes of products and protect him, ha ha.

    I'm going to mask off the shower and paint over the bad caulking. I HATE caulking, and as you can see, I stink at it...

    I'm starting on the kitchen today, too-I ordered a new dishwasher that will get here on monday and I'm pulling down wallpaper, replacing knobs, storing tons of kitchen krap and scrubbing, scrubbing scrubbing. Wahoo.

  • 18 years ago

    Disney, based upon your goal for the bathroom, I'd say it's spot on. Sometimes you can overimprove to sell. You obviously wanted to avoid that, but I think you did a perfect job in creating a bathroom that will be pleasing to buyers and enable them to live with it, but like you said, if they want to change it out later, they won't have a problem.

    A side note, wigglyworm you said, "As a builder/renovator, landlord and real estate agent, I've seen a lot of DIY bathrooms. "

    In another post you said, "ONe final note - if you're a buyer reading this, DO NOT HIRE A REAL ESTATE AGENT!! Their time has come. They are the most overpaid professionals in the world and most barely qualify as professionals. If you are smart enough to be reviewing forums before buying, than use the available free information that exists on the web find your new property yourself and put these crooks out of business!! You'll save yourself alot of money in the process!!
    "

    So you are a real estate agent, but you think they're barely professionals and their time has come???

  • 18 years ago

    I'm not lovin' the gap between the two vanities either. I also don't think that it's a good spot to put a towel rack either. I also noticed the caulk job on the tiles at the top of your tub. Good that you are going to fix that, my hubby is always pointing out sloppy caulk. There's no reason for that!