Updated Bathroom; Single Sink Vanity to Double Sink

If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen a few previews of this project, but I am here to finally show you the results of all the exciting work that has been going on in our bathroom… TA DA!!!

Exciting right… and there is a giveaway you wanna hear about to go with this project!! (giveaway has ended, thanks everyone!)

Let me lay the foundation a bit to explain why we chose to update this space.  We have one bathroom, yes apparently we live in a cave, but its cozy in here!  (at least it isn’t an outhouse!…. things could always be worse!)  The bonus of only one bathroom, was that is was updated right before we moved in.  So, it hasn’t been on the list to update, besides changing out the faucet when we first moved in.

Before (but after the new faucet!)

While doing an update wasn’t absolutely necessary to my survival, it has been a HUGE blessing.   You see, the worst thing about sharing one bathroom is 4 people brushing their teeth at one sink at the same time… well, I guess there are worse things about 1 bathroom for 4 people… good family memories, what can I say?  

When the opportunity came to work with VirtuUSA to update the bathroom.   I decided that the only thing that would make it worth updating would be adding a second sink!  So, I checked out their awesome selection and found EXACTLY what I wanted!  And then I was ready to jump in and try it out, and I can say, it wasn’t for the faint of heart!  PHEW!  I am happy to be done!

We’ve updated bathrooms before, it isn’t a huge deal for remodelaholic’s like us, but this is the first time we have done it to the one and only bathroom with kiddos…  Just sayin’ life is TOTALLY different when you throw those darling little ones into the remodeling mix  AND the project also took us about 5 weeks longer than we thought it would take because life happened, over and over again! I was doing the  12 days of Christmas tutorials and projects, then there was the actual Christmas festivities… and pretty soon, it hit me, if I have to wash my hands in the tub one more time, I might  go totally insane!  Weird how those things happen!

Anywho, we started by removing the old vanity, which was actually in great shape and so we saved it for my sister’s house.

(Sidebar: Can I tell you that I CRINGE every time I see those design shows take a sledge hammer to perfectly good cabinets… donate them people!!!  Put them in your garage or storage room, give them to your neighbors… why be so wasteful? Okay, stepping off my soap box now.)

After we removed the vanity, we had to cut into the wall to change the plumbing.  I didn’t want to have to do any strange to my new vanity by cutting throughit to make the plumbing work, so we made all the plumbing changes in the wall.  We could have skipped this step, and done the plumbing in vanity, but I wanted it to look nice and clean in the cabinet itself.  If you are not sure how to do this, consult a plumber (and btw, next bathroom remodel, to save time and money, I am TOTALLY hiring this step out!!)

Oh and fun surprise there are TWO layers of drywall in the bathroom!!!  (only remodelers can understand those funny things we find when dismantling a house that make life so much … uh, easier… not)

Once the plumbing was done, we had to move the lighting to work with 2 sinks instead of one.  We decided to have ceiling mount lights as a change… (warning: it is not quite as bright as your normal lighting, so keep that in mind if you are considering it).

I love the way it looks!  We did run into a couple more problems.  Just our luck!  When we cut into the ceiling to add the new boxes, there was a plumbing pipe that ran right there, so we had to put the light on a medallion of sorts to bring down the electrical box, so that it would fit with the pipes in the way!   Anyway, once all was said and done, after painting it 85 times (MDF drinks paint for  I swear!), I think it turned out just great.

We drywalled, sanded and painted.  The color of the walls is now Sherwin Williams Emerald line paint in High definition white, satin.  I felt like white was the best way to bring everything together in the space.  And I sort f love white walls right now… who am I anyway?  

**TIP when dry walling shine a light across the surface of the wall in one direction (like shown in the picture above, if there are a ton of shadows keep smoothing those babies out with a little more plaster)  You can move the light around a bit to make sure it is nice and smooth!  Helps every time!

Once all the hard, never seen stuff like plumbing and electrical was done, dry walled, plastered  and painted, getting the vanity installed the sink and faucets in place was a snap!

The vanity itself  is SUCH a nice upgrade!!!  I LOVE IT!   The vanity I chose is called the Caroline Avenue 60″ size.  I chose to go with the MOST storage space I could fit in my space.   Instead of faux drawers up top, we have usable draers below the cabinet and they are wonderful!   It has been a huge step in getting the bathroom organized, to have all the organizable storage space!

We decided to make one change to the vanity, because I didn’t want to have to tile under the old vanity’s foot print #iamlazy!  We cut a kick plate and attached it under the vanity.   I know that it is not the cool table style vanity with pretty feet now, but I am happy not to have to clean under the vanity and that I didn’t have to tile!!

First we cut, sanded, primed and painted the kickplate.  Then, we attached the front piece by screwing it into the back of the front feet and through the upper face frame directly into the kick plate.  No visible screws or holes to patch!  Best way!!

On the side, we attached a block to the back leg, level with the front kickplate and screwed the side piece through the cleats into the back of the wood.

And the faucets and sinks came soon after!  My faucet is also from Virtu USA, Talie PS 12-01.

Because the vanity top is a white and grey marble and our existing tiles were tan and grey, I needed to find something to unite these two colors.   Serendipitously, I found the perfectly colored SET of mirrors!   I bought them at Home Goods I think they were about $129.00 a piece.  They are less traditional for a bathroom, but I like the personality it gives the space.  

Also because of the awkward placement of the window(half in the shower half out) it is wrapped with tile from the shower and the room also has a tile baseboard, and it made me think farmhouse instead than sleek modern bath.  So, to tone down the sleekness of the vanity the mirrors work perfectly, I had to buy them!  I love the look!

Instead of a towel bar we bought a pre-made hook bar from Target!  It made our lives SO MUCH easier (It would have been easy to make but time consuming to paint and dry and put together, it was worth the $15.00ish buck investment!)  While we were there we grabbed a couple rugs, towels, step stool and a little ceramic tray for the counter.

Lastly, we have a new little magnifying swing mirror from Ikea, a whopping $3.99!  Maybe for once I will start caring what the back of my hair looks like… cuz ya know, maybe I should have been worried about that all along?

You ready for the mother load of GORGEOUS AFTER pictures????  Me too!

UPDATED BATHROOM:

 Sources: Vanity: Caroline Avenue (60″) * Faucet: Talia PS-1201

Lights: Home Depot,   Mirrors: Home Goods,   Towels, Rugs, Step Stool, Hook Bar: Target  Swing Arm Mirror: Ikea

Okay so I mentioned an AWESOME giveaway before,

DO YOU WANNA UPDATE YOUR BATHROOM WITH VIRTU USA???  

ENTER HERE!!!!

GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED

** Comments left on this post do not count as entry!!

Please follow the link to Virtu USA’s contest and follow the instructions there to enter!

There are several other great bathroom reveals also using these fabulous vanities, check them out for sure!

My Blessed Life | Sawdust Girl | The Shabby Creek Cottage

Just A Girl | Funky Junk Interiors |The DIY Show Off | Decorchick!

*Special Thanks To Virtu USA for making this remodel possible!  All opinions are my own.