Bathroom Makeover – from Guts to Glamor
If there is one remodeling to turn a household topsy-turvy, it’s a total bathroom makeover.
One can rely on takeaways, a braai or dining out during a kitchen renovation because you can really eat anywhere. A bathroom however is a different story. When that door closes and the jackhammer hits the first tile, your life as you knew it is about to change.
But it’s that first titillating shower or glorious chin-deep soak in the new bathtub that dissolves all memories of a hollowed-out space with rubble and rough walls.
From guts to glamor tells the story of such an extreme bathroom makeover.
Before…
Our clients have been dreaming of changing their main on-suite bathroom and the dry Cape summer offered the perfect weather for it.
Changes they envisioned, comprised the following:
1. Modernized Layoutand New Tiles
The conventional layout of toilet, shower, double vanity, and built-in corner bath of their bathroom was due for a modernized touch, but it was the old-school brown and beige tilework that begged for a facelift.
2. Large Window
The medium sized sandblasted windows in this 19 years old bathroom whispered, “modest and private” but with the wall of this bathroom being 5m high and a beautiful tree entertaining most of the view, privacy wasn’t that crucial.
And since all the tiles were to be plucked from the walls anyway, knocking out these windows as well as a few extra bricks, presented the perfect opportunity for a new window to become an attractive focal point with endless light streaming into the room.
3. Floating Toilet
If there is one way to visually increase a bathroom’s size and aesthetic, it is to free up floor space.
Not only was an elegant floating toilet on the cards but also a “change of direction”, as you’ll see in the pictures to follow.
4. Free-standing bath
The built-in corner bath occupied and visually dominated a considerable space in the room.
A new free-standing model would comfortably fit into the same corner but allow natural light literally flowing into every nook and cranny around it.
Time To Visit Tiletopia
Our clients had great ideas and our knowledgeable staff at Tiletopia thoroughly enjoyed assisting them to choose their perfect tiles from the marvellous range in our showroom.
Sharing pictures of their bathroom, also enabled us to present them with several options and they were encouraged to put together a mood board of tile samples to take home. In their bathroom, they could visualise what the colours and shapes would look like in broad daylight and in the downlights shining at night.
These were the colours our clients chose:
- Heritage Snow 175 x 200mm Hexagon as the floor tile
- Manacor Subway White 65 x 400mm as the main wall colour and
- Manacor Subway Glacier 65 x 400mm as the accent wall colour.
Another great aspect when dealing with Tiletopia is that we have a number of trustworthy and ethical contractors to recommend and for this project, Johann from Tiny Solutions was appointed.
The Gutting…
And then it was time to start.
Since our clients wanted a bigger window installed, it enabled our team to clear all the rubble through the window instead of running rubble-filled wheelbarrows through the house.
To prevent dust seeping into the bedroom and rest of the house, our contractors covered the bathroom door with plastic sheeting taped to the complete doorframe. The doorframe from inside the bathroom was also sealed off.
Facing The Challenges
The first challenge was to remove all the rubble through the window, which was great as the contractors didn’t have to go through the house. The difficult part though was getting heavy pieces of concrete, a huge bathtub, basins and glass shower doors down the 5m drop.
Radical modifications in the plumbing presented the next challenge. These modifications included new pipes, fittings, taps and drains to the toilet, bath, shower and double vanity.
When changing the plumbing, potential waterproofing issues needed to be addressed. Common problems with bathroom makeovers tend to boil down to the same thing: water…where is it coming from and where is it going. We had to make sure that the water supply and drains are working at peak performance and that there would be no leaks around any of the new modifications.
Another challenge came in the positioning of the new toilet and how to install the plumbing. A box had to be built onto the sidewall to accommodate the new plumbing as the toilet was now placed alongside the bigger window.
Time To Tile
With all the hard and dirty work done, our tilers, another team of experts that Tiletopia chooses to work with and happy to recommend, could start to prepare the floor and walls for their new covering.
One aspect of tiling that we never compromise on, is using the correct adhesives. If you want to avoid tile failures, use the best product available.
Tiletopia’s exclusive adhesive supplier is TAL, a leader in tile and construction adhesives with a track record of more than 40 years. They are a premium adhesive brand in South Africa and their customer support for any tiling installation, big or small, is outstanding. TAL also guarantees their fantastic range www.tal.co.za
With the preparations now completed, the tiling process could commence and this
is where our excitement started to mount.
We knew the Manacor Subway Glacier 65 x 400mm tiles as the accent wall colour were beautiful but when the tiling process was completed, it simply turned out stunning. Although the window was still covered in plastic, the light already played with the subtle shades on the tiles and changing the ambience in the room all the time.
The image of excellent craftmanship in progress.
With most of the tiling completed, the room already looks splendid, and the combination of the different tiles is visually harmonious. The well-positioned and larger window complements the scale of the room, making it appear more spacious.
Finally…The Glamor
And it’s done!
Upon entering, the airiness of the room is alluring with more catchy detail to become apparent as one’s eyes start wandering.
The feature wall comes alive as the light plays on the nuances of the striking blue tiles.
The white glossy subway tiles on these walls radiantly reflect the natural light flooding in from the big window, enhancing the feature wall even more.
The tranquil design of the block-out blind pleasantly blends in with the blue tiles. Covering only the bottom edge of the window, the digitally printed vinyl strip offers adequate privacy.
The hexagon floor tiles compliment the shapely angles of the matching bath and basins while the black fixtures and ornaments create a striking contrast to this dazzling white side of the bathroom.
With water streaming from the luxurious showerhead, one could imagine being in the gorgeous azure water of the tropics.
With the shower now doorless and the new toilet juxtaposed with the window, the lustrous tiles turn this wall into a living feature.
And from an ordinary toilet…to this elegant wall-hung model, with a view!
Thinking Of Remodelling…
Remodelling your own bathroom, can be equally stressful and exciting but with proper planning you will be prepared for anything.
When making use of contractors, check their portfolios first, read their reviews and interview them. Be clear with your expectations and put everything in writing.
You will need to be comfortable with strangers working in your home for a while and if it is the main on-suite bathroom, people will be going through your bedroom daily for at least three to four weeks, do plan around that. The one aspect that reassured our clients during the whole remodelling process, was the professional work ethics but thoughtful approach of Tiny Solutions.
They understand the dynamics that workers, noisy tools and building material bring into a household but Johann and his highly skilled team were firmly in control of the whole project and worked closely with the owners.
Or better still, visit the specialists at Tiletopia and enjoy excellent service and advice…and know your bathroom is going to look fantastic because we have the perfect tile for you!