The master bathroom was equipped with a very small tiled shower. Small as in, I would opt to hop up on the vanity and use the sink to shave instead! But honestly, how much time do we really spend in the shower? Ten, fifteen minutes a day? So in our book, it would suffice. That was until the fear of upcoming mold issues wiggled its way into our heads!
Upon moving in, we quickly found the master bathroom to feel cramped, dark, and pretty lackluster. Unfortunately for us, the dimming lights over the double vanity have to be set to the brightest setting in order to actually turn them on (another project on our to address later list) and the more morning, still groggy-friendly light only lit up the shower due to the curtains and wall. So we would find ourselves with two options each morning: fumble around blindly while our eyes adjust to the bright light of the dimmers, or fumble around blindly in the dark!
The layout made the bathroom feel similar to that of a locker room with stalls with a seemingly overly thick wall between the shower and toilet. It was far from the spa like feel I desired, despite all my efforts with the décor. Besides, the wall had some promise when it came to wall art opportunity! All in all, it was something we could certainly live with until we had the funds for a change. However life, as per usual, had other plans.
Eventually we noticed a crack running down the wall between the shower and the toilet. Not too alarming, I’ll admit, but slightly concerning. Then the tiles began to crack and fall off. More concerning. This was no longer something that could be put off for the indefinite future.
After some internet browsing and shopping around, we found a look that we fell in love with, a company that could make it happen affordably, and motivation to throw our hands up and say “why not, let’s do it!” If we’re going to have to replace the shower anyways, we might as well go the whole nine yards and make it one we really want. No use in just applying a Band-Aid to the issue… So, in a matter of weeks, we had the shower installation company out and our very first full on renovation project for the house began! Of course, this couldn’t go according to plan…We had been assured multiple times that this would be a one day project. “Even with the glass?” I asked. “Even with the glass. Everything is pre measured and pre cut, so it’s all installed in one day!” Sales people are liars sometimes…I requested off for the day of installation and when the sun started to set and the shower wasn’t done, I questioned the installers. “No ma’am, this is going to take at least three days. And then we’ll have to schedule the glass installation after we finish and get the final measurements for them.” So unfortunately, I had to request off for three full days, rather than the originally promised and expected one day…Good thing it was slow at work, I am able to work from home, and my boss is incredibly understanding!!
After waiting almost a month (20 days, to be exact), the glass installers arrived today and finished off our new shower for us. Bye bye bland, cramped, and crumbling shower stall, helllloooooooo spa! The wall between the shower and the toilet had been removed to allow for the shower to be expanded a few inches. It’s absolutely amazing what difference a small amount of extra space does for a shower! We then requested a half wall to be reinstalled, with the other half consisting of glass, and a glass door for the front. This allowed for the light (both natural and otherwise) to filter through the entire bathroom, making it feel like the shower wasn’t the only part that expanded. The hardware selected came in an oil rubbed bronze, which looks great against the color scheme of the faux tile. We even opted for the upgrade to include both the rain shower head and the hand held; definitely worth the investment!
It’s like a whole new bathroom now, and I can honestly say I actually look forward to showers now! Though this project came a lot sooner than we expected and for reasons we hoped against, we couldn’t be happier with the outcome.
