basement makeover: bathroom before-and-after
Peeing in the wilderness is one thing. Peeing in the wilderness of your own basement is another entirely. The one positive thing about our freestanding porcelain seat — besides entertaining speculation regarding the incontinence of previous owners and the fact that it incongruously sat next to the washing machine — was that it meant we had plumbing already. We just had to build a bathroom around it.
Click through to the next page to see Megan’s new bathroom and how they did it!
Casey designed it as tightly as possible to conserve space for the den and guest room-cum-office. At Home Depot, we bought a basic affordable sink and small shower with a sliding glass door (behind the door, next to a custom linen closet), but decided to skip the standard basement linoleum for black-and-white tile because we felt nostalgic for the
twenties bathroom in our old Manhattan rental. To finish it: A sea-glass paint color and cupboard knobs from Anthropologie, a track light and frameless mirror from HD, aquatic photos taken on our Kauai honeymoon, and an Azur soap-and-lotion set by MN-based bath-and-body company Thymes.
That’s not a new toilet either. We cleaned up the old one and installed a new seat, proving that even toilets themselves can benefit from a makeover. —Megan K.
July 12th, 2007 at 9:25 am
Wow! What a transition! It’s hard to believe that is the same space that’s in the 1st picture.
July 12th, 2007 at 9:31 am
The bathroom looks great! I’ll have to take it for a test-run sometime soon.
July 12th, 2007 at 9:58 am
Continually impressed with your do-it-yourself handywork (spelling?) It certainly makes me yearn to do a few home projects myself. Anyway, what an improvement!
July 12th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Very impressive remodeling job. We were thinking of installing a bedet in our master bath and could use this type of handywork!
July 12th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
We’re thinking of doing a similar update - and it looks like you had the concrete floor challenge to deal with as well. Did you put down any special mats or barriers before laying the tile? Looks great - what an inspiration!
July 13th, 2007 at 6:41 am
BRAVO, Casey and Megan! Looks great!
July 13th, 2007 at 9:45 am
Great job! So when do we get to see your patio makeover?
July 13th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Wow! This gives me hope. We have a rough-in of plumbing in our basement, but I would walk into that section and just shudder. I didn’t have the imagination to see it any differently… but now I can picture something else.
July 17th, 2007 at 6:00 am
Thanks everyone! Laila, we didn’t use a barrier–we only put level quick down and then we put the tile directly over that. Casey says concrete is a natural barrier that doesn’t need backer board like a wood floor would. But we’re amateurs so you might want to check with someone else. Good luck!
July 17th, 2007 at 11:20 am
thanks! I can’t get your new bathroom out of my head…