Back in January 2022, Mike and I experienced a house flood that began in our primary bathroom.

The fire sprinkler in our bathroom – specifically the one over the toilet, burst and flooded downstairs. It’s frustrating because we had just remodeled our bathroom. And we were really happy with how our entire ensuite turned out.

However, because of the flood I was forced to complete the same work over.

Skip the before, middle and go right to the reveal.

All Sources for our primary bathroom can be found here.

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Before: A Primary Bathroom with an Identity Crisis.

Our 90’s style primary bathroom had tuscan style light fixtures mixed with modern chrome bath hardware. They gave this farmhouse style home an identity crisis.

Let’s see some before photos of our primary bathroom.

Before the flood, before the first remodel

view before bathroom remodel of tiled tub apron and alcove built in bath tub with window.
When we moved in the walls were brown – like poop colored.

When we moved in, we did a quick fix and painted the walls and covered the dated tile with vinyl. I also installed new door casings and baseboards.

We had this craftsman style trim in our last house. Mike and I loved how it looked there, we ordered material to do it here. I regretted the decision the whole time I installed it. Because of the flood damage I had to re-do the door casings.

I knew now would be the best time to change the style and get it right.

Looking towards the closet. Single, worn plastic shower head and small soap dish were the only features of this dated shower.
The doors in this house are 8′ tall. The ceilings are 9′. That leaves very little space for door trim or crown molding.

A couple months after moving in we added an Ikea Pax system to the closet. Previously held together by drywall anchors, it’s a mystery the closet hadn’t been replaced sooner. It’s either a testament to how well drywall anchors work or how lucky the previous owners were.

before shower and vanity. Dated tile and broken plexiglass framed shower.
The shower when we moved in never looked clean and there was no where to store anything.

On the vanities, the Corian countertops were yellowed and the drawers were in bad shape.

Mike's side of the bathroom features a wall mirror and yellowing corian.
The layout wasn’t too bad. I liked that Mike and I had separate vanities.

It is kind of hard to tell, but before our first remodel, the only bathroom lighting were the two lights over the vanities and the one over the bathtub.

After: the initial primary bathroom remodel

I love the way vertical shiplap looks. I painted the walls Benjamin Moore Simply White. The vertical shiplap creates so much texture and interest to an otherwise neutral color palette.

Mike added several can lights and moved the overhead vanity lights to sconces that flanked our tall mirrors.

sherwin williams feldspar pottery on the vanity and rubio monocoat cotton white on the custom linen cabinet.
The mirrors were an Ikea hack: I covered a black framed mirror with iron on oak veneer. The cabinetry I built from scratch.

We demoed and tiled the floor with a ceramic faux marble. I built new vanities and a linen cabinet. We enlarged the shower by 18″ in length. We built benches on either side of the shower facing each other. A shower ledge for all of our products. Added two ceiling mounted rain heads, two shower wands, and a steam unit.

The primary bathroom tub alcove and arch

bathtub alcove with wall mounted center faucet and kohler undermount rectangular bath tub. Vadara quartz in a faux marble finish is the perfect complement to the simply white shiplap walls and floating oak shelves.
This view was so much better after the initial remodel, I had zero plans to change anything with the second round.

I trimmed the alcove bath arch way. Altered the window shutters to fit inside the window frame instead on the outside. And I added oak floating shelves for extra storage. We also changed the tub from the oval to an under-mount rectangle. Swapped the faucet location and I trimmed the apron with box moulding.

benjamin moore simply white shiplap walls, whitewashed cotton white oak floating shelves, vadara quartz and wall mounted faucets are all stunning features in this primary bathroom remodel.
The floating shelves aren’t actually floating, I installed the shiplap around the shelves as a framework to support them and keep them in place.

New closet entrance and view

We removed the door from the doorway and shrunk the opening a few inches from 36 to 32″.

vertical shiplap painted benjamin moore simply white stands in the foreground surrounding a build in shower and closet with an ikea pax system and benjamin moore stormy sky in the background.
By enlarging the shower and enclosing it, we created a much more interesting view and a more functional space

Every time I post a picture of a room painted Benjamin Moore Stormy Sky, I get a dozen messages asking me for the name.

benjamin moore stormy sky painted toilet room prior to the whole house flood.
This room was the epicenter of the flood. After the flood every wall and ceiling surface had to be removed.

Ten years ago, before I had ever used Stormy Sky, I was so nervous trying it. The color is dark, saturated and so moody. Dark colors like this are such a commitment. Trying to go lighter after means you have to prime the walls. Sometimes twice to cover the darker color and get the wall ready to re-paint. I couldn’t find any inspiration photos from other people who had used it before.

However, I went for it anyways and now Stormy Sky has become one of my go to, fail safe colors. It’s so safe that Mike has told me I can paint it whenever and wherever.

I have used this for every single toilet room of ours for the last three bathrooms. Our toilet room was Stormy Sky before the flood. I had zero interest in painting it any other color.

before the flood the view into the bathroom was bright and inviting, the vertical shiplap walls were painted benjamin moore simply white and the cabinets were feldspar pottery and cotton white. gold fixtures mixed with brush nickel created an interesting pallette.
Looking in to the bathroom before the flood.

The flood replaced this view with a sad version of what used to be.

The flood: destroyed our shiplap walls and bathroom ceilings

the flood forced us to demo all of our vertical shiplap, drywall and ikea pax closet.
Dryers and dehumidifiers ran for 24 hours for a week straight to help dry out the wall framing.

Shiplap, made from mdf, quickly soaks in water. The pieces that didn’t touch the floor were salvaged.

exposed plumbing and venting allowed for quick upgrades making the best of a horrible situation after a flood.
The orange sprinkler pipe above our toilet burst open, ruining the bathroom ceiling

We also took the open wall and ceilings as an opportunity to make a few minor upgrades. We combined the fan and light into a single recessed can light/fan fixture. He also added a fan/recessed light combo fixture next to the shower door. He wired that one to turn on whenever the shower lights are on.

pex plumbing coming out of the wall. walls painted benjamin moore stormy sky.
The open walls and ceilings gave Mike the access he needed to extend the pex plumbing from our shower remodel down to the toilet.

Mike pulled Pex plumbing to the toilet water inlet and abandoned the rolled copper below the foundation. I had him end it above the future baseboards too.

After the flood and the final reveal

The WC

the moody blue vertical shiplap painted  benjamin moore stormy sky is a beautiful compliment to the simply white vertical shiplap.
There is something cocoon like and comforting when you choose a dark color for a small room.

When we first remodeled our bathroom, we didn’t shiplap the toilet room although we shiplapped all the other bathroom walls. We had to remove all the drywall, even on the ceilings, because this was the epicenter of the flood. Instead of drywalling and retexturing we went over the new drywall with shiplap to match the rest of the bathroom.

The Primary Bathroom Entrance and Bathtub Alcove

primary bathroom with built in bath tub in a bath tub alcove with a wall mounted faucet in brushed nickel and vadara quartz marble backsplash and box moulding around apron. vintage milk maid stool and tolled towel. brass accents with a flush mounted brass ceiling light and a brass towel hook on vertical shiplap painted simply white.
The changes here are subtle: closed vanity toe kicks, new archway trim at entrance, wall is now Simply White
pale white oak linen cabinet stained cotton white by rubio monocoat stands in the background as a beautiful counterpart to the custom primary bathroom vanities painted feld spar pottery by sherwin williams and the built in bath tub alcove with marble backsplash, wall mounted faucet, floating shelves and vertical shiplap.

I love the new door casings and plinth blocks I installed. I now have zero regrets about the trim work in our home.

classic doorway trim is also rounded over a barrel arch creating a beautiful reveal to the primary bedroom beyond with a built in electric fireplace.
This view is exponentially better

The Bathroom Vanities

tall ikea hack mirrors centered between two brass sconces over a wall mounted faucet in vadara quartz marble backsplash are the perfect balance for the simply white vertical shiplap walls in this primary bathroom.
Aside from fixing the shiplap the only change is the closed toe kick and new rug

Mike’s side of the bathroom. I painted our vanities Sherwin Williams Feldspar Pottery.

barrel ceiling and box moulding create a beautiful reveal to the bathroom beyond with the vanities painted the same color as the box moulding feldspar pottery by sherwin williams. Linen cabinet white washed oak and vertical shiplap and brass.
I absolutely love this new view with the archway box moulding.

My side of the bathroom. It was an easy sacrifice to remove the sit down vanity area and replace it with a linen cabinet and a larger shower.

white washed oak linen cabinet with rubio monocoat cotton white is the perfect counterpart to the custom vanities painted feldspar pottery standing in front of vertical shiplap walls painted benjamin moore simply white.
The only change I made to my vanity is to close the toe kick.

The Bathroom Shower: Double Benches and Fixtures

I have never revealed the final photos of our shower. We have two rain heads, two shower wands, and a steam unit. The valves are all controlled via a digital valve made by Kohler, Kohler DTV+. We can turn the shower on with our phones, have it only start when it reaches a certain temperature and it is programmable for personalized shower experiences.

his and hers sides of the showers means no more fighting over the water or water temperature in this remodeled primary bathroom walk in shower.

Instead of continuing the baseboard underneath the shower entrance as before, Mike and I used a remnant piece of quartz. The baseboard before the flood was already showing signs of water damage. Hopefully, using quartz and sealing well around it will keep the surrounding baseboards in better shape.

The glass door and window let in plenty of natural light and with the white marble and white faux marble ceramic tile on the ceilings and walls and floors this shower in no way resembles a cave.

We also added the towel hook for easy towel access while showering.

One Room Challenge Progress

This post is one of an 8 week series of posts part of the Fall 2022 One Room Challenge. We chose our bedroom ensuite in order to get one large area of the house done since the flood we had in January.

This post is week 8. This post is part one of a three part final reveal. Due to the complexity and amount of rooms for this project I will be separating the reveal in to three separate posts in order to showcase each room and give them the attention they deserve.

one room challenge logo for shared girls bathroom

I’d love for you to read about other One Room Challenge designers. If you like this post you could read about the first time we remodeled this bathroom.

If you enjoy building stuff for your home, check out my post from last week, it’s a beautiful console table with very unique legs for under $250. Or if you love a good hack I converted my standard stainless steel dishwasher into a paneled dishwasher here!

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Disclaimer: Working with power tools and DIY projects can be dangerous and post inherent risks. While we work hard to ensure the accuracy and effectiveness of the tutorials along with the information displayed on this website, Hambels Get Real cannot be held responsible for damages or losses sustained or incurred in the course of your project or in the use of the item you create.

apartment therapy the official media partner of the one room challenge

Apartment Therapy is the official media partner for the One Room Challenge and I am pretty excited about it because they do such a great job featuring small time and big time designers.

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5 Comments

  1. Love the bathroom makeover! I also like how you have a regular size glass door for the shower. Are the walls inside the shower all tiled?

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