the grand reveal...

Did you even know that we were remodeling our master bathroom??? Well... we were!! :)

Our bathroom has needed work since we first moved in to the house - remember that 'cultured' marble with the gnat sealed for all eternity in the counter top? Lovely as that little gnat was, I was ready for him to go...

You can imagine my thrill, uh, I mean, dismay, when our shower began leaking into the basement. Being the opportunist that I am, I jumped on the chance to make some big changes...

Here are the before pictures:

I'm sparing you the pictures of the disgusting mold and mildew that lurked below the floor...

Mr. Gnat lived, I mean died and was buried, right there in the corner of the countertop...

Turns out that the bathtub is the only thing that we kept...

Ok, and now for the after... I know you can hardly wait!!

Look at that nice clear (non-frosted) shower door!! And that front on the bathtub!! Oh, and that nice new wall color?? (I do miss the brown, though...)

Look at that beautiful tile... no more mildewy fake marble!!

One of the major challenges of the old set-up was that we had no storage - namely, no linen closet. Poor Brad had to give up his closet space for a sweater-organizer-turned-towel-holder. See that corner cabinet on the bottom? The one that spins around?? It houses all our linens!! AND....Look at that AWESOME corner cabinet!! I've got my hairdryer and all our toiletries in there. It is so great!

(and there are no gnats in that granite!!) :)

You can't really see much in this picture - but I wanted you to see the pattern of the tile on the floor... it's so pretty :)

So, that's it. Our new bathroom...

Lessons learned:

1) It may seem like a steep price when the estimate comes, but rest assured, you will want to spend more as the project gets going...

2) Having a picture to show the lady at the tile store makes all the difference...

3) Having a sister who find the 'inspiration' photo makes even more difference :)

4) A good contractor is hard to find - but I found one!!

5) If Brad's current job doesn't work out, I think that I might recommend plumbing. They get paid well. Or tile. Or painting.

6) Construction dust is gross. It gets everywhere. You must vacate the area within 50 feet of the construction area.

7) Brad will let you have the space in his closet once taken up by linens for the excess shoes in your closet. He's that kind of guy :)

So, if you come over, I'll let you try out our new shower. I think you'll like it!! :)