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Recently relocated from a large house in a coastal area to a smaller rural area (Central West). The house is fabulous but there is a guest wing containing a rather tired bathroom and toilet in desperate need of a revamp. The paint job on the walls was fine as was. With Christmas (and guests) coming, limited time and a restricted budget it needed doing, and we didn’t want to completely renovate or replace. Not everything went to plan, we are novices and learned a bit along the way, however, the results speak for themselves!
Materials
Mondello Rococo Vanity (Floor Standing, 600 mm) and ceramic basin
Caroma Tapware (Elegance II - for bath, shower and vanity)
Dulux tile paint - 2 x coats Vivid White, 1 x coat Antique White, tile contrast paint in Teahouse x 1 application
Bathroom Exhaust Fan (Marlec) and new lighting for toilet (dimmable down light x 1) and bathroom (verve design LED ceiling light) - all from Bunnings
Flex plumbing pipe, new s-bend, length of pvc plumbing pipe (Bunnings)
New waste (Bunnings)
Sugar soap, mould remover, steel wool, paper towel and old cloths
Floor stencil (online)
Shower curtain (linen)
Tools
Bosch professional renovator and drilll
Shifters, screwdrivers, tape
Stanley knife
PVC glue, Silicone gun
Good quality paintbrushes, small roller and tray, plumbing tape
Steps
Step 1
Can I say first off decide on the scope of the work you want to do? We initially decided to paint only the wall and floor tiles but after the prep work and the first couple of coats of paint, we decided the vanity had to go. This in turn meant that we were working on the floor we had just painted which caused damage. So I think it needs mentioning as a step on its own. What do you want to do? Should have done the vanity swap out first up.
Step 2
Bought the paint, read the instructions! Carefully prepare the floor and wall tiles according to the instructions (mould killer, gloves on, sugar soap, used fine steel wool) to shift years of staining in particular. The wall tiles looked much better than I thought…..we decide we can live with the wall tiles, they are a pretty neutral colour anyway, and cleaned properly, they really looked quite fine. Let the area dry thoroughly (a day) then paint floor with the tile primer. Leave for 24 hours at least.
Step 3
Paint floor with Dulux tile paint in Vivid White (follow the instructions), so cut in with a brush, go over grout then the tile surface. This was tricky as the floor tiling is particularly rough in texture in both the toilet and bathroom, and the grout is awful. Going around the toilet pedestal is a killer!!! There is also a single line of tiles around the toilet wall, which I have included in the job. Leave 24 hours between each coat…..
Vivid white is a bit too shouty for this space!
Step 4
Decide to replace vanity, back to Bunnings! We are only swapping out, not renovating, so we are looking for a vanity that fits exactly where the old one is. The answer comes in the form of the very cost-effective Mondello Rococo vanity 600mm, floor standing, 2 drawers. Very hard to find a floor standing vanity let alone one with drawers. The matching basin was perfect. Then the tapware (Caroma Elegance) for bath (so spout and taps, Special Order), shower (the hand held shower head is chromed and in good condition so we decided to match everything to that as are the towel rails) and basin (again, 2 taps and a spout, straight swap over). The paint will need redoing in the bathroom (see last pic of the toilet for the ‘hospital’ vibe), so we opt for the Antique White in the Dulux Renovation Range to tone it down a bit….
Step 5
Here we go, using the Stanley knife and screwdrivers and drills we prize the old vanity off the wall and remove the doors, with the water turned off, we disconnect the under sink plumbing and remove the old taps. From here we can see that by installing a drawer type of vanity instead of the traditional cupboard door type means we will need a flex connector for the plumbing. The waste also needs adjusting, it’s a bit too deep for the overflow, so my husband sorts that, there are some adjustments made with the Bosch renovator. One more trip to Bunnings to get the bits we need to connect the waste to the floor drain….
Step 6
All good! Using some PVC glue and silicone, we get the plumbing sorted quite easily - and with no leaks! The vanity slips into place perfectly, we add the tapware. Perfect!
Step 7
The shower taps are quickly swapped out, so no more leaky basin or shower either, the taps look great too for a good price.
Our bath taps and spout are on special order, so we leave that for a bit and have another look at the floor, the toilet is good but we think too white and also a bit patchy. The bathroom floor has suffered some minor damage from installing the new vanity, and it also looks patchy. On the upside, the vivid white has served almost as an undercoat and has largely obliterated the colour of the existing tiles and grout. So a coat of the antique white will do the job….
Step 8
Remove and replace the light in the toilet with the dimmable down light, and in the bathroom, also do the ceiling fan in the bathroom. The tapware for the bath is finally in place.
Step 9
Re - prepare the bathroom floor (See step 2) and give the toilet floor a clean for good measure, then repaint with Antique White from the Dulux renovation range. Leave for 24 hours. It’s looking good now…..still a bit sterile, but much more liveable….
Step 10
Using the contrast colour (Teahouse) from the Dulux Renovation Range, I stencil my design choice on the tiles in the bathroom and toilet floor. THIS RANGE IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR USE IN THE SHOWER, but we decided to do it anyway, this is a guest bathroom not a heavily trafficked family bathroom, so far so good. It is recommended to use a roller and not much paint with the stencil, but the brush works better for my chosen (and very basic) design. After 24 hours, it’s all done! For good measure, we flip the bathroom mirror upside down so people using the basin can actually see themselves in the mirror (it was mounted for use by a giant).
