Avert your eyes – Bathroom Before Photos

Everyone loves a good before and after reveal, and in my experience, the key to having the ultimate ‘after’ result is to have a really crappy ‘before’ to start with. Well I certainly have that covered when it comes to my bathroom.

Today we are off to the bathroom builder’s showroom to choose some fittings and really nail down our plans. It took about two months to find tiles that I liked and (sort of) fit into the budget – but more about that later.

Now it’s time to share the before photos with you, so you can see what we have to work with.

Bathroom renovation before

Before I get into it and start complaining about our current bathroom situation, I really want to acknowledge how well this bathroom has served us for over 8 years (even though it looks awful). The fact that our home has indoor plumbing and plentiful hot and cold running water is something I’m grateful for everyday. Many people around the world don’t have this luxury and that’s why I support World Vision’s Clean Water Program – make a donation here.

Now let’s start my little tour, but a word of warning, if your tolerance to bad 80’s decor is low, you may want to avert your eyes.

As mentioned, this bathroom does have a few things going for it:

PROS

  • running water
  • flushing toilet
  • 2 double power points
  • plenty of natural light
  • a big bath (which Emma loves)

But that’s about where the good stuff ends.

bathroom before

CONS

  • beige everything
  • almost no storage
  • disintegrating vanity unit at crotch height
  • worn out gold taps
  • weird toilet position
  • huge bath that takes ages (and tons of water) to fill
  • spa jets that shoot our black slimy scum (gross)
  • freezing in winter
  • peeling paint
  • poor ventilation
  • no place for towels
  • shower that barely drains (hence the plunger in the shower)

When we bought this house a bathroom makeover was always on the cards, but as time went on we realised the issues were more than skin deep and a cheap makeover just wouldn’t do. The main downside is that all the sanitary wear is beige. If it was white (or even avocado), I could have lived with some of the layout issues, changed the vanity, re-tiled and we would have been golden. But no, everything really has to go.

old vanity

Old vanity with a missing side being held up by bricks, see ya!

gold taps

Gold taps that are heavily pitted and full of nooks and crannies for grime to reside, time to go!

bathroombefore7

Smokey water damaged mirror tiles, be gone!

bathroombefore1

Piles of stuff with no where to live, we’ll find a home for you soon.

bathroom renovation before

Did you notice the original bathroom mosaic floor under the vanity, looks much nicer than what we currently have. I wonder what the original 1940’s bathroom was like?

So that’s my bathroom in all it’s glory, I could have de-cluttered a bit, but this is the reality of what I’m living with so why sugar coat it?

In our next installment of the renovation diaries, I’ll be sharing the new bathroom layout.

Do you love or loathe your bathroom? Is it your pride and joy, or a big source of embarrassment?

7 Comments

  • Mim says:

    Hee hee I love the mini construction site at the side of the vanity! 🙂 How exciting, we just did our bathroom too! x

    • Cintia @ My Poppet says:

      Yes we needed to investigate the original floor level. It’s amazing the things you dig up. I feel like and archeologist!

  • Brigitte says:

    I can’t wait to see the change. I thought my bathroom was bad but at least mine is big and has space for storage. Unfortunately we have a Roman bath, which is fine but needs to be re-grouted which I keep putting off because I want a new bathroom so I don’t want to spend the extra money re-grouting which is actually going to cost me more due to NOT spending the money because it’s leaking into the walls of my daughters room, so the plaster’s peeling off in there AND the bathroom walls and ceilings.

  • Rena says:

    Cintia,
    I applaud you for doing the before and after. Owning a home is a HUGE deal when it comes to maintenance, the wants vs. the needs. Not just anybody would show the before pics.
    Thank you for entrusting us with your home photos.
    Good luck on your make-over and I hope you get all the “Wants” for you and Emma. 🙂

    Rena

    • Cintia @ My Poppet says:

      With a before as dire as our bathroom, you can guarantee the after will be quite and improvement. Thanks for your comment Rena

  • karina l says:

    We need to redo our ensuite bathroom and am dreading it..havent started researching who to use etc. I dont even know where to start, all i know is what I want it to look like! I cant wait to see your finish bathroom! Throw over any tips! Bathroom renos with two kids under 3..fun times ahead!

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