Bathroom(s) Makeover Part 1: Countertops

As you can tell from the To-Do List Post from last week, we are redoing our kitchen and bathrooms. It’s not that they didn’t look okay or that we needed to gut out and remodel each room, but they just didn’t have any “umph.” We plan to sell our house in about 2-3 years, and the two things realtors always say can make or break a sale are the kitchen and bathrooms. Plus, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and want to be comfortable in there. Also, because of the odd shape and size of our bathrooms, a little aesthetic help can only make them better! The bathrooms were our first project, and once everything in each bathroom is complete, we will start on the kitchen.

BATHROOMS BEFORE

Sorry about the awful picture, but this bathroom is hard to get a picture of.

So these countertops aren’t bad, but they are that craptastic laminate material and hold water for days, then leave awful water spots that look really dirty.

Last week, we hired a local contractor to come out and reglaze our countertops. We decided that instead of replacing our counters, we would have them refinished, which happens to be about a third of the cost. Now, reglazing is not a permanent solution, but it can last anywhere from 5-10 years depending on how well you treat them. For the same price as one bathroom countertop would cost to replace, we reglazed our kitchen counters, bathroom counters and he even installed our new kitchen sink.

Reglazing is a two day process and smells awful! I recommend that if you do go this route, get a hotel room until the project is done, because we had no sink or bathroom for two days. The first day, they spray the color and the color chips then let it dry. On the second day, it takes about half as long, they spray the clear coat which helps protect the countertops from scratches and heat. Reglazing isn’t my ideal countertop (I really REALLY want butcher board in the kitchen and marble in the bathrooms), but for our budget and the resale value of our house, this is the perfect solution. I’ll get my dream countertops when we are able to afford our dream house!

BATHROOMS DURING (Does anyone watch Dexter? I feel like he turned our bathroom into his killing place…)

This is the first step in our bathroom remodel project. I love how the countertops look now, and how much they open up our teeny bathrooms. If the rest of our plans for the bathrooms turn out, I think these two rooms will look brand new!

BATHROOMS AFTER

See all those brown paint chips? Look for the painting post next week...

Contrary to the colors in this picture, there is NO hint of yellow in the counters. That would make me sick!

Next in the remodel process is to repaint the cabinets. I do not have a lot of experience in painting (I did the two living room side tables and we painted a few walls), but we are going to give it a try. I am not looking forward to the long process of sand, primer, paint, dry, paint, dry, maybe paint again. But I can’t wait to see the bathrooms in the end!

Next week, I will show you the kitchen countertops. The kitchen looks twice as big now, but I am dreading painting those cabinets. The one cabinet in each bathroom will be nothing compared to the work we will have to put into the kitchen.

Let me know what you think about our countertops, and if you have any questions about reglazing, feel free to ask. If you are on a budget and don’t want to replace your countertops, we strongly recommend the reglazing option. Also, let me know if you have any decorating or design tips for our bathrooms, we are always open to new ideas!