Moody and Modern Family Room Entryway and Bath Renovation
I am so excited to announce that I have been chosen as a finalist of the season 7 Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge! If you aren’t familiar, Jeffrey Court is a tile company that has really gorgeous products available at your local Home Depot. The Renovation Challenge is a 6 week competition where several incredibly talented designers and DIYers pick any room and renovate it for the chance to win $5000! The winner is chosen strictly on votes, so when that part of the competition comes up, make sure to go and vote for your favorite!
The Space
My room is a bit of a combination of spaces. We have a side entrance into our family room (where we watch TV, play with the kids, etc) and the entry tile runs straight into a super dated half bath. For my contribution I plan to make this into a more modern and cohesive entrance with a beautiful and functional half bath!
Here is what it looks like now: Very beige, very dated, very blah.
The Plan
The plan for this space is to dress it up with some modern, moody, but still somehow very neutral tiles. I chose the Basalt Herringbone mosaic tile for my flooring. I love that it is dark but adds a touch of pattern and texture while still staying neutral and timeless. Then I will be adding the Laurel Nickel hexagon tile as a nice feature wall behind the toilet. This tile is gorgeous and will keep the space bright while still tying in nicely to the darker floor tile. I will then be adding some warmth to the space with wood tones and keeping all the hardware a nice matte black…but with a fun pop of pattern somewhere as well! I can’t wait to see how it all comes together in real life. But in the meantime, here is my mood board.
Demolition
Tile and Thinset Removal
On day one of the competition, I did what any self respecting DIYer would do….I destroyed some stuff. I’ve never removed or installed tile before so I was definitely pretty nervous about getting started on demolition. Turns out, the tile comes out pretty easily with just a hammer and a crowbar.
However, the thinset (the cement like product that glues the tile to the subfloor) is MUCH more difficult to remove. I started with a hammer and chisel and quickly learned that I would be demoing for the full 6 weeks at that pace. Then I decided to purchase a heavy duty floor scraper. That was better….but still slow and painful. So finally I broke down and rented a hammer drill with a chisel bit from Home Depot which was definitely the right choice for this job. It was still hard work and tedious, but so much faster than the alternative options I had tried.
Plumbing Removal
As part of the half bath demo, I also needed to remove the toilet and pedestal sink. The toilet was easy. In fact, I just replaced it like two months ago (along with 4 others in the house) so I am very well versed in the workings of toilet removal and installation. The pedestal sink, on the other hand, was a bit more challenging. I ended up busting the base to make it easier to get behind the sink just because the workspace was so tight. I had hoped to donate to the Habitat for Humanity Restore…but unfortunately in this case that didn’t work out.
Unfortunately, even with the base gone, I still struggled to get off what I now know is called the P trap. To be entirely honest, I wasn’t quite sure where I even needed to unscrew! But once I watched a few youtube videos, and made a couple of trips to HD for tools, I was able to get it free and get it out! Such a relief!
Next Up
Now everything is out, clean, patched, and ready for week 2 of the renovation! I’m still waiting on a few supplies to arrive so what happens next really depends on what arrives first. I’m thinking paint on the walls and then maybe flooring! Make sure to follow me over on Instagram as I share the whole process behind the scenes in my stories!
