We have learned that building a basement bathroom, or any bathroom really, from nothing but a drain in the concrete, is no easy feat, but totally worth all the blood, sweat and tears!

Our home is a new build that came with a “roughed” in basement bathroom, but when they say “roughed in” they mean it. And really, does anything ever go as planned? Not around here! We quickly found the roughed in shower drain and toilet were not located where they needed to be nor were they up to Code. We did call a licensed plumber for this part of our reno and had him move the drain, the toilet and install the basin for what was to become our shower. Plumbing is one of the most important parts of any reno and I highly recommend you budgeting to hire this part of your project out. It was money well spent.

Planning
While dreaming and scheming as I do, I knew this windowless bathroom needed to be light and bright and naturally have some pops of colour.

I picked our paint colours in the early days of this reno from our fave online paint shop Digby Paints. With 60 curated colours, they make this part of any reno easy. I was immediately drawn to “Dune Surfing”, it was bright yet still had the moody vibe I’ve created in the rest of our basement. And did you know Digby Paints also has Primer in their lineup? Total one stop paint shopping! (Ceilings and trim are painted in “Plant Based” another fun curated colour from the Digby line up!

Must Love Dogs
Once the priming and painting were completed we moved onto our feature wall which has been the talk of the town around here...our whimsical and fun peel and stick wallpaper from Spoonflower! The hand drawn black and white dog pattern by artist Andrea Lauren could not be more perfect for any room in our dog loving home!

What I love the most about Spoonflower Wallpaper is each “run” is printed especially for you and your project! When you order your wallpaper you order it based on the height and width of your space and your rolls of wallpaper come NUMBERED!! This made for the easiest wallpaper installation ever, hands down. The quality of the Spoonflower Wallpaper is also GREAT, especially for a bathroom. I couldn’t love a print more than I do this one!

Let there be LIGHT!

Once the wallpaper was done my husband was able to install these gorgeous sconces! These were chosen way back in the early days of this reno and the wiring was done accordingly. A big thanks to Living Lighting for sponsoring this part of our reno. These gorgeous Armstrong Sconces by Kichler made my bathroom lighting dreams come true! Easy to install, the two light feature is perfect for our windowless bathroom, they are damp rated and add the most perfect modern touch to our bathroom. We also have the Armstrong Chandelier by Kichler in our entryway - we love this entire lineup!

Flooring

Somewhere between paint and wallpaper my husband finished installing the Rigid Core Vinyl Plank Flooring by Golden Select. We chose “Tuscan Oak” and LOVE the rustic barn board look and feel. We are HUGE fans of Vinyl Plank Flooring, I would take it any day over hardwood. It is durable, easy to clean, waterproof and overall looks and feels amazing, oh and definitely pet friendly! And did I mention it’s available to purchase at Costco, in various patterns, both instore and online!

Ok enough gushing!

Flushed
Once the flooring was installed and the wallpaper was hung we were ready to install our fave toilet! Yes, we legitimately have a fave toilet. Meet the The Cadet 3 from American Standard. This is our third of these toilets we’ve installed...I only wish I had them years ago when I was raising boys with bad aim...those concealed traps are LIFE CHANGING! They definitely make cleaning easy. Another great feature is the power flush, not only does it save water, it’s cleaning your bowl with every flush. Easy and quick installation, even if you’ve never installed a toilet before. Trust me, this is the only toilet you need in your life ....sold exclusively at Home Depot and often on sale!

You’re So Vain
Next it was time to slide in our beautiful new vanity from Foremost Canada. We chose the Brantley 36 inch vanity in white. We already knew this was a winner because we have the Brantley 30 inch vanity in Blue Harbor, in our main floor guest room. The quality and workmanship is SOOOO GOOD! Solid wood, dovetail details, soft closing drawers, I cannot recommend these vanities enough. Available at Home Depot and Lowe’s, the Brantley also comes with the Engineered Stone Top and China Rectangular Uncermount Sink. We love the look and the storage is a bonus!

Faucets

For the vanity and shower faucets used products from American Standard’s Chatfield line in Brushed Nickel and LOVE them! They were easy to install and they add to the light and bright vibe in our new bathroom. The Chatfield faucets are also Home Depot exclusives.

Showers of Happiness

Last but not least, our beautiful shower. We originally wanted to have an acrylic enclosure installed in our walk-in shower but after doing some research we quickly found they are EXPENSIVE!! I mean you get what you pay for but they were out of our bathroom budget - and you know I LOVE to stay under budget! The shower basin we used is acrylic and from Home Depot but we decided to go the tile route to keep costs down.

Picking tile during lockdown is no easy feat. Thankfully the staff at a local tile shop - Ritson Tile - were so helpful and affordable. I was able to make my picks via email and we used a local contractor who we knew and whose work came highly recommended. Mark from Tudor Castle did an amazing job installing the 12x24 matte white tiles we chose. I mean if I had to have tile, I wanted them as big as I could get and paired them with darker grout to make for easier cleaning. Mark also installed our shower doors which are the Maax Halo Shower Doors from Home Depot.. We wanted a trackless system (again, easier to maintain and clean) and were working within a budget. We couldn’t be happier with how this shower came together! If you are local and looking for a General Contractor, we highly recommend Tudor Castle and please tell him Uncluttered House referred him!

Let the Fun Begin

Now the fun part began, styling and adding my personal touches.

First up is this gorgeous Alcove Mirror by Umbra. It was meant for this space, I swear, the perfect fit between our two wall sconces. The shelf details are the best!

Instead of a towel bar, we used a leftover Fintrop Rail from IKEA and I love that I can use it for more than towels. The dog tail hooks are also from IKEA and tie in perfectly with our fun wallpaper. And these two prints by Pink Lemon Decor are the perfect contrast on this painted wall. Framed in affordable frames from Michael’s. Check out Pink Lemon Decor for prints, signs and more…use “UNCLUTTERED10” to save!

I also love how the bath mat pulls in the rest of the basement. This was a $20 online Purchase from Simons and it’s perfect. I mostly shopped my house to decorate this space with the exception of these super cute dog towels I scored at Winners after a hot tip from a friend who knows me well.

It’s always been a dream of mine to design a bathroom from nothing. And while a basement bathroom may not be my dream bathroom, j love what we accomplished here. I loved thinking outside the box to make it a bright fun space and I think we nailed it! And my paint choice, Dune Surfing by Digby that I chose last fall, has been included in Digby Paints 2021 Trend Collection. Boom!

Thanks for sticking around thru this 8.5 month reno…I love that so many of you were as invested as we were!

Michele xo