Kearby Bath Update – an Amazing Transformation

The Kearby bath update is yet another amazing transformation and I’ve got all the before and after’s to share with you.

Actually I’ve got all the before’s right here (and the during’s) and I’m sharing all the after’s in another post since this one became quite long.

The Story

This home was built in the 60’s and it’s a great family home with some limitations. It’s a two story home and has a spacious living and kitchen area downstairs (renovated previously). There are two bedrooms and a shared bathroom downstairs as well.

Because of the style of the home the main bathroom serves as the owners bath as well as a guest bath.

A few of the limitations that we have to overcome with almost any project are budget and time.

When I take on a DIY project I am always too optimistic in how quickly we’ll be able to finish it and this one was no exception. The Kearby’s are expecting their first baby so we didn’t want mom to have to go up and down the stairs for too long to use that bathroom. Especially since she’s having to get up at night.

The budget gave us enough room to remove and update the fixtures in the room, but not enough to add onto the house.

And really that wouldn’t have been a DIY anymore.

A few things that we couldn’t change about the bathroom: the ceiling height is only 7 feet and we can’t raise it since there’s a second story overhead, the square footage can’t be changed because there’s nowhere to add any.

So we were left to make the space “feel” bigger since we couldn’t actually make it bigger.

I think you’re going to be amazed with what we were able to do.

I think it turned out even better than I thought it would in the beginning.

The Before: Kearby Bath Update

Here are a few before photo’s of the space. It’s incredibly hard to get good bathroom shots since it’s such a small space and believe me, this is a small space.

When you first enter the bathroom from the hallway it’s a narrow entry because there’s a solid wall on your left side and on the right side is a closet that houses the hvac for the house.

In the previous photo you can see the HVAC door and the hall door. You can’t see that the ceiling is dropped in this space but you can see the dividing wall that leaves no elbow room.

The 7 foot ceilings are low already but over the vanity area the ceiling is dropped even more. We initially thought that it was for structural support for the upstairs but that turned out not to be the case.

This view is from the hallway looking into the space. Unfortunately we cut off the top of this photo that shows the header that isn’t straight. So interesting.

The vanity area and toilet/shower area are divided by a wall with a doorway that is not straight. And directly across from the toilet there’s a doorway into the main bedroom.

Another view showing how such a small space has been chopped up leaving no floor space and making it feel very tight and not very comfortable.

This view is from the main bedroom doorway looking into the bathroom.

When I find the notepad with our floor plan sketches on it I’ll add them here so you can get a full picture of the space. We didn’t change the floor plan at all but here’s what we did do!

The Kearby Bath Ideas

We decided to source and order as many products as possible before starting any construction. The supply chain is such a mess right now and we didn’t want to get halfway through the project and have to wait on necessary parts.

Just to prove us right, when we were ready to start tiling we were unable to find mastic. At least at any store near the area. But we’re not to tile yet, we’re still in ideas!

Since we aren’t able to add any square footage to this room we had to maximize the area we were working within. We decided that a very simple style would keep things looking calm and clean.

White paint, white subway tiles and a muted shade on the vanity without a lot of detail will keep things feeling calm and bright.

Adding a window in the shower area will bring in some natural light, which will help the space feel bigger.

Removing the doorway into the main bedroom will make both rooms more functional. Hopefully removing the doorway and wall between the vanity and toilet/tub area will open up that space a little.

And so construction begins.

The Longest Part of the Project

Demo is the most fun part of the project.

It always goes quickly and then you’re left with the rebuilding.

Rebuilding is exciting when it all goes exactly as you expect it to. Only I’ve never seen a remodel that didn’t have a few hiccups here and there.

Like the one weekend that we set a record of visiting 4 different Home Depot stores for a total of 7 trips. That was pretty frustrating.

The not so glamorous part of remodeling is the demolition.

The upside is that removing the tub/shower insert frees up a few inches all around.

Well it’s approximately 2 inches. But we’re going to embrace that space when we’re working in such a small space.

Peeling back the drywall reveals that we can safely remove the wall and doorway that divide the room. They aren’t holding up the upstairs.

The doorway doesn’t have a door in it.

The doorway is crooked.

So many questions right here.

The answer it to remove it.

Adding a window is messy.

But the light is oh so worth it!

Then the Rebuilding Begins

Closing up the doorway between the bedroom and bathroom frees up floor space in both rooms.

Not having to keep the space clear for a door means that you have more useable space on both sides. A wall that can hold a piece of furniture in the bedroom and an area that doesn’t have a door on the bathroom side.

Now it’s starting to look like an actual bathroom. Oh there’s still a lot of work to do but it already is lighter and brighter in here!

We added a niche on the back wall of the shower so you wouldn’t see it when you first walk into the room.

Remember, light and bright is the look we’re going for here.

Well clean and calm is really the look but not having a lot of space means utilizing all your space well. Especially since this is the guest bath as well as the main bath.

Because we all know that shower curtain is only going to be closed when someone is in that shower. That light is just too good.

Stay tuned for the Kearby bath update after photo’s. They’re definitely worth checking out!

You can also find more bathroom inspiration HERE!