There are times when going the DIY home improvement route just isn’t worth it. This project was one of those rare times for us.
Remember back when I told you Robert and I would be ripping out our old travertine floor in our powder room? And then remember when we had a trip to Austin, a trip to Chicago, and a million new house projects going on all in one month?
(Want to see this powder room’s final reveal? Click here for the full “after” tour.)
Ever since we closed on this house in April, it’s been a blissful whirlwind, but there also came a point when I said to myself, “Something’s gotta give.”
For a week, while planning our big powder room makeover, I was in total denial. I had it in my head that Robert and I could just remove our vanity and toilet, rent tile removal tools from the hardware store, and rent a wet saw to attempt to tackle our first tiling project ever. It could be done in a weekend. Yeah. Then, reality set in that we’re mere muggles and don’t actually have DIY wands.
So for the first time ever, we actually called in a pro contractor for this one. (If you’re a local in the Charlotte area, McEntire Services is awesomesauce.)
After Day 1, we had a giant hole in our floor.
And, suddenly, I didn’t regret our decision to go pro one bit. Seriously, I would have had a heart attack if we were doing this with our little ol’ DIY skills.
Turns out, our powder room used to be a porch. There are still pretty brick stairs underneath this bathroom where the porch used to be. Old houses are filled with all kinds of fun surprises, right?!
Apparently, when the former owners of this house decided to build an addition and make this space a bathroom, they poured concrete to level it out instead of laying level plywood in place.
That lovely snafu caused a big delay for us (and then we ran out of tile mid-lay because some of the tiles arrived broken in shipment… joy), but yesterday we hit the final stretch. We finally have a floor! And it’s a pretty one!
(Affiliate links are provided below for convenience.)
Back when I was envisioning this space, I really really wanted the look of hexagon marble tile to mimic the kind I saw all over Chicago back in May. But there was absolutely no way I was going to fork out a few thousand buckaroos to make that happen.
So I found this gorgeous carrara marble look porcelain hexagon tile that I swear looks like the real thing! (Thank goodness we did go the cheaper route on that too since we didn’t budget for building an entirely new wood underlay.)
We almost chose the rectangular version of this tile, but there was just something about that hexagon. I still have my eye on it for our other two bathrooms though that still need even more help than this little powder room did. I shared more of my favorite tile for a budget in this post too, if you need more ideas.
(Forgive the not-so-fabulous cell phone shots.)
Today, the guys will be putting the room back together so we can finally have a downstairs bathroom again. Because right now, our vanity is smack in the middle of our living room and our toilet is just chilling out in our garage.
In hindsight, I’m thanking my lucky stars that we hired out for this one. Because I know it would have ended up being way more expensive in the long run if we tried to tackle it ourselves, and who knows what kind of mess we would have been in.
I’m starting to learn that owning an older house just forces you to have a sense of humor. That’s the only way to handle these things, right? Laugh about it (and maybe cry a little, it’s okay).
I’ll be sharing more behind-the-scenes peeks on my Instagram Stories as we continue to finish up this space. (Also, I just finished “gray washing” the vanity and, oh my gracious, it’s gorgeous! More on that soon though.)
Have you had any experiences before when you decided to hire a contractor and realized it was the absolute best decision ever? Or discovered some quirky old house “surprise” that threw you for a loop? I’m kind of afraid to unwrap any other surprises that might be waiting for us in this house.
Here’s where we are in the big powder room to-do list and all of the other sources and tutorials we’ve shared about so far:
Paint bead board(Benjamin Moore Hollingsworth Green)Paint over orange wallPaint mirror frame(tutorial on that coming soon)Hang wallpaper(we used this black and white floral paper)Swap out light fixture(this brass one is what we chose)Swap out towel bar / TP holderPaint inside of doorPaint door trim and crown moldingInstall new sink faucetGray wash vanity(tutorial coming soon on this one too)Rip out tile floorInstall hexagon tile floor- Decorate!
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Marci says
August 3, 2017 at 10:11 amIt is so beautiful! I love it all and can see your vision! Smart move to “splurge” and hire a pro…….I love it when a plan comes together……
Angela @ Simply Beautiful By Angela says
August 3, 2017 at 10:34 amStunning! I can’t wait to see it all put together 🙂
Jordan | A Blue Nest says
August 3, 2017 at 10:38 amWe haven’t hired out a contractor, YET (apart from having pro’s install new carpet), but we have definitely learned in our 3 years of home owning and renovating that there are times that are so worth it. My father-in-law was a contractor though, so they are all about doing it themselves. Our house was built in the 1980’s, and even though thats not really considered old, it has thrown us some serious loops. Like the time my husband cut into the drywall over our brick fireplace to wall mount our TV and found water damage a week before Christmas. That was a fun one haha.
Lori says
August 3, 2017 at 10:40 amLove ❤️ this remodel!
Denise says
August 3, 2017 at 10:49 amI thought your house was a “new build”…how would there be stairs?!
Lauren says
November 8, 2017 at 2:38 pmHi Denise! Our last house was a new build, but we moved into this one in April, which was built in 1960. So all kinds of “surprises”.
[email protected] says
August 3, 2017 at 10:55 amThe floor is beautiful. I’ve learned after having our bathroom torn apart twice due to water leaks and floor grout cracking (poor subfloor) to hire that job out to a professional. We just recently did a small tile job in our kitchen for the first time, and afterwards I told my husband I now truly appreciate those that do this for a living. It truly is an art and can be back breaking.
Jeannie says
August 3, 2017 at 11:18 amSo pretty! Love watching your progress.
Maria says
August 3, 2017 at 11:19 amYou are absolutely right – occasionally it is just the necessary thing to do…. like when we had our house reroofed a few years ago after major hail damage. It’s a 12/12 pitch and my husband on the roof just wasn’t happening!!! Our home was built in 1917 so there’s not a straight wall in the house which always makes it interesting when doing reno work. Cut studs in the basement ceiling were so much fun to discover. The latest “discovery” was that the electrical box that our light fixture in the dining room is hooked to was wired in using an old extension cord and there was still a live wire just hanging around in the ceiling from when they had upgraded the house from knob and tube – probably in the 70’s! That makes you sleep well at night 😛 But for all the quirks – I’d never give up my old house for a new one – like you mentioned – you just have to laugh it off and chalk it up to another exciting DIY experience!
Lauren says
November 8, 2017 at 2:36 pmWoah! That’s terrifying! Definitely a house fire waiting to happen. Glad you found it! It’s my biggest fear that we’ll run into that in this house too. You just never know what “surprises” await.
Amy Duyck says
August 3, 2017 at 11:25 amLove the hexagon look and it really does look like the real thing!
Louise says
August 3, 2017 at 12:26 pmWhat a delightful old house your family has. Your blog always gives me a wonderful sense of peace. Despite not having a house of my own (so no big changes or painting), you give me inspiration for making my little apartment home. Thanks and may you always be blessed.
Lauren says
November 8, 2017 at 2:35 pmThank you so much, Louise!
Amy K says
August 3, 2017 at 1:21 pmLauren, The powder room is looking great and I love the hexagon tiles. We used the large rectangles for our bathroom and they made such a difference. Lovin what your putting together here.
Lisa says
August 3, 2017 at 1:59 pmOh the joys of an old house! We owned a 1951 cape and always said…..things that should take 3 minutes take 3 hours, and things that should take 3 hours take 3 days. A sense of humor definitely will help!
Jenn says
August 3, 2017 at 2:13 pmLove the faux hex tile! I’m been eyeing something similar for our hall bath. Can’t wait to see the final reveal.
Shannon Fox says
August 3, 2017 at 2:57 pmOld house are so fun! Most of the time 😉
Love the new floor, it’s beautiful
Peggy says
August 3, 2017 at 8:38 pmJust beautiful!! Yes old homes are full of surprises and lots of charm. You did the right thing by hiring a pro. My husband and I have built four homes. The home we live in is an 1920’s traditional. We can do most of the work but not 20’s plumbing-
Lynne says
August 3, 2017 at 10:13 pmYes…older homes are full of surprises, but are also full of character. I love all of your projects and how you are updating and customizing your new home, while maintaining it’s original charm. Great job!
Betty says
August 4, 2017 at 12:08 pmWe didn’t start out with a contractor but we should have! We decided that it would be “easy” to rip out the tile in our kitchen (which was already cracking) and lay hardwood over it. Sounds simple enough right? WRONG! The builder put the tile in with something so strong it would survive a nuclear explosion. About mid project and after many tears (mine) we called in the professionals. I’m convinced they saved our marriage! It was an expensive “lesson” but the floors looked fabulous! We’ve since moved but luckily we are now able to laugh about it. I am trying to remind myself of that little project now that I want to rip out the carpet in our bedroom and put hardwood down….I guess I may never learn.
Andi says
August 4, 2017 at 1:30 pmLove the hexagon tile! I am going through a bit of a tile obsession right now, but don’t know where to put any. So instead I just drool over projects like yours 🙂 We have only hired a contractor a couple of times. My biggest thank goodness moment was when they were painting the outside of our house. Would have taken us at least a month, and I know we would have dripped paint where we didn’t mean to and made a mess out of things. Instead, it was done within a week. Huge sigh of relief!
Color N Interior says
August 9, 2017 at 5:16 amThe hexagonal marble tile looking great, with old home you get new opportunity to remodel the interior in your way. Awaiting for the update.
Isabella Reiss says
October 19, 2017 at 11:21 amLauren, love the wallpaper!! Where was it purchased? Great job with the tile, also. I have a tiny bathroom that I found a marble for less then porcelain, but I really like the hexagon tiles! Great job ?
T. says
April 22, 2018 at 9:42 amI love the look of marble, but hate the upkeep. These tiles look great. How many pattern repeats are there?
Lauren says
April 22, 2018 at 9:34 pmI can’t remember exactly how many but it was definitely enough to get a variance so that it looked natural. I want to say 7? Don’t quote me on that. I could be wrong. But it was quite a few. Make sure you turn the patterns different ways as you lay them too.
T. says
April 24, 2018 at 8:01 amThanks!
Naveen Kumar says
February 13, 2019 at 6:26 amThe marble tiles looks really great and I would love to use that for my kitchen countertops because this is going to give a fantastic look and feel to the flooring surface.