One Room Challenge, Week 4: Master Bathroom Makeover Tiling

One Room Challenge, Week 4: Master Bathroom Makeover Tiling

It’s week 4 of the One Room Challenge already which means we’re more than halfway finished!

I still have a ton of work to do on my master bathroom makeover, but at least I’m on the “putting the room back together” stage, rather than still stuck in the “taking it apart” stage.  And I finally got all that dust cleaned up.

If you missed the first few weeks, you can read about week 1, week 2 and week 3. (And if you want to jump ahead, here is week 5 and week 6).

Design Decisions

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One Room Challenge, Week 4: Master Bathroom Makeover Tiling

I did make a few more design decisions this week.

First off, the walls.

Last week, I was still waffling about which way to go…paint or wallpaper (if you missed them, you can see the choices in Week 2’s post).

I had finally decided to go with the over-the-top zebra wallpaper. (My design style tends more towards over the top than subtle).

But then I went to order it…and realized the wallpaper was going to cost more than the bathtub!

So I decided I just couldn’t justify spending that much money (I do live in a builder-grade house after all).

And what’s Plan B when something is too expensive? A DIY project of course…I’m planning put a silver glaze over the existing gray paint, and maybe add a stencil.

To offset that work, I took one thing off my “To Do” list.

After reading up on what it takes to recess the medicine cabinets, I decided it was too much work.

They’re in a load bearing wall and too wide to fit between the studs.

Which would mean taking out more drywall, and adding extra braces. They don’t bother me that much 🙂

One Room Challenge, Week 4: Master Bathroom Makeover Tiling

Finally, I ordered a window treatment (which I had completely left off my original design plan!)

It’s a white and black roman shade that I think will tie in very well with the floor.

The Tiling

This week was all about installing tile.

One Room Challenge, Week 4: Master Bathroom Makeover Tiling

I have to admit that I have a hard time working indoors this time of year.  

All kinds of plants are blooming in the garden and the weather is beautiful.  

Which was a really good excuse to set up the tile saw in the backyard. Which is also easier to clean up with the hose 🙂

One Room Challenge, Week 4: Master Bathroom Makeover Tiling

First up was finishing the area where the built-in bathtub used to be.

Now that I’ll be putting in a freestanding tub, those walls needed to be finished, so I had to install backer board on the walls.

One Room Challenge, Week 4: Master Bathroom Makeover Tiling

Then I had to cut all of my 12″ x 12″ marble wall tiles in half.

I’m not sure why buying 6″ x 12″ tiles costs twice as much as buying 12″ x 12″ ones of the same material, but they do.

So cutting them myself saved quite a bit of money.

One Room Challenge, Week 4: Master Bathroom Makeover Tiling

Finally, I got to put up the tiles around the tub area.

And, yes, I do realize there is still a hole in the back wall 🙂

I’m waiting to get the tub plumbing done (a new drain and water lines will be required) before filling this in.

And More Tiling

One Room Challenge, Week 4: Master Bathroom Makeover Tiling

Next up was removing the old vanity.

I’m not sure if all builder-grade houses are done this way, but the plumbing pipes were installed right into the back of the original vanity.

That meant I had to cut out the back of the vanity around the pipes in order to get it out. The Dremel with a cutting bit came in very handy for this!

Then I had to remove the pieces of the vanity back that were still attached to the plumbing…a little tricky since I definitely didn’t want to cut the pipes! Dremel to the rescue again 🙂

One Room Challenge, Week 4: Master Bathroom Makeover Tiling

Finally, I was able to put the tile up on the walls for this.

I still need to grout the walls…and then it’s on to the floors.  So now you know what this week’s project is!

That’s my update for this week, and now I’m off to do even more tiling!

Don’t forget to check out the updates from the other talented designers in the One Room Challenge HERE.

Have comments or questions about my Master Bathroom Makeover? Tell us in the section below.

This post was originally published on April 26, 2017 but was updated with new content on February 3, 2024.


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2 Comments

  1. Wow, you are really doing a lot of work! This project is going to look amazing when it is finished! We’re getting closer to the home stretch now 🙂

    1. Thanks, Julie! Yes, this bathroom is a lot of work, but I’m definitely looking forward to the end result 🙂