SQUEE!
Finally almost 8 years after buying my apartment, I bit the bullet and decided to have my bathroom renovated. You may remember the very simple makeover I did back in 2014. It sufficed for a while but I eventually grew to hate that dinky old bathroom. It was dirty and badly lit and MUSTARD. Typically I love the colour mustard but not in the form of teeny tiny floor tiles. I put off renovating my bathroom for a long time because 1. *money* and 2. it’s my only bathroom so the logistics of living without a toilet and shower for a few weeks seemed all too hard. I’ve spent the last 8 years doing a million other projects at my place – mostly in the garden – always strategically averting my attention away from the bathroom even though it was growing increasingly more grim.
Anyhoo, finally when bits started falling off my shower I decided it was probably time to get my life in order. And so the reno began! This is actually the first *real* renovation I’ve undertaken (as in, not just cosmetic changes) and so I was a little nervous. I’m all for DIYing my whole life normally but in this instance I knew that I had to leave the bulk of the work to the professionals. And I’m so bloody glad I did. The results are STUNNING and I randomly just go stand in my bathroom at least once a day to look around and swoon over how much I love it.
Below is a series of photos capturing details of the new bathroom and I’ve also tried to list out where I sourced everything as much as possible. Most importantly though I have to give credit to Oasis Bathrooms and Kitchens. They are the company I used for the renovation and I could not be more stoked with the whole experience. I didn’t have my own shower or toilet for three weeks which could have been a major inconvenience, but rather than find it annoying, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole reno process. The Oasis team lead by Andrew made the experience so enjoyable and stress-free. Right away Andrew understood what I wanted and the look I was going for and he executed it to a tee. His attention to detail was amazing and he went the extra mile several times to ensure everything was perfect. Seriously, if you’re in Sydney and thinking about renovating something in your home, give OBAK a look. I couldn’t recommend them more highly!
I spent a LOT of time researching options for the bathroom. Seriously like 4 or 5 months. It is so easy for your budget in a bathroom reno to blow out, especially if you always just accept the first quote/price you get for something. I did a lot of shopping around to find the best price for things like tiles, vanities and fixtures without compromising my vision/taste but also without having to spend half my budget on the ‘bits’. The bulk of your budget should *definitely* be going towards labour – you want a highly skilled team who are going to do a fantastic job – that’s what should cost the most and it’s 100% worth it.
Andrew from Oasis actually gave me an excellent tip of where to shop around for the best prices for lots of my items. As well as looking online there are tonnes of bathroom and tile shops in my local area (Sutherland Shire, Sydney) so I was mostly just looking at these places. Andrew suggested that I expanded my search to other parts of Sydney (such as Western Sydney) and amazingly I found a lot of the items that I wanted for sometimes half the price I had been quoted elsewhere! My mum and I spent a whole day one weekend driving around to a bunch of different stores over an hour away from my house and found so many amazing deals. Doing this saved me literally thousands of dollars. It always pays to shop around!
Tiles
- Antique green feature tiles from Sydney Tile Gallery (they go by different names, kit kat tiles, stick tiles, finger tiles)
- Concrete grey floor tiles from Acqua Bathrooms
- Porcelain white wall tiles from Deco Bathroom and Tiles
Fixtures
- Vanity with stone top, basin, shaving cabinet and toilet all came from Deco Bathroom and Tiles
- Brushed brass toilet roll holder, hand towel holder, shower head and soap dish were all from Deco Bathroom and Tiles
- Basin tap mixer I found on eBay
- Shower spinner taps were from Sydney Taps
- Above vanity light (which I’m obsessed with!) was from Bunnings
Decor
- Vintage Chinese rice basket from Haven & Space
- Brass hanging planter from Adairs
- Faux hanging hoyas from Enhance U and Floralistic
- Towels and hand towels from Adairs
- Terrazzo planter pot from The Rose Tree Garden Centre
- Terrazzo tray from Freedom
- Soaps from Fazeek, Natural Australian Soap, Freshwater Farm and Bed, Bath and Table
- Handwash from Thank You
- Terrazzo shower stool (actually a waterproof plant stand) from Bunnings
- Framed picture is a photo I took at the Barbican Conservatory
Before and after comparison to just really hammer home how perfect it is:
And there you have it – my dream bathroom that I’ve been waiting 8 years for. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. A lot of people tried to convince me not to remove the bath all together despite the fact I never used it because it might impact the resale value of my apartment, but I wanted to change the bathroom to be more suitable for me and my own livability – not for when I may or may not sell down the road. I am so happy that I stuck to my guns and got rid of the bath, it makes the bathroom seem HUGE and the large open shower feels luxurious and spa like.
So from now on if you can’t find me, I’ll be in the bathroom staring lovingly at all the pretty things :)
helloyounglionsxo 