Guest Bathroom Update Round 5

I'm going to call this the 1/2 way point and give a big sigh of relief that the hard part is over!  6 weeks later and we have a working shower again - TA DA

I really fell in love with the over-sized white subway tile / black grout combo after lots of "Fixer Upper" marathons.  Once I got into the rhythm the tile went up super quick;  the nice thing about the wall tile is that I could use pre-mixed mastic so I could work on it at night and not have to worry about mixing a new batch each time.   In addition to the subway tile, I used a tip I picked up from Nicole Curtis and used a different tile for the shower niche so that I didn't have to worry about matching up lines.  Truth be told - I ended up doing the sides of the niche twice after some trial and error but I think it came out really great.

I was feeling really good and pumped about my progress - and then came the GROUT!!!  Grouting is the worst job ever in the best of circumstances - it's messy, it's hot, it stinks, and it's hard + you have to work really fast to make sure it doesn't dry up.  It's like playing the underwater level in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Nintendo game....super hard to begin with and then you add a timer - pure nightmare.  On top of all of that - I don't know what I was thinking with BLACK GROUT!!!  Holy Hell it's like spreading Tar all over your walls as well as your tub, sinks, and entire body.  If you ever think about doing black grout just know what you're in for and seal off EVERYTHING....here's the shower in what I call it's Moody Teenager Phase:

Thankfully - it got a lot better!  I don't know why it never dawned on me until I was up on a ladder with a scouring pad - but you have absolutely no margin of error when you go with such a contrasting color combo.   It took a lot of muscle and inspection - but the haze eventually came off and the tile came out pretty and white.

The last major step was caulking....I usually find caulking very theraputic....but Black Caulk comes with the same stress as Black Grout.  After a rocky start, I ended up taping off absolutely every caulk line that I did and that made all of the difference.  Just had to share the detail pic below because I think it's a thing of beauty

I think this is a great time to take a moment and post a little before and after:

BEFORE

AFTER - BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE

What a difference.....

My goal is to get the rest of the trim done before GOBs big #2 bday party which is in (EEK!) two weeks.  I'm already getting into a pretty good groove there though so I'm pretty confident I can get it done with a few late nights.

Quick look at the checklist - almost to the fun decorating parts!!

• Stain the Vanity and add Hardware
• Remove Shower Tile / Add Shower Niche
• Replace the Shower Tile
• Replace Shower Fixtures
• New Shower Rod and Curtain
• Remove Floor TIle
• Replace Floor Tile
• Add Beadboard and Trim
• Replace Door Trim
• Paint
• Replace Sink Fixtures
• Replace Light Fixture
• Add Medicine Cabinets
• Add Shelves / Hooks / and Accessories