My Own Post-Flood Bathroom Remodel

If you were following along with our lost luggage 'adventure' during our trip to Italy a few months back, you may have caught us saying we had gotten word from my mom that one of the bathrooms in the house had flooded at exactly the same time. I know, it's just laughable how much can go wrong all at once!

The happy side of this whole situation is that this bathroom was due for a remodel - it was functioning, but definitely dated. We hadn't planned to do it right away, as we had a few other areas to concentrate on. But lo and behold, we had tree roots blocking the shower pipes from draining properly, and then water came up through the base of the toilet and flooded the bathroom and the adjacent bedroom all at once!

And let me tell you, working with insurance companies is a horribly slow process! If this happens to you in the future, know that you're going to have a tough time finding trades that will install tile for the low rate that insurance is willing to pay for. But they also require three separate quotes per task to know that no one is asking for too much money. You need to schedule all of these people to come and assess the damage and work to be done, and we can't get any of them to stick to our appointment times. Patience has long run thin, but don't give up!

We also know this isn't a forever home for us, so our biggest priorities were installing good quality finishes that will appeal to most homebuyers when we do eventually sell the house, and to have a beautiful, functional bathroom in the meantime. My mama lives with us, and it just so happens that it was her bathroom + bedroom that flooded, so it's extra frustrating that the process has been so drawn out. So while we wait for trades to be found and estimates to be submitted, here's a sneak peek at what we are planning to use in this surprise renovation!

We went with a pretty inexpensive 12" x 24" floor tile in a taupe color from Bedrosians. To complement that, we chose a lightly dark pumice colored matte penny tile for the shower floor. The shower walls are covered in this warm white, glossy porcelain tile that still has some texture to it, but isn't quite as handmade looking as the ever popular zellige tile that you're seeing everywhere.

We also went for this white oak vanity with subtle details on the doors. We will swap the handles out for a black or brass option later on - still can't decide! The vanity adds great warmth + storage to the room, so no regrets. We went with a matte black faucet and matte black showerhead as well.

The three bulb sconce above the sink mixes matte black and brass, and hangs above an oval pivot mirror in brass. The photo above is from our River Park house guest bathroom, and we plan to uninstall a medicine cabinet and add some open shelves like this again. Three towel hooks in matte black completes the wall on the other side, and we'll be doing a print of a vintage piece and framing it for the space above the toilet. Of course we'll probably throw down a great vintage rug too for a bit more character + coziness.

Stay tuned for after photos - I can't tell you when those will be, but I'm crossing my fingers this can be done soon!

PS: Insurance adjuster, if you're reading this, let's please just get it done. Ok thanks!