Well, my appointment with the orthopaedic surgeon went well, and my rheumatism flare-up seems to slowly be un-flaring (thanks to a cortisone shot in the tukus- yowza!).
Kev’s been working on our master bathroom while I’ve been confined to the couch, and although it’s not a major makeover (more like a “paint bucket special”- ha!), the work he’s done has made such a difference in there!
We’ve made lots of changes to our master bedroom over the past couple of years…
…but the master bathroom was another story…
Badly stained unsealed grout, unpainted baseboards (that weren’t even attached to the walls), and a bad paint job were just a few of the things that needed tackling in there. (We had also only been using a shower curtain liner and a teeny tiny little bath mat in there for the past 5 years- shhh!)
Here’s what Kev whipped up, while I was stuck down for the count…(check out the “before and after” grout!)
We wanted to wrap up this re-do fairly quickly, and our main goal was to inexpensively refresh the space. We drew color inspiration from the Chip It! card I blogged a few days ago…
Kev started by thoroughly scrubbing all the grout lines on the floor with a narrow, stiff brush and a big ol’ jug of grout cleaner/resealer.
Then he used some antique white-colored Grout Renew, an old toothbrush, and some paper towels to make the lines look brand new…
Crazy difference, huh? Every time I hobble in there now I think, “why didn’t we do this five years ago!?” I love that it sealed the grout, too. Hopefully it’ll stay cleaner-looking a little longer from now on.
Here’s a resource list in case anyone out there wants to click on through to the other side:
Conservative Gray -Sherwin Williams
Moonlight White – Benjamin Moore (mixed at Sherwin Williams)
rug – TJ Maxx
trash can – TJ Maxx
green tray – Pottery Barn (discontinued)
seagrass plant pot– Ikea
apothecary jars – ? (we’ve had them forever!)
towel bar- Target
towels- Target
shower curtain – Target
And speaking of that shower curtain, I forgot to tell Kev to snap a full-length picture of it, but he did take a close-up of my favorite part…the rouched, bottom edge:
I dig rouching….and that our shower actually has a curtain now- ha!
CherylK
Looks terrific! I’m going to try that on my bathroom grout…thanks for the idea!
Bernadette @ B3HD
Love (and have) the towels. Love how gorgeous this turned out for not a whole lot of money or effort. Looks very spalike. I need to get my rump in gear and do our master bath. One day…
Bernadette @b3hd
Missy
Glad you don’t have to have surgery….but ouch on the tukus shot, those things hurt! :-/
Tell Kevin I said Kudos for working while you were down for the count…he’s a keeper for sure! 😉
So happy you liked your flowers….I was hoping to put a little sunshine in your days on the sofa!
later tater!
Missy
Liz
Layla, that is amazing! Your husband is such a great guy to work so hard and hopefully he took care of you, too. I love the bathroom….it looks fantastic and you made it look easy. Great work : )
Ashley@AttemptsAtDomestication
I definitely need to look into that grout stuff! We have white tile and white grout, it’s beautiful but it shows EVERYTHING. I really need to give the grout a good cleaning.
Marianne in Mo.
Kev did a great job! Looks almost brand – spankin’ new! Glad to hear your doctor visit went well. Can’t keep a good girl down for long!
Barbara
I just started following your blog recently. You guys are amazing! This bathroom redo is lovely.
I don’t know if you’ve heard of either of these doctors, but both have had good results using nutritional modifications to reverse diseases, including rheumatism. One of the doctors is John McDougall; the other is Joel Fuhrman. In case you haven’t heard of them, and are intrigued, here are links to two of their success stories:
http://www.drmcdougall.com/stars/star06_jean-brown.html
http://www.drfuhrman.com/disease/Other.aspx
Barbara
Jenna
Wow! It looks great! I really love how the gray paint makes the countertop seem more intentional rather than visually competing. Beautiful!
Jenny B.
It looks terrific! I pinned that grout cleaner and renew. I think our bathrooms would look so much better with light grout! Unrelated question: Where did you get the curtain rod in your bedroom? I was eyeing some at Target today, but I couldn’t make a decision. 🙂
Design Letters
Layla,
I love your bathroom..! Especially the shower curtain it is so nice.
It looks amazing with elbow grease, and some inexpensive accessories.
Kevin had done such a nice job.
ReneeM
Love the quick fresh re-do. Need to do something like that with both our 42 year old bathrooms. Didn’t know the grout fixers existed but now that I do, I think I have a first step project:)
Lynn in DG
SO sorry you are down for the count. People have no idea how many variations of arthritis exist. As a PT I have seen some debilitating cases over the years and for many the flare does pass. Hoping yours skee daddles pronto!
Count my vote for Grout Renew as one of the cheapest makeovers with most mongo impact! I just couldn’t stomach prying up the perfectly good gray tile, with stomach churning dirty brown grout, in my laundry room. Two days on my belly with an artist brush and white Grout Renew and it is A-May-zing how great it looks. I found the process to be kind of Zen. IDK. It reminded me of those childhood books that you traced the outlines and dotted field with water and a brush making color magically appear.
After 6 months of daily use it still looks great!
Be well!
Maria @ All Things Luxurious
I love what you did! It looks beautiful and so fresh!
Kerry
I thought my highschool softball coach was the only person to say “tukus”. Ha!
Glad you’re on the mend. Perhaps sealed grout has healing powers. =)
Tara
Ooooh cortisone shots in the bum are the pits! I had three (yes three!) when I was in hospital for an op recently. One before, two after. NONE were much fun!
LOVE the updated bathroom! I must see if there’s something similar to the re-grouter stuff here in South Africa. Out bathroom desperately needs it! And paint. And a new shower curtain. And and and!
Inge
Your post reminds me of our own dirty grout in our own bathroom which is also in need of a big redo. 😉 Thanks for sharing, it made me see redoing your bathroom doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. And yours looks amazing now! 🙂 I love the paint colour & the small details you’ve used.
Love, Inge x
Jackie K
Hope your recovery is coming along well, Layla.
Completely love the master bathroom refresh. Gave a little jolt of excitement to see the grout improvement – I’m in the midst of starting that with my own home. (same tiles, 50x worse grout). THANKS for the links to the products you’ve used!!
Can’t wait to see more of your projects…
Karen
Hey Layla….so sorry that your “rheumatism” has you laid up….I’ve had a flair up myself….treated myself to a massage yesterday. Hoping that would help me feel better! Lve, love, your bathroom….the pops of green and the red of the flowers are lovely! Feel better
Karen
Marc @ DressedUpButtonedDown.com
This mini makeover gives me hope for my hopeless powder room! I’ve aimlessly looked for the right grey and wondered about accents, and VOILA! Your bath will be the inspiration! Thanks!
Bec
this post has given me great inspiration to refresh our master bathroom which is very similar to this but has blue bench tops. It’s great how some simple touches can really enhance a space which otherwise is quite drab.. thank you.
Bec x
Dana
I used conservative gray from Sherwin Williams in my grand-daughter’s room and it has a more blue shade that it appears in your bathroom. Her window is north light though.
julie
I didn’t even know you could do anything about dirty grout….wonder if that cleaner will do anything for years and years of built-up boy grime?
Jenn
I love it…I actually registered for that shower curtian months ago…I still love it!
Meagan @Style-Edition
I have never heard of grout renew! Amazing…. I live in a rental and our gross, worn out grout drives me crazy! I’m definitely heading to the hardware store this weekend to pick some up and refresh my bathroom! Thanks for the tip 🙂
susan@avintagefarmwife
My goodness! That grout looks great. Thanks for sharing your product list. I have some grout I need to tackle and now I know what to use. I appreciate it!
bj
This looks soooo great, Layla and Kev….You did such an awesome job and sometimes, just a paint job and touch ups elsewhere make a world of difference. I am going to buy some of that grout cleaner and sealer and give MY tile a working over. Wouldn’t mind having an apple green rug, too. :))
Sarah
Yay for yucky-looking grout solutions! Thank you! Your bathroom looks fresh and beautiful.
Heidi @ Decor & More
So sorry you’ve been under the weather, Layla! I’m a bit behind on my blog reading with end of summer/back to school. 🙁
Love the bathroom transformation and I have got to try that grout cleaner and resealer! What a difference. One talented hubby you’ve got there. 🙂
Sending wishes for a speedy recovery!
xo Heidi
Leigh in Dallas
Hey Layla,
It looks great! I love what a huge transformation paint can make. Lots of bang for not a lot of bucks! Thanks too for posting about the grout cleaner/resealer. We’re in the process of finishing some new click and lock floors throughout the entire downstairs (HUGE difference!) but are keeping tile in the bathrooms and utility room. All the grout needs serious help – I don’t think ours was ever sealed either. It’s about fifth in line on the to-do list though…after finishing the floors, putting the trim back, caulking and painting the trim, and repainting our banister. It was stained a grody color that coordinated with the old grody floors…I can’t get it sanded down well enough to re-stain, so I’m thinking of doing a black handrail and newel post with white spindles. Thoughts? 😀
Sofia
Looks nice, fun to see that you didn’t do that much but still managed to make it look so much better and so different.
how2home
Love this bathroom. Looks very fresh and clean 🙂
Kelly Reber
This bath looks so great!!! The hubby and I have a rental prop that was just up for lease by new tenants and I was hating the yucky grout! I thought there were no options to fix it…. and you saved my life! It looks great now! I even mentioned you in my blog post today about it! You guys are awesome!!!
MG
Just got done scrubbing the heck out of the grout in my kids bathroom. Stumbled upon your blog from a link in the YHL comments. I’m going to check out the grout renew for sure! One question I have, in the close-up of the “after” grout picture, it looks like the white color is smeared all over the edges of the tile. Is that just because it’s such a close up picture? I’m not meaning it as a criticism, just wondering if you can tell that there is something on the edges in person. Our tile is white and shiny (unfortunately, came with the house), so I’m wondering if this grout renew would make the edges more dull and be noticeable. Thanks for any help!
Layla
Hi! 😀 Those tiles actually have wavy, uneven edges (I guess they’re supposed to look like “real” stone?), so we weren’t working with nice, straight lines. (Not to mention, whoever put the grout in back in the day, didn’t do a real great job.) Basically, the white color just stuck to whatever was already grouted. I think if you have straight grout lines, you’ll be really happy with the final result! 😀
MG
Oh, totally makes sense. Thanks so much for the clarification…..I’m actually on my way to buy some now. Thanks again!
MSY
Wow! Looks like a new floor. You’ve given me hope! Thanks! About 3 yrs ago we hired a contractor to tile our kitchen floor, hallway and powder room. I was very impressed at the work done at in-laws. However, the contractor sent another team of workers to our place. Tiles weren’t very straight and grout was not all white. It looked like dirt already settled into certain parts of the grout when it was brand new! And to top it off, before I was able to do anything about the unevenness, in-laws came to watch kids while hubby and I were away for a week. When we got back, dried puddles of PEE sat in front of the toilet and stained the grout. Someone was missing their aim! Sooooo GROSS!!! I purchased a narrow grout cleaner brush and scrubbed with grout cleaner solution, tried liquid bleach, powdered bleach, every cleaning products I got my hands on, from harsh scary stuff to baking soda + vinegar. That gross PEE stain in front of the toilet went nowhere. Finally I gave up, and sealed all the grout where the new tiles were installed. Yes, that pee stain is now sealed in and almost 4 yrs later, it still bothers me. In an attempt to ease my frustration, hubby commented that eventually dirt will get into the grout and it will all look even…LOL..But no, not so funny. Dirt is dirt. So to rest my nerves, I will try the grout renew and hope my white porcelain tiled floor will have clean white grout once and for all.