Friday, May 10, 2013

Budget Bathroom Floor Revamp

Sometimes, in renovating, you have to just invest a little time and money to make something liveable until you can spend more time and money making it better permanently.

Our bathroom is an example. 

With all our time and energy currently going into the kitchen and dining area, the bathroom is well and truly on the backburner. Realistically, I can't see us getting to it for a couple of years. 

We pulled out the old floor coverings when we moved in and, as I've said before, I painted the verandah boards white to try and make it look fresher.

It didn't work, because we have dogs who like to come and sleep in this room.

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Mud!

When they were clean, the white boards had a certain rustic charm but the gaps are a big problem - as winter approaches and the wind has started whistling up between them in the mornings, we needed a slightly more weather-proof solution. 

Enter a packet of vinyl tiles.

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No mud! Yet!

So there you go. A $50 solution to a lot of cold mornings and hopefully one that'll last a couple of years until we do the bathroom permanently.

14 comments:

  1. Love love love the tiles (vinyl or not). What a clever fix. I also admire how you are realistic about what can be achieved and will compromise rather than nag your poor husband (like some do). Congrats. Job well done.

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  2. I've always liked the look of white floorboards but have wondered how practical they would actually be, particularly with children and pets. Your new checkerboard flooring looks great (and I suspect your bathroom will be a lot more comfortable too.) xx

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    1. I love the look too but they are completely impractical, particularly in a bathroom...

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  3. I love it. I can't believe it cost the princely sum of $50. Looks fine to me. I am worried about the cold winds that'll come through the floorboards during winter. Have you lots of rugs?

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    1. We do! But we're also about to effectively lock off half the house to start the kitchen and dining renovation, so we'll only be living in a few rooms and a small section of verandah for a while. I'm basically pulling every spare rug out of the rest of the house and layering them in the areas we'll be using...

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  4. a perfect match for that darling green cupboard! x

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  5. Looks great and anything black and white I love. So much better a draft coming through the floor boards. Regards Kathy A, Brisbane, Australia

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  6. Looks good! While usually I am a 'don't do it until you do it properly' to save money and work, this is definitely a good fix. And may just mean you can live with your bathroom that bit longer!

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  7. Gotta love a checkerboard floor, that will be kinder on the feet, looks great. You'd find a couple of coats of clear estapol over your white floors would repel the dirt. Sometimes it's good to live in a house for a while to find out how it works best for you before jumping into major changes. Love your kitchen ideas too.

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  8. great fix. practical and good looking. perfection!

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  9. What a good solution to an ongoing problem, the dog mess would just get worse as Winter progresses.
    If you are stuck with the kitchen reno dragging on , you could get a few meters of the same black and white squares in a vinyl flooring, VERY cheap at Sam's wharehouse, Crazy Clarkes or Bunnings for your kitchen area on the verandha, then re-use it for a draught proof play area or cubby floor later on.
    Fingers crossed the kitchen goes smoothly, very exciting for you to feel settled in to your new home.

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