Take it from me, toilet seat covers should not be bought at Gordmans. Maybe at Menards or Home Depot, but not at Gordmans. Did the one I buy have an embroidered flower on it? Yes. Was it light as air and cushy like my grandma’s? Also yes. However, it did NOT match our brown toilet bowl (and it broke shortly thereafter), but it was only $9.99!
This is what happens when you have a bathroom that desperately needs renovating but you don’t have the budget for it. And our bathroom needed help. Lots of it. I’m not sure what happened when it was designed, but 17 shades of brown was it.
We’ve slowly been upgrading portions of our 1960s home for awhile, but the bathroom hasn’t been on the docket so I decided to fix it myself. Have I ever laid flooring? No. Installed a countertop? Nope. But there I went, me and the little money left in my personal fund. I mean, how hard could it be?
The gray-blue cabinet paint went on without a hitch. Not bad! I thought. Next came the vinyl “wood” flooring (part of a pack I purchased from another DIY-er). Hmmm…maybe I’m made out for this renovation stuff!
Then came the downward spiral.
When you see a countertop stick-on for less than a ten dollar bill and think you’ve found a great deal, RUN! I repeat. RUN. It’s a trick.
Countertops should not be purchased on Amazon Prime. Countertops should be…countertops! Granite. Quartz. Press board, maybe. But NOT stick-on like a third grade art project that burns easily from a curling iron!
And wall tile? Well, let’s just say that should NOT come in a can. “Wow”, I thought. “These hideous brown tiles can be upgraded to glossy white with a stroke of a brush!” Ummm…no, they can’t. Painted tiles look like – you guessed it – painted tiles. Not shiny, not glossy. Painted.
And when you have the sliding glass door replaced with a shower curtain, make sure you have a plan to remove the clear thick layer that held the door to the tub that day (because ours is currently being covered by a towel).
There’s more, but I’ll spare you the details.
In the end, here’s where my handiwork got us: an embroidered grandma toilet seat (finally replaced), half-painted brush-stroked walls (nobody’s fooled), plus a sticky countertop and rippling vinyl floor. Let’s just say that now when I bring up the next upgrade idea for our bathroom my husband responds with, “Well, it sure can’t make it much worse.” Honestly, I think he’s changed his tune and affectionately refers to it as “A Dollar Store bathroom”. Thanks hon.
BUT, desperate times call for desperate measures, so our bathroom has now climbed its way to the top of the house-project list. Praises! Coming Soon: The Real Herzog Bathroom Renovation. Updates to come. 😉
Keri Herzog loves to see women come to better know who they are in Christ. Previously she worked as the Assistant Dean of Women at Christ for the Nations Institute and also worked as the Assistant Dean for Leadership and Experiential Learning at North Central University. Currently she lives with her husband Jordan, their 2 daughters, and 2 German Shepherds.