A few weeks ago, we revealed our master bathroom makeover (check out the post here if you haven't already!). We just tallied up all the invoices and expenses for our bathroom renovation and we wanted to share a full budget breakdown with you today! Well, to be honest, I don't know if we "wanted" to, but here we are because it was highly requested so we are going to be straight forward and transparent about it. With our home renovation projects, we do what we call "rollover budgets." We set a budget for a project. We make sure we have saved the full amount of money before getting started, and any money we don't use in the budget (or if we're able to get part of the project sponsored) then that money is rolled over to the next project. Our project budget continues to grow and we're able to continue to do this as our full-time job. Although, we started doing a rollover project budget long before this was our job and long before we had sponsors because it also helps us cross off items on our to-do lists faster.
Our budget for our bathroom renovation was $50K. Now, that's a lot of money--believe me, I'm very aware! That number was established after getting bids from a few contractors and checking out the health of our rollover project budget. The master bathroom was also the very last big project on our to-do list for this house, so we had the benefit of a lot of rollover from other projects, which is a good thing because it was going to require a lot of dirty work (moving lots of plumbing = $$$$) to make it the dream bathroom we envisioned it to be.
WHAT WE PAID FOR
• The contractor and plumber's labor and materials including:
Labor and materials to demo bathroom, dispose of materials. Demo closet and shelving in closet. Cut out flooring and basement bedroom wall to move the toilet to a new location and to install a new drain for the shower. Reframe the basement wall, install sheetrock, and match the texture. Install new sub flooring where we cut out flooring to match the existing. Frame new walls for shower, toilet closet and walk-in closet. Frame and install new frosted windows for the toilet closet and for the shower. Finish the siding off around the windows. Finish rough in plumbing. Install two wall sink faucets, 3 shower valves, 3 thermostatic valves to control the shower and rain head. Run a new larger hot and cold water line from the main water over to the bathroom, cut out the ceiling in order to run the new water lines, install new sheetrock and match the texture that is on the ceiling. Install new pocket doors for the main door to the bathroom and for toilet closet. Install Hardie board for sub flooring and on walls in the shower. Install sheetrock, mud, tape, and texture all walls and ceiling patches that are needed. Install plastic pan for the shower and mortar bed for shower floor tile. Install Red Guard in the shower and on the sub floor. Install tile in all of the shower walls, floor, and ceiling. Install recessed shelving on the exterior shower wall. Install tile on all of the bathroom floors and into the closet. Install all bathroom accessories (ex. toilet paper holder, mirrors, etc.) Install baseboard trim, and paint the bathroom.
= $19,600
• Electrical and lighting labor ($1575) + materials ($864.71)
We added recessed lights throughout the bathroom, water closet, shower and closet. A new exhaust fan to serve the bathroom. Moved light switches. Added outlets inside vanity and where desired.
= $2439.71
• Custom Cabinetry throughout + install
We designed all of the cabinetry in our bathroom and had it made through Fashion Cabinet out of Utah, a company our contractors work with often.
- 80" hanging vanity with solid inset drawers that have drawer boxes that wrap around the sink in black. $2680 + quartz countertop and backsplash $1700
- 30x90x12 deep floor to ceiling linen closet with 4 inset drawers and a set of doors with glass inserts on upper section. Crown molding to match in Flour White. $2789.54
- Wall to wall cabinet in water closet to ceiling with solid doors and crown molding in Flour White $891.
= $8,060.87
• Heated Flooring
Labor and materials to add heated floors to the entire bathroom, closet, toilet closet, and shower floor. (Ditra Duo uncoupling mat, Ditra heat cable, and digital thermostat included.)
= $3600
• Glass Shower Doors
Labor and materials for glass shower door, stationary glass, clips and handle bar.
= $1460
Wallpaper $350
Marble Tile baseboard $654.30
Wood pocket door $335
White pocket door $165
Prive sign $14
Towel Hook $65
What We Paid SUBTOTAL $36,743.88
WHAT WAS SPONSORED
• Wayfair provided all of the Kohler fixtures we used, including:
| Sink | 2 | $229.50 | $459.00 |
| Sink Faucet Handles | 2 | $556.95 | $1,113.90 |
| Sink Faucet Valves | 2 | $160.31 | $320.62 |
| Pop-up Drain | 2 | $85.58 | $171.16 |
| Volume control valve | 3 | $41.99 | $125.97 |
| Volume control handle | 3 | $148.73 | $446.19 |
| Thermostatic Handles | 3 | $308.48 | $925.44 |
| Thermostatic Valves | 3 | $295.99 | $887.97 |
| Shower Heads | 2 | $105.56 | $211.12 |
| Rain Head | 1 | $721.80 | $721.80 |
| Toilet | 1 | $336.00 | $336.00 |
| Toilet Seat | 1 | $34.98 | $34.98 |
| $5,754.15 |
Also, 150 sq feet of 18x18 Marble Field Tile in Calacatta Gold = $3652.50
• Rejuvenation provided 2 walnut 24x36 mirrors, 2 towel rings, flush mount fixture, toilet paper holder, 20 unlaquered brass knobs. =$1524
• McGee & Co provided 3 bistro sconces, 2 hand towels, soap and lotion set, dipped ceramic jars, first aid box = $1292
• Fireclay Tile provided all of the gorgeous tile for the shower including 3x9 and Chaine Homme in their Loch Ness color = $4560
SPONSOR SUBTOTAL = 16,782.15
The GRAND TOTAL comes to $53,526.03.
This was, by far, the most expensive project we've ever tackled. But I think it's my favorite, too! Not only does it look so much better but having a functional, organized bathroom has made every day legitimately happier. We showered in a dark, tiny, broom-closet of a shower for 5 years! We shared a sink. We didn't have adequate lighting or storage. And I'm so grateful we held this project off for as long as we did, because not only do we appreciate it every single day so much more, but we were able to save and rollover money all those years, too. This was a very labor-intensive project with a lot of work being done by experts. Things that we wouldn't necessarily be comfortable doing ourselves and that added to the higher price tag. The plumber had to move a toilet and install larger water lines to serve the shower and wall-mounted faucets. The electrician had to add breakers and run wire from across the house to power the heated floors. Both of which required opening ceilings and walls and all that entails. If we weren't able to get the bathroom partially sponsored, we would have done more of the labor ourselves--likely the tiling--to keep it under budget. Thankfully, we were able to get this project partially sponsored and rollover a couple thousand dollars into our closet (IKEA, FOR THE WIN!) and the rest into the cabin. More on that this week!
SOURCES
Wall Color-- Sherwin Williams Cloud White in Satin
Trim color-- Valspar Pure White in Semi-Gloss
Vanity, Linen cabinet, and Water closet cabinet--custom made through Fashion Cabinets in West Jordan, UT
Marble Floor Tile-- Wayfair
Shower Tile, 3x9 and Chaine Homme in Loch Ness--Fireclay Tile
Countertop --Venato Quartz
Undermount Sinks
Purist Wall-Mounted faucets by Kohler in Polished Nickel--Wayfair
Walnut Mirrors
Sconces
Towel rings
Hand towels
Soap and Lotion set
White Pocket door
Wood pocket door
Prive sign
Flush Pull and Edge Pull Pocket door hardware
Smokey Floral Wallpaper
Flush-mount light
Unlacquered brass knobs
Toilet
Toilet paper holder
Kohler Purist Shower head --Wayfair
Kohler 12" Rain Shower Head in polished nickel-- Wayfair
Kohler Purist Cross Handle for Thermostatic Valve -- Wayfair
Kohler Purist Lever Handle for Volume Control
Triple Towel hook
Jewelry tree
Simple Human Mirror
Dipped Ceramic canisters
First Aid box
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Wow, just the labor in New York /Long Island would be $30-$40k. Honestly. I need to get contractors from Idaho to drive east for a few weeks :)
Well, we did the work ourselves!
Superbly written article, if only all bloggers offered the same content as you, the internet would be a far better place.You can also visit my blog in related to this post http://finishedbasementkanata.com/
Thank you for being so transparent! Planning our bathroom reno and trying to estimate what things actually cost is tough!
Saw your IG Live just now of your whole house and you mentioned your “really great bath fan”. Sounds lame to ask about, but do you remember which one it was? We are desperately in need of a new one and I want it to be great. Love everything you guys do and appreciate your honesty above all.
I'm sorry I don't, and it doesn't have any markings on it!
I love how open and honest you were about the budget in this post. As an interior designer who specializes in kitchen and bathroom design, I find that a lot of people have unrealistic expectations or have no idea of what a renovation like this would cost because of things they see on HGTV. You did an amazing job and I absolutely love this space!!
Can a bathroom on a slab foundation we renovated like this one? I would love to do mine some day but wasn’t sure if it’s even possible.
It can if there is plumbing running under where you want the bathroom, but it gets pricey. They have to jackhammer out all the concrete, run the new plumbing, and pour the slab again.
Julia and Chris....
Beautiful job! I appreciat your transparency. Just wrapped up a Carrara marble master bath for a client here in Pocatello and it was upwards of $65k. Although expensive, it certainly was an investment in their home that they should reap the benefit from, as well, enjoy! Home design shows can be misleading. You two share real issues and costs! Thank you!! Enjoy your new digs.
Thank you for your honestly. It’s a disservice when blogs and tv shows mislead consumers on the actual budget of a project. You can’t remodel an entire home for 70,000 hgtv!! I also think when you work hard and save, you shouldn’t be embarrassed by spending your money the way you want! If it’s a lovely bathroom, so be it! It’s yours to spend! Don’t feel you need to dummy down to please your followers! You have great taste! Keep Inspiring!
This is incredible. Thank you so much for sharing such intimate details (yet again) about the money side of things. You guys did a fantastic job. It’s been so thrilling to see the updates along the way and then the final product!!! So inspiring.
I loved your bathroom!
What’s the brand of the floor heater?
I’m thinking in renewing my bathroom too
Thanks a lot
Ditra Duo uncoupling mat, Ditra heat cable
Oh my goodness how expensive! I am loving the result though, it's gorgeous! x http://www.justsavxnnah.com
I am very grateful that you have shared this breakdown with us, Chris and Julia! It is a dose of reality that is sorely needed in the world of renovation and helps me to justify costs on my projects.
Hi! We are doing a hallway and bathroom Reno and I really want a pocket door for the bathroom. Is a 24” pocket door too small when all the other doors are a standard 32” door? My contractor says I can’t go any bigger than the 24.
Our door leading into our water closet is 24" and it feels completely normal and not scrunched at all.
Thanks for sharing the breakdown. Considering it looks like a million bucks, you got a really good deal!
Haha, you're sweet!
How does it work to design and have custom cabinetry built? Did your contractor work as a go between for you and the cabinet builders? Did you work directly with the cabinet people? Can just anyone call and have a cabinet company build a cabinet for them?
Our contractor worked as the middle man, delivery our designs and dimensions, but I'm pretty sure you can call any cabinet maker and cut out the middle man.
Followed this project from the beginning and knew it would be pricey but well worth it. Thanks for sharing the details and so happy for you that you got a large amount sponsored so that you could do the closet and work on the cabin! Can't wait to
see the progress on the cabin.
Question related to the paint colors you selected. Noticed that your cabinetry (above toilet and linen cabinetry) are noted as "flour white". Is that Sherwin Williams? We're painting our 1960s mid-century wall paneling (throughout the entire house) in Sherwin Williams white flour. I picked it because I like that there's a bit of creaminess to it. Do you find matching other whites to it difficult or am I overthinking it? Struggling with what color to paint our trim. Does Valspar pure white make it look more creamy/yellow? Is that a contrast that you thought about? Who knew there could be so many decisions about white paint... :) Any comments or thoughts you have would be so appreciated! I feel like whites always look different in person than they do in photos.
It's definitely a more creamy white, but I love mixing creamy white with pure white (as long as the sheens are different.) Having all one white can look flat.
Love, love what you did with your bathroom! Such a huge difference...
I can't tell you how much I loved this post. While my husband and I are very handy and do a lot of things around our house, it's not not realistic that we can do as much as DIYers often do on their projects. Which means we're spending much more money than is typically needed by a lot of those bloggers. It can get frustrating to see everyone posting these fantastic before and afters when you know that, for most of us, it would be much more expensive for us to do something similar. So having you show us a more realistic budget was extremely refreshing. Thank you for being so transparent. And congratulations on saving up and finally getting your dream bathroom - every single choice you made led to a stunning final product!
That’s great that you were able to get so much sponsored and had so much saved for it. It would be cool to see a get the look for less post if you haven’t already done one :)
Working on it for later this week!
This will be great! Thanks CLJ!
Thanks for sharing these details. As someone planning for a master bath reno as well, I would be interested in a post on how you approach spending money on projects. You've done a lot of great things to your house - which is improving the value of it, no doubt. But there's always a cap on a house's potential worth. Although you may have the money for the projects, how do you determine if it'd be the *right* way to spend that money in the house?
When you were deciding a budget for the various renovations in your house, did you base it on the monetary value it would add to your house or more so on your wants? For example, the $50k you budgeted for the bathroom: Did you cap it at $50k because you knew that’s the most you could get in return or did you just kind of add up all your wants and go from there? Do you think you would get that back if you sold the house or does it not matter that much to you since you don’t plan on moving for a while anyway? I hope that’s not too confusing.
Resale is always in a back of my mind and something we take into account with every renovation, but we also have no plans of moving ANYTIME soon and markets are always changing so we have a ceiling for our renovations in general and just stick with under that.
Love the cost breakdown! Seriously in school in my interior design classes they ALWAYS said bathrooms and kitchens are the most expensive, 30-50k. And I always wondered how true it was and what a bathroom and kitchen looked like on that budget...would it be over the top or perfect or not quite what you wanted... LOVE your bathroom and I think it was worth every penny and I’m not even living in it ???? good job! And yay for giving us an idea on the cost for hiring it out, always seems so scary what that will cost ???? but really nice to see its a lot but then you can see why, anyway all stuff you know, but so thankful you shared it with us!
Did I miss the source for the shower door?
It was a local glass company that our contractor works with.
I really really really appreciate these posts. Keep it real ????????
I too think this was a good price, based on what people in my area have paid for bathroom renos. You hit the big ones with plumbing moves, etc. But also it's beautiful. Enjoy.
My main inspiration are your empty countertops. I need to see if we can do that!
Just curious, how many square feet is your bathroom? And does this include the closet in the cost and square feet? Agree that this is super helpful for all of us that are planning remodels!
Probably 150 square feet between the bathroom and closet. And the quote here does include tiling and sheet rocking the closet as well.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for the complete list of the bathroom cost. It really helps us regular folks know how much a bathroom reno can cost. So many blogs are shady about it and I can see why. Its really expensive and everyone wants to pretend their bathroom reno cost 5K. Your bathroom turned out great. I really enjoyed following along. Thanks again for sharing.
I can't believe that is the same bathroom!!!! It looks amazing! Wow! Money well spent.
I don’t blame you for being nervous about publishing how much you spent on your beautiful bathroom. We did our master bath about 10 years ago. We did most of it ourselves but hired out tiling the marble floor.
I still haven’t added up the totals costs. I guess I don’t want to know! ????
Am I the only one who thinks $36k is a hell of a deal for what you got? And not having to do it yourself. Win-win!
Your bathroom is amazing! Thank you for sharing this info,definitely bring perspective as to how much renovations really cost. I get that everyone will have a different budget but for a newby like me what tips would give someone when trying to determine a budget for a big reno when you have not decided on finishes or what title to go with ect?
I think the best thing to do is just start saving. You're not going to know how much you need until you make all your decisions and get your bids and decide what work needs done. And you'll likely still run into things that will bump your budget up, no matter how large or small it is. So start saving now - a specific dollar amount, every month. Treat it like any other bill, and put that money aside - whatever you feel comfortable doing. At the same time, start gathering inspiration and choosing things that you like. Compile those in a list and start keeping track of the estimated costs, and over time you'll have a good guess on at least materials, then you can use that to start gathering bids. But by starting to save now, when the time for bids comes you'll at least have a good start.
As a bath and kitchen designer I feel it necessary to share realistic budgets as often those that dont remodel have somewhat unrealistic ideas about budgets. So thank you. Now my question-did you insulate behind the recessed storage nook on the exterior wall? Do you have concerns about heat loss...or more specifically cold bleed into the shower in winter months if you did not/were not able to insulate to required R value for exterior walls behind that niche? I'm excited to hear your thoughts on this
Our walls had spray foam insulation - super efficient - and we left that in tact and just bumped the wall out a smidge to give us a shallow niche.
Thank you so much for sharing the budget, it is so helpful and insightful! I hope you continue to do this in the future!
Honestly, thank you so much for this. Real renovations cost a pretty penny and I don’t think that’s discussed much in today’s HGTV/blog/influencer world. It makes people feel like somehow they’re getting ripped off when they get quotes, when that might be the going rate. Your bathroom looks great and functions even better so it was completely worth it! I so appreciate real numbers here and don’t begrudge any of the free product you received.
It is nice to read a realistic portrait of a renovation such as this fabulous one. It looks amazing. A question or two. At your most expensive reno yet, does this mean it was more expensive than the kitchen? And secondly, the sponsorship helped offset the cost of some great choices (tile, etc), but how does working with sponsors provide income? Hope it is not too personal, but I am still trying to "pull back the curtain" on this career! Thanks! Looking forward to the next project.
This bathroom cost almost twice as much as our kitchen, haha. As for sponsorships, we'll have to do a post about that - there's a lot that goes into it. But for the purposes of your question, there are a few types, some paid, some just product provided. All of the "sponsorships" for the bathroom were more like "partnerships" where product was provided only. None of these partnerships involved additional income.
I absolutely love following this project from start to end. Great job on the planning, budget and execution. My husband and I are inspired to do the the same for our master bath. Thank you for sharing the process and giving others confidence to tackle home improvement projects too.
I love seeing real numbers on this renovation!! Especially in contrast to HGTV- which somehow does an entire home gut job remodel for less. I have long felt like those numbers were garbage, but also didn't know what they should be realistically. This has taught me that I am still a year or two out from my own dream master bathroom remodel, but the wait will be worth it. :)
Many of the HGTV reno costs are for materials only; they don't include labor, which is a huge part of the cost of a renovation!
Love your bathroom, it's classic and just gorgeous. You're right, yikes, what a big budget. We've been renovating for a year now and a bathroom will come eventually. But with every step I think resell value. Even though we've landed in our dream home where we plan and hope to be forever, I still think about this naturally. How do you work thru that when doing such a large expensive renovation ? Or do you just shrug and say, it's ours and we love it and that's all that matters right now. Enjoy watching you guys and constantly inspired to try new things on our home.
Resale is always in the very, back corner of my mind but I can't even IMAGINE moving. Especially now.
If you had to bring the price down, what would get cut?
Tile (maybe use ceramic)?
No heated floor?
No pocket door?
Less expensive mirrors and fixtures?
The pocket doors weren't a huge expense. We'd probably do a more budget tile in the shower. We'd lay it ourselves and probably demo ourselves. I'm going to work on a look for less!
Another comment to thank you for your transparency. I'm sure it wasn't easy to hit publish, but it's great to see how much it all cost and what elements were sponsored vs. what you paid for yourself.
I love that you presented this honestly and shared all your costs as well as what was sponsored. Refreshing to see an honest detailed description, and I love that you listed EVERYTHING used in the project! We are starting to think about embarking on a master bath renovation, and you made it seem doable. I actually thought that the amount you budgeted was exactly the amount we would need if not more. Now that is is all said and done, is there anything that you would change or anything you wished you had or had not done?
There is one kink with the smart recirculating pump that we installed we're still trying to figure out. It's supposed to be immediate hot water, as to not waste as much water, but it's not working properly. Our contractors are committed to making it work, so fingers crossed they can!
This is a great post! Honestly, I appreciate that your guys aren't a super-budget blog - I totally think those blogs are amazing but I also think that sometimes that stuff looks really great in pictures but not as high-quality in real life.
One question - you do get actually paid for sponsored posts, right? It seems a little bit shady if brands are getting all this advertising just for product (which presumably costs them much less than the retail value), so I hope bloggers are getting paid actual money for sponsored posts as well.
We do get paid for sponsored posts. Part of our income also comes from ads on our blog and our readers just visiting our blog. And people are only going to keep coming if we produce content. So we are in a very unique situation where spending money on projects also brings in an income--something we are constantly balancing of course.
I want to echo everyone thanking you for your transparency. It is never fun to add up all the expenses and see that final number in bold. But it shows what it takes to get a bathroom like this. While this will never be my budget for a bathroom, it is fun to follow along one that is. I am curious how much value you think this adds to your home in terms of resale.
For a more expensive remodel like this, you can usually expect to get about 60% ROI.
Money well spent!
This bathroom is epic, dreamy perfection. I actually think your contractor/plumber costs are pretty low for what you had done. That shower alone must have taken a couple weeks to waterproof and tile. And you are doing a real service to your readers to share actual costs and to make the point that even experienced DIYers like you know there are times when it's better to hire the pros. Beautiful master bath, enjoy it!
Thank you for sharing this information! It’s super helpful to see what this kind of transformation actually costs. You did a beautiful job!
Your bathroom is great. Not everything is my style but it’s yours and it all came together fabulously. As for the budget, it’s probably unrealistic for many DIYers but again, there is no doubt you both worked extremely hard to get where you are. I’ll echo everyone else in appreciation of the honesty. We have DIYed everything over the past year in our home and we are finally ready to tackle the master bathroom. We will have to do it in parts because of the expense of bathrooms but seeing your breakdown has helped tremendously in expectations. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for being open about the prices and sponsorship! That's brave and honest and I love that you are letting us see that side of things.
Thank you for being so honest and transparent!!! I wish more interior blog and DIY were, bc it is so helpful for those of us wanting to plan our own projects and have no idea what we are getting into!! So beautiful as always!! Will you being putting together a look for less bathroom inspired by your finishes? Pretty please ?????
Oh, that's a great idea! I'll put that on my calendar.
Echoing the comments about transparency. It is really helpful. The other comment I'll add is that I've also learned from your blog and some others that there is a difference between phase 1 and your final goal and having a plan can avoid paying twice for things. We are in the final stages of a basement renovation and we've made careful decisions about spending money on things we would have to undo in the future and saving on things that could be added in phase 2 without undoing it (e.g., pull out storage under the stairs vs. cheap flooring we'd have to pay for twice).
Also chiming in here to say THANK YOU for this transparent post! It's so incredibly helpful to readers to provide this kind of breakdown and really does provide a great reality check. We reno'd our (tiny) master bath a few years back and this is making me feel much better about our $24k price tag, which included splurgy heated floors, tile and fixtures. Your bathroom came out so beautifully, it's worth every penny!
So interesting to see a real breakdown with the sponsored items included. Writing a blog and making so much of your home and life transparent may create opportunities and sponsorship for many of your home improvement projects...but, it Also takes away a lot of your privacy and requires a certain amount of “justification“ for certain things you buy or choose for your home. We often forget that other people or friends are able to do things we cannot because they make other sacrifices we may not wish to make. Great info there both of you!
I do like the bath Reno and love the closet. If you can do a post on downsizing from a large lovely master closet to the dark, narrow thing I have in my (moved to Georgia) house, that would be great!
Thanks for sharing! If people know you guys at all then they know you guys have broken your backs diy-in to save money in the past (tilemaggedon anyone?!). This was the last big project in your home and you guys went all out and I think that is actually very relatable. Most people in your position would do the same. Congrats on an amazingly well designed space!
Thanks so much, Laura!!! It's been a journey to get here for sure.
This is awesome! Also, anyone "jealous" of the budget -- $19,600 was on contractors and I would bet a ton of that was because you were moving layout around so extensively. That is to say, that had you just been upgrading an existing space to meet your style, you probably would not have spent that 20k! Just something to think about for others who maybe don't need to move plumbing etc. You rock! I LOVE the bathroom!!
Thank you for your transparency, it is greatly appreciated not only to see what things cost, but the detailed breakdown of what really went into everything! It gets annoying when watching a HGTV show in expensive California and they try to say it is $10,000-15,000 for a new kitchen with granite or quartzite counters, ha! It makes people plan projects out of their budget. This truly shows how expensive everything is. Beautiful job with your bathroom, what an inspiration!
I love this!! With so much HGTV/DIY house shows showing us these unrealistic costs for renovating a home, its really refreshing to see an actual real budget for a bathroom!! The most helpful is the construction breakdown because that is never shown,. I think people don't realize that on the shows when they tell you it will cost $5k to renovate a kitchen, that is only material. Labor is not included and that is soooooooo expensive (as it should be!!). Beautiful work!
You're already gotten a bunch of supportive comments- so let's add another one! I love that you broke down what was paid for with your own money vs paid for via sponsors. It's really helpful for me as a reader to understand how much goes into the individual line items. I'll never have a budget like yours (which is okay) but knowing the costs for everything I think is helpful- and I think it's so great you're able to get sponsors to help defray the costs which then helps you roll your budget into other projects! Keep up the fantastic work- we love you!
It sounds like my comment will be like some others. I appreciate the honesty. It's hard when we *pin* a picture we love, but in reality, it'll never fit our budget. Your bathroom is GORGEOUS, but beyond my budget, and honestly it's just better for myself to get back to reality instead of one day wondering why my bathroom doesn't look like that! ha! :) Again, it's stunning!!
I am going to echo so many others and say I really really appreciate this break down of costs! My husband and I are renovating currently and we were very naive about expenses going in. It can look so easy, but there are always less obvious costs popping up.
Thank you so much for your transparency and honesty! We are about to do a huge reno on our house-- two floor bump out and seeing these numbers is a good reminder that yes, its a lot of money but in the end, the outcome is so worth it.
Oh my gosh, I'm having a big giggle to myself right now. It looks awesome you guys, and a serious reminder of Pinterest vs reality. Thanks for being willing to explain the breakdown! We just spent $50k last year updating and partially renovating THREE homes (two rentals and our new house)... doing 90% of the labor ourselves and almost killing ourselves. Our saved up budget to redo our small hall bathroom is currently about $300 and I'm waiting to hit $1000 before starting, and updating the master bathroom isn't even in the picture at this point. Which is why I love that bathroom redo you did for Preston that I'm basically going to imitate. Still looks great, not high end but great, and is "design within reach" hahaha!
WHOA. It's beautiful but eeeeee. I do appreciate the breakdown and obviously knew this wasn't a "budget" renovation, but wowza. That's more than our budget for renovating our entire basement, from the studs, including a powder room, a kitchenette and 2 rooms! But, these kinds of posts must be hard to write because EVERYONE has a different perception of money. I think that whatever makes you guys happy (after all, it is YOUR HOME) is the right thing.
Thanks for this post. I think knowing real budgets is helpful for many people. For another reference point I completed a bathroom remodel similar to yours in complexity out on the east coast and the price was very similar.
THANK YOU for your honesty here. It really helps me calibrate my expectations for my upcoming bath remodel. My budget is nowhere near yours.... and that’s ok! Your breakdown helps me figure out the smartest places to invest the money that I DO have.
Congratulations on finishing such a huge project! It’s gorgeous and I’m sure you’ll get many years of enjoyment out of it! (Those shower tiles are my absolute favorite.)
I appreciate this post and the transparency it represents. I want to see a LOT more transparency from home bloggers. Like someone else has already said, the people reading home blogs often do not have the money to recreate what they see, but they have no idea because they don't know how much all the materials and labor cost the homeowner. And as someone doing a whole house renovation, I have found it so damn hard to find even a ballpark figure for something without calling for multiple bids (a seriously laborious and frustrating process in the rural area where I live!). Finding more posts like this would be so helpful.
Thank you for the break down and the transparency. If you receive any hateful comments about the sponsored products, it will be out of pure jealousy. I will admit my first instinct is to be VERY jealous, but then again I did not invest years into building my blog readership and online presence so that companies would find it beneficial to provide me products in exchange for exposure. You two are killing it, and more than deserve to enjoy this GORGEOUS bathroom!
Thank you for your transparency! Sometimes I think inspiration overload with no idea of budhet sets “us” up for totally unrealistic expectations! I love your bathroom so much! You did a fantastic job! Enjoy!
We spent around $15,000 to add a dormer to our second story and built a much needed second bathroom … but that was 32 years ago! Labor costs only go up and up along with materials. You spent a long time planning and reworking the floorplan and you got exactly what you wanted. Buy quality and you only cry once.
GORGEOUS! Thanks for sharing so much, it really helps to get a sense of what goes into a major renovation.
Probably not your favorite post, but the transparency is much appreciated!! This is such a good reminder of all the odds and ends that are required in a budget beyond the fun stuff like tile and lighting. I’m sure I will refer to this in the future. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this. I imagine you're nervous about what kind of feedback you'll get. Not sure why anyone cares what you spend *shrug*. ANYWAY I found this helpful in that I've been cringeing/nervous about spending 5k (which we have saved and which I know will get us what we want, it's just scary to spend that much money) on our tiny bathroom remodel. This makes me feel like 5k is nbd so thanks for the perspective! Love everything you chose, it's beautiful.
Just wrapping up a big renovation myself ... and too afraid to do this math. Really appreciate seeing the breakdown of paid v sponsored. Provides a realistic look into what these projects go for.
I'm glad you both did a remodel to YOUR style and for your enjoyment! Hypothetically, do you think your house would appraise for 50k more now you've improved the bathroom?
Oh I think this is an interesting point that I would like CLJ's opinion on. Regardless of your budget, taste and need, do you take into consideration potential return on investment? As Liz said, is your house now worth 50K more?
I understand YOU get to live in this dream part of your house, but is this something you think about before tackling such a reno?
Thanks!
Yes, absolutely! I actually answered a similar question on Instagram. When we bought our home 5 years ago, it was $150K less than every other house on our street so we knew we could add quite a bit of equity to it. We have no plans to sell, but just a couple months ago our neighbors sold their home for an amazing profit, without any updates, so we feel confident in today's market we're still sitting in an area of profit. Of course, markets always change, but it was still reassuring.