Earlier this week I shared the basement bathroom reveal and showed are new bathroom shelves.  Now I'm back to share how we made them.



I had put together a couple inspirational pictures of shelving that I liked awhile back and while they we're all on the industrial/rustic side, they all had one major thing in common, all had distressed wood shelves.

Clockwise: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

I looked around for different brackets, but kept coming back to the inexpensive Ekby Bjarnum brackets from Ikea.


I had grabbed a couple sets a while back in case my search for other brackets came up short, and while I thought about painting them black for a minute, (to match my inspiration photos above), I thought they looked fine the way they were.

The problem was I wanted reclaimed wood shelves.  Not just any wood either, I now was committed to finding wood that was exactly 1" because that's the thickness of the brackets.  No pressure.

I spent a couple months researching some local reclaimed wood sites, and was all ready to hit up some backwood barns, when Mike shared a tip that blew my mind.  Seriously though, it was probably most shocking because I spent months thinking about this project before he told me.  So, here it is, how to get the reclaimed-wood-look from a box store.


Everyone can go get a piece of lumber, distress it, stain it, and call it rustic, but the problem is the thickness.  A typical 1" x board is actually only 0.75" thick.  Our secret: stair treads!

Stair treads are 1" thick, not nominal, actual.

Once Mike told me this, I had new stair tread in the garage within 2 days.  The only prep needed is one edge comes with a bull nose edge, so we used our table saw to rip it down to size.  Since the brackets are 7 1/2" and the treads were 11", this was necessary anyways.

Once we had it cut to size we went to town distressing the heck out of them.  Mike and I had way too much fun with various items from the garage.  Our arsenal included a giant chain, mallet, hammer, and wire.  We whipped, dropped, pounded the wood until we got the level of distress we were happy with.  I lightly sanded all the edges and sides and stained 2 coats, (using Minwax Special Walnut), and finished with a coat of poly.  Mike helped install the brackets and we were good to go.


I love how beat up the edges look.



I used some items we had around the house, and bought a few more to load up the shelves with accessories.

 
The plants, baskets, and towels are from Ikea.  The basket was an etsy find, and the soaps are all homemade.  The green bottle is an old Chianti bottle without the basket that our neighbor gave us.  We never knew how to display this since it rolls around, so the antlers were a happy accident since I just grabbed something to keep it stable for a second.

We both love the new shelves and for the cost ($10 for the stair tread (edited: they are actually $20, but we were able to cut in half to get both shelves from one sheet) and $10 for the 2 sets of brackets), we really couldn't be happier!

Welcome to the new blog! Hope everyone made it here okay. I know it can be a pain switching to something new from something you're comfortable with, but I hope you like this new space as much as I do! Please become a follower if you want, (I'll no longer be posting on Our First Nest, so if you're a follower over there you won't get any updates), follow by email, or just keep checking in whenever you want. As a reward for everyone who's made the journey over here, I've got a room reveal!

We finished our basement bath back in October, a little before we headed out on our honeymoon.  It was pretty much finished back in May when I shared the updates here, but I still needed to add the shelving.


I'll have another post specifically about the shelves, but for now I'll just show the completed room.  To jog your memory, here's what the room started as:



The layout was decent, but the large vanity seemed overkill for a basement, and caused the shower and toilet to compete for space on the other side.  I suggested changing the layout and moving the toilet to the other side and installing a smaller vanity.  This would mean we could install a larger shower, and some built-in storage.  Even though it meant a lot more work for Mike, in the end we're really happy with our decision.

 
So, here she is, almost a year in the making:




It's a very small room so it's difficult to photograph, but here's as much as I could get in one shot so you can understand the layout.  The shower is on the left then behind that is the new built in.


We love all the storage of the built in.  There's so much we haven't even begun to fill it all.  I did grab some baskets so that we'll have some organization when we do start filling it up.



Other than the shelves, we also changed the side of the mirror the towel hung.  Yep, major change people.  I finally convinced Mike to install one of these Ikea towel hangers, (he wasn't convinced the towel would stay on it), and it's also useful for hiding the outlet.



I also found a houndstooth rug from Target that I grabbed on impulse, but ended up really liking.


Mike let me accessorize how ever I wanted with the only caveat being that it couldn't be girly, since this is where he usually showers after working on projects that make a lot of mess.  I wanted some sort of red or orange in there and even though I don't really like candles threw this one in the Target shopping cart too.  It's actually a really nice smell and I wish I used candles more, because I would be in the habit of lighting it more often.  Mike's okay with it, because unlike me, he actually likes candles, go figure!


Overall, I'm really loving this room.  It was once a small, dark room that is now very light and functionable.  We also went a little out of our comfort zone with nearly white walls, and more industrial feel.


I always like to recap what's been done in the same reveal post, so here's all the steps that we had to take to get us to this point.

We started by demoing all the previous fixtures out.


   
Then Mike cursed my name as he cut the concrete floor up to move the drainage for the toilet to the other side of the room.  In reality, he wanted to replace all the cast iron piping in the house to PVC, so he would have done this anyways, but it did require some extra measuring.


We then cleaned up and filled it back in with dirt, sand, and concrete.


Then drywall and the shower was installed, and the makings of the new storage closet could be seen.



Once Mike mudded everything, I was able to get in a paint.  Then came our heated floor system, (best idea ever) and tile.



I actually ended up not liking the color so much and repainted, but never wrote about it.


After the grout was dry, the walls a different shade, and all the trim added and painted, we installed our Ikea vanity.  Of course Mike had to modify it because he didn't like the trap, but it's so nice either way with all the storage and small footprint.


We wrapped everything up by adding shelves and accessories.  This room has been such a nice addition (technically there was always a bathroom, but we never used it because it was so gross), to our newly finished basement.


Next time I'll share all the details about the shelving!

I'm sorry I've been neglectful, I even missed the latest Pinterest Challenge, (agh!), but last week I had surgery to remove my gallbladder.  I spent the last couple months looking forward to getting it out, (gallstones are a bitch), but nothing really prepares you for the surgery, and the subsequent recovery. 

My work was great and gave me a week off, and while I can't lie and not admit to looking forward to a week with no responsibility, I still have three days left and I'm beyond bored!  I'm nowhere near as much of a busybody as Mike, but I'm dying not being able do as much as I'm used to.  I've improved since getting worn out from walking to the bathroom and back, to feeling tired after doing the dishes and a load of laundry or two, (don't worry I'm not picking up any baskets or anything).  I can't wait to be back to a normal routine, and even get some projects done!

I've felt weird not blogging, so I thought after such a heavy admission, (maybe a little too much TMI for a home related blog?), I thought I'd keep it light with a couple updates of the basement bathroom.  I haven't wrote anything about this room since we installed the Ikea vanity and mirror a couple months ago.  As far as bathrooms go, after the large items, (toilet, shower, sink), are installed it's pretty much a completed room.  It's the little touches that really make bathrooms nice.

Since the vanity install, I finished painting all the trim.  I added a couple accessories and then focused on painting the stairs.

Here's the bathroom as it looks today.


I added soap and a candle to the vanity, (whoa watch out dramatic changes), and a hand towel.  Right now the towel is on the left side of the mirror hanging from a command hook, but we're probably going to change it to the right side and it will hang down and cover the outlet since we never use it.  World shattering news, I know.



I also picked up a wicker trashcan from Target and put it between the vanity and toilet.  I'm not a fan of trashcans in the bathroom in the open, but this is a small space and there's no other room.

I'm waiting to make a trip to Ikea again to pick up some brackets to add some shelves above the toilet before really adding the accessories in this space.  In the mean time I put the fake plants I grabbed the last time I was there on the window ledge.  I really like the deep ledges from the glass block windows, so I'm going to have to figure out how to utilize those as well.  

We also installed the Ikea toilet paper holder from the same Ikea haul which seemed to be all about the bathroom the last time.  It literally took me days to figure out where to put this thing.  How can such a small thing seem like such a big deal?  I decided I didn't want to drill into the vanity and put it on the wall instead.  I'm weird and don't like to look into a bathroom and see the toilet paper holder, but it does have it's advantages, like whether or not there's an empty roll left from the last person! 

     
I've been dreaming of some industrial shelves and have pinned some ideas in the last couple of weeks.  I think I've come up with a plan that I can do on my own that will involve some reclaimed wood, (or distressed if I can't find any old stuff), and metal. 

Here's some of the pins I've been using for inspiration.  All sources can be found on my pinterest board for the basement bath.


Obviously, I like the reclaimed wood and black bracket look.  Now, I've just got to get well enough to make make the 90 minute trip to Ikea for the materials.  Oh, and I guess get well enough to be a functioning member of society too.  Priorities people.

I recently blogged about the general progress made in the basement, I posted a picture that hinted at some major progress in the bathroom.


That's right we have a working toilet!

After my trip to Ikea, Mike finished the floor trim around the bathroom.  He even graciously allowed me to paint it before installing the toilet and vanity.  Although, he did end up jumping the gun a little and installed the vanity before I had touched up the wall paint, but you'll never see it so I'm okay with it, (I paint the trim first, not caring about getting it on the wall, then go back with the wall paint to get a nice crisp line on top, if anyone was wondering).

Once the trim was crisp white the toilet and Ikea vanity went in.  Mike attached the vanity to the wall and siliconed the front feet to the floor to prevent it from moving at all.  He also installed my mirror and I have to admit it's just as awesome in person.



I would have liked it to be a little larger to fit over the vanity below, but I still love it and to be honest, no one's going to be using this bathroom to put make-up on or anything so a big mirror wasn't necessary.

I love the industrial feel of the light and I think the mirror is just enough industrial to tie it together with  the vanity.

I was so excited to have running water and wanted to get a picture of the mirror and light together that I even snapped a rare photo of myself in the new mirror.  I figured a dusty bathroom mirror is enough to hide any blemishes, so why not?


I would like to say that installing an Ikea vanity to standard hookups was seamless, but we knew going in, (from reading about Ikea vanity horror stories online), that it was going to be a bitch.  And, they didn't lie.  Mike was stressed for a good 2 days about how he was going to fit the included Ikea drain and trap.  Mike wasn't happy with the design, so he decided to modify it a bit.  The original trap is designed in a configuration that allows full drawers.  Mike decided to change it and then modified the drawers to fit around the new trap.   



The top drawer comes with pieces to install dividers.  So Mike used some of these pieces to divide the drawer into a configuration that allowed him to remove the center section to fit the trap.  Since we have a ton of storage, much more than we need, in this second bathroom, I wasn't worried at all about giving up this small section. 


The bottom drawer remained the same.  I still don't know what I'll use these drawers for since I've already planned to use the built-in as a surplus storage for toilet paper and paper towels.  Maybe I'll become a couponer and get crates of toothpaste or something and store it down here.  We actually recently had to use our "travel kit" toothpaste for much longer than I'd like to admit because I kept forgetting to grab some at the grocery store.


The toilet is the same model as the one in the upstairs bathroom.  We love the style and the included soft-close lid, as well as the higher-efficiency model.


The trim on the other side of the room, as well as the window is done, but the holes need filled and sanded before I can paint.  I gave Mike and myself until the end of the month to get the basement done, so I should keep my end of the bargain and get my paint on!


Currently the storage and shower is used to store more construction supplies.  Painting this bad boy is going to be a pain in the ass, but I'll be happy when we can call at least one part of this giant renovation done.