Quick & dirty basement bathroom renovation

Well, let's not get hasty -- this is not an official "we're remodeling the basement bathroom" post, but rather a "oops, I think we HAVE to renovate the basement bathroom, so we should probably start thinking about what we want down there" post.

But let me back up a little bit.

Last year after summer hit, David and I became perplexed by the sudden appearance of a bunch of tiny tiny bugs in the pedestal sink in our basement bathroom. Using our standard bug protection spray didn't do anything. Spraying down the sink a bazillion times didn't do anything. Deep cleaning didn't work. Spraying the window well outside didn't do anything. They were primarily in the sink, but also in the shower and along the window ledge that looks into the bathroom.

We finally called the Orkin guy we'd used in the past, and he basically did the shrug emoji at us, saying he couldn't really identify them or do anything about them. Which is really great news from a PROFESSIONAL BUG PERSON.

After hours of internet research, David concluded they were some sort of harmless something we can't even recall now, and got some powder bug repellant that worked on them to apply liberally to every window, nook, and cranny that faced our backyard (and some on the front, just to be safe). The bugs abated! It looked like it worked! We at least weren't crawling with them like we had been before (bug pun intentional).

Over the winter, everything was fine. And yet, as the temps have warmed back up here in Nebraska as we inch ever-closer to spring (although we're supposed to get 4" of snow today), the bugs have reappeared in the shower drain in that bathroom. URGH.

We've been suspicious of mold down behind the walls of that shower for a myriad of reasons, and since the bugs have reappeared, it seems to be our final sign that we need to rip out the shower and investigate.

And if you give the mouse (me and David) a cookie (one small project), he wants something more (to redo the entire bathroom on a small budget).

Here's where it stands right now:

Yes, this bathroom looks like it belongs in a horror movie. We live with it because it's in the back corner of the basement and doesn't regularly get used or shown to strangers. C'est la vie.

In the photo, the shower is to the left behind the swing of the door -- an issue on the long list of issues with this bathroom besides its horrifying appearance.

List of Issues:
1. Door swings in so the shower door is blocked off when the door is open. Not a huge deal but kind of annoying when you're trying to get around in there, especially since it's not tiny-tiny like our master bathroom is. Not sure if changing the swing of the door is feasible, but we're gonna look into it. (And by that I mean I'll ask David later and he'll say yes or no and then we'll be done. lol.)
2. Toilet breaks approximately every 2 months. Definitely needs to be replaced.
3. Ceiling is exposed and it makes it feel ick.
4. Window above the sink is awkward and gross -- probably won't actually replace the window but needs to be cleaned up and caulked, at the least.
5. Vanity mirror is laughably tiny, and the lighting is really bad.
6. Sink is somehow too low even though it's standard, and takes up too much room for also being "small."
7. Flooring probably has to stay for now, since it's the same chipping linoleum that runs through the whole utility/laundry/pantry room down here, but it's yuck.
8. Exposed pipes are annoying, but I'm not sure we're ready to commit to drywalling out. We'll have to wait and see.
9. Shower is yuck, there's also a hole in the ceiling of it we had to cut to do something in the kitchen (which escapes my memory right now), there's a light in there but no fan, possible mold behind the walls. Whole shower has to go.
10. Awkward placement of storage cabinet, plus it doesn't store that much. Thinking we might flip it around to the wall to the right of the door, or get rid of it altogether for an open shelf for guests.

I'm sure more things will come to mind once we get going, but the general plan is to update all the things and try to stick to a budget! We've not officially decided a budget, but I think (hope?) we can get this done for around $1,000 with a lot of sweat and ingenuity.

toilet | paint color | subway tile | mirror | wall-mount sink | faucet | hand towel bar | towel bar | light

I linked a list of the things I threw into this collage quickly, but of course we haven't purchased anything yet. I've been dying for a place to use that Backsplash TanLines color, and I think it's a good risk in a bathroom, and I'm envisioning stacked subway tile because cheap and somewhat true to the house. I would go white but it might feel too farmhouse that way, so I'm hoping we can snag a gray subway for cheap -- besides, it somewhat has to match our brown bomb bathroom upstairs without going insane.

General cost plans:
$160 for a new toilet
$150 for either a wall-mounted sink or a vanity (I'm leaning wall-mounted)
$400 for shower tile, backer board, grout, shower pan if we can't reuse the one we have
$150 various fixtures (light, faucet, etc.)
$200 drywall, paint, and other supplies
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That totals $1,060! So pretty darn close. Again, budget isn't officially set but I'll keep you updated. I think $1,000 is a reasonable goal for a bathroom we don't super care about but don't want to be nastayyy.

Of course, this is all dependent on us not coming across anything TOO destructed/gross when we demo out what's there, and that's always a gamble when you're DIYing. We haven't touched any bathroom in this house yet so that adds a layer of unknown, too. The good part is everything functions as-is so that's promising.

Anywho, there's my brain dump post about our possible, maybe, not-decided-on-yet bathroom renovation that may or may not happen, who knows. Aren't I specific? ;)
HG