Kim Robinson finishing up Iva’s hair, our makeover prize from last week’s win!
After an exhausting garden challenge, we thought we would get a rest. Well, we were wrong. The most daunting challenge of all was about to come : the bathrooms.
As Jamie told us that we would have to re-design two bathrooms in the house, I could see that none of the teams felt at ease. Iva and I had been dreading this moment from the start of the competition.
The first bathroom, or “main bathroom” was a small space entirely tiled with boring grey tiles. We would have to transform it into something more welcoming, taking into consideration the “zen” theme that was communicated to us. One wall in the shower had been stripped down of its tiles for us, with retiling in mind.
Main Bathroom : Before
The second bathroom or “master bathroom” was quite big and full of marble. We obviously would not touch the marble, and it seemed difficult to bring this space to life as well without doing so.
Master Bathroom : Before
So off we were shopping again. Iva and I quickly decided to stick to the style we like most, raw and natural, trying to bring some life into these sad bathrooms by using new textures and materials : wood, metal and cement. In our crazy one hour shopping frenzy running through Viva Mall, we were lucky enough to find a lovely Chinese shop selling decorative items and design furniture using raw pieces of wood on metal. Perfect for what we had in mind.
Earth Lifestyle Store
Back at the East Residences it was time to go for it again. In the main bathroom, we decided to barely do any tiling but instead, get rid of the tiles on two more walls to go for a polished concrete look. Sasha’s handyman could help us with laying down the concrete, as we had to little time to learn that task. But there was still a lot of hammering and drilling to do to get rid of the tiles, and, much more difficult, the thick layer of glue underneath.
Discussing our plans with Sasha
We separated the tasks, and as I drilled for hours, Iva, took care of doing the whole upstairs bathroom by herself. In the meantime, I was drilling. And drilling. For five hours. One of the most exhausting tasks I’ve ever undertaken.
But I managed to get through it, paint the ceiling, and the bathroom was ready for its 3 coats of cement. Sasha’s men did a great job and we finished just in time. The walls were still wet during the judges walk-through !
The upstairs bathroom looked great, I just had to help Iva with some drilling to hang a few wooden canes we would use as towel hangers, complementing the wooden shutters we had custom made. I was really amazed at her work. She did all the painting, accessorizing, cleaning, even used the sanding machine to give the wood planks we used in the shower a rougher look. My lovely girlfriend is also an amazing worker !
Off to greet the judges
The judges were quite happy with our work, and again, we made it through to the next episode !
Master Bathroom : After
Main Bathroom : After
This week, as usual, came with its twists and turns. Team Glue and Glam, eliminated the first week, came back with their full budget. However, we doubted that they could catch up to the other teams. We were told they would have to finish the three missing spaces in time for the finale, if they would make it there. Taking the time frame into consideration, that would just be a humanly impossible task to achieve.
We were sad to see Black & Blonde go, they are both lovely girls that brought a great vibe to the competition. Glue and Glam did well with their bathrooms and won the challenge together with our good friends The Stangerz, whose work we really like. It’s always a pleasure for me to see a good team win a challenge. Iva would like to win them all, but I’m just happy to make it through to the next week !
Phil
Click here to continue to Episode 6: The Study
