Before & After: Shower Doors to Shower Curtain

Hello and happy Monday!

Before 2014 arrived, I shared my resolutions for home projects.  Tops on the list was to replace the shower doors in the kids' bathroom and put a curtain in their place.  Aesthetically, I knew the white would tone down the blue (because it would hide the bottom of the tub).  But more than that, it was a safety concern.  The shower doors were missing the track at the bottom of the tub, so if you pulled on the doors, they'd fly out at you.  This wasn't a huge issue when the kids were taking baths, but now that they are doing showers instead, it made me very nervous.  Not to mention: any time I had guests stay over, I would have to warn them about the propensity for the doors to fly out.  Not a good situation.  And let's be real: I just don't like shower doors.  

I emailed my landlord and explained the situation and asked if I could please remove the doors and replace with a curtain. The landlord was on board.  I've done this project before in my first house and it wasn't that bad - it's messy and a little gross, but totally doable in a couple of hours.  I knew what to expect, what tools I needed and approximately how long it would take.  I just had to do it. 

So on the Sunday before New Years, I decided to go for it.  The kids were happily playing with their new toys, it was pouring outside, I'd already gotten my run and bike done, and trash day was the next day (so I could take the shower doors and rails outside that night).  I didn't take any pictures, but I followed the exact procedure as in my first house.  The first thing I did was take the doors off.  There is a little track on the top rail and the doors' wheels sit right on that. I carefully removed the glass doors and took them outside.  Then I popped the top rail off the top.  Then I removed the screws in the side rails and used my utility knife to carefully cut along the caulk that held the rail to the tile.  Once the side rails were down, I used my knife to again carefully cut along the bottom rail.

Once all of the rails were removed (note: be careful! the rails can have sharp edges), it was time to clean.  I used my straight edge razor to scrape the caulk off of the tile and the tub - this was pretty easy.  Then I used some steel wool and a Magic Eraser to get all of the residue off.  Once the tub was cleaned, I used some almond caulk to caulk the holes were the screws had been in the tile.  I also added some caulk where needed since I had it out.  You can barely see it:

Then it was time for the curtain and rod.  I really don't like tension rods - I just don't feel that they are that secure (or maybe it's just my kids).  So I opted for a screw-in rod, which I had to buy at a hardware store, since Target only has tension rods.  I've put these kinds of rods up a bunch before, so I knew the drill.  The rod was a little too long, so I took my metal saw to it and cut it to size.  Once the rod was up, I hung the curtain and liner (both Target) and cleaned out the tub.  I had to touch up a few spots of paint on the wall where the old shower doors had been, but that only took a second.  

And here she is!  

It makes such a huge difference in the space, I cannot begin to tell you.  First, I won't hold my breath when the kids shower.  I feel much less anxious that they're going to end up hurt.  Second, it's just prettier!  I did not appreciate how much more blue the room read with those doors, because you could see the entire blue tub.  Now, it's just a simple white curtain, which makes the room feel a lot more white.  You know me and white -- I cannot get enough. 

I want to add some shelves over the toilet and then this room is about as done as it can be.  I'm going to move the art currently over the toilet into my laundry room instead.  I love that little print, but I think it makes you focus even more on that blue toilet.  So if I keep the shelves and contents as white as possible, I'm hoping that will make the area even less blue -- one can dream, anyway.  I may even replace the current bath mat with one that is only white and oversized, so it hides the tile.  

Next up?  I'm going to work on a bunch of projects simultaneously: the laundry room closet, finishing up my bedroom and attacking a ton of painting projects with wild abandon.  

See you swoon,