First, I apologize for another round of toilet photos. I know most readers don’t come here to see lavatories, but I’m genuinely excited to share our new white toilet. If you remember, the old almond-colored fixture never quite felt right to us. Some homeowners would have been perfectly happy with it, but a crisp white toilet brightens the room, feels truer to the mid-century era of our home, and ties in with the newly white trim and shower curtain. Most importantly, white just looks clean. Even after a thorough scrubbing, the almond toilet never felt fresh and new — not because it was dirty, but because that color never appears sparkling the way white porcelain does. We found ourselves joking that we were excited to go toilet shopping the next day.
The almond toilet that came with the house had a somewhat space-age shape. It wasn’t as over-the-top as a novelty model we once joked about, but it turned out to be a surprisingly high-end fixture. According to Kohler’s info, that style can retail for over $1,300, and oddly the almond finish was pricier than the same model in white. Go figure. Still, ever since we moved in 15 months ago we’d been dreaming about a classic white toilet, and functionally there’s no meaningful difference for us between a thousand-dollar throne and an inexpensive model.
Before buying the replacement, we double-checked measurements — especially the rough-in (the distance from the wall to the bolt flange) and the clearance for the door. Our rough-in measured closer to 11.5″, which made me a little nervous since 12″ is standard. Because the existing toilet was listed as a 12″ model, we decided another 12″ toilet should fit. In a small room, noting the distance between the wall and the door is important; an elongated bowl would have forced the door to hit it. We considered reversing the door swing but that would have opened into the bedroom and blocked half of the sink nook, which looks nice with the chandelier reflected in the mirror. For both function and appearance, leaving the door as-is was best.
I’ll skip detailed removal and installation photos since we covered those steps in a previous post, but here’s a quick recap. We removed the old one-piece commode, cleared away the residue and rust line in the floor area, and prepared for the new unit. The cleanup wasn’t difficult and the space was ready fast.
We chose an $88 Glacier Bay model from Home Depot. It wasn’t a hyper-researched decision — it matched our measurements, had a strong flush rating, is water-efficient (which can reduce bills), and several readers had recommended Glacier Bay in earlier discussions. We plan to add a dual-flush conversion to save more water; the new tank accommodates that upgrade better than the previous futuristic-shaped almond model.
The toilet included standard installation parts, but we did need a separate, extra-thick wax ring because the flange sat slightly set into the tile. That was a minor, inexpensive purchase. We also tried a helpful tip shared by readers: sliding short drinking straws over the anchor bolts to guide the bowl into position. The straws made alignment much easier, and after a few cues from Sherry — “a little to the left,” “now forward” — the bowl settled perfectly onto the bolts. The dark residue around the flange was just leftover wax from the previous seal that we scraped away.
After installation we noticed a pleasant side effect: the new toilet catches the light differently and brightens the room. It draws attention away from the beige tile and emphasizes the white accents — the trim, the shower curtain, the door and switch plates, and even the white roll of toilet paper. The result reads more in line with the mid-century ranch aesthetic and coordinates with the other white toilets in our house, which oddly makes us very pleased. The new seat is slightly taller, which I find more comfortable, and Sherry also commented that it feels less crouched — a compliment in her book.
Functionally it performs well so far. We gave it a few days of normal use before installing the dual-flush kit, just to ensure everything operated as intended. The earlier almond model has been listed on Craigslist; since it’s a higher-end Kohler unit we thought someone might want it, and we’ve already had an offer. We’ll report back if it finds a new home.
The bathroom is slowly transforming. There are still tasks to complete, but each update brings the room closer to our vision. Here’s the current to-do list:
- do something to add privacy to the window
- remove the door so we can shave the bottom to allow for a rug/bathmat and add a door stopper to protect the art
- replace the border tile around the room (maybe in phase two)
- move the blue pendant to hang centered in front of the window
- replace the floor tile down the road to break up the expanse of tile
We also created a mood board when planning this refresh, which helped guide color choices, fixtures, and accessories. Small changes like switching from almond to white make a surprisingly large visual difference, and we’re enjoying the progress. Have you swapped beige or almond fixtures for white or stainless in your home? Any toilet upgrades — photographed or not — to share? We’d love to hear about them.