Monday, June 10, 2013

The bathroom report

From this:

 To this:


 I hope you didn't expect a luxury spa-like sunken tub and a lot of fancy stuff. This is really just a basic upgrade, but oh, I do love it and it is such an improvement! We have made this bathroom large enough for two of us to use it, replaced the tub with a nice big shower and given it a clean new look. We now have no tub in the house, which could be an issue for resale, but I intend to die in this house and then it will be someone else's problem. We have two sinks, separated by a storage cupboard. The sinks and cabinets are from IKEA and I love them. The medicine cabinets are huge and the doors have mirrors inside and out, which makes it possible to see the back of your head. (!)  We had outlets installed inside the medicine cabinets so we can plug in our toothbrushes out of sight.

My sink:


Ray's sink:

The shower is very basic. It is an acrylic insert. The glass doors are tinted green, similar to the blue-greens used in the floor and wall color. I was not into an expensive tiled shower. This will be perfect for us. It is very roomy.


Photo: The bathroom is finished. The paint is dry. The shower door is finally installed. First shower in the new shower. Ahhhhhhhh......
The fun part was adding the personal touches and artwork. 

I hung my "pretty lady" painting, purchased at a flea market more than 40 years ago. She has been in every home we have lived in. Her story is here.


This pretty lady is a print my grandmother had.


This one is a recent purchase from an antique store near here. I cleverly thought I was buying an original print—perhaps an unknown Gustave Baumann—but when I took it out of the cheap frame it was in I discovered it was from an old calendar. Oh well. I like it a lot anyway.


Ray added his own work of art to his area. This little carved wooden Volkswagon was made by a prisoner in an Ecuadorean prison. It is so cleverly made, with many moving parts, including doors that open and wheels that turn.


I spent much of today putting all the stuff away that I packed up from the old bathroom. I find I have an amazing supply of dental floss and emory boards. As a friend commented, " we all have our insecurity points."

Little by little we are whipping this weird old house into shape.



13 comments:

  1. I love it. The new bathroom has a very fresh feel to it, and that must be so nice to feel every time you go in there.

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  2. What a joy to have it finished! It looks wondeful. I live in a 1-bedroom condo and have only 1 bath that is sorely in need of a re-model. I just haven't figured out the logistics in that situation. Nice to see that your project seemed to go pretty smoothly.

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  3. What a great improvement! Congratulations on finishing it.

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  4. What a tremendous improvement you have made to your bathroom! Is that marmoleum I see on the floor? I tried to get a sample of the color I think that is and they said that it is no longer manufactured. So I am going with red (in my kitchen).
    How nice to have double sinks. Our old house(1923) has a single and I often wish we could find room for a double. I think that you will really enjoy this improvement.

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  5. Just like Bath Crashers on HGTV!

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  6. Anonymous5:59 AM

    After completing a big remodel/redecorating project and moving back in, I always say......'Ah! What a relief!!' I'm sure you feel that way too. Your bathroom is beautiful and oh, so functional! What a joy.

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  7. Love the finished bathroom- simple, spare, and elegant! You did great job.

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  8. Are you happy with the paint color, now that it is all finished?

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  9. Bathroom....absolutely gorgeous!! Those few inches borrowed from the other room made all the difference in the world...well, the bathroom world. Never get rid of the before picture.. it will make you smile years down the road.

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  10. Last year I was planning to do both bathrooms. I had the subway tiles installed in the one Master bath and it was so procey I finsihed just the one bathroom. I love your cabinets but am curious how annoying all the hair and fluff will be to get from under those cabinets... I chicekend out for that reason but have made no final decision... let us know how you like them as well!
    Love your bathroom What a messy job but they made quick work of it and it looks great! I have a simmilar situation as you have with no bathtubs. My Master has a Tub/shower and toilet and the sink is in my bedroom and the other bathroom has a shower toilet and sink. So no full baths here either. Death is a better alternative to having to resolve that!

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  11. Very nice! The floor and the walls look great. A nice clean design with enough detail to be interesting.

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  12. The bathroom looks great and I know you must be loving the functionality of it. I'm a big IKEA fan. They have the greatest stuff. I almost spewed coffee on my laptop when I read your comment about the bathtub being the 'next' person's problem. I also have no bathtubs and am fond of saying they could send all the bathtubs in the world to the moon for all I care.

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  13. It looks beautiful and I love the simplicity of it. Makes me want to tackle our bathroom, someday.

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