Update #1: The Smallest Room in the House
After we removed the hated wallpaper, the next thing on the agenda was getting rid of the almond colored tub with vinyl surround. It took some sawing and cutting, but we (by we, I mean my dad) got it out! Yay!!!!
Then, once the tub was out, the floor could come out. We kept the bit at the back of the bathroom, where the sink and toilet sit, so that we could use that area for as long as possible. (The floor came up quite easily, otherwise, we probably would have opted to take it all up at the same time. )
When it was time for the new tub to go in, we took out the toilet, sink and the remaining flooring and prepared for a new tub and a new floor. Skip ahead (work, work, work and more work) and the new tub was in place, as was the new flooring (sans grout). At this point, things really started to some together; it was getting easier, by the day, to see the finished room in my head.
Next up, subway tile in the bath surround! Are we all excited!?
Materials: The Smallest Room in the House
Before I show you more photos of our progress, I wanted to share some of the materials we are using.
We purchased the new bathtub at home depot. It wasn’t the cheapest one, but it wasn’t even close to the most expensive either. I really wanted a claw foot but I didn’t have the dosh or the time to wait for the perfect used one to come on the market (4 1/2 ft, good condition, in my – very small – price range). Just having a shiny new white tub (without a horrible surround) makes me happy.
We also found a new Toto toilet at our local Restore. Not knowing much (nothing) about the world of toilets, I did not recognize the brand as a good one, but, thankfully, my dad did. It’s a cute little thing, which is what I wanted for our small space.
I am not going to post pictures of these two pieces. Please, use your imagination or wait for the after shots.
In addition to the Toto toilet, we also found a very cool vintage wall-mounted sink at Restore, similar to this one:
It is incredibly cute and will help keep an open feel in the bathroom.
For the floors I chose this 2″ matte white hex tile from Thompson Tile. It is from the Jasper Collection:
We chose a glossy white subway tile for the shower surround (and someday as a wainscoting on the walls). Both types of tile were from Thompson and were purchased locally at Standard Paint & Flooring. We used delorean gray grout for both the floor and the walls. It looks similar to this:
For the walls I chose Benjamin Moore’s Palladian Blue:
So there you have it! I still need to find a light fixture, pick out the glossy black paint we are using for the trim and get various accessories. Oh! And get shelving for above the toilet. phew. All this choosing is difficult. I am not a good decision maker, especially when we are talking about things that will be around for awhile. I’m feeling pretty good about myself for making it this far. I have woken up in the early hours wondering if I picked the right flooring or the right grout color or if I want a different color on the walls, etc. There are endless directions one can go and it is hard to pick just one, but I am really happy with how things are turning out, so I guess I should trust myself a bit more 
Demolition, Day(s) One: The Smallest Room In The House
There are many places to start when demolishing a room. However, when you have a bathroom with walls covered in vinyl wallpaper, the choice is not a difficult one. Did I mention it was textured and made to look like it was covered in brush strokes? Yeah. We steamed and peeled and scraped until the only traces left were behind the still in place toilet. And let me tell you, from that moment, I was addicted. It already looked so much better. The exposed sheetrock, the layers of old paint (minty green, blue and pink) were like a work of art compared to that wallpaper. My visions were starting to come true! It’s like yesterday, when John brought me a pack of chocolate digestive biscuits and the visions I had been having all day of those sweet, crumbly morsels finally became reality. The sweet reality of a beautiful bathroom was finally possible, we were on our way.
Here is the bathroom, sans wallpaper (cue the angelic music):
Now, when I see pictures of that wallpaper, I hiss at it, like a cat, because I hate it. Je deteste. Au revoir papier peint. Bonne chance a la poubelle.
*btw – I want to make sure I say ‘thank you’ publicly to our official sponsors for this project: my parents. We literally could not have even attempted this without their help. No way. Not even if pigs were flying. If you live in the area and you need someone to do some remodeling, my dad is the man for the job ( I realize I am totally biased, but, seriously, he is very, very good. I give you my word.).
Before: The Smallest Room In The House
As my dad said yesterday, it is difficult to even recall how the bathroom looked before we started re-doing it. Thankfully, I have pictures! So you, my reader, can see where we came from. Things are moving along quickly, but it will still be some time before I am ready for ‘after’ shots. Don’t worry though, I have been snapping iphone shots of the process and will be happy to share many of the progress pictures with you.
This is where we started:
Here you see the almond colored vinyl surround tub with heavy (hideous) oak trim.
And here, you see more oak trim (I love oak, just not like this), the rather too-large-for-this-space cabinet & sink (in oak, of course) and you can get a sense of the ugly wallpaper all over the walls too.
Here is a close-up of the sink area. Notice the heavily textured walls behind the sink. They always made me think of meringues or whipped cream or any recipe that calls for you to whip until you form stiff peaks. This wall was full of stiff peaks, which stubbornly held on to dust, creating a constant look of grime, lovely. You also get a closer view of the wallpaper in this shot: textured vinyl in a beautiful pinky-biege.
Thank goodness that’s over.
Good. Riddance.
*ADD-ON*
I forgot to post this picture of the ‘before’ light fixture, isn’t it gorgeous?!
Inspiration: The Smallest Room in the House
Hello again! I am back. We are mid-reno of our bathroom (well, not so much mid, as barely started). We spent an entire day steaming and scraping horrible vinyl wallpaper off the walls and talking about how if we do this then we need to do that and if we do that, we really should do this and if we do this we might as well buy this and do that at the same time, etc. In other words, the project grew. I think about the budget and I think, hmmm, this might take a bit longer than expected. But we are charging forward. On the agenda: shopping for a new tub, sink and toilet. I wanted a claw foot tub, but they are either too expensive new or difficult to find used (in good condition), so instead, we are going with a regular white tub (sans the surround that we currently have on our almond colored tub). We have been on the hunt for a cute wall-mounted sink, nothing fancy, just a bit of old-fashioned character. I have also been deciding what tile I want to put in the space. This includes: large (6″) hexagon tiles for the floor, white subway tile for the lower half of the walls and up to the ceiling around the shower. I am contemplating what sort of trim pieces to use now and what I want to put in the little arched alcove where the sink goes. There are so many choices and so many inspiring images, here are some I have collected on my bathe pinterest board:
I want to incorporate a little shelf at the top of the tile (also, i love the wall color!)
subway tile shower surround
plants plants plants!!!
shelves above the toilet (somewhere to put all those plants)
I love this space! It might even have me reconsidering the subway tile on the walls (these offset square tiles look great) and it definitely inspired a switch to a dark floor and the hunt for a large hexagon tile. The towel bar of the sink is very cool too.
I already purchased this beauty!
perfect little storage caddy/toilet roll dispenser
These are just a few of the spaces I am drawing inspiration from. Isn’t the internet a wonderful place? I promise to share before, during and after photos with you, as soon as I can find the battery charger for my camera…
Lake Isabella: Finale
For my final post in this series, I thought I'd share with you a few photos of the inhabitants of the lake. While there, I met many interesting creatures, including trees, ducks and geese. The trees were eager to show me around. While they weren't as abrasive as the trees near the Little Miami River (See Treenapped!), they still vied for my attention, posing in various ways.
Cordelia Lounging at Home
If Cordelia is good at one thing, she is good at lounging. She can do it all day, every day. As long as she gets her breakfast and dinner and maybe some catnip and a raw bone or two. oh and trips outside to play in the yard, she is happy just lounging. As Cordelia is a dog, she is happy lounging anywhere. She will rest on the bathmat, a stray towel, dirty laundry, in a ray of sunlight, on the cold tile by the front door, she isn’t picky. However, since she lives with humans, she does, in fact, have designated ‘beds’. We humans can’t help but anthropomorphize, can we? And, on that note, John recently took one of our christmas cards (thank you Purdy’s!) that folds out into a flaming hearth and put it next to her bed (a leopard print and sherpa mat nicknamed ‘dolce & gabbana’). I then suggested he put one of the battery operated tea lights in the center and voila! Cordelia now has a sexy little lair. I did my best to get a photo of it. But just one question before I show you any photos: are we totally pathetic? Nevermind, I already know the answer.
