I have blogged about my bathroom destruction and re- construction , now it’s all but done. It has taken longer than it should have because a) it got to a usable state and it’s harder to make yourself do something when something is usuable b) I have actually been dealing with study deadlines and so it took a back seat, and c) a lot of the finishing touches were hard/messy/on ladders and I honestly was just putting them off.
People walk into this room and yell “IT’S VERY GREEN!!!!”. Well duh. Have you met me? Most of the house is green!
The list of stuff I had to do was long. And a lot of the things that I thought would be easy were actually involved: The skirting had to be re-cut as the plaster changed the dimensions of the room. I had to solve the problem of how to put the door frame back given the same thing – no longer flush due to different wall thickness. Had to make some stuff and lots of drying time in between coats of paint or varnish. Actually finding wall studs was a nightmare – two stud finders didn’t work and I ended up lots of useless holes, which i then had to spackle and repaint. I had to FIND the towel rail as I had no idea what I’d done with it! I didn’t put it in the right spot (against the studs) and it got ripped off so I had to fix that.
The original mirror had been nailed to the wall. When I took it down I stripped it back and noticed it was basically a mirror from a 1920 dresser or sideboard, in a fine grained hardwood. It was very much in not great condition, but I thought that didn’t matter, so I stripped layers of paint off it and varnished it. I kept the shelf, which was made from a bit of pine. Stripped that back too and stained it slightly to match the mirror.
Once I decided to have the mirror in polished wood, I needed something else to match that. The front of the bath I ended up doing in a combination of antique oak skirting I had picked up about 10 years ago and never used, and new Tasmanian oak. I wanted to bring in the warm timber to offset the green/white too.. I had considered having a little cupboard under there but frankly I could not be stuffed building it in, and now I’m glad as it looks great.
The original front was just boring. you can see too that the crappy boxed in bit of bath has gone. And I turfed the awful medicine cabinet and we now have a medicine box kept in another room. I realised I had a painting that totally matched the colour/size/requirements for this wall.
The shower screen looks great but is slightly less than ideal as the gap in where the door opens is right where the splash happens when you shower. I’m going to have to figure out if there is anything I can do about that, or just put up with some splashing out. I had this custom made and I’m really happy with it.
The original lights were a cheap nasty one over the mirror and a modern light set which never fit the aesthetic of the house. I ordered these glass reproduction deco style lights and they look great.
The pictures were a combination of things I had in other rooms , the two wall mirrors I also already had, and the three ads that are framed in black were ads pasted on the original walls. I had no idea going into this what I was going to do with artwork. I do like a lot of artwork around, and it’s been fun mixing and matching.
I made the shelf over the tap and painted it the same colour as the cupboards ( a lighter green than the walls) and put two rows of tiles as the splashback. I have enough tile left over to fix the kitchen splashback, too.
The only thing i have left to do is finish the man hole cover and re-install the fan. Up high, so I am not a fan. I am actually afraid of heights so I need help with this one.
What I have no specific photos of is all the spackle filled, sanded, and painted over holes. Pencil marks and stuff are now gone. Walls are smooth and clear.
I’m quite happy with it. I’m so happy I kept the bath and the basin, I love the cast iron massiveness of them. Any of my renovations is successful when people have literally no idea it’s not the original house. I like old and interesting.