BEDKNOBS & BAUBLES

Powder Room Progress: The Tile is in!

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It’s been awhile since I’ve checked in! Our computer malfunctioned so I was MIA for a little while until we could get that back in working order and it couldn’t have come back at a better time when I have some updates to share with you from my last progress report on our powder room.

First things first, a peek of that easy-to-clean, flat-sided toilet was my most commented-on Instagram story ever. I love that we’re at the age where stuff like this excites us! If you’re the market for a toilet, you can find it here and here. I bought the recommended toilet seat for it.

Shortly after we left off, the drywall went up and it finally felt like a room again! We had a few days of mudding and sanding. In a perfect world, we would have primed and painted before the tile went in, but we had some scheduling delays that moved the tile up on the priority list. And trust me, I was not mad at it. Seeing the tile installed made my heart soar and I could finally see my vision board come together. It’s one thing to make a collage in Photoshop, but it’s another to see your selections actually take shape and work together.

It was around this point where I snuck downstairs and smugly smiled to myself thinking “I have good taste.” Haha. But it felt so good to see the pieces fall into place so well — and quite literally at that. You’ll see that we lucked out and were able to place a full tile at each corner and along the sides of the room. We did have a delay with the grout, so after the tile set in mortar, the floor was covered and attention moved to the walls and woodwork.

One of the things I really wanted to do in this space was make the millwork mimic that of the original trim in the house. They removed the frame and sill of the existing window in the half bath and rebuilt trim to match our window casings elsewhere. The window itself is pretty crappy and we’ll probably replace it down the road, but the new trim makes it seem so much larger and adds much-needed architectural detail in this space. The team still has some work to do with it to add a sill and a finishing piece over the seam, but I’m just so happy with it. They did a similar trim around the doorframe, and they put in baseboards that match the profile of our original trim on the first floor. (You can see these in the opening photo.) Our contractor’s team is so talented and they have such acute attention to detail that makes my perfectionist-heart sing!

The grout arrived on Friday of last week, which allowed the team to get that taken care of fairly quickly. This week was all about dehazing the grout, placing the finishing pieces like the trim, and starting to install fixtures. We still have to seal the floor and finalize locations of things like the mirrors and towel bars, but we’re getting there! The team also moved to the main bathroom on Monday and have already completed demo and leveled the floor. I’ll share more about that space in the coming weeks!

Until then, here’s a tiny peek at how far along this room has come. I’ll do a reveal post once we’re complete with a full source list.

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Powder Room Progress: The “Good Stuff” Isn’t the Pretty Stuff

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Interior blogs often focus on the pretty stuff — the “good stuff.” The stuff that comes after new drywall is placed and construction debris has long been cleared away. After beginning our own home renovations last week, I’ve come to realize that the pretty stuff isn’t the “good stuff.” The good stuff is the opportunity to improve your home’s mechanics, electrical, and plumbing to make a century home last another hundred years.

Before I tested positive for a COVID breakthrough infection and before our contractor’s crew began work, we estimated that our powder room would take two weeks from start to finish. That’s not quite how things actually went and I wanted to take a moment to document the progress we have made over the past couple of weeks. The crew did take a few days off from work over the past two weeks. There was an ice storm and a couple of the crew members that are on-deck weren’t comfortable with my COVID-positive status until I cleared the 10 days (can’t blame ’em). We’ll be at it full time starting Monday until both bathrooms are complete, barring any additional illnesses.

First up, here are some of the before images:

The powder room is off of the kitchen on the first floor. The kitchen and this powder room are both part of an addition to the house. Judging by the product selections, I’d guess this happened in the ’90s or early aughts. The room is approximately 25 square feet, which is a pretty decent size for a half bath, but the space wasn’t utilized effectively. When we started this project, we figured we’d keep the plumbing in the same locations — and for the most part that ended up being the case. It would be too pricey to move the toilet, even if it’s not in the ideal location for this space. That’s just a reality of renovations and budgets. The sink, as we came to learn was not correctly plumbed and would need to be moved. We’re going to center it with the door frame, so when you look into the room, you’ll see a pedestal sink, the mirror, and a sconce. You’ll still see that peek of the toilet seat, but eh, whatcha gonna do?

Here’s what we had when we opened up the walls. The pipe that ran to the sink was drilled through the floor, which apparently isn’t legal, and it wasn’t vented at all. The previous owner had also sealed an unused pipe with a wad of plastic. There was some minor water damage by the sink and toilet, which is to be expected. There was shockingly insufficient insulation on the exterior wall. And, of course, we had galvanized pipes. Replacing the pipes wasn’t part of the original scope of the project, but galvanized pipes can rust and crack over time. Having the walls already open is by far the best opportunity we’d have to proactively take care of a future problem. Our contractor said that it would cost another $500 to replace it all with modern PVC plumbing. The plumber was here longer than the half day that they anticipated, so I expect the final dollar amount to be higher. Still worth it because look at the grossness that’s inside of those pipes:

Ew. Haha. So, the thing with galvanized pipes is that they’ll rust on the inside of the pipe, too. The inside then becomes rough, making it more likely that hair and other gunk will get stuck leading to frequent clogs. And let me tell you, we are very familiar with this issue. Our upstairs shower connects to this plumbing and for the past four years we’ve lived here, we’ve been standing in ankle-deep water after a shower every single time. Snaking the pipes and Draino didn’t do much — it was a bigger problem that we are so grateful to have taken care of. You wouldn’t believe my excitement the first time I showered upstairs after the new pipes were in and the water drained like it should! I told our contractor later that it I didn’t know what kind of witchcraft the plumber did, but I’m a fan — to which he said “it’s the magic of PVC pipes.” Money well spent.

Here’s where we decided to move the sink. It’s a pedestal sink that will now be centered across from the doorway rather than being centered on the wall. This opens up space to the right where we can put a basket of towels or toilet paper. We’re also considering installing some floating corner shelves for plants.

You can see all of our beautiful new pipes and supply lines here — the real “good stuff.” Those remaining galvanized supply lines will be pulled when we’re working on the upstairs main bathroom. They’ve since insulated all of the hot water lines. (You can learn about the benefits of pipe insulation here.) There’s also new insulation in the exterior wall and the tile-ready subfloor has been laid. (And look at that bold red ceiling that used to be in the original galley kitchen! I had no idea!)

As you may recall from my product overview for the space, I had hoped we’d be able to add an inset medicine cabinet. Sadly, my dreams of having guests low-key snoop through my meds has been dashed. There isn’t any room in the walls to make an inset cabinet work and I’m not keen on the wall-mounted versions. I found this mirror on Overstock while I grumpily looked for an alternative. I had low expectations for it, despite the glowing reviews, but I forgot all about the medicine cabinet once the new mirror arrived. It’s hefty and well made and I just love it so much — plus it’s cheaper than the original one I wanted at just $130. It has the vintage-inspired look I was going for when paired with the sconce.

Even if the “good stuff” is the practical improvements, I’m still excited about the pretty stuff.

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Main Bathroom: Product Selections

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Drumroll, please… Here is the source list for our upcoming main bath remodel! (Scroll through the “before” tour here!) It feels amazing to see things come together after planning this renovation since August. Trust me when I say it’s been a lot of work to get this far. I didn’t think that I’d ever grow tired of shopping, but I think I’d ready to tuck my credit card away for a long while after this! I still need to buy an exhaust fan and a shower curtain rod, but those will be a cinch!

SOURCE LIST

Paint: Sherwin-Williams – Riverway
Wall Tile: 4″ x 12″ Subway Tile in White (tiling to the ceiling in the shower; midway up the wall throughout)
Mirror: Rejuvenation Yaquina Pivot Mirror
Sconce: Schoolhouse Electric Irvine
Sconce Shade: Schoolhouse Electric Straight Bell Shade
Vanity: Tile & Top 30″ Uptown Vanity
Shower Curtain: Target
Ceiling Light: Norwell Lighting (currently in the bathroom; might replace eventually)
Faucet: Delta Cassidy
Towel Bars: Moen Kingsley 18″ & Moen Kingsley Double Towel Bar
Toilet: Kohler Corbelle
Toilet Paper Holder: Moen Kingsley
Cabinet Knobs: House of Antique Hardware
Cabinet Hinges: House of Antique Hardware
Shower & Tub Kit: Delta Cassidy
Bathtub: Kohler Bellwether
Floor Tile: Marble Hexagon

The vanity was such a headache to figure out. I didn’t love much of what I saw online and I really didn’t want a composite material. So, we went to Marling Lumber, a local company that specializes in custom and semi-custom cabinetry. It was like pulling teeth to get information on our options from their sales person and after many trips to the showroom and many emails, we finally got a quote for a base with a solid surface top and one with a quartz remnant top. Those prices were $1,800 and $1,400 respectively, plus another $100 for an undermount sink. I’m fine spending more for the right piece, but those prices fest astronomical for what we were getting. It was back to the drawing board and the search functions at dozens of sites. We eventually found this one at Home Depot that ticked our boxes: solid wood for the majority of the piece (unfortunately we noticed that part of it is made from composite after reading reviews, but most of it is solid wood), storage, a real stone counter, and rectangular undermount sink.

It arrived a couple of weeks later on a pallet. We thought we’d be able to get it in the house with the help of Forearm Forklifts and were sorely mistaken. As luck would have it, one of our neighbors was outside and asked if we needed help. An emphatic yes from me! So, he and Dave hoisted the 125-pound package inside where it’s going to sit until the main bathroom work begins in March.

And here’s where I started last summer. I knew I wanted to keep the paint we already have in the room. I ordered those sconces when the project was just a glimmer in our eye, and I knew early on that I wanted marble hexagon tile on the floor and a longer-than-traditional subway tile. It’s so fun to see it come together and I’m beyond eager for the install!

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Main Bathroom: The Before Tour

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Our bathroom renovations begin next week! While we’re starting with the powder room, I wanted to give you a look at the main bathroom this week. Today’s post is the “before” tour of what it looks like now, along with some “before-before” images of what it looked like during our inspection and after we closed on the house. On Friday, I’m sharing the full product list of what’s going in the space!

Now, I want you to know that while it would have been great to do a remodel for aesthetics alone, that wasn’t exactly the case here. About 18 months ago, we had water leaking from the bathroom into the kitchen below. Fortunately it wasn’t an issue with the plumbing, but years of water seeping around poor caulking that led to the damage. Additionally (as you’ll see below), there’s a window in the shower with original wood trim. We’re covering it with plastic for the time being, but it’s not the correct way to do this by any stretch of the imagination. And to make this room even more obnoxious, we have an old drum trap which barely drains to the point where we’re standing in ankle-deep water after a shower. So, we will be gutting the entire room in order to find and address all of the water damage, and correct someone else’s poor DIY attempt at a renovation.

Here’s a photo from the doorway and a pretty good overview of what we’re working with. The room is large at about 8′ x 8.5′. I love that built-in, but the wood isn’t in great shape. So, we’ll be flanking the centered tub with two built-ins that will echo the style of this original one. There will be white subway tile going to the ceiling in the shower, we’ll be putting the plumbing into the wall, and we’ll continue with tile around the room midway up the wall (approximately 48″ high). I’ll be using this paint color again for the top half. (The paint is reading brighter here with these iPhone photos than it does in real life. IRL it’s more subdued.) The linoleum flooring will be replaced with marble hexagon tile. I really want the renovation to be classic and appropriate for a 1929 home and most of what’s in here now isn’t original to the house.

Going in the room a bit further, there’s a window to the left that will be staying and we’ll keep the original trim. We’re also keeping the original trim of the door frame, and we’ll copy the trim style for the two new built-ins to make it look like it was originally part of the house.

We’re not going to move any of the plumbing since that’s entirely too far out of our budget. Fortunately, though, I like the location of the fixtures in the room. So, the sink will be staying where it is as will the toilet. (Fun fact, our toilet isn’t level. I kept thinking it was a little tilted for the past few years and finally got the level from the basement to prove myself right.) We’ll be doing a pivot-style mirror above a vanity so it can “float” in front of the tiled wall. We’ll also replace those sconces with new ones. I absolutely love the flattering light of side sconces by a mirror. We’re not going to go with any recessed lighting in the room as I think that looks too modern for an old house. We’ll have a ceiling fixture, the sconces, and light from two windows.

Here’s the window that’s inside of the shower. I love the light that it brings in, but there’s no doubt that this isn’t water tight. We’ll replace it with a new window that’s the same width, but half the height for privacy. I can’t wait to finally get rid of that second clingy shower curtain!

On the other side of the tub, you’ll see this long counter that extends into the shower area.

Plus, there’s another mirror. Chances are that this was someone’s makeup table. The tub likely didn’t have a shower attachment originally, thus the window and its wood frame. This is very clearly all being ripped out. The tub is smaller than a standard-size bathtub, so we will be replacing it with a slightly larger one. The second built-in will go on the right of it. We’ll put a towel bar where the mirror is now.

I probably should have staged some of this photos, huh? Oh well, there’s all my junk and the reason why I’m eager for a second built-in cabinet.

This collection of snapshots are from shortly after we closed on the house. It’s been fine and serviceable up until the water damage, and some minor cosmetic changes like adding paint and replacing the fluorescent light fixture made a big difference. The photo in the lower left here cracks me up, though. It’s so illustrative of the mess we purchased with the horrible wood stain on the floor in the hall, the crappy paint job, and a broken glass doorknob that was taped together.

But this, my friends, is the crème de la crème:

This is what it looked like when we first toured the house and put in an offer. What can I say, the house has good bones and we fortunately were able to look beyond this horror show. 😉 (I cropped out the questionable stains on the floor towel for you.)

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Powder Room: Product Selections

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SOURCES: medicine cabinet / light fixture / light shades / pedestal sink / faucet / toilet / toilet seat / towel bar / toilet paper holder / tile / hand towel / lidded wastebasket

Our renovations are coming up with work scheduled to begin on Feb. 15! We’re starting with our powder room, which is on the main floor right off the kitchen. This project is scheduled to take roughly two weeks before our contractor moves to our main bathroom on the second floor.

We decided to do our half bath first to give us a functional bathroom on the first floor while our main bathroom is gutted. We do have a shower in our unfinished basement that we can use during the renovation, but I really didn’t want to use the basement bathroom longer than necessary. It’s kind of gross down there and not exactly the ideal location to get ready for the day!

Knowing that we’re in crunch time for making final decisions, we placed a lot of product orders over the past couple of weeks. One of the items I asked for feedback for on Instagram was the faucet. I didn’t realize that sinks have two different standard widths for widespread faucets: four inches and eight inches. Had I realized this before buying the pedestal sink, I would have gone with the eight-inch widespread version because I fell in love with this faucet. We already had the sink delivered and I didn’t want to pay for return shipping, so I had some stress-induced tears and searched for an alternative, coming up with these:

The faucets are both by Kingston Brass and essentially the same design, aside from the knobs. I was originally leaning toward black, but 75% of those who voted on Instagram preferred all brass. I figured I’d give it a go since the faucet I originally loved was also all brass. It’s scheduled to be delivered on Monday. Assuming the color of the brass is similar to the fixture on the right, then I’ll be delighted. I’m hoping it doesn’t read too 1980s-faux-brass-yellow. I suspect it’ll be fine, though, considering all of the fixtures on the brand’s Instagram page look beautiful. (The towel bar and toilet paper holder are by the same company. Hopefully all of the brass hues match.)

We also had to pivot from the floor options I talked about here. I really wanted to go with color for the flooring. I liked the blue a lot, but couldn’t get past the jagged edges of the tile. I stopped by a local tile shop (Malony Tile for those in Madison) and found this tile:

The color is very similar to the tile in the opening photo here (which is the tile I originally wanted to go with), but I prefer that it’s not concrete so it’ll be easier to clean. It also brings in some of the deep blue-green of our stairwell paint. I also love that it makes the room feel more fun. The main bathroom is getting those marble hexagon tiles that you can see here and it’s going to be much more traditional and refined. The house needs a bit of fun that still leans classic.

We are waiting to purchase the medicine cabinet. I really want hidden storage in that space for things like Tylenol, but we need to wait until the wall is open to see where the plumbing stack is. Assuming it’s not right where the mirror is going, we’ll go ahead and order this one. I don’t have an alternative wall-hung mirror picked out, so keep your fingers crossed!

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