...a little bathroom "re-cap"

in the beginning...

of summer, that is...



my 80 year old, mostly tile, bathroom...
looked like this...

old, blue rattan, cat-shredded shelf...
blue mini blinds...
the original leaky plumbing...
& the subsequently, rotten, sub floor...
the original cracked tile...
original double-hung window with broken sash cords...
[had to be propped open with a piece of wood...]
and worn-off opaque paint on lower window...
toilet NOT secured to rotted floor...

old & tired... not functional... grungy...
and impossible to keep clean...

I had signed a contract to start the remodel on 9/9/08...

but the deal fell apart...and so I waited....

waited for God to provide the right contractor...
which He did last week...

& with the contract now signed...
demo begins Dec.30, 2008...

only the cat will remain unchanged...

so for those who "want to know"...
here's a refresher/new look, at my plans...

the tub will leave...

to be replaced by a stall shower...
I grew up with only a shower...
so I've never taken tub baths, at all...

all the original tile will go...
but will be replaced in every location where it now is...

this corner of the shower stall will have a tile bench...
the shower is 5 1/2 feet long and about 28 inches wide...



there is plenty of room for a full width bench in this end...



the new shower stall tile will go up as high...
as this tile currently is...


here you have some idea of just how long the shower area will be...



these built-ins will stay...
and the crawl space access behind them...
will be closed off...[bye-bye possums...]



this area, where the old rattan shelf was...
will have a new chrome shelf...



here you see the original tile window sill...
the old mini-blinds...
the peeling opaque paint...
and the rusted window hardware...



because the sash cords were broken...
the window had to be propped open with a scrap 1" x 2"...



this was the only sash window in the entire house...
without a wooden sill & skirt...
it had a tile & cement over chicken wire, ledge...
[removing it was a bloody mess, in more ways than one...]



this is the same window, with ...

new, now functioning, sash cords...
new hardware : lock & lift...
new obscured glass lower window...
new stained glass upper window...
newly fashioned & painted sill & skirt...
[matches all the others in the house...]

so this window is pretty much, finished...

this is a period tile bath...
notice the tile trim pattern...
imagine the pink tile is white...



the cap bullnose trim tile that is a deep burgundy will be black...
and there will be a celadon green 1/2 in half round trim below it...
flanked on top & bottom by 1/2 black trim strips...
the tile will go up about 4 feet on all the walls...
except the shower stall, where it will rise to 6 feet...

there will be a 3 in black tile border on the bottom...
the floor will be white 2 in hex tiles...



here you see a rough mock-up of the top detail...
using the actual tile...
since the tub is going bye-bye in favor of a shower stall...
I've opted for a chrome "custom, hinged glass door"...



it will have side panels, similar to this one...
with the door in the center, opening "into" the west wall...
there won't be a need to build "pony walls" then...
[glass is always cheaper than built-from-scratch walls...]



the shower bench will look similar to this one...



and on the outside look like this...
though my toilet will not be in this aspect to the shower...



this is the chrome shower head/valve assembly I've chosen...



this is the toilet...
it is a "high-rise"[18" with seat] toilet...
as opposed to my current [standard]one...
that's only 16" with the seat...

higher is easier for people with stiff joints...
like me, to use into their senior years...
I'm also having a grab bar installed in the shower...
for the same reason...



I like natural oak seats...so I got one...



I love this sink...
the contractor was surprised after I showed it to him...
and he measured it...
it is not as deep from the wall as what is there now...
and it's 2 inches wider...

since the toilet plumbing will be moved...
2-3 inches closer to the wall...
that not only won't be an issue...
but it should allow the sink to be centered on the new medicine chest...
right now it isn't at all...
but the room is so small, you don't notice it...



I love the style of this faucet set with this sink...
very period correct...



this glass & chrome shelf will go over the sink...
below the new medicine cabinet...



I especially love the way this medicine cabinet, "echoes"...
the style of the window trim that is already here...
it came "primed"...with chrome hardware...


this towel bar is polished nickle...
I love the square mounting base...
the pedestal of the sink and bottom of the toilet are squared...
I looked long & hard to find "squared"...



this shelf will go in the place...
of the old blue rattan one...
that hung on the wall over the toilet...



this is an accessory set in chrome...
I also bought black plastic & chrome...
[ceramic & kitties are NOT a "long-term" situation...]






it's heavy plastic...and looks pretty much like ceramic...
if you don't look too closely...

I decided... that since for years...
20... to be exact...
I could only have blue towels & rug...
that I wanted, "options"...



here I found the large "sheet" bath towels I like...
hand towels & wash cloth...as well as a rug...
in the celadon green that matches my tile trim...

elsewhere I found the same items in these colors...
so I can change things with the season or my mood...





I'm excited to get going on this...

this bath could have been redone 10 years ago...
and I've lived with the knowledge of the rotten floor...
AND the resulting "rocking" toilet...
as well as the leaky shower knobs that squirt very hot water...
[on places you'd just as soon NOT have that occur...]
and general griminess... for a couple of years...

so I'm ready... WHOO-HOO !