My husband, Chris, and I are finally ready to bite the bullet on our so-called master bathroom. Ever since he took the sledgehammer to our tiny shower eight years ago because the pan leaked through to our laundry room, we have been using the kids’ bathroom down the hall. Our shower became storage for our Costco supply of bath tissue.
In those eight years, our 1970s-era irridescent green tile on the floor and walls has come back into retro-fashion. But it’s too late to salvage. The sledgehammer took to the bathroom floorboards as well when we replaced the plumbing with copper piping some years ago.
What remains is a funky patchwork of neglect and afterthoughts. Like an unhappy housewife, our master bathroom has “let herself go.” One of the cane doors on the cabinet beneath the sink has a hole in it. The towel rack fell off the wall long ago leaving big holes where the screws once were. And even though the entire space is barely eight feet by four feet, I still manage to have three separate piles of Vanity Fair and Elle Decor magazines: on a book shelf along the wall, a rolling cart between the sink and toilet and on a vintage rack on the floor. A once-special Navajo rug I bought from a shaman’s wife seems contrary and disrespected underfoot. And as much as I like a newly-purchased, vintage mirror with an Asian motif, the whimsy I was going for falls as flat as a bad joke. And please forgive me, my fellow Lookiloos, the metal blinds. (I can’t believe I even committed that to print!)
Our bathroom needs a makeover and we need help!
Our house is 1938 unadorned art deco-style. It is angular and asymetrical, with windows meeting in the corners. The only special touches are the glass block on either side of the front door, which has a chevron pattern matching the garage doors. When it comes to the bathroom, we want simple, clean lines. Nothing tumbled. Nothing too trendy. I like the idea of gray and white (I’m thinking Deco cruise ship) with pops of accent color. Chris likes a warmer palette, perhaps yellow tile.
We need storage and two “stations” in this tiny, one-sink bathroom: one for my husband shaving at the sink, another for me drying my hair right behind him (cheek to cheek so to speak.)
We’re open to ideas. Please share!
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I can try to draw something up for you (for fun b/c I like doing it). It is what I do for a job. Email as many dimensions as you can, and I’ll see what I can put together.
I just love your sink keep that!!!!
Rose—
I totally agree! I told Julia that just today. I hope the sink stays—There is something really wonderful about it! ≈desiree
I feel like I’ve already lost the battle on keeping the sink. My husband is pretty adamant. But nothing is done yet. Also, Linda, thanks for your offer. I’ll email you the dimensions.
We’re about to do the same thing with our bathroom. At this point, as it hasn’t been updated since 1981, and has a really bad sponge paint job, I’m figuring anything we do will be a huge improvement! Wishing you good luck!
Here’s my suggestions…
It would be nice to keep the sink for aesthetic reasons…but is there a reason your husband is adamant about it going? It looks like there is no chipping/stains, so if it’s the waterflow he objects to, or the height…fix that problem (replace/fix the taps, raise or lower the sink). You could just replace the cabinet under it.
It would be most cost effective to keep your layout as is…is there a closet on the other side of the shower wall? If so, you might be able to steal more small storage space, like shallow shelf niches between the studs. You could add a tall storage unit in the same space you have the brown wood in…but run it to the ceiling. Perhaps 12′ x12″.
You could run plain white square tile in the shower (and up all the walls, if you’d like)…they’re very inexpensive (much cheaper than white subway tiles). Run them in a brickwork pattern and they looker fresher. You can’t use wall tile on the floors, but you can use matching floor tiles.
I like the detail on your window frame, especially the sill. I would run a tall baseboard along every wall that is not shower. Do not, and I cannot stress this enough, do not use big box store not real wood molding anywhere there is moisture (Or at all). You can go to a big box store and get what is called “white wood” boards (usually pine).1″ x 3″ white wood is enough, taller is better. Make sure the boards are reasonably straight. Measure, cut, sand, paint with white gloss. You can add molding (say, 1″x1″ on the top of the baseboard, also painted gloss white. This looks fantastic with a 1″ x 5″ baseboard, and will add to your resale value (even if you never intend to sell, we should all keep bottom lines in mind). It’s an inexpensive solution that looks expensive.
I don’t know what condition your sheetrock is in. I have to tell you, it’s easier to rip it all out to the ceiling and replace with standard greenboard than it is to rip out some bad bits here and there.
If you do tall baseboards you may not need to run tile except in the shower, just do gloss paint. You can also do a line of horizontal trim on the wall…run it to meet up with the top of your window sill. Then you can paint another color above that line, a silvery grey with charcoal and lemon towels maybe. Even a pale cream will look yellow with all that white. Do your color with accessories, and it’s easy to change.
You could take your time looking for a great deco light fixture.
The sink with the base cabinet takes up way too much space. I used a hammered copper wall mounted sink from Native Trails in our 5×5 Powder. The half bath is so much more spacious because of it. I purchased a small etagere from Restoration Hardware to hold the fragrance diffuser, extra TP and Robb Report Mags. (The base cabinet around a sink is really there to hide the plumbing and allow for a few toilet related items, though in my old Powder, it really ended up holding misc. clutter.) My new Powder forces economy and neatness, which when you have a small space, makes all the difference in the world. (I will send a pic of our Powder in a separate email.)
WOW. You actually have more room in your bathroom than mine that is off our kitchen, and used to be part of an outside porch. My sink we reused is chipped and I adore yours, please don’t throw it away! You have storage on the side of the door, which I don’t so I am envious! There is always someone with a smaller master (only) bathroom. : ) Best of luck.
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Love your sink. If you want to sell, let me know. I would not get rid of it. Do not know where you live, but if white or off-white subway tile is what you are interested in, Home Depot carries it for $2.26 per sq foot. This is a very good price. We recently remodeled a bathroom, alternated 6in sq tile with 3x6in subeay tile in a running brick pattern. Came out swesome, if I do say so myself. I later saw that same pattern in Sarah Richardson’s series Sarah’s House. Hope this helps.
WELLLLLLLLLL, THANK YOU,,,,,THANK YOU JULIA……LOVE LOVE THE COUPON AT NOT TO SHABBY,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,REALLY ! OMG! YOU DID GREAT! THANK’S AGAIN! VIKKI
Please dont “sink” the sink it is great – it can have a wonderful pleated skirt that attaches with velcro! Don’t forget that we have a wonderful source for tile at Fire Clay Tile in San Jose. You can visit the “bone yard” for seconds and tiles that have not sold. One of my clients just found an entire mural with their famous Peacocks for a pitance compared to the full price of this hand made mural – for the life of me I could not find a flaw! Also, there is some great plastic beaded board for the walls – maybe you won’t need to sheetrock all the way up. My cabinet maker assures me that when you paint the beaded board you can not tell the difference between the plastic or wood. Just remember it is alway’s better to live “Grand” on a small scale then “Small” on a grand scale!!!
How goes with the bathroom remodel? We’re starting to plan for our master bath remodel late spring 2011. I’ve found just the right tile for the bathroom floor and shower walls — it’s called Cappadocia. It’s Travertine with a brushed finish. The fixtures will be oil rubbed bronze and copper. One big problem: the bathroom is sooo small we have to put the sink/vanity cabinet in the corner…it will make for a very awkward mirror. Any ideas?