Name: Guido
Location: Park Slope, Brooklyn
Amount Spent: Under $5,000
The Blogcast Interview:
Slideshow:
The Pitch:
Does My Bathroom Rock? Yes, thanks, it does! This is my rustic country Park Slope bathroom, done from scratch. The tin ceiling and the shower are the only original items.
I had an apartment without a tub. I took a second job so I could buy one -- I'm not kidding, my FAVORITE thing is indoor plumbing -- and then had to knock down some walls to make a space for it. All the wood is new, but I want it to look old. I ended up using a sink and tub from salvage. There were plenty of other places to spend money!
The configuration is peculiar -- think of one little room with tub and toilet, joined by a narrow hallway to a second room with the sink and original shower. Part of this was the limitations of the space -- which we squeezed from half a closet and a stairwell landing to get a few more square feet. You can look at my graph paper sketches to see before and after.
This a gut rehab for a relatively small amount of $$. I did everything I could possibly do myself - like staining wood and varnishing and painting, along with the design and hunting down all the stuff. My cousin Frankie turned me on to marine spar varnish which is the way to make wood work in a bathroom.
I am a dedicated salvage-scavenger with some sort of latent crafts streak -- the sink cabinet is decoupaged with hand printed paper (not my by my hand) And I think I did this without getting too marthastewart, thank you!
1. MAKE SOME ROOM!
I had a small dark middle "bedroom" (barely) next to my pathetic shower-only, corner sink as-small-as-a-spittoon, with toilet in the smallest space possible. (Only lurid-looking, very dark polaroid pictures exist, so see photo of old bathroom layout instead) The sink was the size of a paper towel folded into a triangle.
My building is over 100 years old, and so predates indoor plumbing. It showed.
We knocked down the walls. We knocked back into some closet space in the front bedroom to fit the new sink. We met ancient mouse skeletons, and tried not to breathe plaster reinforced with horsehair! It was all kind of cool, and kind of gross. I had friends doing the work, so I didn't have to pay very much for this.
2. GO UPSTATE
I took a second job to buy a tub, but then I found one in a barn upstate for $50 (Jeffersonville NY, next to the frozen custard place.) You'll need a friend with a pick-up truck. It only takes four women of average size and abilities to move a cast iron claw foot tub up one flight of brownstone steps in a snowstorm. Really. It was 10 o'clock at night.
(see photo, tub through door)
It was around $200 to have the tub reporcelained (which means . . . hand sanded by a guy with treetrunk arms, covered in goo, and hit with french fry lights. It's held up great - I did all this almost 10 years ago. [Note: you can't clean it with Comet or use suction mats.] I painted the outside with oil paint, in a palmy green.
3. SALVAGE AND SCAVENGE
(see photo, sink) Salvaged sink with a marble top and a white porcelain bowl, $75 at Stan's in Kingston NY. Their prices have been going up and up over the years tho so you might as well go to Houston Street, or better yet Build It Green, the non-proft salvage place in Astoria. Marble is beautiful after a few decades of water.
I got a cute tiny ladder-back door outside a church on garbage night. (photo, door outside) I carried it home by myself. My dear old dad spent 2 days stripping and sanding it, but he didn't want to do any of the other messy stuff we were up to so that worked out well.
Days later, I learned that one could send these things out to be dipped. For the next door, I used Big Apple Stripping. It came back sanded! It was $75/door including free pickup and delivery, but that was 10 years ago.
4. CHEAP TUB/EXPENSIVE FIXTURES
All the money went to the tub's faucet. (photo, cu tub) Almost $700, cause I wanted this special subtle curve of the pipes and all the rest of it. It's from England. Beautiful, quality stuff in many prices ranges at George Taylor Specialties, 76 Franklin Street in Tribeca (212-226-5369) A big difference between expensive plumbing and cheap plumbing is the that cheap stuff gives you even worse water pressure than you already have. Something about small tubing and plastic. Expensive lasts forever and won't make you irritable every morning when the shower is weak.
The sink faucet is nice too -- I had to find something that worked with the salvaged marble, and a saintly plumber drilled the marble to make the holes big enough. (photo, sink cu) He was my neighbor, since retired to fishing down south. He charged me $1200 or $1500 for the whole gig. Which included . . .
5. MOVING A TOILET
Go ahead and do it. I just moved mine to the other side of the stack (which is the waste line to the rest of us folks) I got American Standard at Home Depot, but I had to go to 3 stores to find the swelegant one in stock. Home Depots are better stocked the further away from Brooklyn you get. It was around $200.
6. PERIOD LIGHTING FIXTURE (photo, lighting) That stuff at Home Depot is usually too ugly for words, and they are always out of stock of the bearable stuff. I like those giant old glass factory lights. I found this small version at Uplift Lighting store on Hudson St. in the West Village. I think an original Stonewall rioter helped me there -- everyone was very nice!
7. WOOD (2 photos: wood floor and wainscot by sink) Wood floors and walls in a bathroom, why not! Boat varnish (called marine spar varnish) works brilliantly, and makes it waterproof.
I got raw wainscotting from Home Depot, and had them cut it in half -- it's sold in packets of 8' lengths, and you need a clamshell chair rail moulding to top it off. I stained it dark. [I was staining and varnishing at 5am every day before work to get stuff prepped for the hired workers. ack!]
Wide plain pine planking for the floor, stained that too. After the plumber did his thing, we put black roofing paper down and laid the planks over the subflooring, which is what passes for flooring in my house. You lay it the opposite direction of the subfloor. You use the black paper because planks of wood shrink and expand a little, and I wasn't using proper flooring with grooves that fit together..
8. CUSTOMIZED SINK CABINET
(photo, sink wide hall) I wanted it to be higher than standard because I am not short. I used a piece from a very plain unfinished kitchen cabinet "starter set" and put it up on a wider baseboard - the rest of the kit turned into clothes cabinets elsewhere. Weissman's (under the El in Brooklyn, on Mcdonald Ave) has overruns and very cheap construction bits like this, $200 for the whole cabinet setup. I also got a nice plain beveled mirror medicine cabinet there. I stained the doors, got pretty ceramic knobs at Anthropologie ($10), and some hand blocked paper from Kate's Paperie on lower Broadway.
One sheet ($4) and some decoupage glue, and more spar varnish.
I got the little fittings and fussy bits here and there, like a glass towel rack for $3. from Woolworth's when they were going out of business, and the wire cage old office containers (which I use for shampoo and TP) on sale at Anthropologie.
9. THE OLD SHOWER
...is the only thing I haven't gone after yet...I wasn't up to ripping more stuff out and the old stuff was fine. The shower curtain is $6 at Ikea. (photo, shower tile) The shower came with a skylight, for which I am ever grateful.
I was going to cut a skylight in the roof for the tub, but borrowed light from the one over the stairs instead by leaving a window open in that direction. That also provides ventilation.
(photo, matching dog) This is my dog. She hates to take a bath.
Thanks for looking at my bathroom!
Guido
Not only am I impressed by how cheaply you did this, but also I'm impressed by how beautifully it turned out. But honey, that shower curtain has got to go.
I love the 'old' look you achieved using wood and the right hardware. Turning on the taps everyday must be like going back in time.
Personally, I'm a color fiend and would love to see the place warmed up with deep but faded jewel tones either on the walls (sponged paint treatment?) or in the towels/floormat. Also agree that the shower curtain doesn't work.
Your handiwork is inspirational!
Wow. I love all the dark wood and hardware choices. The use of decorative paper on the sink cabinet works really well. The feel of the place is rustic and womb-like, which I like. The story behind the renovation (especially all the salvaged stuff) is a good read, too. Must say that I'm not crazy about the shower curtain because it seems like a stylistic disconnect from the fully realized vision. But other than that, this bathroom rocks hard for me.
Guido, I am impressed by your vision and your handyman talents, really envious. I also like your japanese robe.
But Dude, get rid of that shower curtain. NOW!!!
I love your faucets! Kudos to all the hard work you did too -- I only watch Bob Vila, not actually do anything. Impressive!
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
THAT was helpful.
I think the lighting of the photos and the angle of many of the pictures is making it really hard for me to really "see" this space...it just seems so dark in the slideshow!
However I am impressed by the woodwork, the beautiful bathtub, and the gorgeous fixtures...I just wish I had a better idea of this space from the pictures.
I think the toilet area also needs to be enhanced in some way. And I agree that the shower curtain is not working.
Brings back lovely memories of unrenovated summer cottages... until I see the shower curtain. If there were another option between Rocks! and Rolls!, I'd choose it. But as it is, I'm giving you a Rocks! in spite of the shower curtain.
It's kind of nice. I think it suffers from the EXTREME closeup photos however. I don't have a really good idea of how the whole bathroom fits together. Right now it's a bunch of different slightly off-angle photos of dark wood and light tile.
Sorry about the pictures -- it's really small and dark in there, and a wide shot that shows the whole thing is not possible with my camera! I was hoping the original drawings before and after would help you picture it - two TINY rooms joined together by a less than 2' wide hallway.
I had to throw my grow light on the toilet so you could see it at all, which explains that particular bit of freaky lighting. In real life it is gently illuminated with a full spectrum bulb from that pretty glass fixture. I WISH I had HH's window, but alas . . .
The SHOWER CURTAIN was a more elegant and restrained rice paper which I'm sure you would all like MUCH better . . . but when that one needed changing . . . and in a moment of whimsy . . . well, I like it and am trying to encourage a little more of whimsy in my personal style. It makes me happy in the morning, and I bought two!
guido, you've done a fantastic job (good taste and thrifty!). the wood is beautiful, but maybe it makes the room darker/smaller? i'd probably need more light. how about the strategic use of a mirror in the darkest area? also, i don't think the shower curtain works in there either, but i'm all for whimsy (and i had the same one in my last apartment).
one more thing, how about a chandelier? i know they're the "hot" thing right now, but it would add light and could be fun (you could add all different kinds of colored beads or crystals so that you have some more whimsy).
I can't believe you did it yourself! Wow! I'm in awe of anyone who is handy. And thrifty! kudos.
This has a surprising Old West vibe to it (surprising, given that it's neither Old nor West). Perhaps it's the framed photo, the beadboard and the clawfoot tub. Reminds me of my favorite part of most Westerns, the for-some-reason-almost-inevitable "cowboy in a bathtub" scene. But I digress.
Given this vibe, I'd say you can get the whimsy you want from a different kind (though no more serious) shower curtain than the one you have. I do like that curtain you have, mostly for the color it introduces. I've seen a shower curtain looked like it was pieced together of multi-colored bandanas, as an example. I'd love to see a (CAREFULLY PLACED) cactus in there, too. Some brown and white horn cups? A cowhide bathmat? But I'm not entirely suggesting it look like a cowboy theme park, just seems like some of the elements would work with what you've got goin' on.
Although "cowboy theme park" sounds kinda fun.
But again, I digress.
Actually, cowgirl theme park might be a good way to go, too.
I love the look of the dark wood against the white porcelain. It reminds me of the outdoors or even a cedar sauna. It's simple, functional, beautiful. The only suggestion I have is to replace the striped rug/towel with a white towel, and to add one additional color to the room -- something dramatic. Like a bright red chair, vase, flowers (red geraniums), painting.
Great job!
Viva Zapata!! Guido, you are a genius! Would that I had your skills. I love the idea of using salvaged stuff and the marine varnish for the wood floors! That's beyond great.
I think you ought to write a column on how to re-do skanky NYC baths.
Great job -- beautiful wood. Great bargain hunting and lots of hard work in taking the time to find the right pieces! Bravo!
Curtis--
Not for me. ;)
Patrick -
Nor me, but I meant for her; sounds like Guido might be a grrl, and at least some of the 4 who helped her wrestle that tub in there might enjoy that, too.
Meanwhile, I failed to say that although dark bathrooms generally make me fear mold, I love how generally great this one looks, and I love the fact that in spite of the very resourceful scavenging, it looks very pulled-together, and does not look like Grandma's Bottle House, as it sounded like it might.
OK, this ROCKS! And I say this not only because she is my cousin...but I have seen it in-person. She is truly a Jane of all trades. Makes me wanna renovate!!!
Wow. Incredibly resourceful, incredibly talented, incredibly adroit. This one gets extra points not only for sweat equity and craftsmanship, but for thinking outside the box - just another instance of showing us how different a bathroom can be.
(But have to admit, I, too, *immediately* thought of a cowboy in the tub - maybe it was the Zapata poster.)
(And to be clear, I'm thinking here less of John Wayne in "True Grit," and more Jude Law in a holster. ONLY a holster.)
Great fixtures! Just looking at the tub spigots tells a story of someone makin' some field trips either by phone, internet or physical being to find the right ones. Overall the bathroom seems too dark and confining to me, a bit jaunty and utilitarian for the most important room in the house (kitchens come in second imho). But you did a great job with the renovation of the space.
It's warmly lit, just not good enough for still off a video camera.
BTW "jaunty and utilitarian"
I LOVE THAT! Thank you! It was temporarily disturbing to have this board not love my bathroom with complete devotion ( ;-)) . . . but to each her own.
PPhillipp, my girlfriend looks JUST LIKE Jude Law, and Curtis YOU pay perfect attention to detail!
jaun·ty
1. Having a buoyant or self-confident air; brisk.
2. Crisp and dapper in appearance; natty.
3. Archaic
a. Stylish.
b. Genteel.
Some say "dark and confining". I prefer "dramatic, rustic and warm". There's no pleasing everybody. Your hard work speaks volumes. And I bet the room feels like home to you--which is the most important thing!
LOVE IT, but ... what's up with that shower curtain? and maybe some other COLOR. a little icy blue, if you're daring, or just some camel. otherwise, beauty!
ooh, i just read other comments, and a CHANDELIER would be smashing! one of those old ornate brass goofballs, painted sage ... (with the sage again, me)
and some FLOWERS. and some porcelain doo-dads, like toothbrush holder, soap dish, like that.
no doodads in the rustic cabin!
what's a goofball?
guido....i absolutely love, love your handiwork. looks to me as though it was done with loving care with special attention to detail. the energy you spent in seeking the equipment that would make it "sing" with authenticity says alot about the you and your effort. i wouldn't change a thing! by the way....i am in the process of "self-renovation" on my pre-war bath...nothing as inclusive as yours...but you've inspired me! as far as i'm concerned....your bath ROCKS!
Weisman Salvage & Surplus
1185 McDonald Ave, Brooklyn, 11230
(718) 377-8871
by the F train "Ave I" stop
Megan -- I totally agree! It's delightful, thank you.
Guido, thanks for including your bathroom again, last time the slideshow wasn't working for me and I totally love it. Very inspiring. and thanks for the confidence, but I have been plugging away since closing September 2005. I finally moved in May 2006 becausse that's how long it took me to get the bedroom and 3/4 of the living room done.
Jamie pup -- except he wound up not using the sawzall!!!!!!!!! He just chipped away with a chisel (at the plaster and rock lath) and took out chunks at a time while I scurried around underneath trashing them and sweeping up. He's such a professional! Real aggro where it needs it. Quite a marvel to watch and totally hysterically funny.
Lori -- did you use floating click together planks? If so, what brand? I'm driving myself crazy vacillating. This is an instance where a third party, such as a designer, etc., would help in getting me out of the continuous debate in my head.
Curtis -- THANK YOU! I am honored beyond belief by your compliments.
Eve -- I dipped a brush into the stripper and painted it on rather thick. I didn't use much and I did 12 hinges, 12 lock plates. Email me and we'll discuss the stencils and perhaps I can sell you some of the stripper. I bought a gallon and I don't need it all, and it is expensive.
Christine -- baseboards (so many lessons learned here) I did not strip, nor did I prime. WRONG! Next baseboards I will prime with Kilz odorless (so far my fave alkyd primer stain killer). I made a gazillion samples using the McClosky crackle product (different product than the doors, btw). However all hell broke loose on the actual baseboards and i was on hands and knees with the pva glue because the crackle had crackled itself off the paint and in areas crackled the paint off. Crackling is a very volatile, sensitive thing. Essentially you are trying to control decay and it is always unpredictable. Hence the fun and excitement! Or the expletive-inducing frustration and disappointment:(
Also Jill was really attracted to the areas where I had freaked out about the glopped on legions of paint under which can still be discerned the phone cord and the tacks pinning it in and I just applied sculptural globs of caulk. Yes, radical I know. Removing the cord and tacks proved to be fatally destructive to the baseboards as well, so I wasn't going to repeat that. I shmeared caulk across the length of the baseboard, except I used a new (to me) caulk product called "Painter's" something and guess what! it was petroleum-based or something cause the sucker didn't dry for 3 days!! Then I painted it with an acrylic color I tried to match with the venetian plaster walls. Except it kept drying PINK (grrrrrrrr). So that's when I decided to crackle and glaze it to funk it up and just go with the convoluted glopped look and yet simultaneously make it disappear.
This is what I suggest: if you are not removing the old paint (and I, for one, don't blame you -- although since it's a cab it may be easier to strip than the baseboards) give it a good scraping/sanding (get all the peeling paint off), wash with tsp surface prep (a tsp substitute I got at HD or Lowes; it also deglosses but is a "safe" product), let dry; prime with Kilz (alkyd primer stronger and will take both alkyd or acrylic paint, also you'll probably be going over previous layers of oil-based paint and you want to make sure to cover this); basecoat with acrylic paint (one or two coats, depending on the look you want), apply crackle (make sure to use whatever basecoat the crackle product recommends; there is somethiing to this, I've learned); make a glaze of whatever color you want to get "stuck" in the cracks (I combined van dyke brown, red iron oxide and perhaps some orange glaze and glazing medium -- all Golden artist acrylics) paint it on, wait a bit and wipe off so the glaze sticks in the cracks and creates an antique effect. Top with 2 to 3 coats of acrylic polyurethane or alkyd poly (chose clear effect (acrylic) or amber effect ("real" poly)) This is a cabinet and is trad painted with a hardy alkyd or oil paint to be able to take a beating and after all this work you don't want to be precious about using it. I love the non-smelly acrylics, however I am not naive about their limitations. I used AFM Safecoat Polycrylic. Do your research and decide. However, since it's a cab, perhaps you should look into milk paint! There are crackling products for it and it's a real nice authentic look -- a cracked milk paint cabinet!
here's an article to get you started:
http://dundean.com/tips_milk_paint_how_to_use.shtml
check out the other articles on this site and MAKE SAMPLES to familiarize yourself with whatever product you use.
A good online resource, besides volumes of books on decorative painting, is www.muralsplus.com
a forum by and for prof deco painters and the people who aspire to be like them. Lots of info can be gleaned by searching the site and/or posting questions. Folks are enthusiastic as punch and eager to help.
thank you for your interest and support,
schvitzy the schvitzee
oooops sorry about that
i got a little confused or the site got confused, frankly i don't know what happened???????????!!!!!!!!