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Welcome to Traci!
We bought our little Baltimore rowhouse just over a year and a half ago knowing that the bathroom was in big need of a renovation.
The bathroom was even smaller than any i'd ever had in NYC, and needed a complete gutting...
The oversized apron tub took up more than half the room, the enormous vintage sink overlapped the tub by 7" and because there had been a closet built into the space from the adjoining room (a closet that was too narrow to even fit a hanger mind you) the toilet was set at at diagonal into the sink..
i always joked that it would be the perfect bathroom for the flu... you could do your business on the toilet, get sick in the sink, and then step easily in the tub to wash yourself up. sorry, but it's true.
did i mention the entire bathroom was covered with marble-laminated masonite, drop ceilings and heat lamps. nice. we removed the drop ceiling when we bought the house which exposed four sets of wires that for the next year would just hang out there waving at you when you took a shower. yikes.
so when i came home one day in january and my husband said he'd gotten motivated to get rid of all the exposed and unused scary wiring in the bathroom i was ecstatic, that is until i went up to change and none of the ceiling lights in the entire second floor were working... apparently someone had routed all the swtich wiring into the bathroom and these few sketchy wires had actually been the hub of electricity. woops.
so in order to run new electric we had to tear out the ceiling in the bathoom, and why would we do that without tearing out the entire thing.... Since it's our only bathroom and we did most of the work ourselves it wasn't going to be easy... but one home loan and two months later we're finally done.
we tore out the closet, rebuilt the floor, moved the plumbing, changed out the sink for a little bitty one pulled out of an old textile factory here in baltimore, installed some ikea kitchen cabinets for storage and straightened the toilet.
we used penny round tile from American Universal (http://www.auc-tile.com) on the floor
and tin panels for the walls from American Tin Ceilings (http://www.americantinceilings.com),
our sink we got through an amazing architectural salvage place here in balitmore, Housewerks ( http://www.housewerksalvage.com).
and there's no way i was losing that tub.
all of our photos can be found up on flickr right over here.
thanks!!
traci
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
pretty and functional! love the penny tiles.
I also love the tile work in this bathroom--including the wall tile which normally wouldn't be a style I'd pick but now you have me rethinking this. I like the aqua/blue color and the design of the shower curtain very soothing and springlike.
I'm about to renovate a 'dungeon' bathroom. I think colors like this might be perfect!
Great before and after transformation!
Very calming and pleasant color scheme.
I like how you caught the shower curtain reflection in the mirror.
Cute!
This is the kind of rehab I wish we'd done with our downstairs bath back in the Troy rowhouse -- I really envy you for actually getting it done!
i have to know how you survived two months with one bathroom under renovation. i'm reluctant to start any work on mine because it's our only one.
I love your birch tree shower curtain! Where did you find it?
surviving was interesting to say the least. we lost the shower almost immediately but we held onto the tub and toilet for as long as we could and then stayed at our friend's for three nights. we had to disconnect the tub again later to finish grouting... during the early days i actually began to enjoy taking long baths at the end of the day... although it felt like we lived in a log cabin there for a bit.
Amazing job!! I'd love to find that shower curtain too. It's fantastic.
I think that's the same shower curtain at Anthropologie and I think it's about $40-50. I've had my eye on it for awhile too, but I love my heavy white waffle shower curtain way too much :)
I've been stalking that shower curtain for awhile now. It's the Kaiku curtain by Marimekko. Anthropologie sells it, as does this place (on sale!):
http://store.txtlart.com/kashcu.html
This Textile Arts place also prints the same design on a tray & cups, napkins, etc.
I actually have to stop pining for this one. I just bought a new shower curtain and I'm totally psyched for it to arrive. Click on my name to see!
BTW, love the pretty blue tiles! So calming and round! I would have liked a clearer picture of the floor after though.
Just to point out for those who may live near an Anthropologie store, the sale price above is the same as Anthro's regular price. A good source though in case a store is out of it.
i love this! you guys did a great job and i really like the light feel of this little space. two questions - where did you get the tall blue rectangular hamper/trashcan next to the toilet and what is the little diddie under the mirror...i can't tell ???
kudos again for such a well done reno. it's got quirk and style but not overwhelming.
lovely, really lovely. i adore the bath tub.
ah, if only some of the brick could have been salvaged... but maybe i'm just obsessed with brick in spaces.
nice work. thanks for the slideshow!
thanks!
the steel blue trashcan is part of a set of 1950s doctor's cabinets we got through craigslist, and the diddie under the mirror is actually part of the mirror. it's a shelf with a horizontally rolling lid. I got it at tabletopdc (http://www.tabletopdc.com), you can see an image of it here: http://www.shopfosters.com/store/files/images/large/d_1899.jpg
please share your paint color/brand?
This renovation is amazing. The colors and tile are very lovely.
Your shelf over the sink is a great idea, I love omitting the predictable medicine cabinet. I also love how you have storage cabinets that do not show the culture of all the necessary products we humans need to groom ourselves. But in looking at this wall as whole, the shelf over the sink and the storage over the toilet seem a little disparate to me. I am troubled by that the storage cabinet seems higher than the shelf. I think the bottom of the shelf and the cabinet should line up. Perhaps this was impossible because of the outlet?
Also, perhaps painting the shelf white would help resolve the disparity. Sorry to nit-pick. You did a really great job. I just think this is one last detail that is missing.
I noticed you tucked the curtain inside the tub and textile arts calls it polyester, but is it coated or anything, or does it require a liner?
i love the commercial wall hung sink, and those penny tiles are gor-ge-ous! nice job :)
I love the tin on the walls, the fabulous tile, and the vintage trash can. Perfection!
Can someone tell me why in America two shower curtains are used? What is the benefit of it? I've always wondered
In the UK we just have one curtain - it can be as pretty or plain as you wish - they are made in hundreds of designs - its waterproof and hangs inside the tub to stop the water going everwhere
What is the point of having a fabric curtain on the outside when what you call a liner is the ideal item for the task on its own???
Very nice, Traci, I like the pressed tin wainscotting. It's hard to tell from the pictures, but do you have two curtains for the clawfoot? Does water get out at all when you shower? I'm getting ready to renovate and I've been looking for a deep alcove tub, but the best in terms of deep seem to be the clawfoot, which would actually solve a few issues, but I'm reluctant due to the splatter factor.
Violetsrose -- The outside fabric curtain is a symbol of American prosperity, as it exists only for looks. Think of it as a cousin of p(too)'s conch shell.
Violetsrose; As a Brit transplant I have to confess my confusion with the two shower curtain practice when I first arrived but by the third day I really appreciated it. Using one is messy i.e. water drips all over the floor and the other makes for a nice accessory statement. On a more personal note, using both makes me feel like I'm cocooned when I'm taking a shower or bath.
iron fish -- we actually have to use 3 shower curtains to surround the tub in it's entirety. i only buy one decorative one for the outside and then two washable polyester ones for the inside. you can get away with just using two depending on how long your shower enclosure is... we had just upgraded for this renovation to a 54" long surround so we had to add in a third for good measure. but i have to say i LOVE this big ol' tub and would have a hard time going back to a standard one.
Violetrose--
Typically, the liner's only function is to keep water in its place, and is typically unadorned vinyl. The liner also extends the life of the "outside curtain."
The outside curtain is usually more decorative, and perhaps a material more apt to be damaged by extended exposure to water.
But there do exist adorned all-in-one vinyl curtains. So we're not all about pure ostentation in the states!
Violetrose--personally I hate the look of 2 shower curtains myself, and currently use one pretty vinyl one. Not only do I not like the look, but my bathroom is so small that my sink is right next to the bath/shower, with no space in between, so if I got a decorative outer curain, it would stay bunched next to the sink. Blech! This is why I ask if the polyester Marimekko curtain is somehow made waterproof (because I want it!).
shannon -- the marimekko is indeed waterproof and can also be tossed into the washing machine to boot.
Thanks for all the answers guys!
"The liner also extends the life of the 'outside curtain'. The outside curtain is usually more decorative, and perhaps a material more apt to be damaged by extended exposure to water."
Then don't put it near water...? - just a suggestion...
"Using one is messy i.e. water drips all over the floor"
No it doesn't - the curtain hangs inside the tub - how can water get on the floor?
I always thought the outer curtain in American bathrooms was totally unnecessary - thanks for confirming this
I recently had this same problem when renovating my loft in Tribeca, when a real estate agent friend of mine gave me the number of a contractor he knew. It was difficult for me to believe that a "20 something" had the experience to handle the job, but now I'm a believer. He's excellent and has excellent references. He gave me a fair price and did perfect work. I've given his name to all of my friend. I recommend anyone in need calls him. His name is John Wilson and his number is 610-509-2794. Tell him Tovah sent you. Good luck!
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