Before & After: A Marine Inspired Bathroom Update
This family bathroom was original to the 1925 house – in which I grew up – and was basically unchanged except for an extremely rudimentary shower addition my grandfather had put in about 25 years ago. When I look at the before and after, I sometimes wonder what all the fuss was about, as they aren’t dramatically different – if you exclude the peeling plaster, bulging moisture-ridden walls, cracked tile, exposed lathing, and jerry-rigged garden-spigot-as-shower of the original bathroom.
After living with this arrangement on and off for 30 years, it was time for a change. We basically kept the period style (read: subway tile and mosaic floors) with a few marine-inspired touches, like shiplap-style wainscotting, aluminum pendant lights, and a salvaged overhead light. We also incorporated storage wherever we could, which sadly meant doing away with the pedestal sink. We have very few, very small closets, so anywhere we can add storage, we do.
We’re committed DIYers, but because this was our only bathroom, we had a cloth-diaper-wearing kiddo, and we were anticipating Christmas house guests, we had to fast-track the renovation by hiring a contractor. (We did get to spend three fun-filled days and exciting nights camping out in a house with no bathroom right before Thanksgiving.) To keep materials costs in check we sourced everything ourselves from ebay, a local salvage yard, and yes, lots of big box purchases. Sigh. Home Depot and IKEA have us in their pockets.
Thank you, Lily! Want to see more? Check out Lily’s blog.