Renovation Sensation! -- The Bathroom

Look! It's a new feature! I've created this one to detail some of the renovations I've done on the Old Homestead…ie, The Church. I know after I teased a few weeks ago that my contractor was coming back to complete my list of needed renovation that you all have been waiting with bated breath to see what's been done.

First stop, the bathroom. A little history here, the main floor of the church is made up of the sanctuary and behind was a large room that used to house the nursery. I'm guessing this based on the fact that there was a huge window built into the wall to "spy" on the kiddies during the church service.

Let's start with the model I built many many years ago.

"White…my favorite color!" (Name the movie, win a prize)

Yep, I built a model. I thought it was important, since I've never designed a bathroom from scratch, to get a sense of scale in the space. So I bought myself some Foamcore, measured like a mad man, and came up with the above. From right to left, the water closet, the insanely huge "Porn" shower, and then the vanity.

Here is what the room looked like before renovation began.

Large & kinda messy, huh?

3 years later and I don't even want to tell you how much money, here is the result. Keep in mind, the entire renovation also included the bedroom, laundry room, and closet. We'll get to those another time. Once again, working from right to left.

The Water Closet

No, you can't really see people peeing and pooping through the glass on the door! You can see rough shapes, but that is about it.

The "Porn" Shower

Yeah, ok…it has a huge window in it. That, and it fits 6 comfortably. I wanted a shower that I could stand in the center of and spin like Wonder Woman. Keep in mind I had been showering for 3 years inside of a postage stamp downstairs. The water "rains" from directly above. I added the window so I would have a creative space to play with. I have all kinds of plans for it, I just have to decide which one I want to do first. For now a curtain seemed the fitting choice. The walls are painted with swimming pool paint to compensate for the damp environment. I just didn't feel like doing tile everywhere…everyone does that!

The Vanity…oh, and the sexy shower lighting in the background

Vessel sink and a Toiletry Panty Cabinet…Swank!

The vanity is the latest portion of the renovation. It is so nice to not have to use the tiny sink in the Water Closet when getting ready for work or to go out. I chose a slate-ish formica for the counter and covered the pantry with the same copper paper that adorns the ceiling. It helps to tie things together when you can. I am really pleased with the vessel sink. As a tall person, sinks so often wind up being too low for me. In this case I split the difference by lowering the counter slightly and placing the vessel sink on top of it. The shelving to the right of the sink was purchased at IKEA. It holds fresh towels and washcloths and the toiletries that are currently in use. Oh, and in case you didn't notice, both the WC and the Shower are up 2 steps. It was a necessary evil in order to be able to get to the main drainage pipe (a curse in older architecture). I like it, it's different, and I've only fallen once so far…hence the hand rail bar going in and out of the shower.

All in all, a successful renovation. I stayed very faithful to the original model. I think the only changes consisted of making the shower window a little smaller and shortening the vanity enough to include the "pantry". So…what do you think? Love it? Hate it? Got a question about that I'd be happy to answer in a future post? Say your peace in the comments.