Long Overdue Redo

Living through a remodel is tough.  If it's a bathroom remodel it's even more painful.  And, if that means a temporary shower in an unfinished basement for the duration of the reconstruction, then it becomes a "put-it-off-as-long-as-possible" project.

This particular bathroom has been redecorated over the years, but one thing that never changed was the shower.

This is how it looks today.  Still in great shape and still green.

There it is behind the wallpaper books.  Freshly installed before anything else was done in the room.  That's my son, enthusiastically helping me get a shot of some potential wallpaper for the room.  (He is 44 now so that makes the shower about 35 year old.)

 For all practical purposes, it remains a very usable shower.  Way back then, cost was an issue and I was willing to accept a "close-out" shower in green because...well, because the price was right. I think I got my money out of it.

 I considered a new vanity, some new floor tile, and fresh paint but I've been down that road a few times with this bathroom and this shower.  And redecorating again with the same shower drops my motivation level drastically.

Not exactly sure when or what inspired this phase but I think it followed the shower curtain that hung from the ceiling. (Haven't been able to find pictures of that one.)  Can't see the green shower?  Look down below the shower liner and you will see the green curb.

This is what the other side looked like in this era.  (Sorry about the quality of these photos.  My scanner is no longer compatible with the new laptop.)

When I bought the house there was a wall right between those two windows you see in the shot above.  This created two rooms, each the width of a doorway.  There was a toilet in the room on the left and a closet in the room on the right.  I lived with it that way for about six years.

That beige rectangle on the left is the backside of the new shower not yet installed.  The doorway to enter the toilet room was closed off and the new green shower was placed against this newly formed wall.

Those lines on the left side show where the closet shelves were mounted. If this looks a little confusing, it's because it is taken from the adjacent room.  The wall of that room was opened to take care of plumbing issues. So this shot shows both of the long narrow rooms.after the wall between them was demolished.

 I removed the paint from the left window to take both windows back to the natural look in that little country bathroom shown above. You can see the exterior brick wall where that dividing wall between the windows was removed. My thought is this was originally one room and was divided later to make room for an indoor toilet.

Moving forward a few years to another renovation.
A pedestal sink replaced the vanity and new tile was installed on the floor and behind the sink.  Note:  I was going through a faux finish phase so the windows and the door got a distressed look.  You can see a bit of the finish at the top of this picture.  As you probably guessed, the green used on the windows was an attempt to tie in that lovely green shower.  The old style medicine cabinet that was in the previous picture is still in use.  In this incarnation, it is painted a fresh white.

Feeling like another change but not ready to give up on that shower, I hung curtains and painted the room a Martha Stewart color called Shortbread.  The organic shelf was cut for me by a neighbor and I created a faux marble finish that has held up remarkably well.  I still want the shelf in that shape but Dan is planning to cut a new one that is slightly thicker.  I will then have to come up with a finish that works  with the new colors.

I also updated the medicine cabinet with a mirror on both sides of the door so when it is open the inside of the door is over the sink.

Now several years later, I really am going to remove that shower and give this little bathroom a fresh start from top to bottom. (It's still there.  See that edge peeking out from behind the white curtain?)

I do have to show a final shot of these two cute little windows.  That distressed green look will be gone soon and I need to save the memory here on the blog.

A little exploratory cut was made outside this bathroom so brother Dan could be sure what to expect from this side.  Why is that?  Well, I have decided to give up 12 inches of hallway space in this corner to create a tad more space between the shower and the toilet.  I think it will be space more appreciated on the other side than it is here.  Just for reference, when I bought the house there were two doors on this wall...one for each of those two narrow rooms.

And another shot for later reference once the bump out is made into the hallway.

In the next post I will show some of the finishes now on order.