The Water Closet

We’ve always got a project or two going on around here.  Sometimes it seems like they never end…one leading right into another in an endless cycle!  But that’s what we signed up for when we bought this old house, and for the most part, we really enjoy the process and of course, the outcome!  Even though we hardly ever splurge big on our renovations and spend much of the project loosing plenty of blood, sweat, and tears, we still find satisfaction getting our hands dirty doing as much as we possibly can ourselves!  We’ve tackled almost every floor and room of this house…but a couple still remain partially unchanged since we moved in 13 years ago.  So not only do we still have projects on the list, the maintenance cycle keeps us busy in between…and there’s usually an unexpected problem popping up here and there!  Oh, the joys of an old home!  And sometimes a tiny project can last years…making small changes along the way, one extra-bit-of-spending-money at a time!  Such is the case with our first floor powder room.  It was the least unfortunate looking of all the rooms when we moved in, so it remained the same while we attempted to alter the ones we really couldn’t stand!  We finally got around to stripping the wallpaper and changing the faucet but that’s where it ends…until now.  And even though it still isn’t finished, I’m going to share how it’s going so far…and will follow up with the final result!  I guess if I always waited until a project was TOTALLY completed, I’d never share anything!  See how we’ve started…

time for change…

after we stripped the wallpaper…or i should say, after my husband stripped the wallpaper and i painted in a soft, dove gray palette, we stopped and moved on to more pressing projects.  and i was totally satisfied for the time being…until i realized that this was the bath that ALL guests were using and it seemed like it might be time to move forward with some updates!  so the process began…slowly!  first thing we needed to agree on was the floor.  even though this room is for guests, it gets constant action from my family!  it’s where we all brush our teeth in the morning, where i keep all the extras things the boys might forget like deodorant, nail clippers, hair brushes, etc., and it’s the closest restroom to our living spaces…so this room is in continual use!  we needed to find a tile that was pretty, functional, and looked like it might have been original!  and do you know what?  we finally found it!

i LOVE this graphic pattern…and it’s on one big square!  hopefully this will make the tiling process go much faster!  and the distressed look makes it appear that it could have actually been here when the house was built!  i also got really lucky when i accidentally found these perfectly matching cabinet pulls at Home Goods…i love it when that happens!

since we have to wait until late september to complete the floor…i decided to paint the stock-cabinet vanity in the meantime,  just to see if we’d like it!  i really don’t know why i didn’t do this before!  we’d come up empty on our search for the perfect vanity…i had something specific in mind and you know how that goes!  not that there weren’t some (expensive) solutions…but i just wasn’t in love with most of what we looked at.  so why not paint?  we were going to change it anyway so the worst outcome would be that we still remove it…the best outcome:  we’d love it and save a buck or two!  off came the doors & drawers and out came the paint…

my dining room always ends up being a project room!

and since i know a thing or two about painting furniture it seemed kind of crazy that we hadn’t done this sooner!  i really wanted a rustic, reclaimed wood vanity…but with a little distressing i’ve got a rustic PAINTED vanity!  close enough!

and even though the floor isn’t in and the new trim isn’t up…i’m loving the result so far!  but i can’t wait to see those great tiles beneath the chippy vanity!!

so until the new floor is laid and the other finishing touches are finally finished, i can still make it look like it’s already completed!  an old window screen covered with decorative foil paper makes a unique privacy “curtain” for a girl who doesn’t really love the traditional kind!

and this vintage metal shelf holds extras we don’t have much room for…

i love the beaded artwork in this little tin frame!  it perfectly hides the shelf screw…and it looks adorable too!

there’s an odd space between the wall and the vanity that’s not usable for much so i tucked in an old bentwood stand to hold extra hand towels…

a tiny tea cup that i’ve always adored now holds matches and another tarnished, silver dish for grab-and-go glosses…for me!

so that’s our little powder room…in the process of a redo!  the lesson for me was that each step of change is a new opportunity to enjoy the room in progress!  and even when the floor is laid there may be one or two new alterations to follow…but i’ll be sure to keep you posted!  until then…

powder room in progress!