a new bathroom. {after}

There’s no good way to show you the before of this room. It was simply a bedroom. It was square. It had pale, pink walls. Smelly, yucky carpet. A door. But the after? Now that’s something I can and will show you.

Hank and I each had a couple of things on our wish list when we purchased our new-old house that we considered the “I’d-die-on-this-hill” wishes. His, a farm sink. Mine, a master bathroom worthy of the renovation. (For the record, I also really wanted a farm sink, but since he had it on his must-have list, I didn’t have to worry about that one. It’s all about picking your battles and dividing and conquering.)

Originally, the master bathroom was in a different spot in the house because the master bedroom was in a different spot in the house. We didn’t want the master bedroom in that original spot since it was at the front of the house. We moved the master bedroom to the middle bedroom, took out a hallway and a door, added a door in a different spot along with a couple of closets, and consequently turned the third bedroom into the new master bathroom.

There. That’s probably about as clear as mud. Basically, we turned a three-bedroom house into a two-bedroom house, and in March, we’ll finish out the basement, which will then turn a two-bedroom house into a four-bedroom house.

I’m probably explaining this worse, so let’s move on.

First, my dream tub. This one was a toughie. It could have been a budget-buster, but somehow, by some universal intervention, I found one that required some maneuvering of budget dollars but fit, both in price and size.

I love tubs. I don’t need to stay in there for hours, but what a treat it is to recline in a hot bath to wind down the day (or to start it right, or simply just to warm up). An even bigger treat is when I’m in this tub, my view is incredible – there’s a big, beautiful apple tree right outside the new door we had put in. Eventually, we’ll build steps from that door that will lead to a private patio, as well as give us easy access to the bathroom from the external office. We still have years of work around here. ;)

At the suggestion of Big Enrique (of our remodel crew, The Enriques {they became like family – here every day with us}) we went floor-to-ceiling with the tile on the wall that houses both tub and shower.

We love it an insane amount. Since that direction was right on, when Big E asked if he could do an accent tile in the nooks, there was no question that it should be done.

I learned very quickly to give The Enriques leeway and trust them. They make their work their art, and that’s something I fully appreciate and admire.

We have since finished up some painting around the light fixtures and mirrors, but here you are – my own little private getaway.

Hank built a sliding barn door from our bedroom to the bathroom and has two more to build as doors to our master closets. I’ll show the other side of those when we’ve finished the master bedroom. They’re made from wood that is naturally weathered and has a beautiful patina; we’ve upcycled all of the wood from heavy-duty fencing that’s being taken down from an area development.

And, in the spirit of keeping real life REAL, this is what our bathroom looks like in the day-to-day. We live here. Our stuff is out. And, yes, the puppy sleeps in the bathroom. Win-win.

Nothing is perfect. Life is messy…
Hugh Mackay

Comments

comments