Getting there

I'm embarrassed to say how long this bathroom has been a work in progress.



If I'm being honest, I think it's been in some state of flux since we bought the house 8 years ago.  Neither of our bathrooms have windows to the outside.  (Such a drag!)  We had solar tubes put in a while back, so at least during the day there's some natural light, and you don't have to flip a switch to see your face in the mirror.

I take these rooms as major challenges to my need to make my space(s) just so.  My efforts as a maker/designer/inhabitant have touched every surface of this home inside and out, but none as often as this little bathroom.

The fixtures, a matching set of sink, tub, and toilet in a pinky tan, are slowly but surely being changed out.  A few years back I bought an old sink with a great faucet from OSU Surplus for $5 that had been removed from somewhere on campus.  And a couple months ago I lucked into the right-sized wall-mounting bracket for said sink at the Habitat ReStore for 75 cents.  With instruction from a contractor friend, I did the mounting work and another friend did the plumbing for trade.  We changed out the toilet a couple years ago.  Man, it was satisfying to take a hammer to that old, color-coordinated pot!



The tub has been a different story.  It's odd size makes it tough to replace, so I came up with a reclaimed cedar "curtain" of sorts to surround the tub and completely change the bathing environment.  I was power-washing these boards in our driveway a few days before Lake was born, and I only just finished nailing up the last of the surround pieces yesterday.  (That was satisfying, but good Lord, I have a problem letting projects sit incomplete for too long!)



And now the floor.  I've recently added this thin sheet of plywood - it's taken me for.ever. to make a decision on what to do here.  Tiny bathrooms are really expensive to re-floor by the professionals.  There's minimums on material and base-rates for labor.  The bids averaged around $500 for less than 35 square feet of space!  So, I conceded I was on my own, and I'm proud of what I've done so far.  I cut the sheet well.  "Measure twice, cut four or five times to make it fit."  Right?  Whatever.  I got the sheet down and patched all the major spots.  In a few days we'll try it with a coat of paint and some sealer and see what we think.

Painted, too, and for the 4th time in 8 years, the walls of this little room.  (See the history of colors in the little heart that usually hides behind the mirror.)  I think the beige of the last few years was a good call.  For once, the bathroom stopped screaming for attention.  But now, with the weathered cedar and the white sink and toilet, I'm trying on the most pale of blues.  It's a flat finish - a "mis-tint" from the paint store I bought a while back.  The same paint is in the other bathroom and, maybe due to the "flat" part, it's cracking/crazing on the walls there.  I wouldn't mind the same thing happening here too.  We'll see.



The boys helped me a bit with the painting until I realized Calder was unconsciously wiping his painted fingers on his school clothes... oops.  I take credit for that brilliant handing over of the loaded brush.  So they moved on to Legos and I finished up one wall before Jeff came home and the evening rolled on.  I like it so far.



Damn that "orange peel" texture!  This '70's ranch is going to have some history and charm hiding in it if I have to do it myself!  I've left a little love note to each of the colors this room has seen.  Wonder how big this heart will grow?  I doubt it's seen it's last color change!

More updates to follow as changes come.  I'm just starting to feel proud of my progress and maybe, with a little bit more problem solving, things will get closer to... I hate to say, "done," but perhaps something close to it.  Wish me luck!