All washed up

The mini chandeliers are called Tadpoles

I don't know what it's like at your house but at ours, a considerable amount of time is likely to elapse between first mention (by me, of course) of a bigger project that needs to be addressed, and the actual addressing of said project.

We're talking years.

So it was with our upstairs "guest" bath.

I put "guest" in quotation marks because this is -- for real, y'all -- the pirate's bath.

Here's why:

Your view from out in the hall at the top of the stairs

There is an en suite bath in the master bedroom, and for many moons I shared that bath with TG because our two youngest children were still at home.

Said bath is roughly the size of sixteen postage stamps.

Seriously! You can barely turn around. You can, however, take a shower and brush your teeth, and even see to your hair. There is a mirror almost as large as the bath itself.

On another level of the house there is also a powder room, approximately the size of eight postage stamps.

We remodeled it a little over a year ago. You can see a few pictures of that by scrolling down to near the bottom of this post from May 2021.

This is for when you step out of the shower

When, a dozen years ago, the last child left home for good, I commandeered the upstairs guest bath as my own.

When compared with the other two, this bath is massive. But it really isn't all that big.

Our house is fifty years old. In 1972, when it was built, most twenty-five-hundred-square-foot, four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath houses were not tricked out with bathrooms the size of skating rinks.

All comparisons may indeed be odious but when held up to the other two, the upstairs guest bath is roomy.

Let's say forty-eight postage stamps.

I love the chandelier shadows

By my reckoning, the bath had been updated once since the house was built. I'm estimating, but my instincts tell me that the redo took place at least twenty-five years ago.

They did an okay job, but it was definitely past its sell-by date when I first broached the subject of needing to plan and execute a renovation.

Well. Bygones. It's done now, and it was done correctly.

What we did was, we ("we" in this case meaning our mostly retired contractor friend, Michael) ripped everything out except the tub/shower combination. It's in good shape and we elected to keep it.

With new and improved accoutrements, of course.

I hope you like the number four

But the old commode and old vanity went, and of course the old floor, and the mirror and lighting and door fixtures and other various appointments.

You may find it odd (I do) but there is no towel bar in this bath. Never has been.

There really is not room for one.

I know; it's weird. We have learned to adapt. Since I alone use this bath unless there is company (in which case I move back in with TG, temporarily), I arrange my damp towel over the shower curtain bar (curtain drawn to one side).

When it's dry, I move the towel to a handy hook on the back of one of the doors.

I think my giant four is rather edgy

I'm not sure what company do; when they've left, the soggy towels are usually on the floor.

Anyway, it's not a problem for me so it shouldn't be for you. Go ahead and schedule your visit.

Oh by the way, you may have noticed also that there is no storage for towels in the bath.

Can't get anything past you.

That's because there isn't, except for two closets full of shelves outside the door next to the vanity. But they are occupied by other stuff I need on hand, and there is no room for towels.

My vanity's soft-close drawers are roomy and versatile

So the towels are nestled in an attractive stacking-basket arrangement at the foot of the guest bed. Just grab your towel and enjoy your bath because breakfast is almost ready.

At any rate, once the bath had been semi-gutted, our contractor friend found that whoever installed our flooring long ago, did not have the vaguest idea what he was doing.

Imagine that.

The floor was squeaky and wheezy in certain areas.

But Michael fixed it, and now it is as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar and will probably last longer. You could do a square dance on that thing and no one downstairs would suspect a thing. Nary a wheeze nor a whine.

This be the pirate's under-sink power bar

He then installed the porcelain tile I'd picked out at Floor & Decor, a new store in Columbia.

Our new vanity turned out to be our favorite thing of anything we bought for the bath renovation.

Do you see the price, when you click on the above link to Kitchen & Bath Authority? That's not what we paid; we paid several hundred dollars less.

The vanity was significantly cheaper to begin with when we bought it in November, and then there were a few flaws, and I negotiated a two-hundred-plus dollar refund.

Everybody ended up happy, and I truly love my new vanity. It has a power bar inside the doors, and those doors plus the drawers are the soft-close kind.

There's a second nubbly rug as you're going out to the guest room

We chose a chrome faucet fixture, because word on the street is that oil-rubbed bronze is out and chrome is in.

My accessories are either wrought iron or black metal: toilet roll holder, towel ring, trash can (it's gone up in price by thirty percent), and tissue box cover.

Wanting a simple but elegant and maybe even slightly whimsical shower curtain, I searched online for many hours before being inspired by one with plain color block on the top and a froth of white tulle on the bottom.

I found the shower curtain on Wayfair, bought it, and subsequently found it on Amazon for less than half the price. Feeling dumb, I returned the severely overpriced one and bought the Amazon one for several dollars less than it's listed for now.

(They're identical and in the pirate's opinion, pay less so you can have more than one shower curtain, and switch them out for a fresh look.)

Pick a towel ... any towel

(My shower curtain -- there are more colors -- is also available at Kohl's, Target, and Bed, Bath and Beyond. The best price is on Amazon.)

I replaced my old oil-rubbed bronze shower curtain rod with this one and chose these hooks.

The nubbly bath mats feel like a mini-massage under your feet.

Our forty-eight-inch round mirror with simple black rim was purchased on Amazon. It also cost significantly less in November, when I bought it, than it is now.

For our new pendant lights (the old bath had pendants too), I wanted little chandeliers.

There are two closets outside the bath, both full of stuff I use every day

I found them at Amazon too, but when you click, please know that the price listed now is truly a mystery to me.

We paid fifty-two dollars each for our chandeliers. I would not have paid nearly three times that. These chandeliers are really cute but not one-hundred-forty-dollars cute.

It's crazy.

All I will say about our new commode is that I think it's adorable.

My wall art came from Retro Planet, where I've shopped before and had my eye on the big numbers for quite some time.

When it comes to mirrors, go big or go home

I was looking for a large metal portrait-oriented sign that would both be a scene I liked and incorporate the aqua color on the walls, but found nothing.

Four is my favorite number and, being much enamored of the weathered look of this sign, I pulled the trigger.

I love it. To me it sets just the right tone. And in case you want a big number metal sign like mine, please be advised that the price has not gone up.

We haven't done anything with the window yet; I want a white plantation shutter and haven't got around to looking into how to make that happen.

(We have them in the kitchen but a lot has changed since we ordered those and had them installed in April of 2020. Such things can be much harder to get now.)

Chrome faucets sit at the cool kids' table

So that leaves the paint color.

I didn't get it right.

What I wanted was a color so pale that it only suggested aqua.

And based on the swatches I saw, I thought I had found it in Sherwin Williams Crystal Clear.

But no.

This curtain was inexpensive so I can change it when the notion strikes me

When TG put some of it on two of the walls so that I could observe it both in the daytime and at night, it looked pretty close.

I was really torn because I knew it was darker than the breath-of-aqua I wanted.

(In clicking on the link you may be saying, well that looks to me just like what's on her walls, but trust me: I thought it would be significantly lighter than it is).

We even considered having the paint cut by fifty percent with white (and I wish that's what we'd done), but in the end we decided against it.

Even though it's not strictly what I was after, I do like the liveliness of the color and have decided to be happy with it.

It has been fun having a pretty bath all to me onesie

TG also painted all of the doors black and we added these Schlage Alexandria crystal door knobs from Lowe's.

The knobs ended up being the final touches, as it were.

Now that I've finally come clean about the bath, tell me what you think.

Don't soft-soap anything; it won't wash.

And that is all for now.

=0=0=0=

Happy Friday Night :: Happy Weekend

Comments

[Bijoux]

We seem to have posted our new baths on the same day! First, I hear you sister on the 4 BR colonial built in the 70’s. Our previous home to us of 22 years was a classic Ryan home built in 1967 and 2200SF. Smallest bathrooms ever! The powder room on the main floor was so tiny, you could wash your hands while still on the potty! So yeah, I get it!

I love all your accessories. So fun to pick out! That mirror is huge and the chandeliers are both classy and cute. I’m obsessed with crystal knobs, but alas, they don’t fit this house. I think the paint color is lovely and is a similar shade to our master bath that is now under construction. You might still be able to see the color above the window at the end of my post.

Happy Valentine’s weekend! XO

[Bijoux]

My mistake. We used leftover SW Koi Pond around the window, but you can see the SW Tidewater that’s on the remaining wall. The new colors will be SW North Star and SW Network Gray.

[Jennifer]

@Bijoux ... I'm fixing to run over and see your new bath! Great colors, both the old and the new! Where would we all be without the itty bitty baths? Haahaha xoxo

[Mari]

Oooh Jenny! I've been anxious to see this and you didn't disappoint. The chandelier is perfect! I love the vanity (and your price), I was admiring the wood floor and then found it was tile. The 4 is grand! And I like the paint color too. Can you believe, when we bought our first house, those crystal knobs were all over it, and we got rid of them! What were we thinking?
Anyway, it's classy and calming. Such a good place to get started in the morning.

[Jennifer]

@Mari ... I'm so glad you like it! It IS calming! I never really realized that until you said it. And there are TWO chandeliers, which certainly would not have been there if I'd had to pay $140 apiece! Mercy. Well your throwing away crystal knobs (cringe, ugh) is like people who covered acres of hardwood floor with carpet! Which I actually did, when we bought our first house in 1986! What a moron I was!!!! xoxo

[Ginny Hartzler]

I have SO much enjoyed the tour of your new bathroom! It is divine, and I am so glad you gave the links so we can buy something we want. My favorites are the big round mirror, the ADORABLE little chandelier, the convenient toilet paper holder (it would fit anywhere!), and the big square sink. I love the wall color,as well. Now on to the bed, I adore it! Where did you get the gorgeous spread, because I want one!!! And the towels and spread coordinate with the bathroom colors. You should be an interior designer.

[betty]

I LOVE IT! Pencil Winslow and me in for a weekend to visit! We want to grab a towel (or two) and we want to see for ourselves in person that fabulous bath! Job well done, even though it took "years" to get it accomplished. What is that saying that the best things are worth waiting for? We have several projects we want to do (windows for this and our rental and painting of both houses). I can only hope it doesn't take years to get to them but hubby is in charge of getting estimates and so far not much is happening in that regard. But the year is young, so who knows?

Seriously, I really do love your new guest bath that you use for yourself :)

betty

[Lori]

Your bathroom is fabulous. I love it. It's similar to what we did to our main bath in 2019. I am light fixture obsessed and yours are gorgeous. When we bought our house the first thing I did was replace all light fixtures throughout. I'm so glad we finished ours before all of this nonsense started with price increases and shortages.
Isn't it fun to gut a room and plan every little detail? I really enjoyed that process. We have smaller rooms as well in our 1985 ranch style home but we specifically downsized when we bought it 10 years ago because it's so nice to have less to clean. :) I hope you enjoy your beautiful new bathroom.

[Jennifer]

@Ginny ... Oh thank you! I'm so pleased that you like everything! It does make a difference when a bath is new and spiffy. As for the bed, I bought that quilt set in 2016 from Wayfair but guess what? I found it ... available at Home Depot, for one place, but they have it at lots of other stores. Just search for Laura Ashley Brompton. I have really enjoyed those colors. They're pretty and peaceful! xoxo

@betty ... Yay! I'm so glad you like it! You and Winslow are more than welcome! We will have a great time gabbing and Winslow can hang out with Rizzo. I hope hope hope that your projects are begun, progress apace, and are finished, to your great delight! xoxo

@Lori ... Ugh I am so jealous of you! My dream is a fully renovated/updated (by someone else) ranch-style house, with NO STAIRS. They do provide good exercise but I would just love a rancher. About 3000 square feet should do it! And yes, it was so much fun picking everything out. It's amazing to me how much of that you can do without ever leaving home! Light fixtures are GREAT fun! They make such a difference! I'm glad you like my pretty new bath! xoxo

[Jeanette]

I also use our guest bathroom as my own and have to temporarily move out when we have guests! I love everything about your bathroom renovation and the color of the walls is perfect! I have always liked chrome faucets even when they were completely out of style! I just think they look so nice and shiny and clean!

[Mari-Nanci]

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful...

Worth waiting for...

Love the light fixtures and the shadows they cast. -smile-

Gentle hugs,
Mari-Nanci

[Carla TePaske]

Hello Jenny the Pirate,
I love the Pirate's bathroom. The chandeliers are perfect. I like the colors you decided on. The floor is very unique, I love it.
And please tell me, why your love for number 4?
My favorite number is 12. I think I should find a number 12 to place here in my home. ;-)
Love, Carla

[Donna]

Hahaaa...love the cute little sayings at the end of your post...puns intended, I'm sure!
LOVE the bath!! Your eye for design is infallible! Our house was built in 1974.
Already we have done two remodels on the hall bath (mine!!).
Enjoy all that luxury sweet friend!!
hughugs
Donna

[Jennifer]

@Jeanette ... Yes, chrome is so pretty! Good for you, commandeering the guest bath! xoxo

@Mari-Nanci ... aren't the shadows charming? xoxo

@Carla ... the floor is pretty sensational, isn't it? And as for why I love the number 4 ... honestly I am not quite sure! If I can remember how that originated, I will let you know but I think I just like the look of the 4. Weird ... xoxo

@Donna ... why thank you, and your house is almost as old as mine! Bath remodels are fun when they're all done! xoxo

[Donna G]

Your new bath is lovely, a calming, peaceful color and decor. The vanity is my favorite part. Something that I’ve done to solve the wet towel thing: install another rod just inside & a bit lower than your curtain rod-an adjustable spring type -and use that to drape the wets on.
Works well for me. I enjoy all your posts!

[Jennifer]

@Donna G ... what a good idea! Thanks for reading! xoxo

[Barb]

Oh, so pretty, Jenny. When I see all you've done to coordinate, I think I should redecorate! (Not going to happen....) I have a rug like yours in a different color in my guest bath. I just love the tiny, whimsical chandeliers, and the ambiance of the shadows they cast. My favorite though is the vanity with that power bar - how handy. I also like that there is plenty of surface space beside the sink. We once stayed in a rental with a pedestal sink and though it looked lovely, there was no place to put anything when getting myself together. Your bath was worth the wait - enjoy.

[Jennifer]

@Barb ... YES to the tininess of pedestal sinks! They look great but only for powder rooms, in my opinion. Everything falls off. I am truly enjoying my remodeled bath. The power bar is great! I didn't even know there was such a thing until I shopped for that vanity. The chandeliers charm me daily! I'm glad you like it! xoxo