Week Something | January 13 | Mid Modern Bathroom
Week Something | January 13 | Mid Modern Bathroom
Take a peek into my latest One Room Challenge project: our Guest Bathroom
For the Fall 2022 One Room Challenge we are taking our guest bathroom down to the studs and starting over. This project is LONG overdue, and we can’t wait to get started!
Be sure to check in on all of the other ORC projects on the ORC blog here.
So here it is: mid-January. Is the bathroom that started in April done yet? No. No, it is not.
We were sooooo close when I last updated you. There was floor tile and wall tile. And then after that: wallpaper went up!
And then, on December 4: another disaster. So, I had spoken with our contractor several times about the fact that the hole in the floor where the toilet usually sits was just stuffed with a rag. I was reassured over and over that it was no big deal — nothing was going to happen.
Well, on December 4 I came downstairs to find inches of water and sewage which covered the brand new tile floor, saturated the drywall, and saturated the carpet in two adjacent rooms. I can’t even begin to describe my horror.
So, the remediation team came again to rip out the drywall, the floor tile, and now carpet, too.
All for want of a very inexpensive plug.
So, what’s going on with our sewer line that this keeps happening? I’ll have a whole guide to write when this is done, but after a LOT of investigation, it comes down to some tree roots and lazy rooter companies who aren’t using the right size tool to clear out the tree roots. We got a good recommendation for how to handle it and who to call. But the bottom line: had there been a plug on the toilet, this WOULD NOT have happened.
Lesson: If you are doing a bathroom renovation or are ever having one done, INSIST on that plug (it’s under $15).
Because it was the holiday season, we got the drywall replaced and the walls prepped for wallpaper, and then I just walked away. We needed some time and space without workers in our home.
Now we are back. The Modwalls floor tile was installed again this week. It still looks amazing! Wallpaper (from A Street Prints) will go in again next week. And then we really are VERY close to being done.
I can’t even believe we are still in this situation, but oh well! This is how it goes.
More soon — I hope!
Cheers!
Angela
And here it is! Cleaned, shined, and sealed. I am in love!
Wallpaper from A Street Prints with tile samples from Modwalls. They are all layed out inside the bathtub. I love how the greens work together!
To Linda Weinstein, the creator of the One Room Challenge, I offer my most sincere thanks. Thank you for offering this kind of opportunity and for opening it up to anyone. And to Apartment Therapy, the ORC media sponsor: thank you for making this possible! And to all of the other ORC participants: I’ll be sure to stop by to admire your work! It is always fun to do this together!
Be sure to follow along on Instagram for updates as the seasons change. And if you haven’t already, subscribe to my newsletter below so the weekly updates will pop right into your inbox.
Here’s to a week of work and progress! More next week!
Cheers!
Angela
Thanks to my sponsors for this project!
Interested in being a sponsor? Let me know!
Don’t miss a single update!
Sign up and each installment of the One Room Challenge will come directly to your email on Thursdays! And be sure to stop by the One Room Challenge Blog to check out the other creative renovations happening across the country. You can also follow #oneroomchallenge and #orcat on Instagram for more inspiration! Be sure to follow me as well!
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Week Eight | November 16 | Mid Modern Bathroom
Week Eight | November 16 | Mid Modern Bathroom
Take a peek into my latest One Room Challenge project: our Guest Bathroom
For the Fall 2022 One Room Challenge we are taking our guest bathroom down to the studs and starting over. This project is LONG overdue, and we can’t wait to get started!
Be sure to check in on all of the other ORC projects on the ORC blog here.
Is the room done? Nope.
Does it look any different than it did last week? Also nope.
Are there contractors coming this week. Yes.
Will it be done soon? Who know! But it will be done right — and that is what matters.
When it is done, you’ll be the first to know about it — that’s for sure! But nothing is under my control at this point, so I’m working very hard to be patient.
Update!
In the days since I drafted this, we now have tile! It’s not quite done, but I thought I would add a few photos! Hurray for progress! Even in these terrible photos you can see how gorgeous this Modwalls tile will be!
In the meantime, may I recommend that you take a moment to check out The Nice List — my holiday season planner and Thoughtful Giving Guide! Both will help make your holiday season more intentional and thoughtful, no matter how you celebrate!
And here it is! Cleaned, shined, and sealed. I am in love!
Wallpaper from A Street Prints with tile samples from Modwalls. They are all layed out inside the bathtub. I love how the greens work together!
To Linda Weinstein, the creator of the One Room Challenge, I offer my most sincere thanks. Thank you for offering this kind of opportunity and for opening it up to anyone. And to Apartment Therapy, the ORC media sponsor: thank you for making this possible! And to all of the other ORC participants: I’ll be sure to stop by to admire your work! It is always fun to do this together!
Be sure to follow along on Instagram for updates as the seasons change. And if you haven’t already, subscribe to my newsletter below so the weekly updates will pop right into your inbox.
Here’s to a week of work and progress! More next week!
Cheers!
Angela
Thanks to my sponsors for this project!
Interested in being a sponsor? Let me know!
Don’t miss a single update!
Sign up and each installment of the One Room Challenge will come directly to your email on Thursdays! And be sure to stop by the One Room Challenge Blog to check out the other creative renovations happening across the country. You can also follow #oneroomchallenge and #orcat on Instagram for more inspiration! Be sure to follow me as well!
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Week Seven | November 9 | Mid Modern Bathroom
Week Seven | November 9 | Mid Modern Bathroom
Take a peek into my latest One Room Challenge project: our Guest Bathroom
For the Fall 2022 One Room Challenge we are taking our guest bathroom down to the studs and starting over. This project is LONG overdue, and we can’t wait to get started!
Be sure to check in on all of the other ORC projects on the ORC blog here.
This is the slowest project EVER on a One Room Challenge. Last fall we literally built an entire room (the Greenhouse) from the ground up faster than this project. Argh! But for all of the delays and craziness, we do have some progress to report again this week.
The drywall is done! And the ceiling is painted! Now we have to wait for the tile person to come and start installing the beautiful Modwalls tile. Then the wallpaper needs to go up. And then it is finishing touches.
Will we be finished by next week? No. Probably not.
But we should have a beautiful, finished bathroom within a few weeks.
I have never had so little to say in an ORC update!
But here’s a peek into the bathroom:
And in the meantime I have been planting bulbs. If you struggle with squirrels eating your bulbs (and I think we all do), here’s my solution. It works so well!
And here it is! Cleaned, shined, and sealed. I am in love!
Wallpaper from A Street Prints with tile samples from Modwalls. They are all layed out inside the bathtub. I love how the greens work together!
To Linda Weinstein, the creator of the One Room Challenge, I offer my most sincere thanks. Thank you for offering this kind of opportunity and for opening it up to anyone. And to Apartment Therapy, the ORC media sponsor: thank you for making this possible! And to all of the other ORC participants: I’ll be sure to stop by to admire your work! It is always fun to do this together!
Be sure to follow along on Instagram for updates as the seasons change. And if you haven’t already, subscribe to my newsletter below so the weekly updates will pop right into your inbox.
Here’s to a week of work and progress! More next week!
Cheers!
Angela
Thanks to my sponsors for this project!
Interested in being a sponsor? Let me know!
Don’t miss a single update!
Sign up and each installment of the One Room Challenge will come directly to your email on Thursdays! And be sure to stop by the One Room Challenge Blog to check out the other creative renovations happening across the country. You can also follow #oneroomchallenge and #orcat on Instagram for more inspiration! Be sure to follow me as well!
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Week Six | November 2 | Mid Modern Bathroom
Week Six | November 2 | Mid Modern Bathroom
Take a peek into my latest One Room Challenge project: our Guest Bathroom
For the Fall 2022 One Room Challenge we are taking our guest bathroom down to the studs and starting over. This project is LONG overdue, and we can’t wait to get started!
Be sure to check in on all of the other ORC projects on the ORC blog here.
Big News: a plumber came! Finally!
That shouldn’t be big news, but evidently there is a dire shortage of plumbers in the Denver area, and it took nearly 3 weeks of delays before we were able to get someone to come and do the work. And we do not do plumbing work. That’s the realm of licensed pros, so it was worth the wait to have someone come to do it right.
So, what did they do?
First, they moved the plumbing for the sink. We had a counter-mounted faucet before , and now we will have a wall-mounted faucet. They also installed a new diverter for the shower. The old one was incredibly persnickety and would only turn off completely in one very particular spot — so this will be a significant upgrade!
But all of that happened on Monday! Now we have to wait for the drywaller to return to finish his work, then it is on to tile and wallpaper.
The end is actually in sight, but are we going to make it by the deadline? I honestly don’t know. So much of this project has been beyond my control between my family getting COVID and then not being able to get a plumber to come… I’m not one who manufactures drama and suspense for the ORC. We are genuinely in a place of not knowing when we will cross that finish line. So stay tuned!
And here it is! Cleaned, shined, and sealed. I am in love!
Wallpaper from A Street Prints with tile samples from Modwalls. They are all layed out inside the bathtub. I love how the greens work together!
To Linda Weinstein, the creator of the One Room Challenge, I offer my most sincere thanks. Thank you for offering this kind of opportunity and for opening it up to anyone. And to Apartment Therapy, the ORC media sponsor: thank you for making this possible! And to all of the other ORC participants: I’ll be sure to stop by to admire your work! It is always fun to do this together!
Be sure to follow along on Instagram for updates as the seasons change. And if you haven’t already, subscribe to my newsletter below so the weekly updates will pop right into your inbox.
Here’s to a week of work and progress! More next week!
Cheers!
Angela
Thanks to my sponsors for this project!
Interested in being a sponsor? Let me know!
Don’t miss a single update!
Sign up and each installment of the One Room Challenge will come directly to your email on Thursdays! And be sure to stop by the One Room Challenge Blog to check out the other creative renovations happening across the country. You can also follow #oneroomchallenge and #orcat on Instagram for more inspiration! Be sure to follow me as well!
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Week Five | October 25 | Mid Modern Bathroom
Week Five | October 25 | Mid Modern Bathroom
Take a peek into my latest One Room Challenge project: our Guest Bathroom
For the Fall 2022 One Room Challenge we are taking our guest bathroom down to the studs and starting over. This project is LONG overdue, and we can’t wait to get started!
Be sure to check in on all of the other ORC projects on the ORC blog here.
If only I looked this elegant in my boudoir…
Just a quick second — let me put on my gold lame evening gown for this week’s update.
Ok. Better. Let’s go!
Only one piece of this project has progressed this week which is incredibly frustrating. But we aren’t going to dwell on what is NOT happening right now which is beyond my control. If you’ve been around awhile, you know that I have a passion for research. Well, in planning this bathroom I did a lot of research into what it might have looked like originally. Sadly, the bathtub is the only original piece of the room left, but I have some ideas about what might have been.
More on that in a minute, but here’s what HAS happened…
We are using a contractor for parts of this project (long story), and the plumber they had set up to do the work backed out, because they are too short-staffed. Backed out is not accurate, actually — they just didn’t show up to a scheduled appointment. And when I called to ask if they were still coming, the receptionist, who sounded harried, said they just didn’t have the bandwidth to do the job. The contractor is working on getting another plumber, but nothing can move forward until the plumbing work is done which is not work we are willing to DIY. So another week wasted… Ugh.
But here’s what DID move forward: I applied two coats of NanoSlic to the tub surface. I will be honest: I was really nervous doing this. I just didn’t know what would happen, and if I would like the results. But I do! In fact, I am really pleased with the way it turned out. The product isn’t hard to apply. It dries clear. And the finished result is satiny and smooth. The good thing about not having a plumber come is that the tub is fully cured and was able to cure without any disruption, so let’s find the good in that!
I will have a how-to guide for refinishing a vintage bathtub in the near future. I am so pleased with the results!
And here it is! Cleaned, shined, and sealed. I am in love!
Ming Green Bathtubs
A 1930’s version of the Ming Green bathroom. Image from a Standard Sanitary Mfg. catalogue from the 1930s.
There’s the tub — the Pembroke Neo-Classic. Check out the price chart! Image source: Standard Sanitary Mfg. catalogue from the 1930s.
So, let’s talk about that tub! Our home is part of a subdivision developed in the late 1950s. Our particular home was built in 1958. Since most of the original character of this house was stripped out sometime in the 1980s, I’ve been watching real estate listings in our neighborhood — hoping to spot bathrooms that hadn’t been renovated. There have been a few, and they all have a few things in common: a colored suite of tub, toilet, and sink with coordinating tile floors, and no one has a big bathroom! These houses were built for the middle class, afterall. They had all of the modern conveniences, but they are relatively modest at the same time. That’s part of the appeal!
I did a deep dive into bathtubs of the 1950s and found that our tubs are from American Standard. And the tub in this bathroom is a color known as Ming Green. Ming Green appears to have been one of American Standard’s best-selling colors from the 1930’s through the 1960’s. While their other colors changed and earned new names, Ming Green remained. And this particular tub is called the Pembroke Neo-Classic which was also available for at least those three decades.
Our Ming Green Pembroke Neo-Classic tub by American Standard
Our upstairs tub is Persian Brown — not my favorite color, honestly. Will we keep it when the time comes? I’m not sure. But that’s a discussion for another day.
Vintage Color Schemes from American Standard
Helpfully, during the 1950’s and 1960’s American Standard offered suggested color schemes including paint, fabric, towel, and tile samples to coordinate with their bath fittings. So without consulting a designer, anyone could have a well-coordinated bathroom. Pretty smart!
These are from a 1957 catalogue. I’m partial to the pink and green combination, personally — and that was one of the inspirations for my flamingo-tastic bathroom scheme.
Color schemes by Lee Childress from a 1957 American Standard catalogue.
By 1962, the color schemes and recommended materials looked a bit different:
The cover of the 1962 American Standard catalogue.
Ming Green color scheme from a 1962 American Standard catalogue.
Given what I have seen in other homes in this neighborhood, I suspect the materials used — that 1” x 1” square tile, for example — were closer to the 1962 scheme than the 1957. I’ve seen that flooring in several of the homes around here.
But as I have said many times: this home is not a museum. We are bringing it into the 21st century with nods to the past. It isn’t an architectural marvel which needs to be preserved. However, homes that live into their origins feel more comfortable and just fit together better. Turning a Mid Century home into a faux farmhouse, for example, just feels anachronistic.
So, for this bathroom, I leaned into the shades of green in so many of the American Standard concept drawings. I chose a penny tile instead of 1” x 1” squares, but it will have a similar effect with a little modern edge. The large-scale floral wallpaper feels both retro and modern — a little Miami Beach then and now. And the glass tile in the shower? Well, that nods to the retro vibe, too, without being farmhouse or fake.
Wallpaper from A Street Prints with tile samples from Modwalls. They are all layed out inside the bathtub. I love how the greens work together!
Even the bath fittings will be a modern interpretation of the originals which were available at the time.
Bath fittings from the 1950 American Standard catalogue.
From the Lura Collection from Speakman.
So, while we won’t have a matching sink (too small and too pricey) and toilet (not efficient) set, I think this bathroom will fit nicely into our home’s history with an eye toward the future, too!
Vintage Bathrooms from 1958
Here are a few more contemporary bathrooms for reference. I always think it is helpful to look backward before moving forward.
Friends, cross your fingers and toes: we need a plumber this week! And here’s to progress being made at last!
To Linda Weinstein, the creator of the One Room Challenge, I offer my most sincere thanks. Thank you for offering this kind of opportunity and for opening it up to anyone. And to Apartment Therapy, the ORC media sponsor: thank you for making this possible! And to all of the other ORC participants: I’ll be sure to stop by to admire your work! It is always fun to do this together!
Be sure to follow along on Instagram for updates as the seasons change. And if you haven’t already, subscribe to my newsletter below so the weekly updates will pop right into your inbox.
Here’s to a week of work and progress! More next week!
Cheers!
Angela
Thanks to my sponsors for this project!
Interested in being a sponsor? Let me know!
Don’t miss a single update!
Sign up and each installment of the One Room Challenge will come directly to your email on Thursdays! And be sure to stop by the One Room Challenge Blog to check out the other creative renovations happening across the country. You can also follow #oneroomchallenge and #orcat on Instagram for more inspiration! Be sure to follow me as well!
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Week Four | October 19 | Mid Modern Bathroom
Week Four | October 19 | Mid Modern Bathroom
Take a peek into my latest One Room Challenge project: our Guest Bathroom
For the Fall 2022 One Room Challenge we are taking our guest bathroom down to the studs and starting over. This project is LONG overdue, and we can’t wait to get started!
Be sure to check in on all of the other ORC projects on the ORC blog here.
We are halfway through the ORC, and things don’t look all that different. Eek! Covid put a big hole in our schedule, but we are past that now, and we are moving forward.
So what has happened in the last week? Well, I spent about 8 hours scrubbing the bathtub with a toothbrush. Seriously. At this point last week I had gotten most of the white finish off the tub, but there were lots of little white streaks and flecks — places where the finish had really adhered to the tub and was just stubborn. But with Covid in the house and no contractors able to come, I got down to it and scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed.
I will write up a whole how-to guide for restoring a vintage tub, because while it took a LONG time, I do think it was time well spent. And I learned a LOT of tricks and tips along the way. But the bathtub is now truly green and almost pristine. I got all of the rust spots off as well as every scratch, and I used a variety of methods to do it all including several boxes of baking soda!
One of the products I used that worked wonders was Kohler’s Cast Iron Sink Cleaner. I used it with a microfiber cloth, and it removed the scratches and stains that other cleaning methods left behind. I had never used it before, but it is really great! I’m not sponsored by Kohler or anything — it is just a really good product, and I’ll be using it again.
The tub’s surface isn’t shiny anymore. I’m assuming they took off the shine when prepping it to apply the white paint years ago. But I want it to be shiny and to protect the beautiful surface, so my next step is to apply a new product called Nanoslic. It’s a coating that will protect the tub’s surface, but it is CLEAR! There really aren’t any other clear coatings for bathtubs like this. So I’ll be doing that in the next few days, and I’ll let you know how it goes.
The bathtub — complete with a very Halloween-appropriate spider (which my dog promptly ate about 30 seconds after this photo was taken. Sorry, Spider!
Lead Testing: several people asked last week about lead in our vintage tub. Lead is a very real concern in older bathtubs, and if your tub is from before about 1990, you should test it. Having lead in your tub does not mean you have to get rid of it. But for safety the lead needs to be encapsulated — usually with a painted coating.
Fortunately, I did a lead test, and this tub did not test positive! Phew! If you think your bathtub might have lead, there are easy home test kits that will tell you within seconds. I highly recommend doing a test so you know and can act appropriately.
Plumbing: this has been an adventure. We had a plumber scheduled on Friday who evidently quit about 2 hours before he was to come to our home. Then on Monday, no one could come. So finally on Tuesday, some plumbers arrived.
We are switching from a counter-mounted faucet to one that will be mounted on the wall. To avoid some major rerouting of the plumbing lines, we have to add some blocking. So they will be back in a few days to get their work done after we have done the carpentry. Hopefully that will be wrapped up by the end of the week.
Wallpaper: The wallpaper from A Street Prints arrived yesterday. It is gorgeous! They are one of my sponsors for this project. So, here’s the wallpaper with the two tile choices — the shower surround and the floor tile — laid out in the bottom of the bathtub. It’s a lot of greens, my favorite colors, and I’m loving how they all work together!
Wallpaper from A Street Prints with tile samples from Modwalls. They are all layed out inside the bathtub. I love how the greens work together!
If that Modwalls tile looks familiar to anyone, it’s because I have used it before — in the same color, in fact. When we lived in the Bay Area, we bought a house which we gutted and completely remodeled. I chose that gorgeous glass tile for the backsplash in the kitchen — a room inspired by a set of Jadite bowls.
However, we only got to live in that house for a few months before my husband was transferred to Dallas which broke my heart. I could see the Golden Gate Bridge from that window! So using this tile again is a bit of a do-over, honestly — a sentimental piece of that home here in Colorado. Fortunately, it is also a perfect pairing with the green tub!
Photo from Vintage Tub & Bath
Check out the entire home here:
Sink: the last big piece to arrive is the sink which has been ordered and should arrive in another week or two. Since this is not only the guest bathroom but is also the laundry sink and my sink for washing out paint brushes and cleaning up after art projects, I wanted a BIG sink. I’ve chosen a large kitchen sink which will sit on a vanity cabinet that my husband is building. I am really excited about this! It will be such an improvement over the tiny sink that was in here before.
I have a few other choices to make in the next few weeks, but things are coming together. We just need to get that plumbing done so we can close up the walls and rock and roll. Here’s hoping!
And Now a Word about Our Sponsors…
This week I’m excited to introduce you to another sponsor for this bathroom: Kichler.
Kicheler’s Traverso fixture
Kichler is one of the general sponsors for the One Room Challenge, and they are sending their Traverso fixture for over the sink. I think it will be beautiful with the other chrome accents in the room. I can’t wait to get it installed!
Thanks to Kichler for supporting this project. I’m so excited to pull this all together!
To Linda Weinstein, the creator of the One Room Challenge, I offer my most sincere thanks. Thank you for offering this kind of opportunity and for opening it up to anyone. And to Apartment Therapy, the ORC media sponsor: thank you for making this possible! And to all of the other ORC participants: I’ll be sure to stop by to admire your work! It is always fun to do this together!
Be sure to follow along on Instagram for updates as the seasons change. And if you haven’t already, subscribe to my newsletter below so the weekly updates will pop right into your inbox.
Here’s to a week of work and progress! More next week!
Cheers!
Angela
Thanks to my sponsors for this project!
Interested in being a sponsor? Let me know!
Don’t miss a single update!
Sign up and each installment of the One Room Challenge will come directly to your email on Thursdays! And be sure to stop by the One Room Challenge Blog to check out the other creative renovations happening across the country. You can also follow #oneroomchallenge and #orcat on Instagram for more inspiration! Be sure to follow me as well!
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Week Three | October 12 | Mid Modern Bathroom
Week Three | October 12 | Mid Modern Bathroom
Take a peek into my latest One Room Challenge project: our Guest Bathroom
For the Fall 2022 One Room Challenge we are taking our guest bathroom down to the studs and starting over. This project is LONG overdue, and we can’t wait to get started!
Be sure to check in on all of the other ORC projects on the ORC blog here.
Ok. So it’s been eventful around here! The tub is almost completely done. Wahoo! All told I have spent more than 30 hours on it thus far. Yikes. But it looks fantastic! I still need to get the small rust stains out of the finish, clean it really well, and then apply a clear finish. I should get all of this done in the next day or so, and then the tub will be done.
I am so very, very pleased, and it sets the tone for the entire room. That green is gorgeous! I will be writing up a complete how-to guide for this process in the future. If you have a vintage tub, stay tuned!
Fun fact: my BFF who lives in Philly sent me a photo of her tub — it’s the same one! Just a different color!
The bathtub — nearly finished! I love celadon green tubs!
However, we also have Covid in our house right now, so I had to cancel the contractors until everyone is well. Ugh. But it could be soooo much worse. People: get vaccinated and boosted! We are, and it makes all the difference.
Ok. PSA is over.
Between caring for my sick family and the household juggling act, I am making the last of the material choices for this bathroom.
Mirror: I found a fabulous mirror on the Facebook Marketplace. Someone bought it from Rejuvenation (my favorite place!), but it didn’t fit in their house. It was a steal, and I love that it pivots, too. That’s what I love about FBMP — if you haunt it long enough, you can often find exactly what you need. It just doesn’t always deliver on a deadline.
Wallpaper: I’ve also been looking at wallpaper samples from A Street Prints. They are one of my sponsors for this project. More about them below, but here are some of the patterns I’ve been considering. It’s really hard to choose!
This mirror from Rejuvenation had never even been installed. It is PERFECT for this bathroom!
Faucets, etc: the bathroom fittings have all arrived from Speakman. Hopefully the plumber will be able to come at the end of the week to get everything installed — and then we will be back on track.
Tile: the big news this week was the arrival of the tile from Modwalls. I’m so excited to get this installed! It is absolutely gorgeous! Check it out:
Even in a week of a sick family, a lot is happening around here!
And Now a Word about Our Sponsors…
This week I’m excited to introduce you to two more sponsors for this project: Stray Dog Designs and A Street Prints.
Some of the wallpaper samples from A Street Prints. So many yummy designs to consider!
You might remember from my Workroom Makeover, I really love wallpaper. I mean, I really love it! And I’m so glad that the powers that be — including Vogue — have declared that wallpaper is back, because for me it never really went away.
So I’m really excited to introduce you to A Street Prints, a small-ish shop with gorgeous designs. I got a ton of samples from their collection, and not only was I impressed with the designs, but the paper feels good. And some of the samples I ordered from other companies just didn’t. Frankly, I don’t want my wallpaper to feel like a sticker on my wall! But maybe that’s just me…
Anyway, I’ve made my choice, and the order has been placed. When it arrives, I’ll show you what I chose. It’s bold and beautiful!
Speaking of bold, let’s talk about Stray Dog Designs! I have followed them on Instagram for years. Their whimsical light fixtures, mirrors, and accessories are unique, handmade, and so very colorful! I’m really excited to be including one of their pieces in this room. Everything they sell is handmade by artisans in Mexico — something which always appeals to me.
I chose their Dogwood Ceiling Light for the center of the room. This is a small bathroom, but this beautiful fixture will be a delightful punch of fun. I can’t wait for it to arrive!
The Dogwood Ceiling Light. LOVE!
Thanks to both Stray Dog Designs and A Street Prints for supporting this project. I’m so excited to pull this all together!
To Linda Weinstein, the creator of the One Room Challenge, I offer my most sincere thanks. Thank you for offering this kind of opportunity and for opening it up to anyone. And to Apartment Therapy, the ORC media sponsor: thank you for making this possible! And to all of the other ORC participants: I’ll be sure to stop by to admire your work! It is always fun to do this together!
Be sure to follow along on Instagram for updates as the seasons change. And if you haven’t already, subscribe to my newsletter below so the weekly updates will pop right into your inbox.
Here’s to a week of work and progress! More next week!
Cheers!
Angela
Thanks to my sponsors for this project!
Interested in being a sponsor? Let me know!
Don’t miss a single update!
Sign up and each installment of the One Room Challenge will come directly to your email on Thursdays! And be sure to stop by the One Room Challenge Blog to check out the other creative renovations happening across the country. You can also follow #oneroomchallenge and #orcat on Instagram for more inspiration! Be sure to follow me as well!
Pin it!
Week Two | October 5 | Mid Modern Bathroom
Week Two | October 5 | Mid Modern Bathroom
Take a peek into my latest One Room Challenge project: our Guest Bathroom
For the Fall 2022 One Room Challenge we are taking our guest bathroom down to the studs and starting over. This project is LONG overdue, and we can’t wait to get started!
Be sure to check in on all of the other ORC projects on the ORC blog here.
I hope you are all having a good week. We have had gorgeous weather which makes staying inside hard, but we have made progress on the bathroom — and now we have a small setback, too. But I’m not going to make it sound dramatic — it is just the way it goes with construction.
Ok. So, if you are new around here, let’s review in two photos where we started:
The bathroom on the day we closed on the house. Cheap finishes and cut corners all around.
After a catastrophic flood of the sewage kind, the bathroom has been stripped to the studs.
This project is part-DIY and part-contractor work, but the contractors have had to stop to wait for the plumbing pieces to arrive before they can continue. Hopefully all of that will arrive this week, and we will be back on track. But we do have drywall and blueboard on all but one wall. And we have a ceiling again!
Without contractors working, I’ve been hard at work on the bathtub. What? You can’t tell? Go back and look at the before photos again — I’ve made a good 5 inches of progress!
I have been working with two methods to remove that tub finish. First I filled the tub with water as deep as it possibly would go. And I let it soak. The water seeps under the peeling paint, loosening it, and making it easier to peel away from the green tub. That worked well for awhile. However, there are places where the paint is truly adhered, and I reached the edge of the waterline. So, I have been using a heat gun to loosen the edge and then scraped the paint away.
Frankly, this could go on forever. And I don’t have that kind of time. So I’m turning to a paint stripper next. Why haven’t I done that sooner? Well, this room has almost zero ventilation, and I really don’t want the fumes in the house. So I wanted to try anything else first. But it is time to put on a mask and get to work. Hopefully next week that tub will be spectactular!
Scraping this tub is a bit therapeutic!
The original glass-block window is staying.
And Now a Word about Our Sponsors…
Choosing the materials for this bathroom has been so fun, and I am delighted to introduce you to two of our sponsors this week: Modwalls and Speakman.
I have a tile problem. Seriously. I would tile everything if I could. And it has been a long time since I chose tile. But for this project, I went back to one of my favorite tile makers, Modwalls. We used their tile in the last kitchen we did, and it was so gorgeous.
My dreamy kitchen in our last house. I loved this kitchen! | Modwalls Lush Subway Tile in Surf
The tile was installed in a pattern featuring two different sizes in the same color.
I am so excited to have Modwalls as a sponsor for this bathroom. Their tiles are so yummy! The tiles should arrive this week, so I’ll show you what we are going to do soon.
Choosing bathroom fixtures is also super-exciting. There are so many choices, and this isn’t something you decide about every day. I have had this image saved for years as inspiration for the shower in this room:
Ummm… if only my bathroom was that big! But it is NOT. I wish I knew where this image came from originally! But I don’t. I do love the shower configuration, however.
I love how these shower fixtures allow for a rainhead shower as well as a hand-held attachment. But it all also works with the plumbing configuration we already have. And the retro look and feel works well for our bathroom, too. I worked with one of the associates at Speakman to configure exactly what I needed to create this look using their new Lura Collection. It will be both retro and modern, and I can’t wait for everything to arrive!
Here’s a peek at one of the pieces on its way…
To Linda Weinstein, the creator of the One Room Challenge, I offer my most sincere thanks. Thank you for offering this kind of opportunity and for opening it up to anyone. And to Apartment Therapy, the ORC media sponsor: thank you for making this possible! And to all of the other ORC participants: I’ll be sure to stop by to admire your work! It is always fun to do this together!
Be sure to follow along on Instagram for updates as the seasons change. And if you haven’t already, subscribe to my newsletter below so the weekly updates will pop right into your inbox.
Here’s to a week of work and progress! More next week!
Cheers!
Angela
Thanks to my sponsors for this project!
Interested in being a sponsor? Let me know!
Don’t miss a single update!
Sign up and each installment of the One Room Challenge will come directly to your email on Thursdays! And be sure to stop by the One Room Challenge Blog to check out the other creative renovations happening across the country. You can also follow #oneroomchallenge and #orcat on Instagram for more inspiration! Be sure to follow me as well!
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Week One | September 28 | Mid Modern Bathroom
Week One | September 28 | Mid Modern Bathroom
Take a peek into my latest One Room Challenge project: our Guest Bathroom
For the Fall 2022 One Room Challenge we are taking our guest bathroom down to the studs and starting over. This project is LONG overdue, and we can’t wait to get started!
Be sure to check in on all of the other ORC projects on the ORC blog here.
Shockingly, it is time for another One Room Challenge, and I’m really excited about this project — largely because this room has been stripped to the studs for months, and it is time to get things put back together again. For this round we are taking on a room which has several functions: our Guest Bathroom. I write “guest” but it’s really much more than that.
Situated downstairs, this bathroom is just off the laundry area next to our guest room and my home studio/office. Not only is this my bathroom during the work day, it’s also where I handwash laundry, soak vintage linens, rinse out paint brushes, and clean up after art projects. It is part-utility room, part-art studio, and also the guest bathroom. Multi-functional — and also really small.
Until recently, it was also one of the ugliest bathrooms on the planet — the victim of several misguided renovations and some serious water damage.
So, let’s look at some before photos…
The bathroom on the day we closed on the house. Cheap finishes and cut corners all around.
Honestly, I hated everything about this bathroom — mostly because there was no committment to a style — or even a color palate. And everything installed was the cheapest of the cheap. Doing something on a budget is fine, but choosing the cheapest materials just to put lipstick on a pig is wasteful. So, redoing this bathroom was always on the list, but ugly and functional placed it LOW on the list — until a few months ago.
I came home one day and heard the sound of running water. I went downstairs to investigate and found water pouring through the ceiling from the upstairs bathroom into the downstairs bathroom. And it had been flooding for HOURS. It wasn’t just water — it was waste water. It had saturated the floor, filled the light fixture, wicked into the walls, and crept into the fiberboard of the vanity.
So the entire bathroom had to be gutted.
After being stripped to the studs, now there is promise — and a potty in the bathtub!
Frankly, I’m thankful that the flooding wasn’t worse, and I am glad to find the silver lining in the deluge.
Notice something in that photo? The bathtub is partly green! That’s one of the “delights” of this house — original tubs. Sadly, the people we bought the home from had both bathtubs professionally refinished before putting the house on the market. They are both original tubs from the 1950s. But the refinishers did a terrible job. I have had the upstairs tub redone TWICE under warranty, but the finish started to chip off within months. It looks terrible again, too. It took longer for the downstairs tub to chip away, but it has — right to the water line for a bath.
Now I LOVE a vintage celadon green bathtub! They are so beautiful, and this is the only original bath fixture left in the house. But one of my projects for the ORC will be to attempt to strip the chipping finish off this tub and restore it somehow. Stay tuned. This isn’t something for which there is a manual!
But it’s that beautiful green tub that inspired the entire look for this bathroom. I’ve been able to see it in my head for years now — a nod to 1950s beachy-glam with just a few flamingos thrown in for some pizzazz.
Flamingo Fun & Functionality
There are millions of homes with this kind of bathroom: not luxurious or palatial, but functional. So many of the featured projects on Instagram and Pinterest are aspirational — projects which require such a large budget and square footage that they can be discouraging. This will be a beautiful, functional bathroom that feel luxurious with a nod to the home’s origins while also being within reach. We will do it all on a budget.
We will be doing some of the work and hiring contractors for some of the work, too. We are both so busy right now, this room would never get done without help. Plus: we want licensed pros doing the plumbing and electrical work.
Our vision: a clean and fresh bathroom with a nod to its MCM roots. Beautiful tile, DIY cabinetry (my husband's passion project), and stunning fixtures.
Inspiration board for our Mid Modern Guest Bathroom
Bathroom Inspiration
I’ve been collecting all kinds of inspiring ideas for this bathroom for years, and here are a few of my favorites from Instagram which will give you some ideas about where we are headed.
I have also been collecting ideas and inspiration on Pinterest where I have several boards devoted to bathrooms. I especially love the wallpaper ideas, and I’m excited to make decisions about that, too!
So thanks once again for following along on our renovation. I’m excited to see where this project takes us! If you are interested in our previous renovations and One Room Challenge projects, check out these links:
To Linda Weinstein, the creator of the One Room Challenge, I offer my most sincere thanks. Thank you for offering this kind of opportunity and for opening it up to anyone. And to Apartment Therapy, the ORC media sponsor: thank you for making this possible! And to all of the other ORC participants: I’ll be sure to stop by to admire your work! It is always fun to do this together!
Be sure to follow along on Instagram for updates as the seasons change. And if you haven’t already, subscribe to my newsletter below so the weekly updates will pop right into your inbox.
Here’s to a week of work and progress! More next week!
Cheers!
Angela
Thanks to my sponsors for this project!
Interested in being a sponsor? Let me know!
Next week I will introduce my sponsors for this bathroom renovation.
Don’t miss a single update!
Sign up and each installment of the One Room Challenge will come directly to your email on Thursdays! And be sure to stop by the One Room Challenge Blog to check out the other creative renovations happening across the country. You can also follow #oneroomchallenge and #orcat on Instagram for more inspiration! Be sure to follow me as well!