Week Four | October 19 | Mid Modern 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!
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Here’s to a week of work and progress! More next week!
Cheers!
Angela
Thanks to my sponsors for this project!
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