Bathroom Upgrade

Our home was built in 1912-13.

In the 1930's, the home was hit by a tornado and displaced. .in one piece. .off it's foundation.  It had 2 stories. .possibly 3.  The second story was damaged enough that is was completely removed, and the roof was slapped right back on. .dormer windows and all.

By the time we bought it, it had been neglected for YEARS, if not decades! But I could see so much potential for it, and the location was perfect for us!

We bought the home 13 years ago last Christmas-time and spent the next few months completely gutting. .and re-doing EVERYTHING as cheaply as possible.  We moved in 2 weeks before Grant was born. .and have been upgrading things slowly ever since!!

This was the original bathroom. .

The ONLY bathroom the home had!!

I wish I had taken more photos of it. .but this was the only one I had.  Gross, huh?? There was actually a mouse carcass in the bottom of the tub when we looked at it! ICK!! And I don't remember for sure, but I think that small piece of linoleum in front of the tub was actually duct taped to some ratty old carpet.

Next week will see this bathroom getting it's final makeover for a Loooooooong time!

So I thought that I would give you a little tour before the construction gets underway.

I start with the trip to the bathroom. .because this entails a change as well.

Note the bookshelf to the left.  Now, note the jog in the wall as you enter the hardwood area in the hall.  That, my friends, is a brick chimney. .that goes to no-where.  We do have a heater duct that runs up it and into the boys' room, but my jewel of a carpenter assures me that we can fix that.  So. .the first thing to go is the chimney. .which will allow me enough room to get my wheelchair through the opening and turn to get into the bathroom when I am old!!

Here's a different view of the chimney. It makes a lot of wasted space for sure. By removing it, I will get another foot of space in both the hallway and the bathroom!! The new door will be put on an angle in this expanded hallway.  And every other door in that hallway is on an angle. .so it will match :-)

As you walk into the bathroom, you'll see the cheapest pre-made vanity that one could find. .with no door pulls.  This area will house the toilet and the existing shower will become a 32 inch jacuzzi air bath.

The bathroom doesn't seem this long when you are in it. .but I laughed when I saw the pictures. .cause it looks like you'd be tired before you got to the back of it!!  The far end used to house the washer and dryer. .which I totally hated. .because my bathroom was NEVER clean!!  EVER!

And a look back towards the door. There will be a vanity and some built in storage cabinets in the area where the toilet is now.  That short wall next to the toilet will also be moved slightly to make a more efficient use of space.

You'll note that the water hookups are still here for the washer and dryer.  In this spot will soon be a large shower. . .provided we can find one close to what we are looking for. .nothing fancy. .just one with some storage space. .why they would NOT create more showers that have places for toiletries than no-shelved specimens is beyond me!! But it's a true story.  That has so far been the hold up!!

I can't wait to have some storage space for my extra toilet paper, clothes hamper and my sweaty workout clothes!!

I'm hoping to reuse this cool old medicine cabinet that I found at the flea market years ago. .

It contains my collection of old medicine bottles, boxes, and tins.  Maybe they are only something that intrigues people in the medical field. .but I love 'em!!

In addition, I am hoping that our little project we started 2 weeks ago (which hit a snag) will be done soon! We are making a shadow box to hold some antique bathroom items.  The lid, you may recall, is the old cabinet window picked from my ancestry. 

I can hardly wait for them to get started. .but have plans to be at a trauma class next week for a few days. .so I also hope things go smoothly without too many decisions that I need to make while I am gone.  This fear is stemmed from an incident occurring during the remodel of the kitchen 3 years ago.  I found myself in Wichita with the baby in the hospital.  These jokers called me and told me that they thought I had gotten the wrong paint color because it was black.  I got hot and sweaty. .and then my stomach started to hurt.  They led me astray for quite awhile. .and I got home still thinking that the paint color would be all wrong! They were kidding me. .but the damage was already done       ;-)  (BTW. .it was exactly the color I chose and, to this day, still looks wonderful!)  Crazy guys!

If they didn't do such good work . .I would have hired someone much less funny! 

Check back soon for pictures of the demo and finished project!