January 2007

When we moved in the first room we had to demolish was the guest bathroom. It actually had plastic stick on pink and black tiles and a horrible floor. The shower area has real pink and black tile that we decided to keep since we loved the retro look. There was also a horrible sink that we replaced immediately with a pedestal sink from our last home. While we were at it George replaced the toilet bowl and taught himself basic plumbing. Unfortunately, we never took before photos and now I wish we had to show you the amount of work we did in this bathroom.

I decided that I must have tin ceiling for the walls after I was inspired by a photo in a magazine. Little did I know this would be a huge job. We did some major research and traveled to Brooklyn to pick up our ceiling tin. George then needed to take the plasterboard down since ceiling tin could not be nailed into plasterboard. The demolition was nothing compared to the amount of work it took to install the ceiling tin. George has the scars to proove it! The preparation work took days and it was extremely difficult to cut and very difficult when it came to the corners.  We also decided to replace the linoleum floor with small white tile. 

While George did all the hard work I had the fun selecting the wallpaper and accessories. I love Cath Kidston wallpapers and fabrics and had no difficulty making a selection (you could order the fabric and wallpaper at Lavender Fields as long as supplies are available). I always wanted my aunt Rose to teach me how to sew and a few months before she passed away we spent the day making my kitchen curtains. I was so happy to finally learn to sew and to share that time with her. I then was able to make the curtain for this bathroom. My sister found an old shabby frame which I thought would be a perfect mirror.

I fell in love with a vanity from Christie Repasy and also ordered a matching garbage pail. I had these items way before we even started to work on the bathroom. Our carpenter just recently installed all of the mouldings for us since George has been very busy with the guest room. This room was an extreme makeover and we are proud of each item that we selected. It took awhile to create this bathroom and we are still adding some finishing touches but it was worth every minute. We eventually need to replace the tub and upgrade the plumbing in the shower. Of course, we are on the hunt for an old claw foot tub. My next task is to make a matching shower curtain.