Project #4 (2023): Our Primary Bathroom

It has taken me a long time (over a year!) to finish telling you about our house projects of 2023!  But I like to finish what I start, so here I am to tell you about our biggest house project of that year. 

Having my dad living with us for several months gave us a first hand view of some of the practical challenges that older people face. So late in spring of 2023 when Ron said that he would like for us to update our primary bathroom, I knew that it was not the yellow 1960's ceramic tile that was the impetus for the change. Rather, Ron wanted to update the bathroom to make it safer and easier for us as we age. He wanted to replace the bathtub with a walk-in shower. 

We did have that yellow tile though. Lots of it. 

It's a teeny tiny bathroom, but it was covered in yellow tile. The whole tub surround, including the ceiling. The vanity. The lower half of the walls. All yellow tile. 

The floor was mostly white tile but with small squares of yellow interspersed. 

Here are some "before" shots. This bathroom is very difficult to photograph, partly because it is so small, partly because it is a fully enclosed room with no natural light. The lighting/color is a bit off and the lines are distorted. 

We called the contractor who had converted our porch into a sunroom and began to make plans.

Of course, the yellow tile would have to go! 

When we moved into Pineapple House in 2016, we moved from a house with one bathroom into a house with two full baths and one half bath (and an additional half bath in the garage!). I was so grateful for this luxury that I determined not to complain about the yellow tile (nor the pink tile of the half bathroom). I remained grateful (truly!) . . . but in seven years, the 1960's yellow tile was still not my favorite. The 60's style did not fit our colonial vibe and the sunny yellow color did not fit with anything else in our house.  

I was not sad to give up the yellow tile! 

But, because we were doing this remodel for practical reasons, there were specific things that we wanted. These were:

• Walk-in shower
• Grab bars 
• Comfort-height toilet 

Those were the essentials for the remodel, but getting those things meant that we had to gut the bathroom! 

Good-bye yellow tile!

And good-bye yellow ceramic toilet paper holder and yellow soap dish and yellow toothbrush holder. And good-bye fluorescent light over the medicine cabinet. Good-bye crumbling grout, dripping shower head, and crack in the floor. 

At the beginning of the summer, we began to choose all. the. things. Yikes! So much was happening in our family at that time (my dad had entered a nursing home, I was visiting him daily, and he was nearing the end of his life) that choosing tile and shower units and fixtures felt overwhelming. It was a stressful process. I remarked more than once that I would not want to have to build a house and make all of those choices. (I am sure that many of you have done exactly that. I applaud you for it! But I don't think I have the mettle for such a thing.) 

We chose tile for the floor and a slab of granite from the remnant section because we only needed a small piece for our countertop. We pored over the books of shower enclosures, comparing ones with seats and without seats, ones with one niche, two niches, three niches. We chose fixtures from the same book. 

When our contractor came back to get our choices, he measured the space to see exactly which size shower unit to order. OOPS! Because of the hot water baseboard heating pipes, there was not enough room for even the smallest shower unit to fit. He called the company to see if they had anything smaller and they did not. 

At this point, our only options were to abandon the whole project OR to have a custom tile shower built. We weighed our options, but since our primary goal was to have an elder-friendly bathroom, we decided to proceed with our plan. 

There was another OOPS. The floor tile that we had chosen did not come in a smaller cut, so we had to choose something else. Ugh.

Back to the tile store. Not only did we have to find a new choice for the floor, now we also had to select tile for the shower, for the niches, and for the shower floor. We got more samples and brought them home. We couldn't get the same shade of flooring as our original choice and we worried that a new choice wouldn't go as well with our granite selection.

So. Many. Decisions. And in the middle of overwhelming family issues that required much of my time and emotional energy. 

Okay . . . let me shorten this story! 

I was ready to abandon, or at least postpone, the whole idea, but with Ron's encouragement, decisions were made and demo began two days after my dad's memorial service. Kati and her little ones were still here (take note of that) but flying home later that day, so we all got ready and left the house early to avoid the noise and chaos of the demo. Ron and I were so glad that the project was underway! 

The next month was full of change and adjustments and business . . . and lots of work in the bathroom! We had told our contractor, Joe, that we had family coming for Thanksgiving and he kept the job moving towards a timely completion. Joe, Curt (the tile guy), and Ron were all working on different parts of the project. 

And the bathroom was completed just before Kati and family arrived for the Thanksgiving holiday! Hooray!! 

Here is the finished project, and we couldn't be happier with how it turned out!

(Again, very small space and not natural light makes photographing this room a challenge.)

Ron made the vanity out of wood taken from the sunroom remodel. It was a fun way to repurpose the wood, continue its use in the house, and take advantage of the patina. 

He made paneled doors and attached them with black iron butterfly hinges. Up close, you can see the character of the old wood. 

Our contractor, Joe, put it all together with the granite countertop, oval sink, and simple black faucet. 

I wanted to keep this small space simple with a colonial vibe, so I purchased an antique mirror to hang over the sink instead of a medicine cabinet. We found a pretty vanity light on eBay. (I had originally ordered it in Pearwood, but after I saw it, I realized that the black would look better in the room, so we exchanged it. I'm glad that we did because it echoes the black fixtures.) 

Several years ago, we had happened upon a small chandelier in an antique store and purchased it for a song, knowing that we'd used it somewhere, someday. This bathroom was the perfect place for it. 

Joe installed the comfort-height toilet. ✅

Of course, the walk-in shower was the primary purpose of this remodel. We love it now, and will appreciate it more and more as we live in this house. No regrets . . . even though I have taken baths instead of showers my entire life! ✅

Despite the extensive variety of choices in the tile store, I had my heart set on something simple and chose a 4-inch square white tile. I wanted a simple, clean look for the basics, preferring to have the eye drawn to the details (mirror, chandelier, vanity, pottery). The contractor, tile installer, and tile salespeople all suggested contrasting tiles for the niches, but I stuck to my vision and had those done in the small white tile also. We did take the tile installer's advice to use pieces of our granite for the niche shelves and corner shelves, and for the "curb" for the shower, and I love how they look. We went wild and crazy with the shower floor, going with a pebble mosaic tile. :) 

And there are three grab bars in the shower. ✅

A few more details . . . 

All of the fixtures (shower head, faucet, drain, toilet handle) are matte black. Again, I love the clean look. We ordered a black wrought iron toilet paper holder and hung a colonial spade hook on the back of the door.

I found my shower curtain at Target, a matelassé medallion design. (Unfortunately, it is no longer available, although there are currently a few for sale on eBay.) 

Ron made a Shaker style peg rack to hang our towels. We had a peg rack in The Farmhouse bathroom and I loved it. Not only does it fit our style, but I also find that a peg rack will hold more towels in less space and the towels dry more quickly. I found these towels at Target that have loops for hanging! 

We painted all of the trim in Quaker Green, an Olde Century Paint color. 

Sixteen months later, we are still happy that we made this change and remodeled our bathroom. Not only do we love how it looks, it is also an investment in our golden years!

(And I still don't miss the yellow tile. 😉)

Project #3: Blinds in the Sunroom

When we converted our screen porch into a sunroom (you can read all about it ~here~), I was so happy with all of the windows and all of the natural light! Although I knew that we would need some type of window treatment for privacy at night and to keep the sun out of people's eyes at certain times of the day, I really didn't want to cover those windows. And since I wasn't even sure what I wanted, I just waited. No hasty decisions for me. 

Fast forward about a year . . . 

I saw that BLINDS.COM was running a 4th of July sale and we decided to go for it. Ryan and Sarah had ordered from this company several times and were impressed with the quality as well as their customer service. 

After much deliberation (so typical of us . . . or is it me?), we chose Levelor Natural Woven Shades in Spa Cove Tan. They are cordless and have a light filtering liner.

We had paid to have them professionally installed, but when the time came to measure, there was no local installer available and no word on when there would be one. There was also a problem with what we had ordered (the problem was on our end!). With both issues, the company worked with us to resolve the problems and went above and beyond to make sure that we had what we wanted! We would highly recommend BLINDS.COM! 

After they arrived, we waited several weeks to install the blinds because we had two rounds of company in August and that was much better than blinds! On Labor Day, after eating our grilled burgers and corn-on-the-cob (see the ladder waiting in the background?), Ron hung all ten blinds in less than an hour! 

Yes, I did love my unadorned windows . . . 

. . . but I also love them with the new blinds! 

There is still plenty of light, but we now have the ability to filter the light and to create privacy in the room. 

Another house project checked off the list! This one, too, was mostly handled by Ron. Otherwise, it wouldn't have happened last year. 

I have one more 2023 house project left to tell you about. Unlike the library refresh and the bookcase in the bedroom, this one was not already in the works before our challenging year began. And unlike the library refresh and the blinds, it was not mostly handled by Ron. 

It was conceived and completed during the year and it was our biggest project by far!

Stay tuned . . . 

Project #2: Bookcase for Primary Bedroom

Following a "break.," I am back to my series on house projects. Actually, it was my old laptop that broke. I had been limping along with it for several years after I had dropped it and cracked the case, but it finally said ENOUGH. I can't blame it. 

So, on we go . . .

The second house project of last year was actually begun the previous year. It had been partly built, but was put on hold as we were immersed in care giving. Priorities change quickly when there is a crisis!

When we remodeled our primary bedroom back in 2020, we had a table from The Farmhouse that we used as a desk. After a while, however, we decided that the room would work better with a bookcase rather than a desk. First of all, the desk top was a catch-all spot, always cluttered and piled with stuff. Mail, papers, magazines, books to be read, cords for electronics. I'd clean it off only to have it pile up again. Secondly, a bookcase would take up a smaller footprint in the small bedroom. Vertical space seemed to be the answer to both of these problems. 

So we went from this . . . 

to this . . . 
 

Ron made a simple design and built it as wide and tall as would fit the space to allow for the most storage. He used some old wood, but it was too orange-y, so we decided to paint it. I primed it and painted it in Linen White (an Olde Century paint color). Then I lightly distressed it to imitate wear. Finally, I rubbed on a coat of Briwax in light brown to seal and "age" the finish. 

We still have a tray to drop our mail (I'm keeping my eye out for an antique basket that is the right size), and a basket to hold magazines and catalogs. The shelves also hold our devotional books, my Bible, my small collection of Christian fiction, some decorating books, and a few personal photo books.

Even though it took nearly a year to complete it, the bookcase was a relatively small project that made a big difference in our bedroom. We gained a little space and lost a clutter magnet, a win on both counts! 

Project #1: Refreshing the Library

 

As promised, I am back to talk about our completed house projects from 2023. 

The loveseat in the library has needed reupholstering for a long time.

(You can read about how and why we made our fourth bedroom into a library ~ here ~.)

~ loveseat in The Farmhouse kitchen ~

When we moved from The Farmhouse eight years ago, the loveseat was showing some wear (it was used almost constantly in the Farmhouse kitchen). But it has only gotten worse over time . . . so bad in fact that when a grandchild hid one of Bekah's rings in a hole in the fabric on the arm, that ring wasn't discovered for a year! 😂 

So when I had the opportunity to order some discounted fabric from a company that was discontinuing its furniture line, I ordered enough for all three of the pieces that I wanted recovered. First in line to be reupholstered was the small wing chair in the guest room, but when I picked up that chair from the upholsterer, I asked to be put on his (long) list for both of the pieces of furniture in the library: the loveseat and a wing chair that I had purchased on Facebook Marketplace. 

And that is how the library got an update during our challenging year. 

Only a couple of weeks after my dad came from rehab to live with us, the upholsterer called to say that he was ready for us to bring him the chair. As excited as I was to have the work done, my time was completely taken up in my role as caregiver, so Ron loaded up the chair and the roll of fabric and delivered them to the upholsterer. He returned a week later to pick up the chair and to drop off the loveseat and fabric, and finally made one more trip to pick up the loveseat. 

We had chosen a mustard Lover's Knot pattern for the chair. I love the pattern, but I had intended to use the reverse side (the one with more mustard and less ecru). I guess I had just assumed that Ron would read my mind? Oops. I have considered taking the chair back to the upholsterer and asking if it could be reversed, but I don't think I want to spend the money to have the job done again. What would you do? 

You can see the difference in this photo: ecru with mustard vs. mustard with ecru.

For the loveseat, we chose a pattern called Flowerbird in natural and green. The green in the fabric echoes the color of the trim in the room, and it also has a little bit of mustard to complement the chair. 

It didn't come with the cat, but he's there a lot. 

Since the loveseat fabric is light, we ordered this quilt to cover the seat and keep it clean. The quilt was inexpensive, but it is 100% cotton and the quality is good.

The last step in our refresh was choosing a rug, and I found that more difficult than choosing upholstery fabrics! We tried a rug that we had stored in our attic, but the colors were not right nor was the size. In June, I ordered a rug online, but the red was too bright and there was too much blue, and I decided that it was also too big, so I returned that one. I continued to measure and consider and shop, online and in stores. 

At the end of October, I ordered another rug because I really wanted to have a cozy floor when our out-of-state children and their families came home for Thanksgiving! I chose ~ this one ~ from Amazon. It was square (which really works best for this small room, although square rugs are hard to find) and it was inexpensive. It looks better in person than in photographs, but I am still not totally satisfied with the colors. (Rugs are hard!) It may stay for years, or it may be a "place holder" until I find the perfect rug. The low investment makes that a possibility.

Do you ever use "place holders" while you're waiting for the right thing? 

Our library, while not a main living space, serves many purposes. It was our homeschool room. It is a reading nook. It is a place to pay bills or do computer work. During the pandemic, the library served as Ron's home office. It stores our craft materials. It is an extra gathering room. It is a place where the grands play games together or create one of their original musicals. It is a room for a private conversation. It is also where Bekah does much of her work for college. And occasionally it serves as an overflow guest room, air mattress and all! 

Now it is refreshed and will continue to serve our family for years to come!