bathroom update

The bathroom is on the list for a renovation, but not until maybe next summer. We have a few other projects up our sleeves to get on before it is this room's turn.

We may or may not have started with something that looked like this:

Actually this photo is after some clean-up. 

Then we took it to this point:

Which was much more live-able. But we still had a long way to go.

I'm sure you have seen these 1950's bathrooms before - There are a lot of them still around. They are built like tanks and usually all one color. We certainly cannot fault the quality of the materials used, just the overabundant use of blue.

So while we are dreaming of the day when we can really start a complete bathroom overhaul (Besides all the blue, we are starting to see a few problems that are not going to go away on their own), we have to be patient.

So hard.

Hero and I came up with a few things that we could do in the meantime that we could do to get rid of a few things that make us crazy make our bathroom work a little better for us.

(And the reason we started thinking about these few updates is that we bought new, desperately needed towels. It is very strange how projects get started around here.)

1 - Get rid of the useless towel bar. We actually used to have a row of six hooks right under the window (See the leftover holes?) But when there were towels hanging there, it was a little tricky to find the toilet paper. We ditched the hooks (moved those to Colin and Liam's room for them to hang their towels on. They always took their towels in their rooms anyway. Now they can hang it up instead of leaving it somewhere else in there room.)

2 - Lose the extended counter top. It is such a funky set-up! It has a cut out over the toilet to access the tank, which is better than not having the access, but so weird. 

Anyway, we don't like it.

3 - Ditch the soap dish.

4 - And it's evil twin, the toothbrush holder that would not fit any toothbrush made today.

5 - And while we are at it, that back splash is getting the heave-ho as well. I just don't understand how a four inch strip is supposed to protect anything. And that would be one less blue thing.

Hero started with the towel bar. Gentle, gentle....

Nice!

Oooh. Not so good. But really, at this point, we would rather have a hole in the wall that that towel bar.

But I know Hero has a plan for this.

Next up - The soap dish.

I think Hero really likes demolition.

That turned out great!

See that little "m" on the back? Another original "Murphy" product!

And the toothbrush holder vacancy.

Good place for these.

Hero loves this awesome reciprocating saw. Any chance he gets to give it some action, he takes it.

He just cut that strange jutting-out piece of counter right off.

And pry off the back splash.

Doesn't it look better already?

Maybe not quite done yet.

Great thing about these industrial strength tiles is that they can handle some tough scraping.

This is one of those super-duty scrapers we got for taking care of our stairs. They make the job so much easier! I cleaned all the industrial strength glue and caulk off while Hero harvested a few blue tiles from underneath the sink. That guy is a genius.

Cleaning out the industrial strength glue and grout to prep for the transformation.

Harvesting industrial wall tile stuck on the wall for the last 56 years with industrial strength glue and grout does not always result in a perfectly intact tile. Rats. But so.much.better than a useless toothbrush holder.

Hero just filled in the gaps with caulk and it blends in pretty good. 

Um, and after it is cleaned up a little bit, it will be even better.

Sealing that pesky edge between counter and wall should do the trick in keeping things sealed up. And it makes it look a ton better.

See? You can hardly tell where the new harvested industrial tile is. It just blends right in.

Nothing hanging uselessly off the wall, getting in the way, gathering dust.

And here is where we ended up. 

Hero filled the little holes leftover from the towel bar with pieces of harvested tile. Smart!

From this:

To this:

Not completely revamped. Not radically different. But enough revamped and different that it feels sooooo much better.

Still just as blue though.