The boys’ bathroom started out a little girly and a whole lot of water logged from a leaking roof. The ceiling was caving in above the tub and half of the original 1876 heart of pine floors were rotted. The door ran into the toilet which we knew would not work for our boys who are growing to be tall like their parents. With all of the damage and the need for updated electric, plumbing and HVAC, it was the green light to completely rework this space to fit our boys.
During the demo phase, we found that the linen closet was built to cover an original fireplace. Since that was one of the features we loved so much about the home, we knew that the fireplace would remain for character.
After demo, we had to reframe to close off where a HVAC return was housed, clean out between the floor joists (I’m pretty sure a family of squirrels was living there at some point), and relay a new subfloor. My mom and I tackled the tile flooring on our own. While I wouldn’t call it a mistake, I did learn that tile is not my thing and I do not wish to make it my thing. Sometimes it’s best to pay the professionals! And that is exactly what we did for their shower. We used a Schluter system for the base and curb and drain. In order to keep with the traditional feel of the old home, we used a 12×12 marble look porcelain for the floor and shower walls. We used a hexagon tile for their shower floor with warm gray grout. Renovation tip: You cannot use modern tile like the 12×24 you see everywhere and expect it to look right in an old home.
For the vanity, I knew this was another area that I wanted to bring in character. I found this old dresser and mirror set on Facebook Marketplace. Initially, I just cleaned it and changed out the knobs/pulls to match the aesthetic of the bathroom. To reduce the budget, we decided to keep the wooden top for now and set the vessel sinks on top after cutting the holes out for plumbing. Eventually, if the boys wreck the wood, we will have the option to swap the top and sinks out for a hard surface quartz. In order to make the plumbing accessible, we cut a large picture hanging cleat. If you do not feel comfortable cutting it, you can buy several small cleats. We inserted blocking to give something to secure the cleats. We recessed the block to allow the front face to sit flush. Additionally, we made the top face a tilt out as the perfect nook for toothpaste or a brush. The dresser/vanity still has a bottom drawer that works on each side as well as three drawers in the center area. It’s still way more storage than these boys will ever need!
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