Our Bathroom - The Before's

 

 

 

I had a reader write to me last week with hearty congratulations on our new bathroom, but they also asked "where are the before's??"

 

Good point.

 

There actually aren't too many before's, but I think the images here give you enough of an idea - roman shower/bath thing, brown bubbly glass shower screen {mostly rusted}, massive vanity cupboard that spanned the whole wall where we now have the bath, old green/brown tiles, all topped off with an 80's rag paint finish  festooned with stencils. Just brilliant.

 

Apart from the old shower making the linen cupboard behind it mouldy, there was enough eyesores in this room to make a renovation high on the priority list. When my 15 yr old son was looking for a project for school this seemed like a perfect choice. He's always been pretty keen on projects around the house, and is a very handy sort of chap. This project was meant to span a year {but there was no way I was sharing my ensuite with two boys for that long} and take the student through the creation of something of their own design from inception to finished product. That's how our new bathroom was born.

 

At first he wasn't 100% sure about my design ideas, but as he searched up a design palette, more and more he came to like the concept.  It was a good thing he did, because I was his client after all. So what I wanted was what I was getting!

 

He worked ridiculously hard, and was so good. We did get in trades people to do the very tricky bits, but whatever he could take on himself, he did. The biggest job was demolishing the old bathroom. That was ridiculously hard as every surface had to be taken back to the base. The concrete glass render finish needed to start on bare brick. It was a hard slog, but now we all love the concrete finish so much, it was worth it.

 

So there you have it, some of the before's, a fair few of the in the middle's and a couple of the after's {for perspective!}. It's true bathrooms are one of the hardest rooms, right up there with kitchens, but the input equals the satisfaction of the finished room.

 

Images by the diversion project

Look Is Done

 

Who knew that wallpaper ripped off the wall could look so good? If I was this home owner I would've stopped there too. What a rotten job it is pasting all that gloop on and scrapping the wallpaper off like peeling skin.

 

I love the parchment brown and rough look. Add in crumply linen bedding, and the look is done.

 

Now I am eyeing off some particularly fine vinyl paper right in front of me! Could be worth a shot.

 

Images from stadshem

Happy With That

 

 

 

It's funny isn't it how after a long hard slog to get something done, the last thing you really feel like doing is actually finish it properly.

 

The kids have been living with a clothes airer for towel rails just because we couldn't bring ourselves to install the real ones. And this gorgeous Ghost mirror has been in its box waiting for some admiration. But yesterday, after much cursing and moaning (that comes from using manufacturer supplied fixings!) we finally have a finished bathroom.

 

{{Well, except for that little touch up to the cornice, but, you know}}

 

I love how the Ghost mirror doesn't hide too much concrete. Apart from the clear frame, it bounces back all the lovely concrete from the back wall. Very happy with that.

 

As for the towel rails, it is Plan B, but I think it has turned out probably better that Plan A. We had designed something to be made out of copper, but thanks to a less than enthusiastic plumber we had to rethink it. Originally we were decided to just construct it ourselves, but then looking at the massive chrome shower and fixings right next door, we decided that it would be better to stick with chrome. And so Plan B was born. Tonnes of room for towels, so the boys have no excuse for leaving them on the floor!

 

Hope everyone is having a brilliant weekend. Me? I'm going to have yet another bubble bath.

 

 

At Long Last

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, at long last, the bathroom is done! My son took on this project for a school project, and although we got in trades to do the serious stuff, he worked really hard. Ripping out the old bathroom was a massive task, along with painting, grouting and general labouring; he did a fantastic job.

 

Not to mention his mum being a fairly fussy client with a strict design brief! And probably because of my design brief, we're still yet to resolve the mirror and towel rails, but they will come. Along with the shower door - that cant be hung until tomorrow to allow the fixed panel time to cure and strengthen.

 

But I can report the gorgeous bath tub has been used, more than once. And, that I cannot stop stroking the concrete walls. Love, love, love them.

 

In the money pit that The Splendour is, it's so nice to walk past a room that is d.o.n.e. Most other rooms are still in that "signs of promise" phase.

 

Well, onto the next. Slowly but surely. And you can put money on there being more concrete!

 

All images belong to The Diversion Project

Style Links

 

 

I loved this pad and its functional finishes and big open indoor spaces. The mix of white and timber and clean lines belies what seems to be a fairly budget conscious fit out. The awnings over the windows and doors are not a big ticket item, but they elevate this place and allow open views outdoors, but a degree of privacy from neighbours.

 

The garden is also a great space with the use of compacted crushed rock and hardy plants. And even though I'm a bit nervous for the pooches of the home and their paws, I luurve the cattle grid style links between indoors and out. But it does seem like the pooches have sussed out how to handle the obstacle easily.

 

Images from la times