HALF BATH
downstairs
Day 1
The first step was taking down the large maps and trim. Then I removed the outdated soap dish, towel holder toilet paper holder and light. After I got all of those items removed it was time to skim coat the plaster. All of these walls needed a lot of work, but it was worth it in the end. The baseboards and door need some work, but I will come back around to it once I start with sanding, staining and trim replacement through the whole house.
PAINT
BENJAMIN MOORE
Soot - Regal Flat Finish
We decided on the same color as the formal living room to help with continuity. Also, if this bathroom door is left open you can see it from the Formal Living Room and we didn't wan't 3 different color walls in the same eyeshot.
The antique cast iron sink had quite a bit of rust, as you can see in the original photo at the top of this page. I used a combination of CLR rust remover, Bar Keepers Friend and elbow grease. I got about 95% of the rust off. I heard that a pumice stone works well and maybe give that a shot. I'm going to keep trying things until I get the rest of the rust off. You can see the difference in the picture below.
I added a new light and picked something that we thought went well with the seafaring artwork. I'm waiting on new black faucets and a vintage cast iron towel hook. As you can see I've also changed out the light switch from the old biscuit colored flip switch to new white rocker switch which I'm doing throughout the house with new sockets. Just a touch more of decor is needed and this half bath will be finished.
This sink is set up for 2 separate faucets - 1 for hot and 1 for cold. We wanted something that looked historic, but with an upgraded modern feel. We picked this reproduction set created by Strom Plumbing with a brass finish.
The exterior door to the half bath needs to be replaced. I think this is actually an interior door that is installed upside down. It was was completely unprotected and it is so damaged it's falling apart.
This half bath doesn't have any natural light except for the stained glass, so it's important to us to save the glass and install it in a new exterior door.
We installed a new wood grain fiberglass door and installed the old stained glass window. We also installed a new electronic code door knob. This way the door will always remained locked, but you can gain access from the outside without carrying a key.
This will be the pool bathroom, so easy access is important.
I painted the exterior of the door black - to match all of the doors on the back of the house. Having all the rest of the doors black and this one stained didn't make any aesthetic sense to me.
I stained the inside, because most all of the doors on the inside are stained. I used Old Masters Gel Stain Rich Mahogany. 3 thin coats is all it took and then a couple coats of matte acrylic polyurethane.
Now the door is secure, water tight and will last forever.
We are going to install tile on the floor in this bathroom. This will be the pool bath and since wet feet will be on the floor a lot, tile will protect it. The wood under the toilet has partially disintegrated, so covering this floor with tile won't be a huge loss. While we're at it I'm going to add a new toilet and redo all of the trim and baseboards.
The tile is from tilebar.com and is called Twine Highstrung Marble Polished Mosaic. Because this bath is small, and we are covering original hardwood floors, we thought the trade off should consist of very nice, high quality marble. This marble tile and pattern is a classic for a house that was built in 1925. We think it will look as though it's always been here, which is what we try to do with every aesthetic decision. Below is a quick mockup.
