The bathroom on the main floor is right off the kitchen. I have my direction for the kitchen refresh, and I have my inspiration for the bathroom, but I realized that I never showed you the full ‘before’ of the room. Let’s do that, shall we?
The wide-angle lens is skewing the proportions a bit, but the room doesn’t look too terrible. Until you look to this direction.
Yikes. I thought the rolling cart would be so cute in the space! The bathroom is small (5’x7′), but there’s just enough room for a little something-something in that corner. Unfortunately, that cart is not it.
Moving on.
I’ve already picked up a new shower curtain (black and white polka dots), and I think this little bronze stool will go in that corner to replace the cart. We don’t actually need the storage (there’s a medicine cabinet, and everything else is stored upstairs near the other bathroom), so I’m just looking for something that will be pretty. Is it weird to have a stool/side table in the corner though, and then functional step stools under the sink just a couple of feet away? The kids need those to reach the sink, so they have to stay.
*edit* I forgot to mention that the potty no longer needs to be there. Eleanor has moved on (“I’m a big girl! That’s too small for me!”), and August isn’t ready for it yet. So that frees up a little more space in that corner.
WhippleStTracy
November 14, 2012 at 2:14 pmGosh, my bathroom is kinda blah too. You have inspired me to do a little redo. Sometimes just some small touches can really open up the place.
gemma@thesweetestdigs
November 14, 2012 at 2:16 pmI think the west elm stool would be great! Is there somewhere else you can add a little hit of bronze, just to tie it in?
That tile is so darling. The little green flower (I could only spot one) is like a little pop of fun!!
Happy tweaking! :)
Making it Lovely
November 14, 2012 at 2:33 pmOh, there are several flowers (they’re blue). How funny that only one made an appearance in the photos!
Christina W.
November 14, 2012 at 2:17 pmWill you be keeping these floors? They’re really cute but it’s hard to tell from the pictures whether or not they might be damaged. Might just be lighting and whatnot, I spose. On an unrelated note, I’m glad you just linked to West Elm since I had apparently forgotten to check out with my owl butter dish that’s on super sale!
Making it Lovely
November 14, 2012 at 2:35 pmThe floors are damaged. The house settled at some point, and there’s a big crack down the center of the bathroom, with the far side of the room being a good inch or two lower than the entry side. I’m not sure if we’ll be tackling that project or not yet though. I kind of want to just jump in and do a full remodel, but we might just paint for now.
Christina W.
November 14, 2012 at 11:52 pmOh ughhhh I’ve had to deal with a similar problem in a very old house. What a drag!
Making it Lovely
November 15, 2012 at 1:18 pmI’m glad you got the owl dish though! :)
Tara
November 14, 2012 at 2:20 pmLove the inspiration boards!! I think I would be tempted to leave the stool out for some breathing room. Maybe add a few hooks on that wall to hang towels, some fun artwork above the toilet for an additional pop of color. Will be fun to see what you come up with!
Megan F
November 14, 2012 at 2:28 pmI would just worry that the bronze side table might not like the wet/humid atmosphere. I haven’t looked at that version closely at the store- maybe it would be fine. Looks great tho!
Making it Lovely
November 14, 2012 at 2:36 pmWe only use it as a powder room, so I’m not worried about humidity. Good point for others to keep in mind though.
Kathryn
November 14, 2012 at 2:36 pmI bought that cart for our bathroom too and had the same problem. Ridiculously small OP bathrooms. Love the stool for that space.
Amanda W.
November 14, 2012 at 2:46 pmI’m really excited to see how this turns out! I love the color scheme.
However, I have agree with the other commenter about maybe leaving the West Elm stool out so the space feels more open. Maybe you could bring some bronze in by painting the kids’ stool and with some art in a bronze frame? Either way, I’m sure this will turn out great – can’t wait to see it.
Making it Lovely
November 14, 2012 at 2:48 pmOh! And I forgot to mention that the red potty doesn’t need to be in the space either. Eleanor has graduated, and August will still be in diapers for a while.
The Lazy Fair
November 14, 2012 at 2:48 pmWe are about to attempt a full renovation of our bathroom on a shoestring budget. Thanks for the inspiration boards! It’s actually getting me excited!
Jasi
November 14, 2012 at 2:48 pmReally cute bathroom. I’d paint, scrub, new shower curain some hooks and leave out the extras. It’s charming. In my apt days I used to paint in the cracks with a fine brush, camouflages well. Good luck.
Tiffany
November 14, 2012 at 3:01 pmI can’t wait to see the outcome. For me I don’t think I would use the gold table. It would be more cute than functional for me. I think the step stool is great. Maybe you could paint it black. That would be super cute. I love everything you have selected. I’ve always wanted a claw foot tub. I love the caddies they make for those.
casacaudill
November 14, 2012 at 4:16 pmI love that sink. We had one in an apartment in SF and while Alan bemoaned the separate faucets, I could overlook that “flaw” based on how much I loved the aesthetic.
Making it Lovely
November 15, 2012 at 1:19 pmWe’ve gotten used the separate faucets now, five years in. I do love the look.
Yelle
November 14, 2012 at 7:38 pmI actually really like the stool under the sink! Adds a nice texture to the room! Also, for some reason I really adore that beehive-like tile on the floor.
Making it Lovely
November 15, 2012 at 1:20 pmI love the tile too! It’s showing its age though (100+ years).
Katie
November 14, 2012 at 8:12 pmI actually have that exact West Elm stool in white next to my tub right now! (It’s such a versatile little table that it gets moved all over our house.) I use it to put magazines on when I soak in the tub. And as far as humidity/water splashing, mine has been fine. Love the bronze!
Nicoletta
November 14, 2012 at 9:07 pmWhat about a plant in the corner? Or a small table with plants on it…
Jaimie
November 15, 2012 at 8:36 amI love the shower curtain you chose, and it’s give me some food for thought. We have a bathroom with vintage goldenrod-yellow tiles with black trim. Eventually it will need to be replaced, but we want to work with it while we can. The black and white polka dots would be fun.
LaDonna
November 15, 2012 at 8:58 amah so this must be the original bathroom and the blue bathroom was a 1950s addition
Making it Lovely
November 15, 2012 at 11:49 amCorrect. The upstairs space used to be an attic, and it was converted into bedrooms and a bathroom later, with dormers. The tile in the space is more 1970s though, so I think it was done in the late 60s or early 70s. Maybe they got a deal on the blue fixtures? ;)
Holly
November 15, 2012 at 12:08 pmWe recently finished our vintage black and white bathroom renovation. You can see it at:
http://createbakecelebrate.blogspot.com/2012/07/create-bathroom-renovation-finished.html
Making it Lovely
November 15, 2012 at 1:23 pmNice! The shower curtains looks really cute in there.
Kathleen
November 15, 2012 at 1:02 pmWe’re in Oak Park and we have that same tile floor. So do our neighbors. I’m convinced those blue flowers are under the tile of all the bathrooms in Oak Park. We’re redoing our bathroom, too, and I’d love to save the floor because the tiles feel great on bare feet. But a big chunk of the tiles is missing and I’ve had a terrible time finding replacement tile that would match. If you ever do the full remodel, please post how restore that tile.
Making it Lovely
November 15, 2012 at 1:15 pmYes, those tiles are in all the homes out here (or at least, that’s how it seems). They’re charming!
I’d love to restore ours, but I’m afraid they’re beyond saving. The floor is cracked down the center, sometimes along the grout lines, but sometimes right through the tiles. You can’t see the worst of it in the photos above, but there are also some tiles missing here and there along the crack, and the floor drops down about an inch from one side to the other. If we address the it, we’ll have to demo what’s there and then find a replacement. I’d probably choose hex tiles again, but either omit the flowers or change them to black.
Jenni
November 16, 2012 at 12:32 amWe have the same step stool in our bathroom to help us bath my son. I recently painted it with black chalk board paint to make it look more in keeping with the room. With your new polka dot shower curtain that could really work for you. :)
amyks
November 16, 2012 at 6:24 amI have the martini side tables in silver in 2 of my bathrooms. It holds a plant and a box of kleenex in the master bath; and a candle and a vase in the powder room. I love the shine that they add. The bronze one is super cool, too!
Jen
November 17, 2012 at 10:46 pmWhat a shame that your tile is damaged! Vintage style hex tile is where it’s at. Redoing it with black flowers would be good, though. Whatever you do, don’t go with all black tiles! I love the way my black granite bathroom floor looks, but it’s way too high maintenance. I feel like I need to warn everyone. Meh. :-/
I like the bronze stool, and I think if you put something pretty on top, it won’t compete with the step stool. Or, if you want to add some red to the room like the pix in your inspiration post, perhaps go with the red stool?
Brianna
November 19, 2012 at 7:30 amI bought that cart for our bathroom too! I went with the teal one and I love it, although I am a bit worried about it getting cluttered. I thought I would get some tins and stash stuff in them. Ours is in a bathroom that gets very little use. That cart is just adorable but I’d like to spray paint it more of a minty green.
Polka Dotty | Making it Lovely
November 19, 2012 at 1:19 pm[…] (heh) in a 5′x7′ bathroom.Below is a shot of the cracked tile that I mentioned in my last post about the bathroom. The house is more than a hundred years old, so a fair bit of settling has occurred over time. The […]
Our Vintage Bathroom | Making it Lovely
June 4, 2013 at 10:26 am[…] changed the shower curtain when we moved in, but lived with the mint-toothpaste-green wall and trim color for over six years. I didn’t love it, but it didn’t bother me enough to change it right […]
Bea
July 15, 2013 at 10:03 pmSince you actually have one of these sinks I hope you don’t mind my asking, but I’ve always wondered how they work. I’ve seen these in several design board type blog posts and I keep wondering if hot comes out of one faucet and cold out of the other how do you mix them so you get the right temperature? Maybe it’s not the case that hot comes out of one and cold the other though? Maybe I’m over thinking this. lol.
Making it Lovely
July 15, 2013 at 10:05 pmDrain plug. Mix the water in the sink basin. Or choose a favorite: hot or cold!
Bea
July 16, 2013 at 10:29 amWell I guess that makes sense!