I am seriously slacking on updating this blog !! I do post to our Facebook page and Instagram on a regular, almost daily basis because I can do it from my phone, but for the blog, I need to sit at the computer, which for an active farmer/yarn store owner/fiber artist/mom/wife . . . is harder than it sounds. Funny to think that when I was a consultant, I spent a good 8-10 hours a day at the computer and now it's lucky if I do that a week, my iPhone and iPad do almost everything I need.
In any event, we renovated this bathroom last year and I took my sweet time decorating it and took EVEN longer to get pictures. I have included some knitted and woven items in the bathroom and am currently working on a handspun / handwoven wall hanging! I hope this project gives you some inspiration on what a little bit of color, and a little bit of yarn can do to spice up a space and make it warm and inviting. And now. . . .
THE RENOVATION
The house on our farm was originally built in 1740. There is a rich history of the generations of people who lived here and we love to learn all we can about the property and surrounding area. We are the first owners of the property for all of (written) history that are not related to the original settlers.
This is our 3rd floor guest bath. It is off of our office and adjacent to the guest room.
This is actually a rather large room, but the space was not utilized properly. The floor, which is linoleum had cuts and burn marks and is probably from the 60s. Unfortunately it was glued down over original hard-wood floors that we could not salvage because of the damage of the glue, nails and uneven sanding in the past.
The sink is TINY. . . and shallow. It is impossible to wash your hands without splashing yourself. The ceramic soap and tooth brush holders were cracked.
There was a ton of towel racks in the bathroom. All cheap and all needed to go.
The medicine cabinet was rusted and grungy and the two florescent lights were glaring in your face as you looked in the mirror. The walls were a gross yellow and there obviously was a smoker in the house prior to us.
The shower was also tiny and the walls were painted !! The shower floor was just so gross, I never stepped foot in it.
The toilet was not in terrible shape, but years (possible decades) of not being used left a permanent stain in the bowl. It is rather close to the shower, but to move it would have been a huge undertaking in plumbing, so we decided to leave it and make it work. The only storage in the room was plywood shelving that was not even sanded smooth next to the toilet. The bare bulb had scary wiring and was just bizarre.
We had already done all replacement windows, so the window is new. The hot water radiator was in good shape, but needed to be refreshed with a coat of paint.
We decided to do a complete gut of the room with the exception of the radiator. We decided not to move any plumbing except for the shower head and regulator. The shower head was in the ceiling.
BEFORE |
| Tiny little sink. Small grungy medicine cabinet and 2 lights. |
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| Tiny little shower, with PAINTED walls. |
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| Check out the shower floor! GROSS! |
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| Bare bulb hanging down with scary wiring. Plywood shelving - AND CHECK OUT the floor! |
DURING
I didn't take too many pictures of the work while it was underway, because it was during a heat wave and quite frankly it was HOT as heck on the third floor.
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| New shower install |
AFTER
I hope you like looking at the pics and get some color inspiration and for all the fiber artists out there inspiration that your handi-work can also be used in the bathroom!!
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| New EVERYTHING. Laminate floor, vanity, paint etc! The ceilings are very low in this house, so hanging the curtain rods a little higher than the window and pooling to the floor gives the illusion of height |
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| Blue and yellow make a bright and inviting space |
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| A birdcage found at a yard sale set the "bird" theme for the whole room. The footstool was a $10 find at a craft store that I painted with milk paint to make it look aged. |
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| Bird cage found at a "going out of business" craft store. I then purchased little birds and nests to make it look "real" |
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| A sunflower pic from a pro-photographer is bright and cheery and made the yellow accents all tie together |
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| A bookshelf purchased at an Amish store, woven table topper, made by me and featured on this blog, a copper antique oblong receptacle, blue vase fill marbles and battery powered lights. The bird cage to the left is 1/2 of a set of bookends. The pic to the right is of our antique barn taken by me. There is also a birdcage on the bottom found at a flea market. |
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| I knitted this tissue box holder from the left over yarn of the woven table topper. |
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| Another view, notice the other bird cage bookend on the back of the toilet |
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| Silk Sunflowers in an antique bottle found at a yard sale. |
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| A bee in the middle of the sunflowers. An homage to our own honeybees. |
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| Another view |
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| The vanity close up. |
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| We opted for period style fixtures all in oil rubbed bronze. |
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| Sconces in bronze again |
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| The new shower. roomy and new. |
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| Found at a yard sale, these bottles look perfect just sitting on the vanity. |
