Bathroom Archives - Kathryn Anne Casey

Bathroom completion!

Oh my, how long ago was it when we began this bathroom remodel. I painted the bathroom cabinet, and began scouring the internet for mirror and décor ideas. My husband added hardware, changed the faucets, and then we waited for the mirrors to arrive…and waited…and waited…and waited. One arrived broken. They were sold out. The company was very accommodating (and new) and gave a full refund while allowing us to keep the other mirror. I found the same mirror on another website, so no harm done. But we lost momentum during the wait for sure.

Recently, it seems we adjusted to our new schedules and little projects around the house have seen their completion. This morning, my man switched the light fixtures around, per my request.

And later this morning, we tackled the oversized mirror and my husband hung the two mirrors (who were spray painted black some time ago, collecting dust). Then with loving kisses I continued to bring him things to hang. The verdict? Decide for yourself.

I chose these mirrors for their shelves, to lessen the countertop clutter.

The black and white palate is so striking.

Of course, the littlest touch of color goes a long way, I think.

The rose photograph now makes sense.

An antique spice rack to hold bobby pins, hair ties, and some luxury bath goodies. And towel hooks for convenience.What do you think?

It feels like a decorated space now, whereas before there was little we could do to make it our own. In some fantasy, we’d rip out everything and put in a clawfoot tub and an antique dresser turned vanity, but I believe we’ll be happy with this remodel for a long time.

Bathroom Refresh – Phase 1

For a year, I’ve been laying in my bed, looking through the door to the master bathroom, hating it. I hated the orange-brown wood stain so common to houses built around the turn of the century, turn of the millennium.

I hated the over-sized mirror, frameless mirror. Why do I need a mirror that big? I need wall space, a towel rack, a shelf, not a mirror that big. I can’t see my feet with it anyway, so for dressing, I have a separate mirror. I hated the row of, count them, eight light bulbs on an ugly, faux brass Hollywood strip. It was a revelation when I explained to my husband that these ugly light fixtures have a purpose, but they are supposed to be vertical and there is supposed to be two of them along side the mirror, to eliminate shadows, for applying professional make up. My feelings, as I tell them, sounds extreme. I didn’t lie awake at nights thinking about it. I just disliked it every time I looked at it. And I looked at it a lot.

We tuck our towel in one of the drawers to hang it. The counter is covered with my stuff because I can’t hang a shelf or a basket because the mirror is so large. We hang the bath towel over the shower because the only towel rack in the room is behind the closet door. The space is large and has amazing potential. If I had a limitless budget, I would remove the shower stall, replace the garden tub with a clawfoot tub centered between the two windows, replace the two sinks with a large one sink vanity (preferably a re-purposed antique dresser), and hang a chandelier over the tub. Oh my, it would be romantic.

Miss Mustard Seed gets it:

Master Bathroom Details & Reveal - Miss Mustard Seed

Vessel sinks, faucet mounted in the wall:

I'll just keep dreaming of having this one day.

Or something very modern, but still warm and inviting:

Design Details: Bathroom Mirrors Done Right | Apartment Therapy

If you stare at something enough, and have the diy spirit, eventually, one day, you just go at it. So one day I took my itty bitty jar of Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint in Graphite and started painting the bathroom vanity.

That day I had to go buy more paint. The result: Amazing!

I finished my three coats of chalk paint (didn’t sand enough) with one coat of polyurethane. I learned after the fact I would have been better off using Annie Sloan’s Laquer or Miss Mustard Seed’s Tough Coat. Still it went on fine.

As I searched for mirror options, I couldn’t get past those metal frame mirrors in the inspiration picture above. I found a metal wall mirror with a shelf on Target’s website, out of stock. After some searching I found another better option which I’ll show when we have it all put together. The inspiration evolved into Apothecary references, I don’t know why.

Next we went shopping for hardware and new faucets.

Glacier BayTeapot 4 in. Centerset 2-Handle Low-Arc Bathroom Faucet in Chrome — Glacier BayTeapot Bathroom Faucet in Chrome

Only $32 a faucet. We’re too young to spend more on a remodel at this time. 🙂 Save the big bucks for the house we plan on dying in.

For hardware I really liked these from allen + roth. Thought tempted to use clear glass knobs or white ceramic vintage style knobs, I kept it simple based on pictures I looked up of actual apothecary cabinets.

allen + roth 3-In Center-To-Center Polished Nickel Bar Cabinet Pull — allen + roth Polished Nickel Bar Cabinet Pull

allen + roth Polished Nickel Round Cabinet Knob

With a work day made possible by my parents’ willingness to babysit all three kids, finishing the vanity and installing the faucets went from dream to reality!

The mirrors I ordered will arrive in July. The light fixture, Wednesday! So far the transformation is a bit unbelievable. Before the creamy ivory of the sink clashed with the pure white bathtub which clashed with the grreenish-gray influenced on the off white vinyl tiles. The orange-ish cabinets jarred all that subtle clashing all the more. Putting a bold color on the cabinets now balances the other elements in the room. I really enjoy having a lot of white in the bathroom. As things are now, we can’t change the floor, but it will be less noticeable for now.

So, stay posted (hehe) for the July post once those mirrors and the light fixture go in! We’re going to need to learn to cut glass in order to re-purpose these enormous mirrors I’ve removed!

Master Bath Daydreams

It’s one thing to paint a wall, add a rug, hang some pictures. Decorating a bathroom or a kitchen are entirely different animals. And they cost money! I believe in the utilitarian purposes of the kitchen and bathroom, and, as I learned from Genevieve Gorder, everything used to decorate these spaces should be functional. That said, that is not the situation in our master bath.

The master bath became the space where I put the things that were in the large box on the floor in our master bedroom labeled “decor.” I knew I wanted candles in the room, but everything else was a matter of finding a home.

We like the concept of an all-white bathroom. We do think it’s silly to have a bath and a separate shower. Why not just have a larger tub with a shower head? I toy with ideas of how to remodel and what would be affordable (meaning, within reach). With the right plans, it could be a tax time sort of project as our office and kids’ bedroom was/is.

Some ideas thrown around…

Vanity

Currently we have a large double sink with good storage.

DIY projects abound. I like the idea of taking a vintage dry sink bought cheaply. We have an antique dresser that would be stunning, but the large over-sized drawers are not very functional, and I don’t think I could bring myself to cut it up. With certain pieces, it seems wrong. Using a dry sink without sentimental value (I bought the dresser just before getting married), would be like updating a piece, keeping it within its intended purpose. In my preliminary search, I found this one online for $65. In person, we quickly saw it was too small (would make a perfect toy kitchen!). We’ll go with it for the sake of the day dream though.

A ceramic vessel sink would keep the original spirit of the thing, and go with the vintage drawer pulls, which I really like. We could paint or re-stain in darker, depending on the preferences of the man.

This plan would be a downgrade in storage, which could be remedied by bringing cabinet solely for storage. In my perspective, going down to one sink would not be an issue, but it is a discussion point with the husband.

Mirror

Currently we have a much too large, spans the length of the vanity, mirror without a frame.

I’ve thought of framing a mirror with reclaimed wood from my parent’s house or taking an ornate vintage frame and having a mirror cut. There are so many options out there for a mirror. I would probably decide after the more expensive details are determined.

The Tub

Currently we have an average side tub, next to a nice size shower stall. I don’t understand having both since I grew up with a tub that had a shower head installed in the wall.

Once we decide the direction to go with the vanity, the other styles would be determined. A vintage piece of furniture re-purposed would yield a tub similar to this, depending on the level of fancy detail on the furniture.

Imagine a shower curtain in a vintage ticking stripe wrapping about this.

Such major projects. I could hunt craigslist for bathtubs, and make it a built over time project since nothing about it is pressing. We would just have to live with floor disorder for a time. A quick search yields several clawfoot bathtubs for around $500, we’d have to be willing to travel a bit to get them, but they’re out there.

I’m sort of drooling as I daydream about this and the surprising affordability. I must remind myself of the installation costs.

The floor

There would be nothing heartbreaking about getting rid of the peel-and-stick linoleum tiles. I actually really like the simple look of subway tile. Seeing it applied in a herringbone pattern is attractive and dynamic.

Or we could use large tiles.

Or dark wood or laminate flooring. I think all other details considered here, I like this one best. That storage cabinet it pretty nice too.

The skies the limit for the floor.

Light fixtures

We already replaced the center light in the bathroom with the light we took from the entryway. The vanity lights are terrible, 8 light bulbs all in a row. If we went with the dry sink vanity, clawfoot tub, a fixture in this style would be about right, I think. Simple, vintage style, with a little schoolhouse feel.

The rest

The toilet would not need to be replaced and the shutters on the windows are standing up better than anywhere else in the house (because I don’t actually move them, just leave them as is).

It’s a dangerous thing to think about these things, more dangerous to search online and see how possible it really is. I hope I can keep my hat on and wait. None of what I have written here are plans, none have been discussed with the man of the house. But it’s wonderful to dream!