The recent renovation at 1930 house included a full gut job of the main bathroom; originally the only bathroom. The tub and toilet were the only fixtures to remain, since the toilet was new, everything else was removed.
There had been a shelving unit attached to the wall for open storage and a closed cabinet under the window, the tile floor was in poor shape and all of these items were demolished.
The floor was unbelievable once removed, I think they used a jackhammer to get the tile and concrete out, it looked like a war zone.
In choosing finishes for this room, we needed to find something for the floor that was spectacular and utilitarian. The current trend to go with painted cement tiles was tempting, but in the end, not as practical as porcelain. This would be the main bathroom, and not all tiles are created equally. The problem with cement tiles, is that they need to be sealed many, many times to adequately seal the tiles and protect them from the usual problems found in a bathroom. The wearing away of the painted on decoration was not an issue, it was desired, to give the tiles an old look, but not being impervious to moisture was our concern.
As luck would have it, the tiles we chose for the bathroom were right next to the decorative kitchen tiles we used behind the range. We loved the large size octagonal shape, a nod to the era of the home, but the size made them more modern; using the three colors was also a bit more modern. We tried many patterns and really liked a pattern that was reminiscent of the 1930s, but there would have been too much waste of materials and we had to buy each color separately. Adding the black boarder, eased the pattern from overpowering the room.
The cabinet was an easy buy from IKEA, serviceable and handsome. The additional storage was an opportunity to do a little fun shopping. We did look for quite awhile, and finally came upon this interesting piece that is put together with pegs, so easy to disassemble and reassemble. I think it was intended to be a bookshelf.
Son-in-law was happy with all his counter space. We were appalled with the mouthwash bottle, then laughed at the “need” for such a large size on the counter. I came up with using a handsome decanter, but my daughter came up with the perfect solution, a Bombay Sapphire Vodka bottle. Fortunately, they have friends that only needed to go to their recycling bin to pull one out! It just goes to show you there are attractive, practical solutions to the most mundane decor problems, you just have to think outside the box, or in this case the bottle.
Cheers!
