Bathroom Remodel Update

Everyone loves a good before and after, right? Today I thought I’d share a behind-the-scenes project that has been going on at the Fake Farmhouse for a couple months. (Mouse traps in the picture and all!)  DIY projects are a slow process around here, but this one is almost complete. Here’s our Bathroom Remodel update.

This bathroom is at the top of our stairs on the 2nd floor and has been patiently waiting for it’s makeover for 17 years. It’s been stuck in the gold/brown 60’s era since we moved here and has been purely functional. I’ve never even attempted to decorate it’s ugliness. All I did was paint white over the dark green cabinet and trim and hope that someday this room could be cute.

We couldn’t begin to attack this bathroom until we had another we could use, obviously. A couple years back we finally finished the main floor 3/4 bath. We’ve been happy with how it turned out and decided since we were down a few bodies off to college, we could track downstairs for awhile to get this upstairs one remodeled.

A Bathroom Remodel Begins with Demolition

Let the destruction begin! (Which I actually love;)

I always enjoy seeing behind these 100+ year old walls. Yes, sometimes it’s a little scary what’s been living in there, but the history lover in me enjoys seeing the old bark-covered beams. I don’t think Mr. Fix-it enjoys it like I do;( We’ve found a date in the cement in the cellar that says 1906, so we’re assuming that’s the date the original part of the house was built. This probably not-original bathroom used to be an exterior corner. In the 60’s, 2 bedrooms were added onto the back of the house above the kitchen. Happy Girl’s room {“Vintage Modern Bedroom Makeover Reveal“} is on the other side of this wall.

You can see in the pic above how low the windows used to go. I wish we could do that again, but are opting for similarly sized windows, since this is a bathroom. We’ve installed custom Marvin windows when we remodeled the kitchen and our bedroom and have 2 on order for this bath and the hallway (which you’ll see in a minute). I love the new Marvin windows; they are easy to keep clean, are much more energy efficient, and are beautiful!

This house was built with balloon construction, which means the beams run from the basement to the second floor. It’s actually a fire hazard and a great way for rodents to have the run of the house in the walls. Whenever we’ve dug into the walls, we’ve closed off the space between floors.

DIY Remodeling is a Slow Process, but has Flexibility

Since we’re DIYers, these remodeling projects go slow and change while we’re in the process. Originally I wanted to keep these rough external sheathing boards exposed. I would have sanded and polyed them like I did in our pantry {“Pantry Organization”}. I was hoping to use an antique clawfoot tub I’ve been saving and create a very turn-of-the-century bathroom look that you’d see right as you walk up the stairs.

But, for sell-ability and Mr. Fix’it’s sanity, I settled on a much easier, more modern option of a drop in tub and shower enclosure. This kind of give and take have been pretty common on all the projects we’ve worked together on through the years!

First he leveled the horribly sloping floor, worked on plumbing (the sink and the tub were swapping spots), and got all the electrical, vent, and heating/cooling in place. The behind-the-scenes work takes time and obviously needs to be done correctly. For your reference, this bathroom is only 7’x 8′.

I decided that since this bathroom is so small, we should take this door off and do a barn-door type slider. Not having that door swing will make the room more spacious, and we’ve got room in the hallway for the door to slide to the right.

We picked out a tub/shower enclosure that has a curved back that looks similar to the curve between our living and dining room. Even though I’d rather have an antique clawfoot tub and beautiful old boards behind it, I’m happy with the look. The sheetrock went up around it, and the taping began.

We should have had the windows in at this point, but they hadn’t come in yet. We ordered 2 windows, one for the bathroom and one for this hallway spot. Before our time, there was a window A/C unit here and the previous owners had simply covered this space over with a board. We’ve always wanted to add a window here to fill the upstairs hallway with light. It will also look good on the outside of the house.

Balancing Modern Function with Vintage Character

Whenever you’re remodeling an old house, it’s such a fine line to modernize it for function, yet work with the era of the home. This Fake Farmhouse had been redone in 60’s decor, which did not fit it’s turn-of-the-century style. We’ve been breathing the classic, vintage style back into it for 17 years. The orangey-brown skinny moulding is gone, as is the gold appliances and linoleum. If you’d walk through, you would think the decor you see now is original, but it’s all been done by us!

Ready to see how the bathroom’s coming along, now that the professional tile installer has been working on it? We used the same guy who did our downstairs bathroom, and I’m so glad. Nothing’s square on these old houses, and having a professional tiler who is used to working with wonky old houses makes all the difference!

I purposely used similar materials so the 2 bathrooms would harmonize, just like they do in older homes. I’m getting excited to have this bathroom all done!

I love that it looks like a classic, vintage-styled bathroom, even without the antique tub I wanted. We’ve still got plenty of work left to finish this all up, but we’re definitely happy with how it’s turning out! It fits right into the rest of the house.

See the vintage buffet vanity makeover HERE.

See the final bathroom remodel reveal HERE (with all the details).

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