I have no clue what the builders were thinking when they made my bathroom. It's seriously sad. It's a very small space, just enough vanity area for the sink and a few inches of room on either side. Commode and bathtub, and there's just enough room to stand at the sink and use the commode without one's knees hitting the opposite wall! Well, perhaps a little hyperbole there, but not much. But OMG the finish for the vanity! And the floor! Seriously, I don't know WHAT those people were thinking! The vanity cabinet is pickled pine, same as the kitchen. I can deal with that. And the tub area is a tile-looking insert. I don't even mind that, though I'd prefer real tile, but whatever. The counter area, and the floor, is what boggles my mind! I mean, just LOOK at this! Either one..the floor or the counter, wouldn't be too terribly bad (well, I think the counter is wretched no matter what, but still…) but I don't know how anyone could consider putting them in the same space, together. First of all, the dark counter makes the bathroom look even smaller. And you can't tell from the picture, but the floor, the dark squares in the floor that look black? Those are actually green, but not even the same shade of green as the counter! Just off enough that the combination is hideous! This bathroom is going to be my next cosmetic project, for sure!! Now do you see why I don't want to devote a lot of extra time to doing much more in the kitchen, when I have THIS to deal with?
Ronni, I've seen worse--either of our two bathrooms! I do see what you mean about the countertop. Why on earth would anyone put in a dark top with talcum powder, make-up, and other particles floating around. The floor is pretty ghastly, also. We are in the process of finishing a re-do on one bath and then we'll start on the other so please post photos of what you do. I need to pick your inventive, decorating brain!
Ah, you're sweet! Thank you. My brain, at this moment, is trying to wrap my wits around the fact that the cabinet and the countertop in that bathroom apparently are NOT stock sizes! I've been looking for either a replacement counter top, (because I don't mind the pickled pine base) or an entire new unit … top, basin AND cabinet …. and I've discovered that the size I need isn't easy to find. I won't say impossible, because I HAVE found the size, but A. I just WON'T spend that kind of money and B. The ornate pieces I've found are very much NOT me! The bathroom is small enough that there's not much clearance between the vanity area, and the commode which sits next to it. So I can't really go very much bigger or the commode will be too crowded. And I CERTAINLY don't want to go smaller, because I'm trying to keep as much surface area on the counter as I can. So my quest currently is to locate either a vanity top, or the entire unit, that is of the appropriate dimensions. Once I get that secured, I can move on to the rest of the bathroom. I want new faucets, a new light and new flooring. And new knobs for the cabinet if I keep it. And then, depending on what I pick, new shower curtain, soap dispense etc…all the fun stuff to buy! But first the vanity. That's kind of the anchor piece and I can't do much else till I know what's going there, because all the other choices will be made around that one piece.
My first thought was to replace your basin/vanity with one of those pedestal basins which would give you some "openness". But then you'd lose your cabinet and counter space. I bet you'll come up with something that will look awesome. My dad built our house and we have the weirdest bathroom. It's basically a regular bathroom that's divided into separate rooms. Walk into it and you're in the area with the basin and counter... nice size but not huge. Turn around and there was a door to the toilet area (just enough room to sit/stand)That door was taken out years ago. And at the back... a door to the tub area. I guess with eight people and one bathroom, it made sense! And even now with just a few people here at one given time, it does come in handy... someone can be taking a shower and someone can still get to the toilet or basin.
Cheryl, I'd love to see photos of your bathroom setup if you're so inclined. It sounds very intriguing! Yeah, a pedestal sink would look lovely in there, but would do nothing for the functionality of the room, and unfortunately it needs to be functional. If my bedroom was bigger, I'd be setting up a makeup and hair area in there…sort of like a small, old fashioned vanity area…so that I didn't have to use the bathroom for anything but necessities. Unfortuantely my bedroom just won't support that. I think I mentioned previously that there's just enough room for the bed and a couple of dressers (necessary to have two, because my closet isn't very big, or I'd just hang most everything) and a nightstand. I could fit something else in there, but it would mean wall-to-wall furniture, and I HATE that, I hate the cluttered look of that kind of thing. So I'll deal with the bathroom to maintain as much of the countertop area as possible.
Ronni, we are putting up wire shelving to store towels in the bath we are working on now. The wire shelving doesn't give as much of a "closed in" look as solid shelves, and puts otherwise wasted wall space to work. Would that help in your bath?
I was thinking along the same lines as Cheryl....what about a pedestal vanity? Do you need the countertop? do you need the vanity? can you put a shelf over the commode to hold towels, tp etc? is it just a powder room type bathroom? of course I am sure you will need to recover the floor, but a remnant would do.
Carolyn, it's not a powder room or guest bathroom, it's my bathroom that I do all my girl stuff in, so I have to have the storage space under the sink, and at least a little bit of counter space. I don't want to lose what I have. I've done what I can cosmetically with the bathroom until I can re-do it the way I want to. Very little counter space as I've said, so I can't keep much on it, but I found a couple of pieces that are actually useful while also being attractive and complimentary to that wretched counter! Trying to find a shower curtain that somehow pulled together the mishmash of colors and patterns in the bathroom was a much harder task. But then I found this one, on clearance, that subtly repeated the square pattern of the floor and picked up the colors of the vanity. The image is NOT representative at all of the true colors pictured, so you'll just have to take my word for it that the colors in the shower curtain are, in fact, various shades of green that compliment the green in the floor and on the counter, and even have some subtle yellow hues to match the walls! I don't know what colors I'm going to end up with in this bathroom, but I sure wouldn't mind keeping that shower curtain! I just really like the pattern.
Okay Ronni... you asked for it! Never thought I'd be posting pictures of the bathroom! LOL Like I said... my dad built our house back in the 1958. We were a family of 8 with us kids spread out 12 years apart. So I do understand his reasoning behind maximizing usage time/space. I guess it was just unheard of to go ahead and have 2 bathrooms back then. And it's okay to go ahead and laugh... or shake your head in disbelief. that's not too bad... but wait.. ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) Back portion is the tub/shower space. Behind the door are shelves. Tub/shower along opposite wall. here's looking in from the hallway ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) Don't you just love that retro pink fake tile stuff? ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) Across from the vanity is the little cubby hole for the toilet. You can see where there used to be a door. And here's that area. Can you imagine being crammed in there with the door closed? ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) So... now... don't you feel better about your bathroom?
Cheryl, that must be a horror to clean! However, you have made the best of it with your decor. My mother had our bathroom done in pink plastic tile (marbelized, yet!) with a black band about 6" from the top. Lovely . . . . I still don't like the color pink!
Jane... yep... have to find creative ways to get in the small places to clean. I'm just not that flexible any more. :-D We recently painted over the faded pink paint that was in there. Now THAT was ugly!
Cheryl--Yes, odd, but quite ingenious given the reality of 8 people & one bathroom. I like what he did with the angles on the sink counter--how to have counter space (essential in a bathroom) but still accommodate the door. I guess a pocket door was not an option. My son & I recently toured a brand new college dorm, quite plush, that had a similar arrangement: 3 separate areas for bathing, sink functions & toileting. It served 4 students. Ronni--I like the look of your reddish soap dispensers against the green of the counter. Same intensity of color, eye catching.
Ronni I can understand your feelings but your bathroom compared to ours when we moved in it is "beautiful". Disgusting ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) It was disgusting and need courage to make use of it. Everything was in the wrong place and worst of all is the exposed sewage pipe. There are 3 bathrooms in the house and the other two is just as bad if not worst which I'll spare you all from looking at it. Now this is how it is, very pleasant to make use of. Pleasant ... ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Decent ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) :-D :-D :-D
KK--beautiful bathroom! I envy you your space. We are in the process of rehabbing our downstairs bath, but it is only 6X8 feet. We are trying to see if we can make it bigger. Very complicated. Yours is beautiful KK.
