The big bathroom...finally.

Outdoorman and I bought our house nearly 30 years ago. It's a mid-century rancher which is just right for our aging selves. A sprawling one level house is perfect in my opinion. Twenty years ago I watched my neighbor's precious little'n tumble down a flight of stairs in her home (he weathered it without a scratch) and now with my elderly mother (Gram) the lack of steps is still a blessing. So, for us, a one level house has been just right for every stage of our family.

We addressed the renovations of the rooms in our house in a real methodical way...one by one. For whatever reason though, Outdoorman did not want to tackle the "big bathroom".

Now, it's not really big. It's just that in comparison to our other bathroom (with a shower fit for a 5 year old) it is. So for 25 years I tried to pretend it wasn't so bad. Oh, the wall-to-wall carpeting was awful and easily pulled up. But, other than that my bathroom renovation dreams were a no-go. Until the water leak...

I like to think that the leak was a special gift from God. (and I'm certainly grateful) Outdoorman tried little fixes for several months. The leak grew from a drip to a trickle to a stream and I saw my opportunity. I began ordering new fixtures and parts for the bathroom that I just knew had to come...yippee!

Admire for a moment that wallpaper. Grandmother's sofa it always seemed to me. But even better than that is the vanity. You just think the tile is almond color...nope...it's a chocolate color that was painted at some point. And the cabinet below the sink was a vast cavern of lost items.

Finally, Outdoorman began to realize that change was a'comin.

This photo may show the exact point when Outdoorman realized that a surgical strike on the plumbing was not an option. So soon, a total demolition of our 1950 "big bathroom" began.

We took it down to the studs. About 2 tons of concrete, tile and plaster went to our local dumping facility. It was a little scary, seeing the destruction, but I knew Outdoorman couldn't stand the tiny other bathroom forever so progress would have to made. Yay for the gift of a water leak! (I think there's a lesson there for me)

Now to the fun part...middle girl and I went to my favorite stone and granite supplier (Staley's in Maryville and ask for Jeff) and looked at all the gorgeous pieces of stone in the remnant pile. Since we only needed a vanity top I knew we could find a slab there and please just look at this gorgeousness.

I always gravitate to plain and simple so at first this "fantasy brown marble" seemed too fancy and busy. Middle girl pointed out that everything else in the new bathroom would be plain and simple so this vanity top could be a focal point. She's so smart.

Now that we had the stone it was time to design a more functional vanity. I need to visualize everything so if I don't have a picture I'll draw one. Here's a sketch of the vanity in my dreams.

I knew just the man to make this dream happen...woodworking magician Mike. Just look at this beaut.

Oh hello, ship-lap. I've seen you before and love you even more today. (Don't forget that nickel coin spacer between the boards.) I've also decided that a mix of metals is my very favorite look. I ordered polished nickel plumbing fixtures but used unlacquered brass for the "jewelry" on my new vanity.

The almond colored paint was not only confined to the tile. Our original cast iron tub had been painted at some point so refinishing it was a must. I learned that if we intended to tile the bath/shower surround it had to be done before the tub color was addressed. I went to our local Lowe's store and found all sorts of tile that I like. (I did mention that I like plain and simple)

Doesn't everyone lay tile out on the floor at Lowe's trying to decide what they want? (asking for a friend) Here's a photo of the tile I eventually selected. I saved money on the tile so I could put it in to the labor to install it. Thank you woodworker magician who can also tile, Mike.

Again, I'm super visual. I had to lay everything I'd been collecting out on the floor together. Pottery Barn has the best indoor/outdoor rugs so here's one of them with the plain white tile from Lowe's and the polished nickel faucet from Delta. Oh, and that burnished gold light fixture I found on Amazon!

Here is our refinished tub...yay for a clean, white tub! And the tile is perfection in my opinion. Thank you bunches, Mike.