Bathroom Renovation: the basic plan

I've mentioned previously that I've been mulling over some ideas for a bathroom renovation, also known as Jimmy's Bathroom. As a quick refresher, here's some basic info on our house, and here's the starting point for the bathroom:

I know, it's awful, in a bare bones contractor-mentality kind of way. Horrible shell-shaped sink, bland vinyl floor, very little trim work, awkwardly placed window. So the plan has been to work around what is already in place, i.e. we're not changing that stupid window placement, and the tub and commode are staying in the same general area.

Instead, the goal is to do a cosmetic makeover by putting in new flooring, a new sink and vanity, new lights, a bit more trim (at least a baseboard!), and generally making things look more cottage-y and stylish. I've been making slow progress on repainting the room as well, although no pictures at the moment.

I've been wanting to do a sort of deconstructed vanity and sink combo, in order to use some cool art deco nightstands that I already own. The trick to the idea is that the space between wall and commode is pretty tight. It's been tough to find a more traditional chest or larger cabinet for a vanity that would actually fit the space, so the nightstands seem like the best option. And they're lovely as well!

Because of the height of the nightstands, originally I'd been thinking about doing a wall-mounted sink with the cabinets. Then I found a pedestal sink on Craigslist that will do the trick, and look a little more finished. It's nice and simple, with a sleek pedestal column. So here's the latest mock up of where we're headed:

The dashed line represents the door opening and the basic view into the bathroom from the bedroom, and you can see straight in from the living room as well. It has to look good!

The nightstands are part of a set of furniture that I purchased from an antiques dealer at the beginning of the year. They're French Art Deco, in tiger oak, with gorgeous pinkish marble tops, carved flowers, and some stepped detailing to the top and bottom of the cabinets. I love the whole set; the biggest downside is that the dealer painted everything a horrible sludge green color. So, before jumping all the way into the reno, I've been spending the last few weekends stripping paint from 70+ year old cabinets. Here's an in-progress shot of one of the pieces:

A Different Kind of Easter Egg Hunt

It was a moment straight out of an antique-er's Twilight Zone on Easter Sunday....

It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon when I pulled up to the curb in front of Chez Dame, and as I was beginning to cross the front yard to the door, I could hear the Herd of Dogs in our back yard with Smithy. Or rather they made it known that they heard me. So, I altered my course to walk to the back fence and say hi. On the way, I nearly walked on top of this lying in the grass:
It would seem that the Easter Bunny has a strange sense of humor, because, you see, this little gem has been missing for close to three months!

Back in early January I splurged a little on a set of French Art Deco furniture from a local dealer. First I bought the vanity, thinking that I could convert it to a bathroom vanity. (Sadly, I couldn't make the proportions of the vanity work, but the price was right, the dealer was laid back, so I eventually went back for the pair of nightstands and the bed! Not that I have a furniture problem or anything - is there a 12 step program for this?)

Anyway, the vanity comes apart into separate elements. In my heated furniture frenzy, I set the individual vanity tables in the grass as I was unloading them from the car. It is now clear that one of the feet fell off, and has apparently been blissfully living in the front yard, right under my nose, enduring rain, snow, and a variety of temperatures for the last few months. In my defense, the furniture, including the foot, had all been painted a dull sage green which is quite effective camouflage when mixed with dormant Zoysia grass and brown leaves.
Really, I swear.

So, 1) I can now stop berating myself for being a lousy antique junkie, since the vanity really did have all of its parts. See? Here's one of the pair of tables, with all its feet!


2) I can take the stack of phone books out from under the other vanity/side table in the living room, and give it back its missing limb.

3) I can stop mentally accusing Bart-the-Antiques-Dealer of secretly holding the vanity foot hostage, and playing mind games with me until he receives my final installment payment.


And 4) Looks like I need to rake the front yard this week. God knows what else might turn up.