The Luxury Of Two Baths.

 Even though I grew up in a one bathroom house with 3 brothers and 3 sisters, and know it is doable, I now had the space and, well, why not? As you know from the post about the main bathroom,(the only one at the time) there was a water closet next to that bath.  Once a toliet was added to that bath, it was no longer necessary to have access to this one from the hall.  Thus began the process of adding another full bath backing up to the main bath.

As you can see from this shot, a wall had divided these two windows.  The window on the left was over the toliet in the water closet and the one on the right was at the end of a deep, narrow closet.  There were shelves along one wall as you can see by the paint marks.  I can't believe these windows were originally divided in this way but guess I will never know the answer to that one.

Obviously, a gut was required but as a result all new plumbing and wiring was simplified.

The entrance to the water closet was eliminated which allowed for a shower against the new wall.  The toliet remained in the same location.

A vanity was added on the closet side of the room.  Coordinating wallpaper with a border. although dated now, looked spiffy at the time.  A traditional window treatment completed the look and now the second floor boasted two full baths.

Then came the idea to change the tile and run it up the wall behind a pedestal sink.  The wallpaper lost out as the faux finish bug was in full swing.  The walls and ceiling were lightly washed in a pale apricot and the wood trim received a rubbed back distressed green finish that matched the color of the shower.

And here it is today.  Adding the shower all those years ago was a great move as I am definately not a bubble bath kind of gal.

This mirror was part of the bedroom decor for some time until it dawned on me how perfect it was for this room.

The twin windows add a lot of interest to this small bath and have been accessorized with a variety of fabrics.  The cream and mustard toile has lasted the longest so obviously one of my favorites.

A few decorative elements changed over the years but the basics have been left intact.

Movin' on

Recognize this?

Recycle? You bet!

That old sink that came with the house has a new life.  It now resides in a snappy new loft apt.  The legs are gone and the faucets are new but it's the same sink...no refinishing necessary.

A bathroom begs for transformation.

When I purchased my home some 30 plus years ago, the bathroom on the second floor consisted of a sink and a clawfoot tub.  The toliet was in another room referred to as a "water closet."  My favorite things in the room were the porcelain towel bars and the sconces on either side of the medicine chest.  Which, by the way, was slightly high for someone 5'2" tall.  That explains the stool you see next to the sink.

As we know bathroom rehabs can be mighty expensive.  So the bathroom stayed as it was for a while until I decided a little paint and wallpaper would be a cheap fix if I did the work myself.  Although blue is not my first color choice, I thought I should pick up the color of the floor tile and incorporate it around the room.

Additional storage was created by adding a cabinet beneath the sink.  This served the dual purpose of concealing the plumbing.  An add on shower and rod made the bathtub more versatile.

As time went by, I met a neighbor who made his own stained glass windows.  He agreed to tutor me and together we created a 3'x3' piece of stained glass.  I chose a pattern I thought would be good for a beginner without giving much thought to where I would put it when it was completed.

After some thought I decided the only place was the bathroom and so began the next demo and planning session.

The medicine chest was lowered and centered on the wall.  A recessed area was created above the medicine chest where back lights were concealed.  The stained glass was framed and hindged.  Then it was attached to cover this recessed pocket.  The hinges allowed light bulbs to be changed easily.

Then a light bar was added.  A stub wall created a partial divide and concealed the plumbing for the new vanity.  The tub took a 90 degree turn to end up under the medicine cabinet.  This arrangement allowed the toliet to be hidden behind the stub wall and no longer secluded in the water closet.  (That closet was destined for greater things which will be revealed in the next post.)