Basement Bathroom Renovation

Basement Bathroom Renovation

contributed by Connie at Hartwood Roses

It's finally time to reveal the new, and much improved, bathroom in our basement.  This project took SOOO much longer than it was supposed to, but the results are so spectacular, I almost don't mind all the delays.  Without further ado, I give you .... the AFTERS!!!

Before I go any further, let me bring those of you who may be unfamiliar with this project up to date.  When we bought this house in 2002, it had 5 full bathrooms ... three upstairs with bedrooms, one on the main floor adjacent to the office, and one in the basement.  The plumbing in the basement bathroom leaked, so we disconnected the fixtures, closed the door, and vowed to renovate it after we did most of the rest of the house.  Early this year, we decided that it was a problem not having a bathroom we could access without going through the finished living space of the house.  We've been stomping through the upper floors whenever we had to use the 'facilities', removing dirty boots or tracking stuff through the house.  I also wanted to have a bathroom that was more easily accessible for guests when I have garden gatherings here.  The basement was our answer, and I wanted to make it pretty, while acknowledging its original construction in the 1940's.

In the beginning, this room had a clawfoot tub, a broken pedestal sink, and a toilet that leaked ... and lots of exposed plumbing.  We demolished everything to the studs, tossed the toilet and sink, gave away the tub, and started fresh.  What once looked like this:

Now looks like this:

The other side of the room was this:

And now, it's this:

We decided early on that we didn't NEED to have 5 full bathrooms in this house.  The clawfoot tub was in good shape, but we wanted storage and display space instead.  The tub went to Kat's house in Maryland one day last spring, I found this cupboard at Luckett's Store, and it's perfect!  (For the story of my trip taking the tub to Kat's, click HERE.  To see the trip to Luckett's, click HERE.)

Here's what the bathroom looked like all stripped down, as you looked at it from the hall ...

The window had a lovely view into our garage, it didn't let in much light, and we removed it.

This is the same view now ...

 (The only thing I have left to do is to install the door casing and rehang the bathroom door.  Let's pretend I've done that already.)

The bathroom has all new plumbing and electric.  The water lines, drain pipes, and radiator lines, which used to be exposed, are now hidden in the walls where they belong ... and no more leaky supply fittings!  There's a new light where the old light was, and we added an electrical outlet (which the bathroom didn't have before).

(The new light, as seen in the store display)

 Isn't it perfect?

You can see the medicine chest, all restored and installed in its new home.  It was a flea market find from a few years ago, probably from the same time period as our bathroom, and I love all its Art Deco rounded edges!  What once looked like this:

(The dirty, gross 'Before' photo)

Now is a wonderful addition to this vintage-inspired bath.

I left the original beveled mirror ... streaks and flakes and all.

The vanity is brand new, and its mahogany finish and curvy porcelain top blend perfectly with the Vintage vibe I was going for in this room. 

The style of the chrome faucet adds a bit of a contemporary flair, with porcelain handles that keep the Vintage feel.

The sink wall, stripped to the original brick wall of the house, looked like this as we finished the framing and began to add insulation.  All of those bulkheads were neccessary to conceal the new plumbing in the wallls.

And now it looks like this.

The star of the room is the step-back cupboard.  The size is perfect (it sits in exactly the same space where the clawfoot tub once did) and I love everything about it!  All I did to it was give it a good cleaning (it needed it!), remove the contact paper and wallpaper from the inside, and paint the inside with one of my current favorite colors (BM 'Paladian Blue').  The shelves of the upper part of the cupboard provide great display space for part of my collection of random country-style stuff ... a perfectly fitting display for a country cupboard, don't you think.

The crate says, "VA DAIRY CO."  I love to collect local stuff!!

The sign says, "A friend is someone who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself."

This shelf is a tribute to my dear friend Kat.  I bought the duck pins while shopping with her one day at The Vintage Source.  When the Husband and I were at Luckett's picking up the cupboard, I spotted a basket of duck pin bowling balls, and I bought one for Kat and one for me.  The rose tray was a gift from Kat ... it had once been her mother's, and she sent it to me knowing it would have a good home here.  (I get teary just thinking about it.)

The flowers in the vase on the cupboard came from my garden yesterday afternoon.  I have never claimed to have much floral arranging ability, and I admire those of you who do, but it's hard for someone with even my limited talent to go wrong with so many beautiful roses to choose from.

1. Wagon Wheel Bright Pink,  2. New Dawn,  3. Comtesse de Segur,  4. Gartendirektor Otto Linne, and some Queen Anne's Lace.

1. Mme. Desire Giraud,  2. Sequoia Ballet,  3. Elina,  4.  Comtesse de Segur.

1. Sequoia Ballet ,  2. Puerto Rico,  3. La Marne

1.  Not-September Morn,  2.  Alba Meideland,  3.  Snow White,  4. Souvenir de la Malmaisson.

Mr. Lincoln, and some pretty weeds, in a bud vase on the sink.

Except for the aforementioned bathroom door, this room is completely finished.  Yesterday, as I was channelling Gumby in all sorts of twisted, uncomfortable positions taking these photos in this small room, I marvelled at the transformation.  I hope you enjoyed the tour.