Once upon a time in a Kingdom far away -- if by "once upon a time" we mean "this morning" and by "a Kingdom far away" we mean "New Jersey" -- there was a bathroom that looked like this:
A year ago, before the King and Queen moved in, the bathroom looked like this:
. . . and the Queen was not happy."Off with its head!" she commanded. The King quietly pointed out that a bathroom does not have a head,
unless it IS a head and is therefore on a boat.Thus begins our saga for Metamorphosis Monday and Blue Monday: A Bath's Tale.
Be sure to check at the bottom of this post, for links to lots of other great
Metamorphosis Monday and Blue Monday stories!
**************************************************Of the seven rooms on our second floor, four are decent-sized bedrooms, and three are very small -- average size 7' x 12' -- and we figure that years ago those three little rooms were probably nurseries, sewing rooms, "hired hand" rooms. One of them is now our only full bath, and a hardworking room it is.
Turning this room into something I could live with, and love, was really simple.
First, paint:
The color is Wythe Blue, a Benjamin Moore Historic Color. I love this color; it's not a wishy-washy blue, and it is changeable in different lights -- nearly aqua, nearly not. Most men "read" it as green, most women as blue.
Next to go, the chrome faucet. It leaked anyway, so that was an easy choice.
The bathroom was already tellling me to go dark, so we installed this:
Then, the medicine chest. Howard liked it because it was convenient,
and leaving it would mean that he didn't have to pull out the dreaded tool box.
We know who won this one, don't we, girls?
In place of the old oak medicine chest we hung a mirror I found on Craigslist:
And do I have a volunteer who will tell my husband and brother-in-law that the mirror is hung about 1-1/2-inches too high?
I am not brave enough.
I have two things in this bathroom that came from my parents' home.
Both used to be in the bathroom I lived in as a teenager.
One is a washstand, "antiqued" with blue paint and amber glaze by my Mom in the 1960s. It has come by its chips and shabby chic-ness honestly:
(Can anyone answer how I managed to take these pictures,
and not notice I hadn't closed the drawer?)The other piece -- a wire ice cream parlor chair, also painted by my Mom in the 60s. It is very distressed -- maybe too much so. I may paint it. More likely I will just sew a cushion for the seat to cover the worst of the chips and scratches and stains:
The 60s blue isn't a great match for the Wythe Blue walls, but as Queen of this project I have decreed that
all blues go together. It's a decorating dictum that I just now made up.
My biggest project was the vanity. It told me in no uncertain terms that it was fed up with being naked oak, and it needed it some
chic. Well, what is more chic than black? Bone Black, by Ralph Lauren Paint.
But first, a $3 applique -- glued on at great pain to myself, since I had to stand and hold the danged thing in place for
ever, because it was a) broken in pieces and b) warped. Explains the $3 pricetag, and as my Mom used to say as she combed out our hair,
"You have to suffer to be beautiful."
It was worth it. I also replaced brass knobs and pulls with dark bronze.
One of the joys of having a bathroom that was once a small bedroom is that it has
real closets. 
Since we have visitors, I took Howard's sleep shorts off the door hooks. You're welcome.
Can you see the lever on the toilet? Also replaced with dark bronze.
Some details:
Above, one of my little Limoges plates, a sweet spot to park a favorite bracelet and watch overnight.
A big Home Goods flowerpot, doing yeoman's duty as a wastebasket:
From T.J. Maxx, this seashell holds my many pairs of reading glasses:
Hanging on the back of the old washstand, a blue and brown printed towel from T.J. Maxx -- it's a thick velvety terry, lined with plain brown toweling. I'm not sure what I'll do with it, but it may end up as a cushion on the ice cream parlor chair, or even as a couple of big pillows on my bed -- the fabric is a ringer for velvet! Meanwhile, it has a home here:
Things still to do: light fixtures. Did you notice them? They are not attractive, but they work. Someday . . . .
I'm sure HGTV would tell me to replace the "faux" onyx countertop, as it is certainly outdated and un-cool. But -- it's in good shape, this is a working bathroom, and this countertop
works. I'm not going to get my knickers in a twist over a faux stone counter.
Not too sure about the frame around the mirror.
Should I tone down the gold with an over-wash of black?
And the window. Mini-blinds were in place already; I added K-Mart sheers for softness.
I know this isn't a permanent solution, but I'm still in the "what do I want here?" stage:
So, that's it. The hall bath.
Nothing fancy, and a cheap and easy metamorphosis if ever there was one.
Do you see the clock on the wall? My sister and I always put clocks in bathrooms, a habit from when our kids were dilly-dallying in the mornings before school. You know that decorating rule about not hanging things too high? Howard didn't get that memo. But I need more things on the walls anyway, so I'll move it then.
There's another room of this size next to the master bedroom. We use it as a closet, and someday it will morph into an en-suite master bath. Someday. . . .
And -- for many more stories of amazing makeovers, visit
Susan at
Between Naps on the Porch, for
Metamorphosis Monday. You can find her and all the stories
here.
And then visit
Sally at
Smiling Sally, for
Blue Monday. Click
here for beautiful blues!
Thanks to both these ladies for hosting! I love having a theme to build a post around.
Coming soon, a post about this:
And I'm going to need you to put your thinking caps on for this one!
Have a lovely Monday!
-- Cass
We love house guests here at That Old House.
We love house guests here at That Old House.
Welcome to breakfast at That Old House!
Many thanks to Leigh of Bloggeritaville for hosting Thrifty Thursday -- click here!
