2013, A Look Ahead: The Bathroom

Ready or not, 2013 is here. In 2012 we survived super storms, Twinkie shortages, and the end of the world. How is 2013 going to top that? Here at the Little House, we have a whole year of projects planned to rock our 2013. This week, we’re going to share some of those plans with you (just to keep us honest in the coming year). This time we take a look at our upcoming bathroom remodel.

The Little House has one bathroom. One teeny, tiny, seafoam dream of a bathroom.

While we’re actually pretty fond of the original tile (especially the white hexagon tile on the floor), it’s in really bad shape. In the shower it’s cracked beyond repair in several places. There’s even a corner that’s broken off entirely and someone tried to stick it back up with a lot of caulk.

What we’re really in love with is the arch over the shower. It’s an original feature of our little 1940 home that’s echoed in other architectural elements throughout the house. And that’s about it. The vanity, while new, has no counter space and little usable storage. The lighting… don’t get me started on the lighting. It’s bad. Really bad.

We’re planning on doing a full gut to the studs, then drywalling and tiling ourselves. We’ll keep the bathroom’s current vintage vibe by tiling halfway up the wall with white subway tile, much like YHL did here. For the floor, we’re going to add a touch of vintage glam with Carrara marble hex tiles. We love the sparkly white background shot with veins of smoky gray.

We’ll reuse the existing toilet as the previous owner installed it just before we bought the house. We’re also going to reuse the original bathtub. It’s a deep cast iron tub that is both too big to get out of the house and too expensive to replace. Instead, we’ll have a local company re-enamel the tub, giving it a new skin and new life (perfect for kitty hide and seek).

We’re really excited to get started on this project! We’ll probably begin demolition once we get the backyard finished, so start looking for our planning posts sometime this spring!

Have you ever remodeled a bathroom? Any tips on surviving without your only bathroom during a remodel? We’re planning on doing this through the hot months so we can “shower” outside in the hose!