Israel Doyle
I participated in the spring ORC by completing a Teen Bonus Room Makeover in our basement and for this challenge I have decided (with my husband’s help) to tackle the little powder room that is just to the right of our side door entry area. As I explained in my week one post, the main goal of this makeover has been to update the floor. When we moved in six years ago my husband installed groutable vinyl tile. It was just two weeks until Christmas and we needed a quick fix after removing old indoor/outdoor carpet. Of course it isn’t perfect, but we will just call it’s imperfections “character.” We used a non-toxic stripper to remove all the old carpet and tile adhesive with good results. Luckily it didn’t turn out to be a big deal but we decided we might as well go ahead and replace the toilet with a smaller one.
I am all for junk gardening and vintage sinks can be super cute as potting benches, but a toilet might be a bit much! I covered it with a trash bag so the neighbors don’t have to look at it until we get a chance to haul it off later this week!
One thing is for sure, we don’t want to have to call in emergency plumbers when we are trying to stay on a budget. After tearing out the vanity we realized it had incurred a bit of water damage at some point so we decided to trash it instead of repainting it. It looked okay on the outside but inside the cabinet the wood is warped and bubbled up in places, so it had to go. Even though it isn’t a perfect solution, we both agreed that a pedestal sink is the best choice for the powder room both for the period style and for saving space.
Painting the pipes the same color as the walls and baseboard will make them less noticeable. Another good thing about gutting down to plumbing is that you have an opportunity to insulate your pipes to prevent freezing in the winter months. Here is an example of a similar type of plumbing situation with two lines that are visible instead of one that is hidden behind the pedestal. The 18 inch sinks are special order, and everywhere I checked online seemed a bit pricey. We shopped around this week and ended up lucking into a 19 inch pedestal sink at a local home supply overstock warehouse for only $50. There is nothing wrong with the brushed nickel faucet we have, so we can certainly keep it if I don’t find anything else I really love.
I used hammered oil rubbed bronze spray paint to update our front door knob this summer and it has held up great. I think the dark fixtures would look great with the hex tile floor and would give the bathroom a “modern-vintage” farmhouse vibe.
I hope you enjoyed seeing how our hex tile floor is coming along and my pedestal sink goals and inspiration!
Wish us luck with the plumbing and painting and hex tile floor scrubbing in the week ahead!
