Master Bath Blues ~

Even after 5 years, my master bath still bugs me.  It doesn't... ummm... flow.  It stands as one of the two or three battles I totally lost with my builder.  Now, I love my builder.  He was a wonderful man and created a most lovely home for us.  But the bathrooms?  Not so much.  In this case I was completely out numbered, so it wasn't a fair fight anyway.  The builder and DH ganged up on me.  Hrumph.... what do boys know about bathroom design anyway? 

So, let's look at my weekend project - otherwise known as an attempt to "fix" my master bath - again.  Here's a partial "Before" picture.  The master bath is two rooms actually, an open area with tub deck and vanity, and, off to the left, another small room with the water closet and shower. 

I know I risk being kicked out of the home decorating and nesting sisterhood, but I hate the tub deck.  Now, most ladies would be in love with the huge, deep, jetted tub flanked by beautiful tile.  A friend of mine takes her glass of wine, lights a few candles and reads the paper each evening from her big tub.  It's the only place she can get away from her kids.  Me?  I haven't used it once.  Neither has the DH.  My attempts to disguise it with pretty things has never been very successful.  It's the elephant in the room.  In fact, it's about the size of an elephant. 

So I cleared everything out of the room, and began with the windows.  I do like the octagonal windows the builder put in, although would much prefer something that opened.  The curtains before were nice enough, simple, but I like them drawn open for the light and DH doesn't.  He's nervous someone will peer in, all the way up to the second story, and see us in all our glory.  So I open the curtains, and he closes them.  It's silly really.  Now, this new version is bright, airy and the light streams in with the curtains closed.  Hah!

I used 2 yards of the prettiest open weave fabric.  I cut it in half and shredded the edges into this nice fringe, no hem. Total cost $10.00 and about 15 minutes.  A bit of pom pom trim left over from another project was used as a tie back of sorts. 

I also cleared out the water closet/shower room.  The photo below is not quite an "After" but it's getting closer.  The rooms are painted a soft chamois, really lovely, but it has darkened a bit over the last 5 years and needs a fresh coat.  Insufficient lighting in the room makes it all feel a bit gloomy - another battle lost with the builder.  I wanted sconces, he had already put in canister lights. 

We'll paint the entire interior of the house this summer, and I've picked out something with no yellow undertones, choosing a soft white with hints of taupey gray.  I've been reading too many of those Danish blogs lately, and the color palette has me captured. 

The door to the room opens to the loo. This was a boy thing.  They were making decisions while I was at work, without my input.   The process went something like this:

Builder:  "Should I make the door open on the left or the right?"
DH:  "Well, it seems to make sense that it opens to left, so that the loo is the first thing you see, right?  Cuz, that's what the room is for, right?"
Builder:  "Yeah, I can see that. Okay, let's do that."

Total elapsed time: 5 seconds.  Boys make decisions fast. 

What should have happened?

Builder:  "Eileen, how should we hang the door, with the hinges to the left, or to the right?"
Eileen:  (I'm summarizing here) "Well, I would like the first view of the room as you enter it to be the expensive shower with the fancy tile and beautiful faucets and rainy shower heads.  The loo is pretty ugly, so we can have that behind the door. Also, if you put the door with the hinges on the left, it will open against the shower curtain and you will fight with it each time you get in/out of the shower, so I think the hinges should be on the right side.  Anyway, we decided last week that it was going to be a pocket door to limit intrusion into the small space, right?"

Total elapsed time: 30 minutes.  Eileen is happy with the house for the next 30 years. 

[sigh]

Let's move on...  The decorative shower curtain is a pretty, sheer fabric with this old gold sparkly embroidery.  I do love it.  It has these nice hangers that look like carved wood, with a little decorative chrysanthemum in the center. 

A tiny change here, but I painted them with a creamy ivory and wiped off the excess. 

 

I like this, and the effect against the shower curtain is much softer than before.

 

My plan for the day was to take away a lot of the color in the room, to make the light streaming into the space the focus here.  To get this calming effect, I wanted the textures and furnishings to be more monochromatic, and simpler.  Here's the tub deck "After".  I removed the three vintage pictures and replaced them with a sconce and an old frame.  An old crate with great patina is re-purposed as a small shelf that holds extra washcloths, a French milled soap from Faded Plains (smells heavenly).  A chenille bath mat, and a couple new spa sized bath towels, and a little "Bath" sign, make up the changes here.  The view now seems just what I'd hoped for - very calming and simple, and more... cohesive, I guess. Everything seems more connected now. 

Here's a pic from inside the tub (which means I can now say I've been "in" the tub) looking towards the bedroom.  There is no door on this area of the room.  I won this battle. The door on the right goes into the water closet/shower room. 

Next is a closeup of the "bath" sign and arrangement of towels.  These are strictly decorative and took me the better part of 30 minutes to arrange perfectly.  I don't like too much of the matchy, matchy look, so mixed up the linens I had, plus the two new towels, and one of my cushy face cloths. 

A shot of the old frame and sconce.  I love this old frame, it is so elegant.  The sconce was originally more brown than this, but I blotched on a bit of the ivory paint to soften it.  Doubt I'll ever light the candle, but if I did, I would remove the very flammable excelsior nest first!

Love the fluffy bath pom and the little birdie soap dish.  Candles are nested in vintage Haegar pottery with brown rice surrounding.  Sparkly glass marbles would look nice here also. 

Ahhh... the view of the tub deck from inside again, looking toward the vanity. The faucet was another issue.  Note that it is, in effect, hidden behind the vanity?  Ideally, the beautiful faucet would have been on the other end of the tub, easily visible and a delight to the eye - AND so that the person in the tub would be facing the pretty wall with the sconce.  But alas, the person in the tub looks at the end of the vanity.  A curtain might look nice at this corner, something hung from the ceiling and draped onto the tub deck.  It would provide a bit more privacy for the bather, and I think it would also soften the hard lines of the corner nicely.  I might try that one day. 

For now, I have attempted to disguise this blunder by making this corner MUCH prettier, adding the sweetest little hanging art work from one of my favorite blogs.  Tina over at From a Danish Bearmaker's Studio.  I love her little bears.  A tall candlestick, birdie's nest and vase help soften the corner. 

View of the vanity from the water closet.  Since I'm using natural light, the glass shades on the sconces are obliterated, but they match the big chandelier in the bedroom.  The counter tops are another story.  At the end of the construction period, the company making our counter tops had a glitch in their production schedule.  With an inspector coming that week, our only option was to have the counter-guy make the vanity tops in the same material as the kitchen, which is too dark for this room.  I've got a new top coming finally, a nice Corian to match the rest of the pretty tile in the room.  I'll probably paint the mirror frame at that time too.  We'll see. 

Another old crate holds extra supplies, soaps and face cloths.  Vintage McCoy pottery offers a big cube of the silkiest French milled soap from Andrea Dickerson's Faded Plains blog and shop. 

I added two vintage mirrors to the water closet, mostly to reflect light and improve the view into the room.  My towel heater is not pretty, but I've covered the electrical cord with a tube of toile fabric, a basket of extra paper underneath.   Warm towels are very yummy.  I love the sweet picture of roses, hand painted in the 1930's by a home artist like myself.  The pinks in this picture are still rich and vibrant. 

To the left of the loo are more of those decorative towels (No touching....!).  Above is a little shelf with an old millinery rose in a tiny glass vase.  A bit of earthquake wax holds it securely to its spot. 

Behind the door and all the way to the left is the shower.

 

I had to add something silly, so we have the Zen frogs and, what this? Oh, ... and books to read, if you're so inclined!

Much better now! 

Have a GREAT week ~

Eileen

Comments

[Remodeling Guy]

Love your bathroom and your sense of humor! I've been involved in many of those door swing discussions with my carpenters over the years and they often look at me like I'm nuts when I say "but you want the room to be pretty when you open the door". They usually take a step back.

Thanks for joining the Round-Up. Sorry it took me a week to get over here!

Remodeling Guy

[~ ~AHRISHA~ ~at JoyouslyLivingLife]

Contractors, Let's not go there!
I love the arrangement around the sinks, very pretty. Books to read in the loo are very important, nice touch!~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

[Artie]

Eileen, I already commented - but I had to come back and look all over again. You know I'm redoing my bathroom right now - so I need all the inspiration I can get! :)

[Jeanne]

It turned out great! We are about to tackle ours too.

[Linda]

Eileen,
What a pretty bathroom! I think when you get your new countertop, things will really look great. I know what you mean about these man decisions, they can be sooooo frustrating. We just don't see things from the same perspective most of the time. Have you ever thought of putting a cover over your tub and making it more of a day bed with lots of pillows? I've seen it done and it can be so beautiful. Especially, if you never use the tub. Just a thought. Thanks for visiting my blog. Have a great day!

[Andrea]

Oops...I wanted to say a BIG thank you for the shout out on your blog...your a doll!

[Andrea]

I think you did a beautiful job with your bathrooom. It looks very inviting with all the warm colors...Good Job!

[Pamela]

Thank you stopping by my blog and leaving a note. I so appreciate it.

I think your bath is lovely but I understand being dissatisfied until it feels perfect to you. I'm having challenges with a two of our bathrooms as well, your post has been a real inspiration to me to keep trying.

[Julie]

I see & understand your battle w/the boy's decision... However, on the bright site, I think you did a fantastic job in the bath- & WC-room, Eileen!

[Shelia]

Wow! Your bath is just stunning! I love all of the soft touches you've given it! I could stay in here a long time! Thanks for popping in to see me!
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)

[Charlene]

You did a great job. I laughed about the DH & you with the drapes. Sounds like our house!!!! I love to have a lot of light sometimes & other times I love soft lighting & he so often hear "It's DARK in here turn on some lights" It's the He & the She of life isn't it?????? Have a great week. So glad you liked my garden tour. Yes, I have been in Alaska & your growing season is WAY shorter than ours but, those long days make for some beauties.

[Charity]

Beautiful redo on the bathroom! I love the vintage touch! Thanks for stopping by my blog...it's always fun to "meet" other knitters! :)

[Artie]

I love what you did to soften up those shower curtain rings - really made all the difference, and such a great idea! Don't you love paint!?! Thanks for stopping by the blog today. Scott is a wonderful partner, but he does have a hard time seeing something in the planning stages. I'd hate to build a home with him - that would spell disaster, and another D word too! LOL! He's gotten to where he'll now yes me to death. I hate that - and he knows it weakens my zest, rendering the idea completely lost. But I won't give on this screen door! He's just gonna have to deal with it! :)

[Sharon Chapman]

First, thank you for visiting my blog. When my DH was working in Kenai I would visit and so I do know your moose very well. One must never have an argument with a moose! At least I can talk to the elk. Doesn't do much good though.
I love your blog. Being a determined woman I bought 13 acres, worked with an architect of my choice, became the general contracter and dealt with every aspect of building my own home. I had a log home built in Montana and brought to WA. The only tough time was explaining to the plumber why I had my wonderful gigantic bathtub not in the bathroon but in its own little alcove hanging out over the woods with windows all around. I can lay there and look at the mountains and just relax. I have no visible neighbors just the mtns and woods. This was 20 years ago and I still love all my choices.
I hope to come back to Alaska someday. It is so beautiful. Sharon

[Karen B]

Oh my GOSH, I can so relate to this post! I've never taken a bath in our tub either. We have a tract home. There were some changes allowed, but none to the shower and tub. Ours are all one plastic fake looking tile piece! Even though I don't take baths, my plan (someday) is to get the entire thing out of there and have a beautiful claw footish tub in it's place. I figure it should be pretty to look at at the very least. You did a great job changing it up. I also can relate to windows that don't open above the tub. In our last house we had a half-round window above our tub . It's VERY difficult to cover and my husband was also sure people could see in. Whatever. Well, you did a great job compromising. Thanks for the lovely comments on my blog about being gray before 50. I've been told this next decade is the best. But, you're right, they all have their blessings. Have a great day! Karen

[tiffany ~ shabby scraps]

Having been under construction for the last 4 years now, I can totally sympathize with this post! However, having said that, I think the bathroom looks divine!
have a great day,
xoxo,

[Tricia Anne]

I really like your bathroom. You shuffling around and added touches really do the trick. I will be referring to your ideas as I am trying to do something similar. Thank you for sharing your creativity! :o)
Sincerely ~ Tricia Anne

[mary]

Such Subtle and yet soothing changes! I think you should try just 1 soak in your tub now and I bet you will be hooked!!

blessings
mary

[Debbie]

Eileen..
What a beautiful peaceful bath.. I love it, I would spend hours in there. Thanks for sharing your bath wonderland with us.
Hugs,
Debbie

[Tami]

Beauitful bathroom Eileen! I so would be the kind of girl that would be in that tub every night!! It looks so inviting!!

Have a wonderful week!
Hugs~T

[Sharon A. Kyser]

What a lovely bath! I would grab a glass of wine, soft music, light the candles and be in luxury! GREAT JOB! The natural light is so refreshing. You can't rely on men to make such important decisions. They have no idea how much we love to pamper ourselves. Sharon

[Diane Knott]

Eileen, I felt for you when you were speaking of battles with a builder. One of our bath re-dos was the same - guys making decisions and also builder on his own. He even cut a pipe to a radiator and hid it under the floor and guess what...a ceiling leak in the room below the bathroom, of course!
Ah...we should write and illustrate a book! ;-)
But it all looks pretty, everything you've done! I love the old boxes juxtaposed against the lovely, shabby, frilly items.
Diane

[Just A Gal...]

I really like the changes!!! Very warm!!

Thanks for sharing!

Just A Gal...

[ldh]

Lovely tour of your bath room ~ my favorite element... the wooden crate on the tub. I like the contrast and color. Thanks for sharing!