Monday, August 31, 2009

The Before...

Late last summer as I moved into my condo, I had big plans for a major overhaul of the place. After all, much of it hadn't been touched since 1968. (Had the building been built in the 1920s or 30s, I wouldn't dare think of redoing anything. Alas, it wasn't, and late 1960s decor just doesn't do it for me.) I started with things like having the popcorn ceilings scraped (such a mess), staining the parquet floors ebony, and having the walls painted and papered. Oh, and having the pea green shag carpet in my bedroom AND bathroom promptly removed (yes, it even went around the toilet- Yuck!). What really bothered me, though, were the 1960s bathrooms. My guest bathroom had the worst toilet you've ever seen. It sat about a foot and a half off of the ground, and it had the original plastic toilet seat, which, by the way, had a cigarette burn mark in it. I care not to think about how that happened.

I was trying to decide how I wanted to renovate the bathroom when the economic hell broke loose, and then I lost the nerve to do anything. On top of that, I was tired of having workmen in my home. So, I left it alone for a while, nasty toilet and all. But a few months ago, I realized that it really wasn't necessary to rip everything out and start anew. I could tart the room up and try to disguise some of the questionable decorating choices that were made forty years ago. So let me give you a lay of the land...

This is the way the bathroom looked when I first visited the condo over a year ago. I guess I should clarify something- somebody did make a few upgrades to the bathroom at some point. So it was a blend of 1968 and 1998.



I know what you're looking at. It's the nasty toilet with the discolored toilet seat. The vanity with the chic woodgrain laminate doors is original. Note how the counter top extended all the way over to the shower door. The ceramic tile floor and shower walls are a later addition, as is the green tiled shower floor and the cheapo sliding glass door. See the handle bars all over the place? There was no way you could slip and fall because no matter where you were, there was always a handle to grab.


The walls were papered in a red vinyl wallpaper that was trying to be marbleized. I stripped the paper off of the walls myself, which just about caused me to lose my mind, not to mention my back and arms. You should have seen the pastel paper that was behind the top layer. The weirdest thing about the bathroom is that mirrored medicine cabinet that extends across the entire wall. The doors slide back and forth. Also, in typical 1968 fashion, there is a commercial fixture over the mirror. There had been a big, long plastic box that fit over the bulbs, but I sent that packing.


The vanity has Kohler fixtures which aren't the worst things I've ever seen, but they're far from great looking. Here, you can see the nice, new, and CLEAN Kohler toilet that I had installed. I had to have my contractor cut off that ledge that extended over the toilet; otherwise, no toilet would have fit because of the height issue.

My dilemma was that if I ripped out that light fixture, the mirror had to go to. And if the mirror went, so did the medicine cabinet. I wasn't upset about that prospect. But if I ripped out the vanity, then walls would have to be redone, and I would have to put in a new floor. At that point, I might as well have renovated everything, which defeated the purpose of my project. So, I left the vanity, the mirror, the shower, the floor, the medicine cabinet, and that awful light intact. Tomorrow, I'll show you the after pictures.

27 comments:

  1. Looking forward to the after. I'm sure it will be inspiring.

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  2. Arggh, I can't wait to see the "after!" I too have a bathroom that really needs ripped out completely but we've tried to put that off by painting everything--vinyl floors and tub surround in particular--with white oil paint. It's far from aesthetically perfect but at least it looks bright and CLEAN!

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  3. Waiting with bated breath for the afters! It can be so freeing, rather than rip everything out, to figure out how to make what's there work in a new context for another's taste.

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  4. Oh, I can't wait! I have my own bathroom nightmare happening right now with some of the very same issues... only we're talking 1978 rather than 68. My biggest stumbling block? Hiring a contractor. Hate having worker people in my house... especially when they have to traipse all the way to the master bath at the farthest point from the front door!!! Can't wait to see your afters... I need the inspiration (and a kick in the pants!)

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  5. oh you're such a tease! LOL -i can't wait to see it!!!!

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  6. Can't wait to see the after! How exciting!
    XX Kate "the NEO-trad"

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  7. oh my! Can't wait for tomorrow!!

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  8. Can't WAIT to see the finished results! I love a dramatic before and after. There was quite a lot of room for improvement!

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  9. Why is it that the bathrooms are always so HORRID? I'm sure tomorrow will bring BEAUTY.
    Sally

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  10. I love a good before and after project. Let me ask you - has a toilet ever graced the pages of your blog before? I smiled at your description of the old toilet (and the speculation about its past life).

    The great thing about your building are the bones - the place is practically indestructible. Plus, its superb location! I enjoyed my tour of the Howards' city apartment earlier in the year. Phoebe said that there are some amazing transformations within the walls of the buildings.

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  11. Dying to see the after! We are about to move into an old Georgian home that has great bones and has been well maintained but has not been updated in at least 30 years (think carpeted bathrooms and laminate countertops in the kitchen). We will be doing a few necessary updates before we move in but for the most part it will be a project we will work on over time. I am sure your bathroom renovation will be inspiring!

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  12. I have nightmares about "DIF" and hope your wallpaper removal recovery is going well.

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  13. OMG I caaaanot wait to see the after. Redoing...revamping...starting from scratch is SO FUN but the $$$. Can you get a sponsor? :)

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  14. Love to see before & afters!!
    L

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  15. Y'all are so kind...and I hope I didn't build up too much anticipation! And yes, this is the first time I've shown a toilet on my blog!

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  16. Can't wait to see the after pics! We recently did a bathroom renovation that was previously clad in 80's mauve. Makes you really wonder "What were thinking?!"

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  17. Make no mistake, Ms. Chic, you're a brave, brave lady! A great drama is about to unfold before our very eyes, as we all know how wonderful the results will be!

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  18. Oh, this is very fun. I can't wait for the after. I'm embarrassed to say, I kind of like that medicine chest and think it would be so handy!

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  19. john in nc6:38 PM

    right now we are ripping out a tub to install a shower similar to yours and are also putting bars up everywhere-

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  20. Cannot wait to see the finished project!!

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  21. Looking forward to the afters! I spent yesterday scraping the popcorn off the ceiling of my kitchen. And I spent all today cleaning the dust!!

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  22. This I'll believe when I see it!

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  23. I can't wait either! And I have to say, I'm sooo releived to know that someone out there has lived with a hideoulsy ugly bathroom and survived! Mine is a bit of a shocker..

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  24. Not fair--you left me dangling for the "after" pictures. This had better be good. Super blog!

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  25. Looking forward to after, though I have so been where you are - our city baths always needed an overhaul asap.

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  26. Thanks for the chuckle mentioning the carpeted bathroom -- and around the toilet. I will never understand why men can't aim. It is so gross and women are the ones who usually have to clean it.

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  27. wow~ you have done a brilliant job. beautiful!

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