A BATHROOM RENAISSANCE

Before our humble abode became The Olenick House it was a rental property, and as such, not a lot of imagination was impressed upon the design choices within.

But when Darren and I decided to make this our home together, we knew that one day, we could really make it a special place. That day has finally come and we’re starting with our main bathroom.

THE BATHROOM DILEMA

The Olenick House was built before the advent of ensuites when it was still customary to put a single electrical outlet on the light fixture near the ceiling. Not practical for a 5-foot tall woman, like me. Ha!

So, the main bathroom is nestled among the rooms on the 2nd floor, reminiscent of a boarding house.

This is where we have decided to focus our initial renovation energy, and believe me, so far, it’s used a lot of it. But it will be well worth it, as this is the room in which we will soak, jet massage and steam our aches and pains away.

We didn’t make the decision to start this process on a whim however, we were rather forced into it.

Inside the bathroom walls was lurking a slow leak which evolved over time into something resembling the creature from the black lagoon, affecting the entire room. Thus, the whole thing had to be gutted.

This room appeared, to my eye, to have been worked over several times since this house was built. A low-hanging bulkhead was built with no apparent purpose other than to create a more enclosed bath/shower combination.

No extra plumbing efforts were made which is evident by the shower head being attached to the tub faucet by a tube on the outside of the wall.

The space that I suspect used to be a shower stall was turned into a make-shift storage closet evident by the very uneven walls surrounding it, in relation to other walls in the space.

The cherry on the cake was the commode that sat on a thick piece of plywood due to the lack of stability in the sub-floor beneath it (Just above our stove in the kitchen below, by the way…)

This poor room, being of considerable size for a bathroom, is in need of some love and we’re about to give it some.

Take a look at these ‘before’ pics. One can’t miss it’s sad, sad state of affairs. Lol

THE BATHROOM SOLUTION

This is the color and design scheme that Darren and I have decided on. The finished space is going to look fantastic! I can not wait!!

…and here is the rough, virtual design that I have created for the space. It was necessary to keep the original layout of the room due to the direction of the joists between the first and second floors.

Otherwise, I would’ve really had fun changing things up! Cutting through the joists would have meant more material, labour and of course, cost.

Yet, even with the same layout, using a few magic design tricks, the room will appear far more open, enabling the eye to take in the full size of the space.