Saturday, June 8, 2013

Utility Bathroom Reveal

So we have this hideous utility room and tiny bathroom that adjoins. It reminds me of the movie The Help. I can't imagine who would build a bathroom so small with zero ventilation right next to the garage... HOT, and sometimes smelly... When we moved to our home, 6 years ago, we ripped out the floors and had mexican brick pavers installed. We stopped there. It has remained in the same funky state all this time. I try not to look at it and have jazzed it up a few times with pretty towels or rugs. Mostly I avoid it. We've had so many other projects that needed our attention and I am the WORST about starting a project and not completing it. The worst... This week Lambert installed the faucet ( I have more to add about that later) and hung my mirror (more on that too) and she is done! I still need to find a few little accessories, but for the most part we are done. Lambert did a fantastic job taking my ideas and making them happen. He is not a carpenter and does not want to be. I came from a Dad that can do ANYTHING. He just makes it happen, seemingly effortlessly. Lambert... not so much. He's so detailed that it drives him nuts when things are just perfect and then he spends too much time correcting or re-doing that he gets frustrated and burned out.

The sink- it's original to our house. I loved it's school house vintage feel so I didn't want to replace it unless I could buy the $1000 Kohler apron utility sink :) We decided since it's not a restroom we use daily and it is soooo tiny,to pass on spending the grand... However I did select a beautiful vintagey ( i know that's not a word) feeling Delta faucet with porcelain handles.  Lambert took the sink and the faucet to work with him so he could clean it up and somewhat restore it to it's original glory. He was having difficulty installing the faucet because of the deck lines. It would not line up with the cutout on the sink. So... one of his well meaning customers (and a great friend) offered to run to the hardware store to grab another faucet for him. This customer has great taste and is an awesome carpenter, artist, re model king... so Lambert agreed. He came back with a faucet and told Lambert that it wasn't very expensive and that his wife actually told him to go with a prettier faucet but since it was just for the SHOP bathroom (at our store) he thought the cheaper one was better.... He did not realize this was for our home. I think the faucet was $25.00 (literally). Lambert was nervous to tell me about it. It took me several months to finally choose the one I had picked. He told me the whole story and to everyone's surprise I was VERY compromising and said, oh well it's just a utility bath, lets roll with it. Now that it's all together I don't think it looks half bad. Thanks Eddie R. (he will probably never read this).  The mirror- I picked up last year from an Antiques dealer in Ft. Worth. I knew as soon as I laid eyes on it I wanted it, but like so many times before, I passed and then called back the next week to see if it was still available. I don't know why I do that... My sister picked it up for me and stored until I made a trip up to Dallas. I adore it. It's Irish pine and has all the beautiful worm holes that make it so wonderful. It's chipped on one corner which just adds to it's charm.  We chose a Martha Stewart pendant light fixture that looks identical to the pottery barn fixture I originally selected.  The artwork- My mother in law painted this canvas for me several years ago. I took her a page from a Better Homes and Gardens magazine issue from 1998... I always loved the painting an even attempted to paint it once myself. I love to paint, but my mother in law (and Hoot) is the artist in the family. It's the most treasured gift she has ever given me. I know it was a labor of love because it was no easy feat to complete.  I hope to paint a small canvas landscape of Seaside later this year to hang over the commode.  Until then I'm leaving this tiny (TINY) space alone.  I'm on the hunt to find a little rug and I'm having a blue and white ticking skirt made to go around the sink. The room is so small it was difficult to even photograph.


Copy of DSC_4217



DSC_4227

DSC_4225

DSC_4223


DSC_4230


DSC_4231


4 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Megan, so wonderful to hear from you! I've been away from the blog world for a long time. Busy busy with photography and life. No time to post or stalk!

      Delete
  2. it looks fabulous...LOVE the painting too. Tell Lambert...job well done!

    ReplyDelete