Being Properly Introduced To The New Bathroom
So, y’all have been watching the creation of my master bath in the SE corner room, second floor, of the 1894 Cross House. The room was originally a blanket closet and, it seems, a servant’s room. The blanket closet was later removed, and for many decades the newly expanded room was a kitchen.
When I purchased the house in 2014, the room looked like a bomb had exploded in it. Much of the plaster was missing, the circa-1929 oak flooring was heavily damaged, and the circa-1950 12×12 ceiling tiles were largely missing or were hanging at odd angles.
The room was, in short, profoundly pitiful.
From Day 1 though, I had planned to transform the room into my bathroom. The plan was to:
- Install a very large shower in the SW corner.
- Install a toilet and bidet in front of the huge south window.
- Install a vanity along the north wall.
A few months ago however, I realized that installing a 5-foot x 5-foot shower in the SW corner would uncomfortably shrink the room, visually. So, at the last minute, I made an executive decision to…gasp…move the shower to the NE corner.
Yes, I am quite mad.
You are looking at the SE corner. Over to the left is the NE corner where I decided to install the shower. That a radiator was in the way?
Details, details! Note the missing plaster; this predated my ownership. The right half of the flooring is new. Note the east-facing window.
With the huge shower installed, its west wall stopped short of the ceiling by two-feet. Note the east-facing window. The ceiling tiles have been removed. So, while I now had my crazy big shower…which, you know, all men covet…it looked stuck in the corner. It looked like…oh, dear…an intruder. What to do? What to do?
After MUCH pondering (I adore architectural pondering), I raised the wall of the shower to full height, bought it forward a bit to create a closet, and…quite brilliantly, thank you!…added an arch, complementing the other five arches in the house. Suddenly, the shower no longer appeared an intruder. Everything, suddenly, just looked…right. (To the left of the toilet will be a bidet.)
The new closet. You can see how the arch springs from the closet wall. The closet is not deep enough for hanging clothes on hangers, but is large enough for a vacuum, towels, folded clothes, etc. The trim is original to the room, now in its third location.
Inside the closet is bead-board paneling. This will be stained and varnished to complement the bead-board on the third floor. I tried to source individual 3/4-inch thick bead-board strips but was thwarted. So, paneling it is!
No image can convey the scale of the shower. It is 5-feet x 5-feet, and 8-feet high.
The shower is just a bit wider than the wall it abuts. To protect the 1894 window trim I ‘floated’ the shower wall in front of the window trim, and have a way cool idea to finish the edge of the shower. Stay tuned! I think it is vital, when dealing with a historic house, to protect as much as possible all original features. If you are going to make changes, do so in a manner that such changes can be undone without damage to the original fabric of the house.
The west wall. The closet (left) was much deeper originally. I removed the closet…
…revealing quite a mess. Hi, Justin! The missing plaster wall was as such well before I purchased the house.
The west wall today. To the right is where the 1894 blanket closet was. I did a post about this. The 7-foot-wide vanity will be on this wall. See the door to the right? That is the original door to the 1894 blanket closet…
…and to its right is the north wall. All the missing plaster is how things were when I purchased the house. The new shower, right.
The north wall, today. The 1894 base will get reinstalled. I removed the right side of the door trim to shave it down a bit.
And, y’all have now been properly introduced to my new bathroom!
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Well hello new bathroom. Especially hello to the new shower, you’re really my kind of shower, wanna go out for a drink later? Then maybe we can come back to my place and check out my new towels!
I love huge showers and a bidet and toilet with a view, How lovely, can’t wait to see the vanity. It’s going to be amazing I can tell.
This is such good news! It’s really progressing! It’s going to look stunning when finished. So happy for you! This must make you feel better. It makes me feel better knowing, finally, some of the interior is coming together!
Me too!! Love the pictures and progress!!😊
I love that you were able to reuse original door trim for the new bathroom closet. I hadn’t even thought of that until I saw it here.
Well done! It’s going to be spectacular when completed. Are you going to put a door on the shower? Because with that low shower pan, a curtain could allow leakage onto the floor. I learned this the hard way in my own remodel. I’m just wondering… when I see that gap between the shower and that window wall, the first thing that comes to mind is cringy spiders. In my area, that spot would be inhabited by black widows overnight. Lastly, the new *linen* closet–did you not stain and finish the beadboard before you put it in? It would have been so much easier than getting inside that small space to do it. Unless it’s not fastened down yet and you still have time.
Coming together beautifully! Can you remind me how the dumbwaiter and laundry chute are oriented relative to this room? Are they behind the vanity wall? Any plans for the chute to be accessible from the bathroom?
Colin (pdx)
Hello new bathroom! Always nice to have one in the same floor as the bedroom. Quick progress, Ross! Well done!
Love to see the progress and “what was, what is and what is planned!”
Marvelous work!
I like that Ross has a plan, but is not wedded to that plan and lets things evolve naturally. I need to take this to heart in my own remodeling project. I feel like I need to have everything figured out before I start, but I can’t think that far ahead — and it stops me from starting at all. I need to get over that and get going on some stuff around here and let it just change, evolve, and happen.
Pleasure to meet the bathroom. You must be so excited! 🙂
Looks great, can’t wait to see the finished room.
It is already looking great! When you are on a roll, I have to hold myself back from a barrage of questions – are you stripping the wood trim, or other such info – I am always excited to see how it turns out, but one thing I don’t question is that it will look wonderful. I am not sure how I would like having the big window behind me when using the toilet; even if it is covered with blinds or curtains, it might take some getting used to LOL…
I am LOVING that arch – and the throne in the room gives you the perfect place to sit and contemplate that beautiful architectural detail! Great progress!
Looks like a good layout, both practical and sensitive to the original room. Added bathrooms in old houses are often awkward, but this flows very naturally. Nice work!
Very nice! You and the guys do such wonderful work. 🙂
FYI I watched this video of a reno of a former hoarder house, filmed by Alex Archbold who runs an antique store in Edmonton, Alberta. You’ll see why I watched it and thought of you. 🙂