Looking Back A Few Years
New ceiling, old woodwork, lighthouse wallpaper and a few decisions I'd probably make differently today.
Just last month I replaced the drainpipes in the bathroom, and that got me thinking about the remodel we did back in '02.
The Sink Came First
The sink was replaced as early as September of 97 (173 was purchased in August of '97).
That's a page from my old homeowner's journal, the forerunner of this blog. Anyway, the reason that was one of the very first projects was because the original bathroom sink, while a classic, was a cast iron behemoth, with chipped enamel and rust. I couldn't find a picture of the 173 original, but here's a pretty fair representation from the web:
I would have loved to had that sink re-enameled, but back then I didn't know that could even been done - and of course there was the matter of the affordability! It was, however, replaced with another pedestal sink, just to afford a sense of authenticity.
That shot was taken after replacing those drainpipes, so the grout was still wet from the leak.
The Great Bathroom Redux
Anyway, that brings us to the great bathroom redux of '02:
It started with putting in an exhaust fan and new ceiling. Instead of pulling out the old ceiling, we went over it with ferring strips and sheetrock:
Ha! The wall tiles look light blue - they're white.
Undoing a Little Old Paint
At the same time we stripped the paint off the bathroom trim. In this next picture you can see how it started out as represented by the condition of the window trim.
Unlike most of the woodwork at 173, the bathroom trim had been painted sometime in the house's past. Even back then we were becoming pretty protective of the original woodwork, so rather than simply freshening up the paint, we stripped it. Looking at it now, that may have been one of the more consequential little decisions in the whole remodel. We didn't have a grand preservation philosophy yet...we just knew we liked the old wood.
Then, new wallpaper went up. This was the original paper, I loved it, but it was really showing its age:
From that, we changed to a maritime theme (seems kinda cliche I suppose) to a wallpaper by Parkview:
And of course, we went with the lighthouse theme...
It's very hard to pick up the color, I'll have to work on my photography skills. It's actually a very gentle light blue. That was followed by replacing the old medicine cabinet and light:
I have no idea what camera I was using back then, but holy cats that's bad!
The Finished Bathroom
After all was said and done, the bathroom ended up looking like this:
Oh! There's the old Bruegger! Miss that little fella! Here's the other angle:
Since then, the shower curtain has been changed for a little less busy look:
And here's the other angle again:
More Than Twenty Years Later
Looking back at all this more than twenty years later is kind of interesting. There are certainly things I'd do differently today. The lighthouse thing was very much of its time, and I'm not sure I'd walk into a wallpaper store today and say, “Show me everything you've got with boats on it.”
But overall, I'm still pretty happy with what we did. More importantly, even back then we were already developing what would become something of a philosophy here at 173: update what needs updating, but don't automatically erase what came before.
That's why the beat-up old sink was replaced with another pedestal sink. It's why we took the time to strip the painted trim instead of simply putting another coat over it. And it's why, more than two decades later, that strange little mosaic is still right where we found it.
The bathroom isn't a museum piece. It isn't perfectly period-correct. It's just another room that has evolved along with the house, and with us.
And really, that's what these Legacy Projects are all about.
And finally, just because there are no other pictures of this that I can find, the mosaic in the shower/tub wall...
Ooo, looks like the grout needs a little cleaning there! Anyway, not sure what the idea was when the mosaic was installed, but it's a unique feature - so it stays! And that's the Bathroom redo of '02!
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FAQs
Can an old cast-iron sink be restored?
Often, yes. Vintage cast-iron sinks with damaged enamel can sometimes be professionally refinished or re-enameled, depending on their condition. Restoration can be worthwhile when the original fixture contributes to the historic character of a house.
Can you install drywall over an existing bathroom ceiling?
It can sometimes be done by installing appropriate furring or framing over the existing ceiling and attaching new drywall to it. The existing structure, moisture conditions, ceiling height and local building requirements should all be considered first.
Is a pedestal sink a good choice for an older house?
Pedestal sinks work particularly well in historic and traditional bathrooms because their proportions are similar to fixtures found in many late-19th- and early-20th-century homes. They also preserve visual floor space in smaller bathrooms.
Should original painted woodwork in an old house be stripped?
It depends on the wood, its condition, the history of the finish and whether the paint may contain lead. Removing later paint can reveal beautiful original woodwork, but old painted surfaces should be evaluated and handled using lead-safe practices.
Keywords
House 173 bathroom, 2002 bathroom remodel, old house bathroom remodel, vintage bathroom renovation, pedestal sink, historic bathroom renovation, bathroom woodwork restoration, old house woodwork, bathroom wallpaper, lighthouse bathroom, bathroom mosaic tile, Legacy Project, House 173