happiness is a finished bathroom

well, it's one step closer to happiness. february may have been a bear of a month, with everyone in our entire, extended family getting fantastically sick, but at least one major thing was accomplished - the end of our bathroom renovation. as with the vast majority of "quick" renovations, this one was much longer and more costly than we'd ever imagined, especially since we didn't do it ourselves this time around. because it's our only bathroom, we decamped to d's parents' house for several weeks (but not before spending three fun-filled days and exciting nights camping out in a house with no bathroom right before Thanksgiving) while our contractor hurried to get the room in some kind of working order before Christmas and the arrival of houseguests.

when i look at the before and after, i sometimes wonder what all the fuss was about, as they aren't dramatically different - if you exclude the peeling plaster, bulging moisture-ridden walls, cracked tile, exposed lathing, and jury-rigged garden-spigot-as-shower of the original 1925 bathroom:

but oh, i loved that deep wonderful cast iron tub

after living with this arrangement on and off for 30 years, it was time for a change. we basically kept the period style (read: subway tile and mosaic floors) with a few marine-inspired touches, like shiplap-style wainscotting and a salvaged overhead light. we also incorporated storage where ever we could, which sadly meant doing away with the pedestal sink. we have very few, very small closets, so anywhere we can add storage, we do.

the vanity pendants hang at the same height, 

even if that doesn't appear to be the case

our contractor, d's cousin, custom built 

and finished the shelving

trim tile from ebay

home depot marble 12X12 tile

cut down to 6X12 subways

light fixture salvaged from second chance

while the budget for this bathroom was necessarily higher than that for our portland bathrooms because we had to hire a contractor, we tried to keep costs in check by bargain shopping. yes, this meant lots of made-in-china, big box purchases. sigh. home depot and ikea have me in their pockets.

rainshower head not shown, because nobody
needs to see our heinous shampoo caddy

home depot mosaic and subway tile.
stock - who knew?

h checking out the craftmanship

now, on to a DIY update of our 1960s kitchen, on a $1500 budget. this should be interesting...