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Bathroom Dreaming
The other day I stumbled across a bathroom designed by Nate Berkus. I find this bathroom so peaceful and serene. I have been looking at it every day and wishing it was my bathroom.
Nate's decorating philosophy can be summed up with the tagline, "Love the Way You Live." I find that so seductive...I want to love the way I live!
Sadly, I think our tagline is more along the lines of "Bought a Very RUNDOWN House. Living In the House While Restoring It For 5+ Years. Ran Out of Patience and Money. Wonder If We Will EVER Get This House Finished?" or just the short and sweet "NOT Loving the Way I Live."
The photo doesn't do our bathroom justice. It is much worse in real life. It is hard to see the paint peeling off the plaster, the sink that still doesn't work, or the lack of a shower. Three years ago "brushing our teeth in the bath tub" still seemed funny...now, not so much.
I really hope 2008 is the year we can afford to tackle our bathroom. I am getting desperate!
Posted by heather at October 9, 2007 9:52 AM
Comments
Love the subway tile, floor, and window--you are way ahead of the game (okay, after three years, maybe "ahead" is not the best word!). But after seeing what vintage fixtures are available, and FINALLY finishing our bathrool restoration after 18 months, I say call John Armstrong to start looking at tubs, toilets, and sinks! I think your bathroom will ultimately make Nate Berkus' creation pale by comparison.
Posted by: Danny at October 9, 2007 4:58 PM
I was laughing out loud about brushing your teeth in the bathtub. What we go through for our old houses! I really think that they should be more cooperative while we try to restore them considering the consessions we make in our lives!
That bathroom is amazing, but I think I'd have to convert the master bedroom to the bathroom to do that, I mean, who has a bathroom that big? Mine's much closer to yours in both size and condition. Good luck with your continued progress!
Posted by: Nate at October 10, 2007 12:43 AM
Ooh, but the potential is there! It's a lovely space. I don't know how you've managed without a shower for so long though. It's quite a feat.
Posted by: Kristen at October 10, 2007 5:38 AM
If you added a similar (but cheaper) chandelier you'd be halfway there.
Posted by: Karen at October 11, 2007 9:28 AM
Sorry, anything with that many lights hanging over my head while sitting in a tub full of water, is not my idea of relaxing. Besides, it's just God-awful gaudy.
Hang in there folks. Five years of restoration to compensate for 90 years of steady neglect -- and to get it nearly back to the condition of day one is an amazing and laudable feat.
Posted by: Eastward at October 11, 2007 10:19 PM
I think that first bathroom is pretty. It looks tranquil and relaxing. But, I agree with Eastward about having all of those lights hanging over the tub.
Eastward also has a good point in that that you HAVE managed to accomplish a LOT in five years.
Posted by: mom at October 17, 2007 10:43 AM
We have been working on our house since july of 2001 and still haven't finished. It's cost a lot and we haven't even been as true to the original as you. Have tried hard to compromise between restoration and renovation with an emphasis on restoration. Probably spent 70,000 so far and it's only 1300 sq ft. Oh, and pretty much done everything myself, except for central a/c, and driveway. But, hey I think I could build my own house at this point. Sometimes I've had to do those things that make us feel better about the house and our progress and life in general(because as you know a lot of projects take a long time with little visible change). Bathroom would be a huge psychological bonus for you.
Plus, your work and website is a big motivator to a lot of us in our own struggles to restore years of neglect.
Posted by: Scott at October 23, 2007 8:59 AM
Your bathroom is beautiful compared to ours...however, we do have running water in our sink and have geri-rigged a shower, which I highly recommend. On the night after we moved into our 1913 bungalow about 1 1/2 years ago (it's a fixer to say the least) in Portland, we went to the store, bought a metal pipe and a $3 shower head, staple gunned some shower curtains over our window and plaster and screwed the pipe into the top of the faucet....vau-la! You have a shower. Now we never guessed we would still be living like this, but yes, we too, seem to never have enough time or money. We'll get there....and then really love the way we live.
Posted by: Laura at January 31, 2008 9:11 AM
I just stumbled on this post and had to chime in to say that I feel your pain.
My last house was a fixer downer, if you catch my drift, and I usually had to wash my dishes in the clothes washing machine since that was the only water source in the house. I'd use water from the washing machine for washing myself, brushing my teeth, cooking, etc. Drinking water was hauled from a mountain spring about ten miles from my house. I grinned through it all; I mean, I had a working washing machine!
Ah, the fond memories.
Good luck with your house!
Posted by: Raven at February 3, 2008 3:08 PM
The bathroom was the first thing I tackled when I moved into my new (oldish)house - I simply could not live with a grey and yellow bathroom, 1970 metal and formica shower, no bath, and the laundry tub and washing machine in the bathroom. I re-did the whole thing on the cheap (thanks to Dad the builder) in white white white, and had my heart set on the pretty black chandelier I brought hanging in the corner. Alas, low ceiling space meant wiring it in would be prohibitively expensive on my tight budget......it was not to be. Hmmm......maybe at the next house?
Posted by: Emma at March 13, 2008 1:30 PM