The year before, we had an architect draw us plans for turning our 5 bedroom/ 1 bath into a 4 bedroom/2 bath with laundry area on the second floor. As we were gutting the upstairs bedroom for the nursery, we tackled the hallway, laundry area and new bathroom as well.
The wall between both rooms came down and we asked our friendly neighbor, Jerry, to install our plumbing. Jerry gently told Gregg and I that we had to remove the ceiling below to add the plumbing. It began to sink in that this job is bigger than originally planned. We pulled up our sleeves and began pulling down the ceiling as one hundred plus years of plaster, dust, walnut shells and squirrels’ nests fell onto our living room floor.
The stress of being 5 months prego while having both floors torn apart forced me to seek solace in idea websites 😉 Some of my inspiration baths are added below.
I wanted an Italian/Mediterranean spa feeling- on a budget. As our roughed in dimensions were put together, I tracked down Gregg’s friends at Bell Stone in Chester for natural stone ideas on the cheap. After a thorough search of their warehouse, we stumbled upon a small lot of beautiful Jerusalem Gold tumbled marble tiles. Because it was the last of a larger lot, we got them for less than if they were a new shipment (stone colors vary with each shipment).
I found rustic marble sheets in their showroom and purchased just enough to incorporate a natural edge stone for the backsplash.
With the marble shopping done, I had enough room to spend a little extra for custom cabinetry. Our friend and neighbor, Tim at Flegel Woodcraft, is passionate about woodworking and brings his appreciation for fine craftsmanship to every aspect of his furniture. We are both self-proclaimed ‘design geeks’ and I had so much fun working with him. We settled on a classic mahogany style that offered a double vanity and plenty of storage. After he sent me dimensions, I started my search in local stone yards to top the vanity.
We removed the radiator and decided on radiant floor heating. You can order it online -just plug in the dimensions and the company will send it to you with installation instructions.
We had to remove the large window and replace it with a more efficient window to fit over the new vanity.
I found the vessel sinks and wall mounted fixtures on a discounted online store. The hardware was found at RH outlet store at closeout. It took a few trips to get all the hardware for the vanity because they only stock return items, but they have excellent prices.
Here is our new hall bath:
Our budget bath addition includes a tub/shower combo. This room later served as our kitchen and only bath! I will tell you more about that later! ~D
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