At the time I was used to my palatial bathroom in Seattle, but after living with this bathroom for a while it isn't quite as bad as I made it out to be.
When I first moved in, the bathroom window had a blind on it similar to this one (this is the window in the guest bedroom, featured in one of the many subtly artistic photos Jeff took of the house).
You better believe I ripped that blind out (I tried to get it off reasonably first, I swear...) at the first opportunity. Then, I threw it on the ground. And I stamped on it forcefully. And threw it away. Gross.
The next major hurdle has yet to be overcome. Carpet in the bathroom is just wrong (an opinion I voiced, quite passionately, to one of Jeff's coworkers and his wife, only to be informed that they have carpet in all their bathrooms BY CHOICE thank you very much. We won't be having drinks with them ever again.) I see carpet in the bathroom and all I can think of is mildew carpet. And germs (but I'm always thinking about that). How do you expect me to sit in that damn tub and wash my hair with a shower head that looks like an old telephone without getting a single drop of water outside the tub?! It is agonizing. You drop any sort of liquid on carpet and where does it go?? It just soaks in! I want a bathroom in which I can scrub and bleach every surface to within an inch of its life. Can you believe we used to have this gross beige carpet covering every floor in the house except for a strip of faux-rustic tile in the kitchen area?
What really annoys me is that there actually used to be a shower in this bathroom, but the previous owner removed it so she could put this ridiculous tub in. Mainly, I think she is an idiot. Supposedly, she renovates houses for a living, which is an absolute joke. Slapping down cheap beige carpet, installing floral draperies and a bathtub, and leaving a bunch of tacky garden sculpture in the yard is not renovating.
Fortunately, I've tracked down a bathrooms specialist in the area and we are going to remodel this bad boy. The tub and the telephone are going to be the first to go. I think Jeff might actually miss the tub though. He has "breakfast in tub" every morning before work. Did you know he was so decadent?? Ooh la la. I'm not enjoying it quite so much. Baths are supposed to be relaxing and taken by choice. I used to really want a bathtub, but it is no fun when you are forced to take a bath. There's no "taking a quick bath" or "jumping in the bath". It WILL take a long time, and you WILL be cold and uncomfortable if you try to rush it. Since I can't say "I'm going to take a shower" to Jeff without him saying "but Lauren, we don't have a shower" and I resent saying "I'm going to take a bath", I stick to saying "I'm going to wash myself". And I will absolutely not enjoy it.
The good thing about the bathroom is that the toilet and the sink are white and relatively inoffensive so they can stay. We are going to be moving in a few years so there is no reason to go overboard. The wall mounted cup holder and soap dish are definitely going. I prefer hooks to hand towel rings and towel bars so they are going, too. The walls are going to be floor to ceiling white subway tile and the floor will be small white square tiles. I've already bought a new sink tap (on eBay -and it was a steal!).
Sink taps are fun. Maybe it is backlash against the current bathroom sea of beige, but I thought the new bathroom could use a little style injection. Since the bathroom is so small, however, it could easily turn into a chrome explosion if I'm not careful.
I'm thinking of using ceramic hooks like these (from Home Depot - I can't seem to find anything similar in the UK, but I like them enough that I wouldn't mind picking up a few of them when I'm in the states in March) :
This toilet roll holder (from www.manufactum.co.uk):
I've come to the conclusion that I hate most bathroom light fixtures. Why are they all so tacky?? This one is simple, fits in with the porcelain/white ceramic thing I have going, and won't break the bank. The Bromolla bathroom wall lamp from Ikea:
We desperately need some storage space in there. Obviously, we have a pedestal sink so there's no under sink storage and a medicine cabinet would jut out too far over the sink. Some people are really opposed to open shelves, but I don't mind them. I think I'm going to go for three of these white ceramic shelves from Villeroy & Boch over the toilet:
This small trash can (from www.manufactum.co.uk):
We use white towels (surprise!) but I bought this bathmat from Ikea for a little zing.
I'm really excited! Meeting on Saturday to hash out the details.
