The Bathroom Sink: Tragedy or Comedy?

[rubyslippers]

Hello friends in cottage-land,

I would like to share a tale with you from last Monday night. Around 10:00 p.m. I decided to go to sleep. While brushing my teeth, I noticed the faucet was dribbling. So, I decided to push a little harder on the "hot water" handle of the tea-pot faucet. Well, I must have eaten my spinach because the entire thing snapped off in my hand: Aaarrgghh!

Anyway, the faucet was still dribbling, but really no more than you would want to leave it on during a freezing winter night. So, I mentioned to my husband to be careful and we agreed to "sleep on it" because of work the next day. Well, an hour our so later, I hear my husband hollering from the bathroom. He stayed up reading only to become aggravated with the faucet. Upon simply trying to tighten it a smidgen, a fountain erupted in our bathroom.

There is only a "cold water" shut-off on our bathroom sink - - who knew? So a few scalded fingers and a race to salvage hardwood floors later, along with a lost night of sleep, we chose to brush our teeth in the kitchen sink for the remainder of the week. Yesterday, I purchased a new white pedestal sink. We did all of the measuring today for ALL NEW plumbing under the sink to upgrade and make it safer.

I am now looking for the following because my bathroom is getting a MAJOR makeover next week.

I am looking for a bathroom cabinet to hang over the toilet with either glass or solid doors. I would like a vintage cottage charm. No mirrors are needed because I already have a built-in mirrored medience cabinet.

I also need to pick out a faucet. I "broke" a VERY shiny silver one; however, I am really liking the look of the oil-rubbed-bronze options. (See Lowe's or Home Depot for options.) I also like the nickel silver because it isn't quite as crazy shiny.

Then, finally, I will be spackling and painting the whole bathroom. It is eggshell-ish right now. The toilet, sink, bathtub, and cabinetry are currently all white. The ceiling and trim is also all white. The tile on the floor is cream and there is a strip of chair-rail tile that goes around the entire room that is rather ornate carved beige with some rope detailing in cream. So, as everything is neutral, the world is my oyster. The bathroom is a little small though, and it is our ONLY bathroom, so I don't want to close it in too much. The hallway leading to the bathroom has a pretty vibrant terracotta. There are blues, greens, and yellows throughout the house.

Anyway, we are now on a mission. Please wish me luck. This project wasn't really planned, but now we are off to the races. I am happy to know you will be cheering me on as we await the outcome of this drama.

Thanks!

Jenny

[Heather]

Hi Jenny:
Isn't that funny how a little broken tap can spark an entire room makeover!
Good luck and have fun!

Here's some nice bathroom eye candy too:
http://www.theletteredcottage.net/2009/06/inspiring-bathroom-photos.html

[yarborough house]

Kinda like a fridge not swinging open so gutting a whole new kitchen - ahh good times.

[Heather]

If I could only be so lucky.......

[CohenCottage]

or one dog throwing up on your hardwood floors (and etching the finish) so you decide to refinish all of the floors in the house?

[cheapdiva]

or buying a $49 pedestal sink to "just update the bath" and having to spend $900 to fix the plumbing!!!!!

or moving the washer and dryer to be able to install a second shower and thinking it will be easiest to open up the kitchen wall that is already plumbed for the sink - so move the washer to the back side of that wall - only to discover it will take $3,500 to fix the plumbing and the wall!

I think I win!!!!!! :D;):D

Seriously, good luck and let's see photos!

[rubyslippers]

Okay, the sink is OFF the wall ... rusty GUNK just flushed through the pipes ... so GROSS! Also, the stuff in our sink trap is dare I say, "solid" -- OH DISGUSTING!

I am off to Home Depot; I am also proposing the government sponsor a salvage-an-old-house plumbing revitalization program. Blech.

More from "the trenches" soon!

- - Jenny

[rubyslippers]

Attached, you will find some of the "original" pictures of my bathroom from the time of our home purchase.

[rubyslippers]

Okay, mid-remodel earlier this weekend when I started to panice. By all means, please enjoy the "redneck" old-sink on the back porch picture. You will also see the fear of, GULP, this sink has never been off the wall. You will also see the color selection taping process.

[rubyslippers]

The room has been painted Sherwin-Williams Clary Sage. I hand painted beneath the rope-tile with a lot of pain-staking love. Thanks to my husband and my Dad, the pedestal sink is installed and WORKING. I still need to strip and re-paint the medicine cabinet. I started chiping the paint off to dertimen the need to spackle. Also, please excuse the "light quality" - - I took down the shiny chrome light fixture in order to paint, so in taking these at night my light is less than fabulous. I am looking for a pretty nifty bathroom sconce right now that will look good with brushed nickel. Anyway, I am proud of my weekend-warrior activity. I still have some work, but the "heavy lifting" is out of the way. (...and yes, I have paint in my hair and under my nails as I am posting this ...)

[rubyslippers]

Okay, because I finally took some pictures today, I snapped some of the deck, the furniture, the yard ... this is the ivy we have under control - YIKES - and my next project of battling the leaves. ALL of these fell this weekend, so I'll work throughout the week to stay on top of them. Anyway, a few more pictures as fall overtakes my little porch just to give you a peek into my neck of the woods.

We are clost to finishing up year #1 in our little cottage. Thank you all for a being a part of the journey!

[vintage girl]

Love your bathroom. The color on the walls is fantastic. When we started redoing our house over 10 years ago, I got carried away when I removed the wallpaper in the bathroom. So carried away that I accidentally tore down most of the greenboard above the shower:eek: Hubs was not a happy man. We ended up replacing the shower because we had to replace all the greenboard. It is amazing how a small project can snowball into something huge. We are now talking about redoing that bathroom again, maybe next year. It seemed like we just did it yesterday, but is has been almost 7 years.

[rubyslippers]

I had to put away the paint brushes to go back to work last week. In the meantime, I splurged on a new shower curtain and removed the old "chrome" light fixture as it just doesn't work any more. So, I need to finish out the trim, change out a light-switch-plate, put in a new sconce, and some other things. (I need to try the more "quick-drying" spackle in the bathroom and set-up a couple of fans because I know where a couple of the minor mistakes are now.) My broken sink handle turned into a bathroom overhaul. I am pretty happy. I am still waiting on a couple of "staging" items to arrive via Etsy, but once everything is all set-up, I'll post the final pictures.

I didn't plan on re-doing the bathroom; however, something little broke and it mandated fixing. I decided that as a good steward of my home that it is very important to make repairs correctly and to do the job "right". It feels good to dive in and put my personal signature on the smallest room of our home. I am gaining more confidence to head toward other areas. I also believe I gained the feeling of more space and a fresher more youthful bathroom. I told one of my friends I felt like I had a "grown-up" bathroom. In ten years, I may look back and laugh (remember, 1970's & 1980's items really were stylish then) at my first major project in my first home. However, I am starting to lighten up about it a little.

As always, thanks for sharing the journey. I appreciate the comments vintage girl. Your stories/pics inspire me. It is fun to drop by here.

Bye all,

Jenny

[yarborough house]

Jenny,
I love the sink you took out but I also love the new one. It is the exact one that is in my new master bath. It used to be in the downstairs 1/2 bath.
I love what you have done..can't wait to see the light fixture you find and then the grand showing of the whole room all done up.

tammy

[annielinz]

Jenny you've done an incredible job, it looks great. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done!

[rubyslippers]

The old sink was actually pretty nice, but once we looked really closely, it actually didn't match the toilet and the tub. They are both white and it was somewhat closer to cream (bisque?) - - so, we decided to make them all match. Plus, with the old sink, all of the plumbing was visible. We had to add a hot-water shut-off in turn putting even more plumbing under the new sink. I also now have a drain that actually opens and closes - - YIPPEE!!

So, thanks for the compliments, but it feels good to hide the pipes so-to-speak. I will definitely post pictures when everything is ready. We are ready to move back in right now. We are trading out the medicine cabinet for one that hangs on the wall. We removed the one "on-stilts" so we feel like we have A LOT more room.

Thanks for the encouraging words. They keep me going. :D

[cheapdiva]

Jenny -
How could we not come along on this journey?;)
It is a darling home!

[rubyslippers]

Maria, I love the fact that you are tuned-in ... actually, it is nice to hear from all of you. I don't have a ton of friends around here that like to do this kind of stuff. So, it can get a little lonely in DIY land sometimes. I'm glad to have all of you. I do not follow a lot of blogs, but I love the links all of you post (and of course I click over to some of yours).

More pics to come when all the new fun stuff gets here (drumming fingers not so patiently) ... hee-hee.

- - Jenny

[cheapdiva]

Aw, thanks, Jenny! I really do miss all of you when I can't check in for a stretch. We have had a very busy year - especially since late spring, between my son's wedding, the "demolition" of the bath - which meant remodeling the kitchen (last of cabinets coming this Friday - woo hoo!!), two vacations (not complaining, we're lucky we can do that), husband's health issues and a job that has me busy, busy, busy - well, you all get it!

I miss doing my own blog, being able to follow my "25 favorites", finding time to see dear friends, etc. So I LOVE being able to stop by here and know you are all still here. In fact, I am going to call Ms. Memmey right now and raise heck with her!!

[memmey]

LOL ha ha ha LOL!!! Here I am:p:p:p.
Oh, my friend Jenny your home is wonderful.
MARIA!!!! call me. I have been wanting to whine and gripe and laugh.

What have all of you been doing around here?????
I NEED to reconnect with you all. I haven't had much going on but the mundane daily crap. Nothing exciting too much. The rain here is starting to hurt my feelings
.
I need to read the posts and catch up so I can start posting again.

I'mmmmm back!!!!!!;)

[CohenCottage]

wooo hoooo! glad you're back to get this party started!

[rubyslippers]

... that it took my bathroom sink overflowing to get Memmey back here!!!

I really would have painted a VERY long time ago. Maria, I'm working too much as well. So, I think we all understand projects, vacations, etc. I believe I finally found a light fixture today. (The other sconce I liked was not "supposed" to be hung in moist places - - who knew such considerations were rather imperative? Now I do.)

... see you all soon ...

[mac78]

Looks very nice, I love the tile that is there, and the color, and the sink, very nice job.

[memmey]

Okaaay...so today the weather beautiful and tommorrow it is gonna rain :mad: again! It would be nice to rake leaves BUT they are soggy and gross.
Are you all getting ready for the holidays? I am starting to get into the mood a little. Some of you remember my one and only son welll.... he moved to Austin. He LOVES it and he got a job at a bike shop but not one who sells bikes for kids or us. A bike shop for serious riders wtih lots of discertionary spending...LOL. I am all by myself here now and I want to make the holidays fun when he comes home.
Poppa is still in the nursing home hanging on, so holiday time is an adventure in logistics.
You know what makes me think of the holiday season coming? Don't laugh...apples. The smell of stewed cinnamon apples or apples with cloves or caramel apples make me start to get the little excitment going. Really I don't have a life....really.
I kinda want to start looking in cook books and making plans ( that never work out).:o
I have been wondering about all of you and what your doing. I stayed away because I didn't have much going on but what the heck maybe you want to visit even if nothing is happening around here. Where is the little stinker China? I think alot of girls here are crafty and clever, maybe I can steal some ideas and present them as my own..LOL:rolleyes:
Nice to post again and hope to reconnect with you all.....

[CohenCottage]

I love cooked apples! Our neighbor's mom makes homemade applesauce and it is the BEST when served warm with cinnamon. Glad you are back! I feel your pain with the wet leaves. It's beautiful today but was rainy yesterday so we will have to wait until things dry out. Has Chyna been around here much lately?