Spark

Before: 1950′s Black and White Tile Scheme

For many of my bathroom renovations clients (myself included), new year = new home project.  With optimism high, we make lists and obsess over plans to remodel, refresh or reorganize our homes especially when it comes to bathroom renovations. For me, this enthusiasm translates to a long awaited bathroom remodeling service. We are talking “down to the studs”, with remodeling contractors here everyday. Eventually we found one that was up to the task so we asked them to come over and take a look.

This is real life renovating with the help of a TrustDALE approved handyman in an old house that is bound to be full of surprises, thanks to kansas city bathroom remodel experts in interior design. I’m going to share the whole process from start to finish, for better or worse. Sympathizers and curious onlookers are welcome to join in!

The sink vanity is only 18″ deep and too close to the doorway.

Unique 1920′s corner bathtub

Before: My home was built in 1926, but we think the current version of this bathroom is a 50′s update. Even though the black and white color scheme is still chic, the layout is inefficient, you can tell it needs a renovation. There are broken and cracked tiles, leaky plumbing and damaged woodwork. After sixty years, it’s just time for a makeover. 

You should replace your dark, dull furniture for items that give off a springtime vibe. Visit afulltable.com to find the best catalog of furniture and choose the ones that match your property aesthetic.

For example, light colored wicker chairs are a good option, while also adding resin which is Squid Clear Fast could be a good option to make the chairs look better. We also added wire shelving units, which gave us a lot of extra room to put things and decorate. I like remodeling, something about going into a room you’ve seen a million times before, but now it’s like new. These new additions make all the difference.

Although most of the bathroom has to be demolished, we are being careful to save what we can. According to Antique Home Style, the unusual shape of our cast iron bathtub was considered very modern when it was introduced in the 1920′s : “The old-fashioned clawfoot tub, available as an economical solution, was replaced in period advertising if not in fact by new tub configurations including a corner style, a single-sided unit to be placed in a recessed enclosure, or set into a deck with a tiled surround. “ We won’t be able to use the bathtub in this room, but we might find a place for is somewhere else and plan to use frameless shower doors.

1920′s bathroom illustration with corner bathtub via 1912Bungalow.com

We also wanted to preserve the original built-in medicine cabinet and linen closet, which was another typical feature in 1920′s bathrooms. The challenge would be designing a new layout that would allow for maintaining these features, as well as adding a few improvements like these lovely shower doors. The plumbing would have to be moved, which always adds to the cost especially if the plumbing is bad. Always make sure to check the plumbing for the bathrooms, no matter when you buy a house and doing any renovations this is a must do if you want to renovate properly. The bathroom has a lot of pipes and The bathtub drain is especially sensitive, so do your due diligence! With the help of an architect friend and after many sketches, we finally came up with a plan that included everything I wanted for a vintage bathroom in a modern age with a water line installation. If you find the job to get to be getting too big to do alone and Need Heroic Plumbing Services in the Kansas City area? Call LBA!

The original linen closet will stay in place after a coat of paint made by the Signature Painters in Brisbane

What are your big plans for home improvement in 2012?

Even if you don’t have a vintage inspired bath remodel on your project list, let me know! As for myself, there is still a lot of home improvement work to be done.. I’ve read up on what it can do to you and frankly, I don’t want to risk doing it myself. Thankfully there’s plenty of professionals out there that can take care of this for you safely. Once that is done working on the rest of the house will be safe, and you can look forward to more blog entries of our work in progress. Hope we see you there!

We hope you were inspired by our bathroom renovation post! Our friends at Dura Stor Structures hope that you will find the inspiration to renovate your old shed as well! They have the best storage sheds Vidalia GA!

If Kathryn Ireland has color, Jeffrey Alan Marks has flair. Another designer featured on Bravo’s Million Dollar Decorators, Marks says that he tries to add an element of surprise to every room. After seeing his master bedroom with the vintage Abercrombie & Fitch rowboat suspended from the ceiling, I was hooked. Expecting more “unexpected” details, [...]

Golf is a great way to get business contacts and a good source of cash. It may not be the best way to spend the rest of your time, but it sure beats being at home and being lonely. There are a few factors you should consider before picking a golf course to play, before [...]

Spring has sprung and so has the famous Round Top Antique Fair! Go ahead and plan to take a day off next week to truck on down to Round Top for some treasure hunting and pie sampling. The event begins Wednesday March 30 and continues through Saturday April 2 (open 9-5). Look for everything from [...]

  Matching is for Garanimals. When it comes to dining room tables and chairs, not matching is so much more interesting. Although it might take some thought to create just the right mix, using random chairs has its benefits. You can collect them over time and you can often find one off chairs at great prices, new [...]

Going to Chicago? Is so, plan for dinner or an overnight stay at the Longman & Eagle tavern in Logan’s Square. My sister introduced me to the restaurant on my last visit and I was wowed by the modern , warm and well, collected design. Maybe I’m a little biased .  . . my brother-in-law’s [...]

  In yesterday’s Q & A post on hooking some wall storage, I promised to provide resources and suggestions for not-so-ordinary wall hooks. Better late than never, I am finally delivering on that promise after some technical difficulties and distractions today. This is the kind of thing that I could research for hours, which I did, because I obsess over [...]

Tis’ the weekend to start decorating for Christmas if you haven’t already done so, like me. Really, I’m in shock that it’s only three weeks until the big day. So far I have three pine trees, 150 feet of evergreen garland, four boxes of decorations and a partridge in a pear tree. Scratch that. But [...]