The bathroom remodeling has begun.
The original bathroom had lovely salmon floor tiles. The walls were covered to a height of 48 inches with cute white 4×4 tiles with delicate little blue and pink flowers. A built-in Medicine cabinet with fluorescent tube lights helped to illuminate the brilliant sunflower-yellow sink and tiny white toilet. The cabinet on which the sink set was shiny white with small applied filigree baroque carvings enameled with gold paint. The handles were little lacy brass pulls. Above the tile, elegant white wall paper with blue and white pinstripes and little blue and pink flowers graced the walls. A graceful lime green vine connected the flowers bunching them into little bouquets of sheer delight which somehow seemed to complement the colonial blue painted woodwork.
All of this wonderment and charm of the previous owner was jammed into a small 3 feet by 9 feet space of a rustic and rugged log lodge setting. Lovely.
To keep myself from vomiting something had to be done quickly even if it was only a temporary fix. The images here show only the temporary fix.
The temporary fix was mostly cosmetic. Get rid of the wall paper, wall tiles, sink and so on. This works for the time being.
Another and more daunting task however, is at hand. The shower.
At some point in the past a small portal had been cut through the logs at one end of the bathroom creating a narrow doorway only 18 inches wide. The doorway lead to a small space with a shower stall.
Let me explain the space. The shower stall, a small putty-colored 1970′s fiberglass unit was wedged into what had been a bathroom when the veranda tavern was in full swing (see the history of Bearfort Lodge for details). The tavern’s bathroom, long since been stripped of the urinal, toilet and sink, was a 6′ x 6′ space that was divided in half with press board paneling. The half nearest the narrow door was fitted with the shower stall serving the existing bathroom while the remaining half served as a closet/storage area for the veranda.
Heat for the shower area was supplied by a small electric wall heater and a bare light bulb illuminated the space.
The task at hand is to rip out the existing shower, tear down the press board paneling dividers and reclaim the entire space and make way for a very unique and rustic shower area befitting for a log lodge.
The plans? In the upcoming posts on this series I will be sharing with you the conceptual sketches, a scale model of the entire bathroom and shower space as well as the process of the transformation.
This will most certainly be an exciting venture. 
Stay tuned as next I’ll be working on the new bath plan and build a model.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I love the log cabin feel of your bathroom!!
Hello,
I love the cabin! I have a question about the ‘Remodeling Bathroom’ article with your ‘temporary’ fix – what colors/effects did you use? Looks like a rust colored paint with a faux/distressed look, please let me know what you did, I like how the color looks alongside the log. Funny enough, I live in a butt and pass log cabin on Bearfort Road in New Jersey!
Thanks!
Hello Doug –
Thanks! I first used a texture paint and literally slapped it on the walls by hand and then patted the wet paint with my hand to get a lot of raised areas. Then, using a trowel, I slightly skimmed the surface which eliminated the peaks but left a lot of texture behind. Then I did my best to match my paint color to the light areas of the wood and painted the entire wall. Once that was dry I used two other colors, matched to the medium and darker areas of the wood grain and using a rag dipped in the paint with a little glaze mixed in so as to prevent it from drying oo quickly, I ragged both on in a blotchy way so that it wasn’t too even. While the paint was still wet I used another rag to wipe it or dab it off. That left a lot of paint in the recessed areas – and just played with it a bit to get the look I wanted.
It turned out pretty well.
No kidding? Hey Neighbor!
{ 2 trackbacks }