Powder Room…Under Construction….

Recently, I started a renovation project reconfiguring a powder room in order to add a shower. My elderly mother is no longer able to take steps and we have no facilities on the first floor for her to shower when she comes for overnight visits.

The powder room is a mere 45 square feet (5’ x 9’); fortunately a bit larger than most powder rooms, but still a tight squeeze.

First - the toilet and sink had to be moved to other areas in order to make room for the shower.

Sorry, no before pictures….this picture is after the plumber installed the plumbing for the shower and re-plumbed for the toilet and sink., both had to be moved to other walls.

I selected a white 36” x 48” Kohler cast iron shower receptor. (Pic from Kohler) I really like the weight and feel of the cast iron receptors and price wise they are comparable to installing a concrete shower pan and tile. There is no grout to clean and no future leaks or cracks to contend with.

Next up, I hired an electrician to rearrange the wiring for the light fixtures and outlets to accommodate the new configuration. We then installed tongue and groove bead board and crown moulding on the ceiling. I like the look of bead board and it was less expensive ($90) than hiring a drywall person to repair the damage from the rewiring The shower area was roughed-in and blue board was installed to replace the drywall. The vanity area is on the right and not wanting a pedestal sink I began a search for a small cabinet no more than 19” deep and 30” wide to fit the space. I was thrilled when I spotted this little cutie ‘on sale’. It is perfectly sized at 18” x 29”.

Presenting my Thrifty Treasure for the week.

I sawed off the top and took it to a marble fabricator to use as a template. Don’t cringe, she’ll be beautiful with a little paint and a new marble top.

Because the vanity top is only 18” deep it needed a tiny sink to allow room for a faucet. This proved to be a bit of a challenge, but I think (pray) this little Compass sink by Kohler is going to work..

I used bright white glazed wall tile for the shower. It’s inexpensive and offers a huge variety of specialty pieces. Perfect for detail cuts to frame out the window and seat. I worked on this tile project for two weeks. As mentioned in a previous post, I butter each piece individually, plus cutting is extremely time consuming. I painted Redguard (a waterproofing membrane) around the window as well as the shower area. The window frame will be painted the same as the trim after the tile is grouted and sealed. Any suggestions on a window treatment will be most appreciated. There is a set of steps leading to our guest rooms right outside.

This coming week I plan to grout and seal the tile, finish the trim, stain the ceiling and paint the walls and trim. I received a call yesterday and the sink (special order) has arrived. I will pick it up and take it to the marble man so he can finish the vanity top. I hope to be able to call the plumber by Thursday.

I will post my progress next week on Susan’s at BNOTP Metamorphisis Monday.

Thank you Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hostessing this weeks Metamorphisis Monday and Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for hostessing this weeks Today’s sThrifty Treasures.

Thank you Gina for hostessing Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage.

Have a wonderful week!

Nola