Friday, November 15, 2013

Prepping the Jadeite Bathroom for Holiday Guests

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Call me crazy for taking on a room redo this time of year, but Adam and I are tackling our charming vintage green bathroom just in time for Christmas!

We will be hosting my parents, brother, sister-in-law and niece for the big holiday for the first time. As a result, I want to get the cutest bathroom in our house functional (it's the only bathroom in our house that isn't!). The bones of the space are really special.

While the 'befores' leave plenty of room for improvement, let's talk about my plans for the 'after'.

First, let me say that this bathroom will no longer be called 'green'; it shall henceforth be called the 'jadeite bathroom', a name worthy of its vintage charm. The original 1950's porcelain fixtures are in pristine shape as is the black and white octagonal floor tile.
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There is one large window in the room, which floods the space with light from our backyard. Speaking of light, a pair of original pierced chrome sconces flank the medicine cabinet. You can't replicate charm like that!
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Since I first shared this room in our house tour in March, I peeled away wallpaper on the walls and ceilings during a particular motivated evening. It was a breeze to remove!
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The first step for us is to repair the toilet. Thankfully, Adam's uncle is a master plumber and he assured us it will be an easy fix. Hooray!
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(all via Meet Me in Philadelphia)
That means we can move forward with our plans to spruce up the vintage bathroom just in time for our special holiday guests.
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I want to play up the existing black, white and jadeite color scheme, so the bathroom will get a much-needed bright coat of white paint. We need to swap out a crummy shower head, replace a fluorescent ceiling light and a decrepit toilet seat. I'll add a glass-and-chrome shelf to coordinate with the original chrome fixtures, too.

Oh, and there will definitely be some ribbon accents added to an affordable white shower curtain and towels for a custom look. I also picked up antique pieces here and there that will put this space over the top. I can't wait to share the final results in a few weeks!

How would you spruce up a vintage bathroom like ours? Any advice on cleaning vintage wall and floor tile? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the simple direction we're taking!

In keep with my month of thankfulness, today I'm thankful for:
Preserved, vintage elements in our home (like this bathroom). Sure, they're just things, but the fixtures and tile suggest design that was built to last and remind us that people lived and loved our house before we were lucky enough to. 

26 comments:

  1. What a fun space!!! All the black and white accent that could go in there.. cool!

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  2. This is going to look so cute! Sometimes you need a critical time crunch to get projects like this done. And how fun that you guys are hosting everyone for Christmas!!!

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    1. I never thought I was someone that needed a deadline to get me motivated, but I keep telling myself I need to keep moving to get everything done by Christmas!

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  3. You guys are brave...remodeling and holiday shopping???? Good luck.

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  4. Thank you for working with what you've got (which is AMAZING), instead of gutting it and losing all that character. It breaks my heart to see people get rid of such beautiful details just because it's not "current." This should be an easy project and well worth the extra touches!

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    1. Thanks for the support, Sam! I'm glad you agree that the bones of the bathroom are worth saving...it was one of the rooms that sold us on our house when we toured it for the first time.

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  5. Absolutely darling bath and plans!!

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  6. Looking forward to seeing you work your magic. Hopefully I will find inspiration for my vintage baths!

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  7. I love it already and it is going to look sooo good. I'm impressed the wallpaper was a breeze to get rid of. One question, are you still considering that wallpaper you once discussed or was that for a different space? It all will look gorgeous

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    1. Good memory...the wallpaper is (eventually) going into the half bath off of our den. This bathroom had wallpaper in it and we'll probably hang some wallpaper eventually but I couldn't decide what I wanted to use here...so I'll wait til I'm definite.

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  8. I'm so glad you are keeping everything and working with the beauty you inherited. Where did you find that amazing jadeite trim? I'm so excited to see this one come together girlfriend!

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    1. I found the trim (I think its about 3 yards worth) at an antique mall in Massachusetts over the summer for $10! Don't tell my husband, but it's kind of the reason I prioritized this bathroom over the others. Is that terrible?

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  9. I joke that my husband and I are in the midst of our annual end of year push to complete (or start!) projects in time to host Christmas :) I love your plans for such a sweet bathroom! Do you follow Eddie Ross on instagram? He had the same shower tile (though not in as good condition from what I gather) and salvaged as much of the tile as he could. Then he purchased white tiles the same size and retiled the shower in bands of green and white. It's a really lovely effect. You should check it out if you haven't seen it! So glad you're keeping yours. It really is beautiful.

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    1. I DO follow Eddie Ross on Instagram and saw his bathroom transformation! I love his idea of adding astripe of white tile to break up the existing green tiles. That Eddie Ross is so clever!

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  10. You are so smart to keep this all. It is mint condition beautiful! I love those chrome faucets. A few years ago at a DC Design House a designer pulled those exact ones out and replaced them w/terribly boring facets with no charm.
    If it ends up that the toilet can't be fixed, it won't be too expensive to replace it w/a low flush one.

    Is this the bathroom that had the wallpaper w/the showering funny people? If you saved a scrap of that it would be cute in a black frame.

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    1. Good memory, Michele! It is the same bathroom! When I removed the wallpaper, it came down in perfect, untorn sheets so I kept a few to (eventually) frame as a nod to its original state.

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  11. My bathroom looks exactly the same, except I have pink tile! I am wishing mine was this color now, is much prettier then my faded and cracked pink for sure!

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  12. I don't think I could love your bathroom anymore than I already do. Wait. I take that back. Once you finish putting your Ashley touches on the place, THEN I will love it more. Have you bought your white waffle weave shower curtain yet? I have one I'm getting rid of. It sits too close to our new sink and is going to get filthy with my splishy-splashy children.

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  13. Lovely! I'm so glad you're going to preserve as much of this room as possible.

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  14. what a fantastic room already! all of your ideas for it look even better! also loving (& jealous) of the wonderful natural light in there. good luck!

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  15. Gnarly! You should totally push this, no matter what it takes. We all need a little bit of audaciousness to get the design and architectural solutions that we want. What I can advice, though, is to limit the DIY and try to get as many learned and skilled design people into this as you can, and for them to piece their ideas together hands on, and on location. :)

    Lida @ Waddle Exteriors

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  16. Hello! My name is Katie and I keep a blog called "In the Midst" (kboehnlein.wordpress.com). I will be posting a story that I wrote that includes description of ceramic green tiles in a bathroom. Would I be able to use your image of the door opening into your green bathroom? If so, would you be able to send it to me over email? The one that's posted on here is paired with another photograph. My email is kboehnlein1@gmail.com. thanks so much!

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