Summer is for Remodeling: Part 1 (KNITSONYA)

Victorian flats are odd birds. Scratch that. Victorian plumbing is the real oddity. Visit enough people's homes in San Francisco and you might notice the singularly unifying fact of weird bathroom placement. We had a friend whose bathroom was off the kitchen. Toilets and bathrooms might be split with the former being an add-on to the back of the house. This was the prim Victorian era remember, that type of thing was just not done, or at least not talked about. It all makes for an interesting time warp, reminding us how "modern" certain types of indoor plumbing really are.

In the Knitsonya household, there is a large bathroom (bath, toilet, sink) and the very next room, a small bathroom, half or guest bath in real estate speak. The toilet in the large bathroom was a previous owner's after-market addition, but the original idea was a bathroom and a toilet - separate rooms for separate business.

Following our continuing DIY, remodel-by-installment ethos, we decided to bite off a more manageable chunk and redo the smaller of the two. Here is an in-progress before shot

There was only a small amount of tile that needed prising off, but add to that the three layers of assorted vinyl tile and sheeting and the very securely nailed down masonite underlay. And that's just the prep work. The list continues with a new coat of paint for the the walls and woodwork. Tiling the floor. Adding a baseboard. We had the toilet installed, but Mr. Knitsonya put on his plumbing hat and hooked up the sink. Any of you Ikea aficionados out there might recognize the medicine cabinet and sink as the Swedish brand that took over the world. The new tile backsplash is from the Heath seconds room. Pretty, pretty.

I just sealed the grout yesterday and all it needs is a towel rack and the threshold nailed back and we can call it - finally - done. That fabulous creation on the wall is by Danny Mansmith. You can purchase your own lovely things here.

I'll get to the bedrooms next week.

Comments (12)

kimchi:

DUDE!!!
it looks AWESOME!!!
congratulations!
very impressive...
i'm looking forward to your knitoneone class in nov. (handknit stuffies)...
:o)ek.

Posted by kimchi | September 6, 2007 3:51 PM

Posted on September 6, 2007 15:51

sulu-design:

After I saw your comment on Bitter Berry's blog, i rushed over here to check out what you've been up to in your place. What a fabulous transformation! I love that Heath tile, and the color in there is one of my favorites.
Before we were married, Barry lived in an apartment in Queens - a small apartment - that had one room with a toilet in it and a separate room with a bath and shower. I'd never seen that before. Those silly Victorians!

Posted by sulu-design | September 6, 2007 5:21 PM

Posted on September 6, 2007 17:21

helen (of troy):

is that one of the new Ikea color glass fixtures above the wall cabinet?

i bought one.. but it didn't work in my bath room, and i end up with something very similar to your original fixture..
my bath room (my only bath room) has no windows, and the ikea fixture was too dark for my taste.

can we see the light fixture head on (from the doorway say? or a link to it in the catalog?
The tiles are beautiful~ and the finished room looks quite elegant too!great job.

Posted by helen (of troy) | September 6, 2007 5:31 PM

Posted on September 6, 2007 17:31

claire:

holy crap, cool bathroom!

I am all for a meet-up (spend-up? cuz there will be shopping/eating involved, no doubt!) I'll email you!

Posted by claire | September 6, 2007 6:49 PM

Posted on September 6, 2007 18:49

gena:

I recognized that Heath immediately. Great job on the entire design. Making me jealous you are.

Posted by gena | September 6, 2007 10:13 PM

Posted on September 6, 2007 22:13

Shula: