Here is the next room in my house that we have finished renovating.....
This is my bathroom as it is now. When we moved in to the house it was in a terrible state and although the interior was horrendous (take a look back at my kitchen pictures before it was done) I think the bathroom had to be the worst room. If you dont believe me take a look.....
It was the most depressing room ever. Just look at the polystyrene tile ceiling and the 1970's wood effect panelling. The previous owner didnt even leave us a light bulb. Mr K had to go and buy a new toilet seat straightaway as I refused to use the loo until I had a clean seat! The walls are so thick that the outlet pipe ran along the back of the bath facing inwards back into the bath incase it overflowed. I spent 6 months watching that pipe panicking every time I took a bath incase something nasty flowed in. It was like playing russian roulette!!!.....
And it got worse when we started to pull it apart. The previous owners parents had died and the house had more or less been empty for years. When we started to pull the old bath out Mr K took the panel off and and pulled a manky old womens coat out. Well..... as soon as I saw that I thought 'Oh my god' the son has murdered his mother and the body has been dumped behind the bath panel, I was expecting a skull to come rolling out at any minute, Mr K thought that was hilarious!! Thankfully it was just a coat, but why on earth was it there? Anyway to get the roll top bath in we had to move the wall a foot to the left so we were without a bath for about a week while the wall came down. Mr K then boarded the floor so we could move the new bath we had stored in the room next door straight in then Mr K and his dad rebuilt the wall then we had to wait ages for the plasterer to come and skim the walls.....
It was very hard work. Mr K fitted the whole bathroom and I was his apprentice. I had to keep lifting the bath while Mr K was plumbing underneath, my back was killing me. Mr K tiled the floor and tiled the walls, something he had never done before and he made a lovely job of it. He also did the spotlights, infact he rewired the whole house. Having a husband who is handy around the house has been a godsend. The cost of labour is what usually breaks the budget and living out in the country now we have found it difficult to find people to come out who will give us an estimate, so apart from the builder who opened up the two fireplaces, did the damp proof course and sprayed the whole house for woodworm, me and Mr Kitten have done everything ourselves while working full time, so it was a slow process and we were constantly covered in dust for the first 18 months.....
Ooh the excitement of real taps and no outlet pipe looking back at me!.....
The first shower we had both had in 6 months. Bliss! I cant tell you how it felt. The house was so dirty because every room was completely pulled apart so having to wash in the room how it was, was horrendous. We never felt clean so the first shower was a momentous occasion and I let Mr K go first!.....
I had the first bubble bath, its so deep its fab!.....
The next best bit was choosing the wallpaper. Mr K wasnt sure about it, so I went ahead and decorated while he was at work and when he saw it he said he liked it..... even though it is very pink!.....
Its a Julian Macdonald design.....
I really wanted a cistern on the wall but the walls are so thick the drill Mr K had wasnt long enough so we had to hire one that had a 3 foot long drill bit. Another heavy job as it is porcelain and I had to hold it up while both of us tried balancing on the ladders for Mr K to measure where the holes went. Oh but what bliss to have a CLEAN toilet.....
Im not sure if I like the blind? When we first moved here I had already decorated the whole house in my mind. I was getting so impatient that I bought the wallpaper from Laura Ashley and had the blind made in the matching material, but as I mentioned that Mr K and I were doing all of the work ourselves things took longer than expected, so 6 months down the line I had changed my mind on the wallpaper after I saw the pink wallpaper. You all know how much Laura Ashley charges for made to measure curtains etc so I had no choice but to keep it.....
Mr K and his dad made all the barn style doors throughout the house and I varnished them (I hate that job).....
I dont wear the feather boa..... honest! I like it because its pink!.....
At night I prefer to put the wall light on as it gives a nice glow rather than the spotlights which are really bright. Besides I look considerably better in subdued lighting. Just imagine if I had to be rescued by a fireman with my rubinesque frame lit up with a similiar wattage as a football stadium..... so not a good look!!!.....
Lets skim over the sink..... It wasn't the right choice but I couldnt have the victorian style sink that matched the toilet as we needed something that would cover the pipes. The one I would of liked was soooo expensive, but unless I win the lottery there is no chance of me ever getting it so I made do with this one.....
I was originally going to have white tiles but while I was in the shop I decided on the black. Mr K looked at me horrified as the bathroom is small and said "who has black tiles anyway?" I replied, "We are having black, end of discussion!" And Im so glad we did, the white would have looked wrong.....
