A Close Call in the Can

Everything about David's bathroom is a tight fit! We replaced the bulky claw foot bathtub with a Victorian style pedestal sink. Tammy's brother rerouted the plumbing to the left to supply water to a corner shower, which was a tight squeeze. The shower covered up the ceiling light switch plate, so Steve found a very small ceiling light with a switch built into the fixture. Even Tammy—at 64 inches tall—can reach the switch because the ceiling is so low. The light ended up with about an eighth of an inch clearance from the shower door (pictured left). Did we mention Steve is an engineer? We kept the toilet in its original spot, but replaced it with an Heirloom low-consumption model manufactured by Steve's company. About the only thing we kept from the original bathroom was a compact medicine cabinet.

Tammy, who is no interior decorator, put some careful thought behind the look of David's bathroom. Because it was so small, she kept the window to create a feeling of space and selected white and very light airy materials. The pedestal sink and corner shower allowed much more floor space. She thought contemporary fixtures made sense in a small space because the Victorian ornate details can be fussy and claustrophobic. Steve picked a contemporary mosaic tile that made the bathroom look smart. Tammy's brother mixed leftover powder blue paint originally used by the previous owner in David's bedroom with the Lowes' American Tradition blanched pine to give the ceiling an ethereal feeling. The faucets made by Steve's company harken back to the Victorian era. We chose only modern brushed steel hardware for this bathroom from the Brentwood collection with a satin nickel finish at Lamps Plus: towel holder, towel bar, bathrobe door hook, and toilet paper holder. Tammy's brother installed a shower from a kit we ordered from our local hardware store: a 38" by 38" by 77" Atlantic NEO-angle shower with white trim and three shelves and a towel bar into the corner. This shower adds a great deal of floor space and makes the bathroom feel larger than it really is.

Below are before (to the left) and after (to the right) shots for comparison. The bathroom is so small it is impossible to get a full shot of the shower, but you can see the model by clicking this link.