Taking The Bathroom Down To The Studs

I've been distracted with working on week 1 and week 2 of the One Room Challenge (this week's update coming Thursday!) so I've left you hanging since first introducing you to the bathroom remodel. Sorry! But, we're back and headed into demo.

As a refresher, here's what the bathroom looked like.

The Gold Hive Bathroom Before
The Gold Hive Bathroom Before

Since most everything was leaking, rusting, failing, sinking, or otherwise not super pretty, nearly all had to go. But as an old home lover, original features don't get ripped out that easily. Only a few elements had been there for a century. The original medicine cabinet would need patching and cleaning, but it could get freshened up to be a real stunner. The hardwoods were original but were rotten beyond repair rotten and couldn't be salvaged. The bathroom door and trim were original and would definitely stay. So, those keepers would get saved, but  the rest of the bathroom would go.

The Gold Hive Bathroom Before
The Gold Hive Bathroom Before
The Gold Hive Bathroom Before
The Gold Hive Bathroom Before

That tubular thing in the crawlspace is our HVAC, but it reminds me of the dragon in The NeverEnding Story.

The Gold Hive Bathroom Remodel

Isn't a wall of exposed lath so pretty? It's like my very own Agnes Martin installation.

It isn't uncommon during remodels to demo only select parts of the room. You don't always need to pull all the drywall down and demo into the attic and crawlspace like we did. Yet, demo only happens once, so it's the only chance to expose everything and repair anything. With evidence of bigger problems, and knowing the plumbing has been there for a century, we didn't hesitate to take everything out to start from scratch.

A contractor that I interviewed to do the project proposed putting the new floor tile directly on top of the existing hardwood. Let me count the ways that it was not a good option. 1. Adding tile on top of existing flooring would leave a perfect place to stub my toe walking into the bathroom with the floor an inch higher than the hallway. 2. The hardwoods and the subfloor were visibly rotting, so adding a new floor atop certainly wouldn't resolve that issue. 3. The plumbing would have never been revealed to see how corroded it was.

The Gold Hive Bathroom Before
The Gold Hive Bathroom Before

Yum.

Thank goodness we didn't heed the advice of that contractor because those 100-year-old pipes were at the end of their life. We also found that the vent pipe had a big crack down the back of it.

The Gold Hive Bathroom Before

Also, inside of the exterior wall, we found a beehive. A hive! 

The Gold Hive Bathroom Find

I suspect that the bees found a hole in the exterior wall and started to build their home, only to get locked out when someone noticed the buzzing and sealed their entrance. I saved the honeycomb but have yet to find a use for it. Any ideas?

Even though we spent a bit more time gutting the whole room, we've gained so much peace of mind having fresh materials. I realize most renovators know that the advice to layer new material on top of failing material isn't the smartest move, but if you ever had any doubt, let this be a lesson. You just might find a beehive!

For more bathroom progress, click the link below, and then subscribe for more - I’ll be adding a new bathroom in 2019!

One Room Challenge Week 1 - A Moody Makeover

I'm currently digging moody colors. Deep blues, forest greens, and dark grays are all I'm pinning as of late. I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was contemplating painting my kitchen cabinets (again!) to give them a deeper hue. Since it's not the best use of my time, I've directed my color affection to another space. Luckily, the One Room Challenge is starting at the perfect time to scratch the moody color itch! Scroll through to see the room I'll be transforming over the next six weeks.

If you found me through ORC, welcome! I'm Ashley and for the past two years I've been restoring a craftsman bungalow in San Diego, CA. Learn a touch more about me here, and preview the before-and-after room transformations here.

Without further ado, here is the inspiration.

See where I'm going? What I particularly love about these spaces is how they play with dark on dark tones. Studio McGee's emerald couch against the navy walls and Julia's black sofa on the deep green are what moody dreams are made of.

So which space will earn its dark makeover? The family room/den/media room. What is a good name to call a space that we pretty much use only to fold laundry and watch TV in? The internet tells me that an alternate to the word "den" is "snug." I kinda like it. Please weigh in.

This room has received little to no love over the past two years. 100% of the furniture pieces were brought from our rental, so I've grown tired of them. The paint color is a reject color that I bought for our master but didn't like once painted on all of the walls. (lesson learned: paint BIG swatches before you buy a gallon of paint). Also, the trim never got its final coat of paint. 

The Gold Hive One Room Challenge Week 1
The Gold Hive One Room Challenge Week 1

The room is fine, but it could become the dark hued space of my dreams. I'm looking forward to spending the next six weeks transforming it. I hope you'll stay tuned and check out the featured and guest bloggers participating in the spring 2017 season of the One Room Challenge!

One Room Challenge Mood Board - The Gold Hive

Sources: couch / rug (one of a kind) / lamp / pillow / chair (existing) / chair fabric / credenza (vintage) / painting

If you're here because of the One Room Challenge, I hope you'll subscribe to the blog to get future blog posts in your email! Be sure to follow along on Instagram, too!

One Room Challenge progress:
Week 1 - the before, the inspiration, and the plan
Week 2 - paint, paint, paint
Week 3 - how to install picture rail molding
Week 4 - sourcing the artwork
Week 5 - refreshing a chair
Week 6 - the reveal!