We have been busy doing some not so glamorous or photogenic work in the last week. We have been trying to get the third floor cleared out enough that we can it insulated shortly. I wasn’t in such a hurry but my spray foam insulation guy has some openings in the next few weeks, and I don’t want to not take advantage of that. Mr. S. even spent a good portion of Sunday up there going through stuff and purging. The last step will be giving up my garage space in the coming days to store some of vast piles of stuff while the work is done. I also need to move some of the potential Craigslist items out there. Anyone in need of some old ikea furniture? hahaha…
So while I hurt my back, I thought I would show you some of my inspirations for the second floor bathroom and hallway.
We will be adding some sort of sliding door to this room. I am conflicted between a pocket door (more historically accurate) and an exposed rail system. Doesn’t this rail look cool above? I’m a little nervous though that even if it is cool, it might not be quite right for the house. Although we do now have an extra newel post to install at the railing to allow the door to pass behind it and over the staircase.
Along with this I am contemplating adding a transom window above to add some additional light. Probably not all the way across, although I think that is pretty cool. The hallway is a bit dark since the only natural light comes from the stained glass window and the surrounding rooms. So far I have not convinced Mr. S. that this is a good idea.
I am also in love with Victoria’s bathroom renovation (which if you haven’t seen I highly recommend). We won’t be gutting anything major here, but I really like the side medicine cabinet that her husband created. We can’t install one behind the sink since it is an outside wall, but we could put on on the side wall (behind the new sliding door).
via Honey & Fitz via Donna DuFresne Design
Finally I like this little recessed storage niche. I am thinking that a small one near the toilet would be perfect for extra toilet paper and other unmentionables.
Oh how I have pretty bathroom envy! Thanks for providing these beautiful models to daydream about.
Glad you enjoyed the images.
My bathroom feels famous… but also sad that I didn’t think to extend the transom across the width of the wall. I guess it’s a note for the next house.
I got sucked into Andi’s kitchen renovation link in your sidebar… it turned out beautifully… I would have never guessed that was Ikea cabinetry. We’re beginning to plan our kitchen, and I am dreading it so much I can barely put one foot in front of the other to get started.
Hi Victoria! I LOVE your bathroom, but feel a little sad for mine (which was done 12 years ago before I had so many choices and on a shoe string budget). I’m hoping to bring a little bit of style to my super tiny bathroom (by copying your mirror and vanity).
Glad you like Andi’s kitchen. I think it is proof that you can get style for less (although it does require a lot more effort). I actually spent the day helping a client install a wall of ikea cabinets in her laundry room. Alas they stopped selling the oak doors from Andi’s kitchen (which were high quality solid oak frames with nice detailing), but it is hard to beat their price! Have you chosen a cabinet manufacturer yet for your kitchen?
No… we’ve been to the high-end place, and home depot. But I’m experiencing some design paralysis as far as the layout. I’m hoping to do a post in the next few weeks… maybe you’ll have some ideas.
You’d said that you liked Martha Stewart, and I didn’t look at her cabinets when we were at HD. They were in another spot and I didn’t see them until we were on our way out. And I’d already reached maximum burnout, so didn’t stop to look.
I would be glad to give my thoughts on your layout.
I do like the Martha Stewart cabinets, especially the nice colors. I would be curious to see what you think. I think her wood finish ones are a little boring. The colored doors aren’t actually painted. They are called “Purestyle” which is some sort of extruded plastic material, which make them super durable and easy to clean. The Ox Hill Style is the one I like. I think for the price they are a reasonably good value. I would recommend picking up the brochure, because it usually has nice inspirational photos (that for some unknown reason they don’t have online). Have you checked out A&C in Chester? They have quite a few manufacturers. Their showroom is hugs (and totally overwhelming). They are open to look around, although if you want to actually talk to anyone you need to make an appointment.
Hadn’t heard of them… Googling them now… thank you!
We had looked at that plastic-coating stuff (in white, maybe on Thomasville?) And this may label me in your designer-heart as tacky? But I LOVED it. I have a hard time “using” things that are new or perfect… and the idea of something more durable is so appealing.
Good luck if you go to A&C! The first time I went in there I felt totally overwhelmed. They carry Kraftmaid (more or less the same as HD but I think with slightly different door styles). They also carry Medallion which is a really good manufacturer. And I think they carry one or two other higher end brands. The nice thing is that you can see a lot of the different pull outs and layouts. When I was there with a client they had every unit that we had in our layout so we could go and try them out, for example we went and looked at a couple of different trash pullouts to decide which one they wanted.
I actually don’t think some of the new plastic stuff is tacky, it is so much nicer than what use to be available. If I were doing my kitchen over I would totally consider the Martha Stewart Cabinets, because I really like how durable the finish is and I like that the color is solid all the way through on the doors. We went with a painted Kraftmaid cabinets in a cream color with a distressed finish. I was really torn about paying extra to have them distressed, but now that they have been in place for 6 1/2 years, I don’t worry about when I spill something or the kids make a mess. And the couple of small dents that have happened blend in with the “distressing”.
Our kitchen cabinets are distressed, too. But not on purpose.
Love these visuals, by the way! I can’t wait to see the newel post in place and, since your house decisions are a democracy (right? RIGHT???) I vote pocket door!!!
I do love those rail systems, though. I have a dream of converting our 3-bay garage into a guest/office/studio space and you KNOW I’m getting a door on rails all up in there.
Hi Katie,
Definitely not a democracy, but I do really value your opinion (Wow I sound like some sort of corporate business person!). I find the balancing act between restoration and making an old home comfortable, functional and fun to be really tough and getting opinions from other old home owners is really helpful.
Thanks for the shout out in your blog!! Great post!