1-Year Anniversary + Garden Bathroom (Phase 1)
We're coming to a bit of a cross roads ("meet me at the cross roads, you won't be lonely...") here at Content. October will mark our 1-year, homeownership anniversary.
When John + I purchased this crazy house, it was beat up, abandoned and stripped of all the plumbing, heating and cooling systems. Having never renovated a house before (let alone a house from 1890) we needed structure and came up with a 12-month renovation plan. Spreadsheet and all, budgeted, dated tasks, materials, next steps; saved for us to come back to.
I remember thinking, "12-months...? Man, that seems so long. Doesn't 6-months have such a better ring to it?"
I remember thinking, "12-months...? Man, that seems so long. Doesn't 6-months have such a better ring to it?"
But in reality (where John insists I visit from time-to-time) the amount of work we have accomplished in 365 days is phenomenal. To think of all those long days, and nights of individual "projects", finally coming together is awesome, and provides a raw feeling of accomplishment.
Looking back at the master suite and closet, and the kitchen is such a huge source of pride. An undecorated source of pride, that I'll share in a future post, but prideful nonetheless.
But, the realization that a new 12-month plan is a necessity is enough to make even the most gung-ho, home renovator yearn to take the winter off in hibernation. I'd much prefer to live without construction dust!
But, we can't stop. Currently, the house is only 30% to renovation completion. That's nuts, right!? I know what you re thinking, "how have you been working for a year, and only 30% of the way there?"'
Well, we focused on our living necessities first and these took a tremendous amount of time and money: heat, running water, functional kitchen and a bed to sleep in.
And when you take a step back from the necessities, you see: a living room, dining room, courtyard, front porch, landscaping, and (4) guest bedrooms, and (3) guest bathrooms that have yet to acknowledge.
Seriously though, sometimes we go weeks without stepping foot on the other 1400 square feet, on the west side of the house.
We have ambition though, and ambition takes work and money. Lots of it in our case, and mostly in the form of manual labor (#sorryjohn), and saving month to month to get a project going.
So, what's up next?
On that list of huge projects in the making, another bathroom would be great. Currently, the only functioning toilet is in our bedroom, and it would be nice to have an alternative for guests.
So I've started to plan the "garden" bathroom, given this name because it has direct access to the courtyard, but also because I want it to look and feel like a French florist shop in design and aesthetic. Utility sink, work space, plants, and storage.
The garden bathroom will, based on its newest redesign, include a washer and dryer as well. This addition will require us to bump into the adjacent bedroom to gain square footage for a laundry.
The original plan to create a laundry in the basement never sat comfortably with me and the stairs make me nervous without a basket of clothes on my hip.
Looking back at the master suite and closet, and the kitchen is such a huge source of pride. An undecorated source of pride, that I'll share in a future post, but prideful nonetheless.
But, the realization that a new 12-month plan is a necessity is enough to make even the most gung-ho, home renovator yearn to take the winter off in hibernation. I'd much prefer to live without construction dust!
But, we can't stop. Currently, the house is only 30% to renovation completion. That's nuts, right!? I know what you re thinking, "how have you been working for a year, and only 30% of the way there?"'
Well, we focused on our living necessities first and these took a tremendous amount of time and money: heat, running water, functional kitchen and a bed to sleep in.
And when you take a step back from the necessities, you see: a living room, dining room, courtyard, front porch, landscaping, and (4) guest bedrooms, and (3) guest bathrooms that have yet to acknowledge.
Seriously though, sometimes we go weeks without stepping foot on the other 1400 square feet, on the west side of the house.
We have ambition though, and ambition takes work and money. Lots of it in our case, and mostly in the form of manual labor (#sorryjohn), and saving month to month to get a project going.
So, what's up next?
On that list of huge projects in the making, another bathroom would be great. Currently, the only functioning toilet is in our bedroom, and it would be nice to have an alternative for guests.
So I've started to plan the "garden" bathroom, given this name because it has direct access to the courtyard, but also because I want it to look and feel like a French florist shop in design and aesthetic. Utility sink, work space, plants, and storage.
The garden bathroom will, based on its newest redesign, include a washer and dryer as well. This addition will require us to bump into the adjacent bedroom to gain square footage for a laundry.
The original plan to create a laundry in the basement never sat comfortably with me and the stairs make me nervous without a basket of clothes on my hip.
Here is the current look of the garden bathroom. Some of its most impressive features include:
As you can see, we have lots of work cut out for ourselves, but I'm excited to get started.
What do you think? Should I keep the sailboats? Any suggestions for the French flower shop aesthetic I'm looking to achieve? I'd love to hear your comments below!
XO
-Courtney
- Sailboat tile
- Missing jacuzzi tub
- Raccoon poop
- Large plexi-glass window
- Cable TV
 |
| Exterior, courtyard view of garden bathroom |
 |
| Interior view |
 |
| This is the jacuzzi tube I started demo on, and quickly forget about, 6-months ago. |
As you can see, we have lots of work cut out for ourselves, but I'm excited to get started.
What do you think? Should I keep the sailboats? Any suggestions for the French flower shop aesthetic I'm looking to achieve? I'd love to hear your comments below!
XO
-Courtney
Comments