1930s Hall Bath Remodel Finished!!! Reveal

My theme for the bathroom has been "Men's Club Bathroom"; In an old bank, the bank manager always had his own bathroom, this is a "Bank Manager's Bathroom". Reminder, our house was built in late 1920s and remodeled sometime in late 1930s.

Finally, our hall bath remodel is finished.  Well, all most 100%, I still need to find the "perfect" rug for the floor.  I need one in front of the black vanity and one over by the shower opening. Just have not been out looking with this last store.

To recap what needed to be done:  marble floor in shower and rest of bathroom grout was stained and had gaps;

Wallpaper was coming loose at the seams;
paint trim on door and cloths cabinet had chips and paint was dull;

metal towel fixtures were tarnished; light fixtures dusty;

sealing around vanity counter and top of tiles needed to be redone.
The wallpaper came off first. Then Frank took down all light fixtures, towel bars, towel rack. I removed all the decorations, pictures, normal bathroom things so we had a clean slate to work in.

After going to 3 different paint stores looking for Venetian Plaster, I discovered they don't make it any longer. So in the end, I decided to paint the wall with the Annie Sloan Paris Gray paint.  (I went online and checked to see if you can use the furniture paint for wall paint.  Yes, and in fact in England she has come out with gallon sized paint for floors and walls).  For me, I liked the finished look because it reminds me of the old plaster walls and it doesn't have a high sheen to it. The paint color and stenciling around the vanity, stayed the same as the stencil is gray.  OK for now, I like it.

Frank grouted the shower floor and the bathroom floor.  This was the hardest and worst part of the remodel.  The product we purchased was pre-mixed grout, but when it dried, it left a film all over it.  Not the normal grout residue, it was hard on.  We had to go back to the store and get a special cleaner to get it off along with using paint thinner.  Horrible job, poor Frank.

Then I painted all the clothing storage cabinet and any woodwork.  Luckily, our original installation of tile wainscoting and trim all around the room helps to keep it clean and requires no painting!! But I did paint door and door trim.  I love painting, most people hate it but I love to paint, it always shows the biggest impact and makes everything look fresh, new and clean.

 

  He also caulked all around edging of tile and counter. I washed all the light fixtures, replaced bulbs with new energy efficient LED lights, new light switch plates. Pretty much done. The last part was decorating, editing and adding. 

 I love carrara marble, it is in the kitchen and in my bathroom. I have no idea why people are afraid of it, yes it MAY show some imperfections, but so does tile and even granite.  So does my face and hands as I am getting older, but I think that is character. It is soft, smooth, easy to clean and timeless.

The shelf in the bathroom above the vanity was a piece left over when we had the top done, it already had the bull nose done on it. Frank made a bracket and it is perfect for the lamp and displaying things.  OH, was it supposed to be used for bathroom things like hair dryers or tooth brushes??? Probably, but I use it to display old watches and other "men" kinda things for this bank manager's bathroom theme. Ha Ha

 I love old rosaries and religious crosses.  I think they are beautiful and spiritual so I have many of these items hanging in both the bathrooms.

In the one photo, you will see an old bathing suit from the Sutro Baths in San Francisco.  When we were newly married, the old remains of the Sutro baths were still there at the Cliff House in San

Francisco.  We read and even at one time had several old photographs of the baths.  If you haven't ever seen any pictures or never heard about the Sutro baths, take the time and go read about them.  Incredible 1800s-1930s greenhouses with plants all around different swimming pools of sea water on the edge of SF cliffs. I was able to find many, many years ago, an old bathing suit made out of WOOL, can you believe it. It is hung up in the bathroom now.
One other point about this bathroom and a couple of spaces in our house, is the hunting dog theme.

 The Finnie family who built this old house ran hunting and fishing clubs all around this area, even had Gray Lodge as a hunting location at one time. As I decorated the house, in certain locations, I have old hunting dog paintings, or tin trays or photos or even as you see in this bathroom, a wooden carved hunting dog.

 Another interesting item in the bathroom is this stool.  I found it in Siskiyou County at a yard sale about 25 years ago.  The legs are made out of tree branches and the top is wood.  Underneath the stool says "O'Hara, High School 1934".  I think someone made this as a high school wood project.  Makes me feel so good every time I see it, it is perfectly designed, has a beautiful old worn finish on it, I wish it could tell me what that young person did with the rest of his life. Works well in the "man's" bathroom (with a femine side too) to hold shoes or clothes.

And look under the picture with the dog poster.  Those are old walking sticks I found several years ago.  They came in a lot with other items so really didn't pay much attention to them for several years, just had them in an old crock.  The black walking stick is black lacquer with a sterling sliver band, and if you pull on it, inside is a beautifully made umbrella.  I am possibly guessing it actually may have been for a lady because it is fine and delicately made.  The other walking stick is either Bakelite or bone inlaid in a painted shaft.  They are so interesting, I thought they needed to also be in this bathroom.  The small round antique mirrors hanging on either side of the silver cross, are called "shaving" mirrors.  Every traveler or 1800s-1930s person had a small mirror to hang up in a tree or in their travels to use for shaving.  That is another item I have collected for years and when I re-do the master bathroom, I will show you my collection in there of so many different shapes and sizes of shaving mirrors.

Lastly, I want to say a little about the light fixtures.  They are "period" to the time of the house and are reproductions with black porcelain brackets with light shades trimmed in a black band. All the towel bars and towel hooks match the light fixtures, they came from Rejuvenation Hardware.  Again, if you haven't ever seen that catalog, please do.  They take great efforts to re-produce lighting, door knobs, accessories using old and vintage items and make new ones.

That is it, finished.  Hope you enjoyed the process along with us.  Now we are on to the spare bedrooms.  I will be sharing that project with you too.