Spitball Army

When last we looked in on the progress in the bathroom, there was dust, concrete, and exposed wall innards galore.  Now there is a shower and tub!

You’ll notice the travertine-patterned vinyl material that serves as the surround for the bathing area.  Just recently, I heard – on one of the reality shows I occasionally watch (I think this might have been Bravo’s Top Design) – someone exclaim, “Oh, travertine,” through a grimace.  Has travertine become a sign of poor taste?  I chose this particular color/pattern because it does have a dated look and feel.  The house dates from the mid-1920s, after all, and everything about the cottage architecture both inside and out feels from another time.

This house has been so long without a proper shower and tub that I use it gingerly, as if it were made of crystal.  I, in fact, opt to shower at the Y more often now – I had gotten into that habit while I was without a shower for so long – so the shower doesn’t get daily use.

Next on the bathroom agenda?  The ceiling’s plaster finish has a few cracks that need repairing.  Then, the coats of paint on that yellow window frame are to be stripped, and the frame will be re-painted after a sanding.  I have just chosen the paint for the wainscoting (a mahogany brown with red/purple tints, which is a near-exact match for the color on the exterior trim of the house, and plays off the colors in the travertine really well) and the wall above it (a linen/cream mix, that gives off a warmer feel than you might expect).  That is a different color pattern than one usually sees (the lighter color is generally found on the bottom), but that’s the way I’m going.  Part of the rationale for that was to put the darker color on the part of the wall with the most flaws, which happens to be the bottom half.  It also breaks up what would have been a wide swath of whites, from the floor through the wall to the ceiling.  Then on to the fixtures and plumbing, and the wiring of an electrical outlet above the sink.  Also, at some point, I need to find a way to thoroughly clean and polish the white hexagonal tiles that make up the floor.