Bathroom in an Old House

Old house remodels are always challenging. For this project the challenge is the ceiling height and the knee walls. The roof could not be raised and the homeowner did not want to add dormers.

Click on the photos to enlarge them.

This is the starting point. A very sad and worn bathroom.

This is the dormer wall.

Clawfoot tub will stay.

Very odd location of toilet. I am strongly against the toilet being the view from the doorway.

Once I measure the space I begin to design the layout.

Always start with a floorplan.

Once the layout is decided than the demolition starts.

The space had to be gutted down to the framing.

Gutting the space entirely allows for adequate insulation to be installed.

The space stars to take shape.

Once the framing and insulation is in place the finished surfaces are installed. In this case we are building wall surfaces from wood. This is to give it a vintage look. All will be painted.

The clawfoot tub will be going under the skylight and the shower is to the right.

In the final stages. Floor is down. Floors and walls will be painted then the tile, glass shower enclosure and fixtures will be installed. It took a long time, but this was a major remodel.

Glass will be on the right side to keep the space visually open.

The vanity will be installed on the right wall.

All done except for the shower tile and glass. Now it is time to add the accessories and decorative touches.

The toilet area with niche for supplies. Making use of the knee wall space.

This is the towel /bin niche to the right of the tub.

The clawfoot tub is back in the original space. To the right is a niche for storage. Before that was just underutilized space.

The head height limited the light mounting area. I chose a sconce with two lamps to mount vertically.

This is where the toilet was. Now I've maximized the floor space and usable ceiling height.

The shower will be finished with white subway tile and clear glass.

Tiled shower with glass door surround.

Shower with two custom cubbies for product. I like to tuck those into the side wall of a shower.

The glass shower surround keeps the bathroom visually open.

With sloped ceilings, there isn't much room for towel racks. so we went with hooks on the door.

This bathroom is an excellent example that when a space with knee walls and low roof / ceiling challenges does have the ability to be transformed into an very useful and functional space.

Julie Fergus, ASID is a professional interior / home designer. Her showroom and design studio is American Home Gallery located at 49 Center Street in Wolfeboro, NH. Julie’s design projects have been published in Country Home, Better Homes and Gardens, Yankee and New Hampshire Magazine. To contact Julie visit her website.

Transforming a Bathroom

When extensively remodeling a bathroom, it takes time. It is impossible to have more than one worker in the space at a time. This causes the project to be a longer duration. There is a lot of hurry-up and wait. For this project we completely gutted the space and made it new.

The other challenge is that we need space outside of the remodeled area for the stuff, tools, etc. This is what it looked like in an adjacent area while the project was underway. Fortunately, the homeowner was able to not live at the home to endure this.  

Julie Fergus, ASID, is a nationally published interior designer. Her studio and showroom is located in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. Julie's clients are primarily in the Lakes Region and Mount Washington Valley, however, she will travel throughout the state and North East.  www.JulieFergus.com | www.DesignByMail.com

Dust Control & Floor Protection

We design, manage and coordinate small remodeling projects. The best way to make a homeowner happy is to protect their furnishings and finishes during the project. Two bathroom remodels are underway at one residence. One bathroom is in the master suite, and access to it involves traffic flow over expensive wool carpet.

We installed a Zip Wall to create a corridor to the bathroom This contains the dust and protects their furnishings. The carpet was covered with slightly sticky (like Post-It note) backed plastic then topped with carpet remnant strips. This will keep the dirt and dust  from getting into the carpet and will protect it from wear and tear while many, many trips will made to the bathroom.

Consider using us for your small remodeling projects to not only get excellent quality craftsmanship, professional management but to also ensure that your furnishings will be protected. Contact me to discuss your project needs.

Julie Fergus, ASID, is a nationally published interior designer. Her studio and showroom is located in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. Julie's clients are primarily in the Lakes Region and Mount Washington Valley, however, she will travel throughout the state and North East.  www.JulieFergus.com | www.DesignByMail.com