The Bathrooms

Yes, I had to include the before and after pictures of the bathrooms because so much work has gone into them! Upstairs, we took out the heavy trim and replaced it with lighter, decorative trim to match the smaller scale of the alcove bathroom. We also installed a vent fan (which took way more work than you’d think). We had to go through two different committees since it would be visible from the outside. Fortunately, they both quickly granted approval and Dad got up on the roof to make the hole for the fan. We only had a two inch margin for error and there was only one fan we could find that fit those dimensions, but it did fit!

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We also painted the walls and the trim. Another improvement to the bathroom, not seen, but definitely felt, was the installation of a hot water heater in the basement. Before, the hot water came all the way from the main building (it took a while!).

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The main floor had no bathroom and no coat closet. What might have originally been the coat closet (off the living room) was so shallow that a hanger would only fit sideways. I converted that space into a pantry with shelves instead. I decided to make a half bath out of the small storage space you could step down into from the foyer to the garage. It looked, well, like a walled off section of a garage.

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I hired help to rough in the plumbing for a toilet and sink. After that, we built up the floor to the level of the rest of the house, cleaned and painted the walls and ceiling, and laid vinyl tile and new trim around the floor. The door and trim went from dark grey to white after about four coats of paint. Finally, I painted and installed shelves on the back wall for storage and a shelf and rod for hanging coats. Now the space is fully functional as a coat closet, supply room, and powder room.

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Updates Completed Upstairs

• Telephone and cable wires removed
• Walls scraped, patched, and painted
• Trim scraped, patched, and painted
• Exhaust fan installed
• Decorative trim replaced
• Outlets replaced
• Door hardware stripped of paint and cleaned

Updates Completed Downstairs

• Light fixture installed
• Central Heating and Cooling vented to powder room
• Floor raised and tiled
• Walls, ceiling, and trim painted for the first time
• Shelving painted and installed
• New toilet and vanity
• Outlets replaced
• Door hardware stripped of paint and cleaned