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Cheery
photography: Robbie Caponetto
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Decorative touches and practical finishes made an old bath fit for a young couple's new baby and guests.
Design dilemma
Hannah Wolfson and Randy Law made a first-home buyers' mistake—neither realized the bath of their 1920s-era bungalow had no showerhead until after they moved in. "We were distracted by the 1980s bridesmaid dress-looking shower curtain," says Hannah. They soon bumped up their future renovation hopes and called neighbor (and our style editor) Heather Chadduck for help. What stayed
The sink and tub stayed put. By working with existing plumbing, they were able to keep costs down. What’s new
The changes were purely cosmetic: They used decoupaged maps (glued and sealed) for wallpaper, painted beaded board for wainscoting, and patterned hexagonal tile for the flooring. The only building project was a tiled box on one end of the tub to hide plumbing for the new shower fixture. Hannah’s favorite detail is a blue ceiling. "It makes the bathwater look blue," she says. "It's an added bonus I didn’t expect." 
photography: Robbie Caponetto
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How it works
The owners now enjoy a fun, pretty bath that doubles as a space for their baby son, Alexander, as well as visitors. "There's always something to look at—it's never boring," says Hannah of the maps. "Maybe when Alexander is older, we can pick one place to read about during bath time."Pull it together
Start to finish: one month Wallpaper Consider decoupaging maps or prints as an affordable alternative to wallpaper. Hannah and Randy love to travel, so the maps suit them: "Alexander might be a little confused, though—Hawaii is right between the Ukraine and North Dakota." Shower curtain Repurpose items in clever new ways. Hannah found this chenille bedspread at an antiques store; Heather used it as a shower curtain. Vanity Elevate the sink. Heather put this one (from a home-improvement store) atop a table she bought at a flea market. "A raised sink allows more space to lay towels, toothbrushes, and toothpaste in a tight space," she explains. Showerhead Try a handheld fixture for flexibility. "It's easier for bathing a baby," Hannah says. Heather designed a tile box
to hide the plumbing, including nooks for shampoo and soap to maximize storage space. "This really cut down on construction costs because we didn't have to demo the wall," she explains.
photography: Robbie Caponetto
Space for hanging and storing stuff was an issue, so Heather installed a chrome rack "for towels, bathrobers, storage buckets--anything Hannah needs, Heather says." |
Floor Choose a splash-proof tile. Bad linoleum probably installed during the seventies was pulled up, thrown out, and replaced with hexagonal tile appropriate to the cottage's age.More bathroom renovations Vintage Classic | 
