The Revenge of the Guest Bathroom – Week 2

I don’t have much to share this week because I am still waiting for the plumber. Until he comes to repair the toilet flange and drain pipe, I cannot screw down the subfloor. The subfloor needs to be screwed down before I can reinstall the HardieBacker on the shower walls and so on. It is all connected.

I have confidence that the plumber will call me this week as promised, but it is out of my hands. In the meantime, I’m doing homework in preparation for the Schluter Kerdi shower pan and Ditra membrane install.

If you’re reading about this project for the first time, I invite you to catch up via last week’s post.

Since I don’t have much to show you, I thought I’d talk about accessories this week. That’s typically an end-stage topic, but I’ve had every bit of the big picture planned and the supplies purchased for months. The accessories are the only thing I don’t have nailed down at this point.

Shower Curtain vs. Shower Door

When I was designing this room way back in the summer of 2021, I planned for an all-glass shower door to maximize the amount of light in this tiny bathroom. It measures slightly smaller than 5’X8′, and it has one window. However, I quickly discovered that a custom glass shower door could cost up to $5000! That wasn’t happening. So, I started looking into adjustable-width off-the-shelf glass door options. While they were way more affordable in the $500 range, the only options I found looked and functioned like barn doors, and I have strong feelings about that design. Barn doors in barns? I am all in. Otherwise, no, thank you.

With the glass door option off the table for now, I’ll be using a shower curtain. I’m going with plain white to keep the room light and airy overall, but I have quite a bit of leftover Milton & King fabric from the last round of the ORC. I like the idea of adding a black and white striped border to the top or bottom of the shower curtain.

Shower Bench vs. Caddy

Another thing I changed my mind about is a shower bench. I bought the one pictured below last January, and it is very cute. The size is perfect–not too big and not too small.

My original plan was to place the bench in the shower and set shampoo and soap on it. After thinking about it for nearly a year (a blessing and a curse!), I decided that it would get too slimy, and we are neither fastidious housekeepers nor do we employ one. So, I’m going to put the bench outside of the shower as a place to set dry clothes or towels. Without the bench, the only place to set clothes is on top of the toilet lid, which is not ideal.

In place of the bench, I’m going with a tension rod caddy like this: Stidham Shower Caddy. I’m not in love with the nickel, but if I can’t find chrome, it will be an acceptable substitution. All the other metal in the bathroom is chrome, and mixed metals don’t feel quite right in such a tiny room. I’m keeping it simple.

Everything Else

Although I haven’t hammered out all the details yet, I know I will need some new towels. Most of our towels are in rough shape, and I should probably donate them to an animal shelter soon. I like the idea of a simple monogram for the new towels, but that seems kind of formal for BHH. The bedroom that adjoins the guest bathroom is casual.

I have to admit that right now, the bedroom doesn’t look anything like those photos. It is totally trashed from the bathroom remodel. There is a toilet and a clawfoot tub taking up plenty of floor space, and my tools and supplies are scattered everywhere. I also pulled down a bunch of ceiling tiles for the electrician to install the box for a fixture and fan. What a disaster!

I long for everything to be clean and tidy again. Hopefully, that will be sooner rather than later.

Finally, I need to choose a mirror. I intended to reuse the existing medicine cabinet to save money. However, it fits in between the uninsulated studs. Our house is balloon-framed, and cold air slips out from behind the medicine cabinet. Also, there isn’t a heater vent in the bathroom, so it would be best to close up that hole and install a mirror instead.

The medicine cabinet is also wildly off-center, as you can see in the old photo below, but I’ve done a pretty good job of ignoring that. It bothered everyone else more than me.

Next week, I may have a little more to show you, but we’ll see. Until then, please visit the One Room Challenge blog to see all of the progress everyone else has made during week two.

Thank you for being here.