OT: Renovations, part 1--powder room and mudroom (Warning! Pic heavy!)

[MorningGlow]

Hi ASAHers! So many lovely folks here have asked about the grueling renovations going on here in Casa MG that I decided to take a few pictures instead of posting a thousand words. Here in Part 1, behold the powder room and mudroom, at the back of the house, off the kitchen.

Powder Room: This once opened onto the dining room (ewww). We blocked up the wall and put a door into the mudroom, with the idea that if MG Jr. is outside playing in the yard and then has to go potty, he can run right inside and take care of business. (Besides, anything was better than the door to a bathroom opening about a foot away from the dining room table!) The powder room once had no window, a shower (!)...and a lot of mildew. Needless to say it's a whole lot better now.

The wall where the door had been--as well as the (new, clean) fixtures sitting around, waiting to be installed (they were hanging out in the dining room for more than a year... :eyes:):




Mid-renovation:


Done! (Way too small to get a decent pic but I hope these will suffice!)







Mudroom: I wish I had "before" photos of the mudroom--it was magnificently awful, with a bare plywood floor that smelled of long-gone previous-resident wet dog, a window with no screen, dark brown paneling that had been primed haphazardly but not painted, a popcorn ceiling, a sliding glass door with no screen (facing south, so the room BAKED in the sun...and the dog smell bloomed), and it was closed off from the kitchen by a rickety wall with a metal door.

Installing reclaimed oak boards:


Reclaimed wood door where the window used to be; new windows where the sliding glass door used to be:


Powder room door is on the left; we found beadboard paneling under the popcorn ceiling:


Done! After I finished painting and decorating, MG Jr. said, "I like the feel of the mudroom now." So do I.





Up next: Part 2--the dining room! :hi:

[Why Syzygy]

1. Those are lovely rooms, MG!

Whole new digs for you guys. How neat. Bet it lifts your spirits!

[MorningGlow]

2. Thanks, WS

It does feel like a whole new house. Just the ability to actually keep these rooms CLEAN for the first time in four years is a miracle for which I am immensely grateful--it's something we tend to take for granted until the option is taken away from us.

[lildreamer316]

3. You all have GREAT sensibilities when it comes to

staying with the tone of the house!! I love it!

[MorningGlow]

6. Thanks, darlin'

I'm an old house junkie--plus this is our third residence that has been a complete do-over, so we have hard-won experience...!

[I Have A Dream]

4. Sorry that you had to wait, but this seems to be well worth the wait!

:D

Beautiful, MG! :thumbsup:

[MorningGlow]

7. Thanks, Dream

Waiting has made me appreciate it all the more, in a weird way--NOT that I'd recommend living in squalor for four years in order to enjoy a renovated house more!
:rofl:

[Kookaburra]

5. Greaqt job!!!

Love that bead-boarding. Can't believe whomever had the house before you just covered it up.

[MorningGlow]

8. In all my travels house-shopping (this is our third go-round)

I have been continually amazed at the travesties perpetuated on once-beautiful old houses that people have called "renovation"!

The mudroom and powder room were once an open back porch; the ceiling beadboard in the mudroom is all that's survived of its previous incarnation.

[Celebration]

9. What a transformation!!

Love this, especially that floor.

Now, headed to Part II--

Mudroom (back entrance), bathroom=IMPORTANT!

[MorningGlow]

10. Mr. MG did the mudroom floor

He worked very hard at it...and then fizzled out. Hence the contractors.
:rofl:

It's such a wonderful thing to have another potty when someone's upstairs in the shower, I can't believe we went without for so long--but I really, REALLY love the back entrance, like for bringing in groceries. Walking the entire length of the house from the front door to the back kitchen five or six times to empty the car gets real old, real quick!

[Kind of Blue]

11. Feng shui is really kicking here, MorningGlow!

:hi: I can actually feel a breeze and good energy easing through. Seems like your cat is attracted to the space, too.

[MorningGlow]

16. You know, I can too, KoB

Sometimes I like to just stand in it for no reason--is that weird?
:rofl:

I think that's what my son meant when he said he liked the feel of the room--it's got really good chi now. There are a lot of muddled, blocked spots in our house due to poor upkeep and design over the years. Mr. MG doesn't notice them, but I do. VERY MUCH. They have a strong negative effect on me. I'm very happy to be unblocking those areas a bit at a time. :hi:

[NJCher]

12. lovely!

MG, thank you so much for posting these pics. I admit I was wondering, even if I didn't ask. I love, love-love-love, to look at home renovations.

The bathroom is stunning. The beadboard is so beautiful and the simplicity with which you have decorated the room makes it all the more charming. I so agree with you when you say:

I have been continually amazed at the travesties perpetuated on once-beautiful old houses that people have called "renovation"!

Aound the corner from where I live, a huge Tudor mansion was renovated by someone who didn't know what he was doing and he put in Home Depot-type bathrooms. When my friend and I toured the house, we nearly burst into tears at seeing it.

Regarding the following, what a description!

...magnificently awful, with a bare plywood floor that smelled of long-gone previous-resident wet dog, a window with no screen, dark brown paneling that had been primed haphazardly but not painted, a popcorn ceiling, a sliding glass door with no screen...

I can't top that but our entryway was almost that bad, what with fake blue-gray paneling (ugh, ugh, ugh-ugh-ugh!!) and a drop ceiling. Some stupid little cheap cabinets over a washer and dryer. What a waste of space. We tore everything out and let the ceiling soar (getting rid of the drop ceiling) and put in a stacked w/d.

Anyway, thanks for sharing with us. And I love the kitty shot.


Cher

[MorningGlow]

17. Gah! Assembly-line renovations are the WORST

Hey Cher--I know what you mean about Home Depot bathrooms. When we bought this house, the upstairs bathroom had a plastic tub surround in it. :scared: It was so incorrect for the period of the home--and so filthy--that we pulled it out immediately (right after the skanky toilet I refused to try to clean). Again, I wish I had taken photos to compare with the renovations we just did--I didn't try to get "authentic" period tiles, but I did ask the contractors to at least try to pay homage to the age of the home. I think we succeeded--let me know when I post Part 3, won't you? :hi:

[rumpel]

13. Great Job!

:applause:

It looks great.

[MorningGlow]

18. Thanks, Rumpel!

:hug:

[northernlights]

14. fabulous!

major improvements to both! unrecognizeable, really...:D

[MorningGlow]

19. Thanks, NL!

:hi:

[Mist]

15. How fresh and beautiful! I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that

some idjit sprayed popcorn crud over the beadboard ceiling.

I once lived (briefly!) in a apt. that had an unusable room, due to dog "aroma." (Seems the dog owners living there previously thought once a year was a decent bathing schedule for their unfortunate dog.) I *know* the relief you must be experiencing at no longer having that around!

The reclaimed oak on the mudroom floor is awesome.

ETA: And how much you must be enjoying the ease of getting the groceries directly into the kitchen!

[MorningGlow]

20. Fresh--great word, Mist

That is what it feels like! Clean, too, after four years of being in mid-construction.

Thanks for the compliments on the floor--we weren't sure whether the mixed-color boards would look good or bad. We toyed with the idea of trying to stain them all the same color, but we decided to just let their natural aged colors come through and finish it all with a clear satin marine shellac (the kind used on boat decks). Glad you like it! :hi:

[oceanspirit]

21. My Gosh MG

That came out beautiful. I really do have to make that long trip to your house to see the new renovations for myself. Came out beautiful hon.

Oceanspirt

[SeattleGirl]

22. Wow, you did a great job!

:hi:

[woodsprite]

23. Beautiful!!! Love your choice of the rich colors

and the contrast of the white.

I love all colors, but I have not been able to commit to something for our house. We've been in it over 5 yrs now! Maybe your pics will get my creative juices flowing again.

Thanks for sharing!