[JeanM]

You may find this website worth checking out:

http://www.oldhouseweb.com/forums/

Good place to go for folks who have older houses!

[Lucassb]

What a very pretty sink base and vessel Lucassb!

LOL, thanks! I wish I had taken a "before" photo as that bath was, er, ... not so pretty. Amazing what you can buy at Lowe's on sale!!!

[MistyBlue]

Ahhh, I was going to ask for "before" photos too.

I adore before and after photos, but am also guilty of starting a project and getting everything all ripped up and*then* remembering the "before" photos. A tad late.
But then it's probably not on anyone's mind when looking at an ugly out-of-date room to think "I should take a picture of this!"

That was a Lowe's sink base? Did the base and vessel come as a set?

I'm going to redo my bathrooms eventually (but they're farther down on my to-do list, they're in good shape and only 1980s out of date and not scary. Just plain/homely) and when I look at sinks and bases I keep bouncing around with the types I like. Neither bathroom is big, the master bath is a full bath but on the small side and a pedestal sink would open it up more but then you lose storage. I've been wanting the cabinet type base with the above top vessel...how are those at keeping them clean or for practical use? I nixed the glass vessel bowls thinking they'd be a b*tch to keep clean looking, not sure about the metal ones and keeping them clean but I like the ceramic or solid material ones.

One thing's for sure...the master tub is coming OUT! I've been on the fence with that...being a former Realtor I have a tough time renovating something that's not good for resale value. Despite the fact that I don't plan on selling this home. But the 2008-2009 and early 2010 resale report came out last week and master tubs have gone the way of the dodo finallly! Yay! Walk in shower will go in for us now. Much more useful and I've already had everything from standard tub/showers to jacuzzis in past houses and they NEVER get used. Even the homes I've sold only about 10% of jacuzzi or garden tubs ever got used. But large luxury type showers do.

Now if only I could afford (and lost my mind so I'd not feel bad paying that much) the professional grade multiple tile head digitally run steam showers. They're as fabulous in real life as they look on TV! But I ain't paying $9k on a shower!

[Lucassb]

Ahhh, I was going to ask for "before" photos too.

I adore before and after photos, but am also guilty of starting a project and getting everything all ripped up and*then* remembering the "before" photos. A tad late.
But then it's probably not on anyone's mind when looking at an ugly out-of-date room to think "I should take a picture of this!"

I wish I had been better about the before photos all over the house... they would have been dramatic! It all worked, but man, was it UGLY. That bath in particular looked like it belonged in some 30's factory - horrible black and white diamond linoleum, industrial sink... there was even a cage on the light fixture!! I still have nightmares

That was a Lowe's sink base? Did the base and vessel come as a set?

Yep - it was one of their house brand stock items... looks like they still have it: http://www.lowes.com:80/pd_231215-54...rea1-_-18137_1

I'm going to redo my bathrooms eventually (but they're farther down on my to-do list, they're in good shape and only 1980s out of date and not scary. Just plain/homely) and when I look at sinks and bases I keep bouncing around with the types I like. Neither bathroom is big, the master bath is a full bath but on the small side and a pedestal sink would open it up more but then you lose storage. I've been wanting the cabinet type base with the above top vessel...how are those at keeping them clean or for practical use? I nixed the glass vessel bowls thinking they'd be a b*tch to keep clean looking, not sure about the metal ones and keeping them clean but I like the ceramic or solid material ones.

I had a similar problem in that bath - the room was long enough, but pretty narrow, and the toilet is next to the sink so there wasn't room for a big vanity, and I wanted some storage for basics - extra TP, soap, etc. That cabinet is fine for that sort of thing and the vessel sink was easy to keep clean; I went with the porcelain because I figured it would be the easiest to keep looking nice. They also had some really pretty hammered copper ones that I loved, but I wasn't sure how much maintenance they'd need and I chickened out. The granite vanity top just takes a quick swipe with the sponge and it's fine, so overall it turned out to be a good choice, and for under $400 including the fixture, it was a great deal.

One thing's for sure...the master tub is coming OUT! I've been on the fence with that...being a former Realtor I have a tough time renovating something that's not good for resale value. Despite the fact that I don't plan on selling this home. But the 2008-2009 and early 2010 resale report came out last week and master tubs have gone the way of the dodo finallly! Yay! Walk in shower will go in for us now. Much more useful and I've already had everything from standard tub/showers to jacuzzis in past houses and they NEVER get used. Even the homes I've sold only about 10% of jacuzzi or garden tubs ever got used. But large luxury type showers do.

Oh, I totally agree with you about that!! When I did the upstairs bath reno, I replaced the tub - which had clawfeet and might have been original to the house (argh) - with just a standard soaking tub, no jets or anything fancy. We'd had jetted tubs in the past and never used them so I couldn't see spending $$$ unnecessarily. That room did have a separate marble walk in shower though, and it was great.

Now if only I could afford (and lost my mind so I'd not feel bad paying that much) the professional grade multiple tile head digitally run steam showers. They're as fabulous in real life as they look on TV! But I ain't paying $9k on a shower!

You and me both!!! I'd LOVE a steam shower!!! I'm not spending that kind of cash either - not anytime soon, anyway. But a girl can dream, right?!

[subk]

One thing's for sure...the master tub is coming OUT! I've been on the fence with that...being a former Realtor I have a tough time renovating something that's not good for resale value. Despite the fact that I don't plan on selling this home. But the 2008-2009 and early 2010 resale report came out last week and master tubs have gone the way of the dodo finallly! Yay! Walk in shower will go in for us now.

Great news! I'm currently 3/4 of the way through building a "new old" farmhouse and we nixed having a tub in the master. We did put a tub in the guest bedroom as a friend suggested that we might need one for grandkids some day waaaay in the future...

[MistyBlue]

Great news! I'm currently 3/4 of the way through building a "new old" farmhouse and we nixed having a tub in the master. We did put a tub in the guest bedroom as a friend suggested that we might need one for grandkids some day waaaay in the future...

Yup, that's a good thing. The idea is to keep a tub in the house but a larger shower instead of a tub/shower combo unit or a separate tub and smaller shower has much higher resale value now.
I plan on tearing my tub/shower combo out...should be fun since it's one of those inserts that cover an older tub/shower already. I'll tear everything out to the bare walls and then...well, that's where the decisions have to be made. Tile? If so, what kind? Large or small? Stone? Ack! It will have a small seat, I enjoy those at the end of a long day when you're both exhausted and dirty, LOL! I want a built in seat, but if budget doesn't support that then I'll go with a teak seat.

It all worked, but man, was it UGLY. That bath in particular looked like it belonged in some 30's factory - horrible black and white diamond linoleum, industrial sink... there was even a cage on the light fixture!! I still have nightmares

I had a listing once that the bathroom was avacado green, pink and black 1x1" tiles on floor and all walls! I just looked at the homeowner and said, "If you have someone come in and spray those tiles a neutral color your list price will be raised by $5k." (it only cost about $800 to have the tiles professionally painted)

[FalseImpression]

but FG... you just moved!!!

[LisaB]

Here's our house:
http://wheeler.leadmaxx.lantrax.com/...e&BrochureID=1

Here's the before of the upstairs bath
http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php...&ref=fbx_album

Here's the after:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...&ref=fbx_album

The man building when we first bought the place:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...&ref=fbx_album

Man building with the roofline extended 12 ft so now it has 3 stalls and a 10 ft aisle. Then still a garage to put all the equipment in. And there's still the 2nd story addition. I have a VERY large tack/feed room now and the hubby has his room upstairs
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...&ref=fbx_album

stall interior still to be finished off
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...&ref=fbx_album

It's still a WIP and now we're moving. And we're moving to NM and NOT having a lawn so the tractor, lawn mower, and weed eater convey. Buh-bye!

[kookicat]

I would also love a steam shower!

[MistyBlue]

Oh geez LisaB...was that bathroom the first order of business when you moved in?
It looks fantastic now! Love love love the glass tile accent border on the shower wall, a little sparkle and interest added.

I went to a home show this past spring and they had a steam shower all set up with 10 tile heads, all adjustable for angle and spray type and two overhead rain heads. But...they had tiled 3 walls of it in all small 1x1 glass tiled in greens and blues and some were metallic. Then added LED lights.
The shower part was nice but when the lights went on (and could be programmed for a light show to music) that LED light reflecting off the tiles was blinding! It must be like taking a shower in a disco ball, LOL!

They make free standing ones, just buy, have it delivered and hooked up:
http://www.furniturestoreblog.com/im...m%20Shower.jpg
$8400. However, who the heck wants to shower in a big glass letter D?
I like this one:
http://www.diynetwork.com/webdiy/ima...es_3_large.jpg
But it's probably bigger than my entire bathroom. And expensive as heck. I'd also want doors probably because in winter you want the steam to build up a bit and keep you warm. (although that fireplace looks toasty!)
I laugh that it's on Do Iy Yourself Network site...yeah, Joe Average Homeowner can do that him/herself!
I'd be lucky to set up a pail over a doorway, forget trying to build that!

[kookicat]

Wow, that second one is stunning! I'd slip on the floor and go ass over tea kettle through the glass lol!

I'd like something like this:

http://www.bathtek.com/steam_shower_baywood1200r.htm

[MistyBlue]

LOL, sounds like something I'd do too!

That one is neat! I think the conversion rate keeps it under $2k too, so not cost prohibitive.

Only thing is I do want a *big* shower. Not huge, but it will take up the space of the tub/shower combo. I'm hoping to just tile (or whatever) the walls and floor, build in a seat and put up either one helluva nice huge shower head or put in ceiling shower tiles if possible (not sure the expense of having the plumbing sent up there)...but any shower heads have to have a "knock you to the floor" pressure option. I've been using a stupid water-saver shower head for a while now and when you're filthy from working outside all day and have long hair you have to rinse too it takes forever to do this. Might as well have someone peeing on my head.

I like this one:
http://lawlessassociates.com/images/...shower%201.jpg
The stone is stunning! However not sure how easy that is to keep clean.
I'm also not sure about sidewall shower heads or shower tiles...they;d have to be placed right because I'm short and I don't want the side ones to come on and shoot me in the face.

[chai]

I love all the renovations everyone has done, especially the pretty bathroom. What a beautiful vanity and bowl. Those showers are not too shabby either. But here's what I dream of: http://www.vintagetub.com/asp/produc...em_no=BC54R3BN I used to have two of these out in the field for my horses to drink out of. Wish I kept them!

I've done a bunch of renovations. Someone once gave me great advice: try not to think about the whole project at once. Just tackle one thing at a time and pace yourself. That has kept me going when I felt like I was living in Clampettville during the restoration process.

Here is a party barn we did over. When we bought this farm it was full of junk and spiders and the floor wobbled. We had it shored up, redid the electric, added soft lighting and brass sconces and then I scrubbed the whole thing, hand sanded and refinished the floors. We turned it from a dark, kind of spooky place into my favorite place on the farm. http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y97...DSCI0004-1.jpg

[PalominoMorgan]

The good news about old farmhouses is that if there is ugly carpet down it's probably covering hard wood floors that can be refinished if necessary. Paneling comes down easy enough and you can replace with drywall. Just gotta be wary of electrical, water/plumbing, and foundation issues. Our fixer upper never did get very fixed and the cloth wire electrical upstairs still gives me nightmares. I have been in plenty of VERY cute updated farm houses as a dairy consultant. Don't have pics though, but could put you in touch with my old neighbor who had a beautiful country farm house that I adored.

[kookicat]

LOL, sounds like something I'd do too!

That one is neat! I think the conversion rate keeps it under $2k too, so not cost prohibitive.

Only thing is I do want a *big* shower. Not huge, but it will take up the space of the tub/shower combo. I'm hoping to just tile (or whatever) the walls and floor, build in a seat and put up either one helluva nice huge shower head or put in ceiling shower tiles if possible (not sure the expense of having the plumbing sent up there)...but any shower heads have to have a "knock you to the floor" pressure option. I've been using a stupid water-saver shower head for a while now and when you're filthy from working outside all day and have long hair you have to rinse too it takes forever to do this. Might as well have someone peeing on my head.

I like this one:
http://lawlessassociates.com/images/...shower%201.jpg
The stone is stunning! However not sure how easy that is to keep clean.
I'm also not sure about sidewall shower heads or shower tiles...they;d have to be placed right because I'm short and I don't want the side ones to come on and shoot me in the face.

My parents have stone very similar to that, and it's fairly easy to keep clean. Mum just wipes it down and sprays shower stuff before it dries.

I hear you with the water pressure- there's nothing worse than an under powered shower!

[CarolinaGirl]

This is my goal in life. I sooo want an old farmhouse at some point in my life. Not even sure why.. I love the character/history in them I suppose.

[LisaB]

That bathroom was disgusting! I don't think it was ever habitable! Thanks, I think it turned out pretty darned well. but you could only go up from where it started
We refinished all the floors upstairs too. That was a real PITA because with old houses, the wood is not flat! So we had to do a lot of hand sanding.
And fortunately now, there's a lot of fixtures that work with old houses that are readily available.
And it's amazing how many people don't get old houses. I mean I have heart of southern yellow pine everywhere - floors, walls and hand hewn barn beamed ceilings. And it's an extinct wood. And people just don't get it.

[Trixie]

And it's amazing how many people don't get old houses. I mean I have heart of southern yellow pine everywhere - floors, walls and hand hewn barn beamed ceilings. And it's an extinct wood. And people just don't get it.

I'm with you here. I live in an 1870s row-style home (detatched) in a historic district and can't understand the fascination with all the Mcmansions around.

My house is certainly far from perfect - and if I wasn't a renter, there's a lot I would do to make it awesome. That does not include removing any of the moldings, the old bannister, or my original hardwoods. Mostly I'd just update the bathrooms and the 1984 kitchen.

The only time I come close to understanding is when the downstairs is drafty in winter or the pipes freeze. But I'd still rather live here then in something made of plastic.

[chai]

I"m with you, Trixie. There is no replacement for the charm and craftsmanship in antique homes. I love the wavy pane glass, the beautiful mouldings around the windows and the warm glow of a pumpkin pine floor. One of my favorite things about our house is the magnificent beehive architecture of our chimney that is down in the cellar. It is a work of art and nobody ever sees it. We also have a cool wall-length brick fireplace with a real brick oven in it. The 'newer' part of the house has an antique cast iron stove that came with the house.

[Tom King]

Here's a farmhouse restoration project I've been working on over the past three years. It was built in 1828.

You can find the photos as the small thumbnails in the lower right of this webpage right above the sunrise photo. I'm still looking for what we started with and how it looks after the outside is finished and all the scaffolding down. You can click on each thumbnail to upsize it, but be sure to use the Back button to go back to the picture page.

We had to jack the chimneys back in place and rebuild the tops of two of them. The only thing we had to go on for the basement windows was one top piece and one side piece with the mortises still visible.

http://www.starbornhavanese.com/pictures.html