Impulse project

As my parents' visit came to a close, we looked at any last, small projects we'd need to complete. I'd noticed the toilet in the full bathroom had cracked, and during our home inspection, the inspector had mentioned that the sink was rusting out.

Installing plumbing fixtures (especially standalone things like toilets) can be fairly easy-- you just remove the old one and put in the new one-- toilet "kits" that include rings, seats, and flush valves have instructions that can help, too.

Here's the bathroom in original condition:

It's not in terrible shape, but the fixtures had to be replaced. Note the awesome scalloped cabinet on the upper right. Also note the light fixture, which is one of those dressing room-style fixtures. I hate those.

After removal of the toilet and sink:

A plumber came in and fixed the sink pipe, which was recessed into the wall (and impossible to work on). He also worked on the sink in the kitchen, which we feared was similar... we were right.

So new toilet install: Put the wax ring on the toilet, set it on the bolts, fasten it down. Put on the tank, fasten it down. Test for water fastness, add seat and tank cover, and boom! Toilet.

We figured the pedestal sink was fine, but the bathroom would benefit from some more counter space. There's plenty of storage in the room, but nowhere to rest a hair dryer or keep a tooth brush. We picked up a vanity cabinet that came with a sink top on it. The vanity came assembled, but the top had to be connected and fastened down. Nice results on both:

The bathroom definitely feels less gross now.

We also decided to take down the scalloped cabinet on the wall and replace the mirror and light fixture. The cabinet was pretty gross and made the bathroom feel cramped, so we tore it out. Unfortunately, (or fortunately?) the painters had painted the bathroom already, so we had to sand down, patch, and repaint the walls and ceiling behind the cabinet.

A new, larger mirror is much more updated, and the light fixture is so much better, too.

Sorry my photo of the fixture is terrible--  Let me try again:

The shades look like this:

They diffuse the light really well. The bulbs are 40W, and I'm thinking they should probably be a bit less bright.

I'm super excited with how the bathroom turned out. We also added a new shower head and curtain rod, because both were old and kind of crusty:

One of these days, we'll get around to painting the cabinet on the left. I should've had the painters do the door frame and cabinet, too. I just assumed at the time that we wouldn't have to do much to the bathroom. Ha! We've come a long way from this:

Things left to do in here: add curtains, paint trim, paint cabinet.