Small bathroom, big ideas

Happy New Year! It’s been a little while since I’ve posted. A few weeks off work, trips to California and Michigan, then a post-holiday hibernation period, and I’m back with house progress to report. I’ve only been to our new house once since my last post -- we spent a cozy, relaxing long weekend upstate over New Year’s -- but my husband's been back and forth, priming the rooms in the original part of the house.  

In my last post I crowdsourced opinions on bathroom tiles for our master bathroom; thanks to everyone who weighed in. We’re still making some decisions there. Design-wise, it's more complicated than the other rooms. I’ll write about it soon. In contrast, we’re keeping things simple in the common bathroom. Here's what the bathroom used to look like:

A peek under that red rug...

And here's what it looks like right now (from the future hallway):

And from where the sink will be:

The tub will fit into the space to the right of the Kix box (not a prototype for a bathside Kix dispenser, to my daughters' chagrin).

Here's a sample board of the materials we're using:

And a mock up of the toilet alcove and tub:

It's a small bathroom, but has high, sloped ceilings. This should give you an idea:

We originally planned to have floor-to-ceiling shelving right next to the door. Then my husband had the idea of moving the toilet to the shelving area, creating a little nook for the toilet.

Cozy, right? It does open up the space, though I admit I was resistant. Here's how the conversation went down, pretty much verbatim. It's a good example of how most house-related conversations go nowadays.

Him: I came up with a great idea for the shared bathroom.

Me: I'm listening.

Him: Let's put the toilet in the nook where the open shelving is.

Me: Then where would we put the open shelving?

Him: Above the toilet.

Me: Won't that be a little claustrophobic?

Him: No!

Me: It won’t feel weird to be tucked away in a nook?

Him: No, it'll be awesome!

Me: Won't tall people like you bump their heads on the shelving?

Him: No!

Me: You seem excited.

Him: I feel strongly about this.

[Silence]

Me: OK.

Many of our recent conversations have concluded with him saying: "I feel strongly about this." His passion, combined with my exhaustion (see previous reference to decision fatigue) means that he is calling the shots right now. Except when he suggests something bizarre like painting all the doors different colors (actual suggestion), then things go down differently.

Tune in next time when I talk about propane. I have lots to say about propane! For starters, I advise homeowners with houses heated with propane to make sure they don't run out of it if the temperature drops to 22 degrees and they happen to be three states away...