We aren't certain, but we think the previous owners removed the shower/tub combo and replaced it with a shower stall. I know brass was the "in" thing in the mid 80's but I wasn't digging it too much. Aside from that, no matter how hard I tried - the caulk at the bottom was nearly impossible to keep clean as was the shower basin. The whole project got started because super-son was heading to overnight camp for the first time and this momma needed something to keep her busy.
First step, remove all the caulk, clean with non-ammonia cleaner, followed by bleach... allow to dry really well and then recaulk. Sounds relatively easy, but I'm not going to lie - most of the caulk came up relatively easy - but any residue on the wall was very hard to remove (sharp edge, goo-gone, you name it - I probably tried it). We had lived with it looking less than stellar anyway - so I did the best I could and moved on. Next, I patched the wall to the left of the shower stall - at some point there had been a small leak and fortunately, it wasn't ongoing and didn't cause significant damage.
Next up paint -- walls, ceiling, and trim. It's been really hard to get good pictures of the room. The before color was fairly neutral - beige with yellowish undertones - it went well with the brass if that's your thing. :) I wanted to go with Sherwin Williams Ice Cube - it was a very light grey - white with a hint of gray. After painting a small area, I realized I loved the color - but needed a little more grey. Back to Sherwin Williams (always excellent customer service by the way) and they added to make it more like Olympus Gray.
Much better and it complements the gray tile floor. I really didn't want the storage cabinets to come back in the bathroom, but this was "design on a dime" so there they are. :) The smaller one contains extra toiletries and the one over the toilet holds items we use on a daily basis. Much improved overall - but the stall was still an eyesore to me. I decided to get a tension rod and hang wall-to-wall to create the illusion that a regular tub/shower combo was behind there.
Plan A: We looked at Kohls, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Target and Walmart online and finally agreed on a shower curtain we both liked. Only to realize, standard shower curtains are 72 inches in length - the shower stall was 74 inches itself -- back to square one. Plan B: I found out Bed, Bath, and Beyond online carries special size shower curtains and we agreed on one -- only to find out it was backordered and out of stock. There wasn't alot to choose from - so plan C. Find a high thread count sheet -- accent with grosgrain ribbon and have our embroidered with our monogram. I stopped in at Home Goods to see what I could find - measurements in hand. And stumbled across the perfect pattern for us - only it wasn't a shower curtain. Plan D: A lightweight twin XL duvet color was the perfect length and I loved the pattern!
The colors look amazing with the walls and floors -- since it is merely hiding our shower stall the fabric didn't matter! I choose the round hooks with clips - so we didn't have to make any adjustments to the curtain in order to get it on the rod.
The towel holder, toilet paper holder, hinges, and light fixture were all brass... but nothing that a little Krylon couldn't fix! Worked perfectly on the hinges & light fixture. We had a towel holder and toilet paper holder under the sink that previous owners had left (uhh 11 years ago).
And a couple more pictures of the finished room - wish I could get a better picture! We hung the tension rod at the ceiling and the room appears taller.
The only paint I had to purchase was 1 gallon from Sherwin Williams (yeah for 30% off) and the rest was leftover from last year's kitchen project.
In addition, I repaired a pesky drip from the shower head - thanks to Google, YouTube, and my pal, Sally. :)
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