Whenever we start a new room, we first have to come up with a renovation plan. Join us as we talk about the plan for the next project!
Since we finished the dining room, we’ve taken a bit of a break from home renovations. We completed eight rooms back to back over the last three years without any pause in between.
That is a LOT of rooms! No wonder we’re tired. Home improvement burnout is real, let me tell you!
Fortunately, we’ve had a bit of a rest and now the itch to start another project is creeping back in. What are we doing next? Well…let’s look at the renovation plan!
The Upstairs Bathroom and Bedroom
This house originally had three bedrooms upstairs. Those were the only rooms upstairs. No bathroom anywhere to be found. While I do enjoy an occasional outdoor toilet experience, that just won’t work in the 21st century.
When we moved in, some previous renovation had turned one ENTIRE bedroom into a…mess. It was a mess. Let’s just say it. One third of the space was taken up by a “bathroom” of sorts. And by that I just mean a sink, toilet, and shower were shoved in the corner of the room.
Another third of the room was a “laundry room.” Again I use the term very loosely because is it really a laundry room when the washer and dryer are floating in the middle like the world’s saddest islands? I think not.
They attempted to make it a little less of a mess by building a wall partway through the room. Which created the last third of the room…a “walk in closet.” I wish I was joking.
And to top it all off? CARPET. EVERYWHERE. *gags audibly*
Last spring we rented a dumpster to take care of some of the general detritus that tends to build up around farms. While we were at it, we did the initial gutting phase of the demo. The carpet, half wall, sink, toilet, and shower all unceremoniously met their ends at the hands of an angry sledgehammer.
Which leads us to now. No bathroom, no carpet, no washer or dryer. Just some drywall, plaster, and a bunch of nasty subfloors. The demo will begin shortly to take this room down to the studs. But in the meantime…what is our renovation plan?
The Renovation Plan
We need a bathroom upstairs. It’s kind of a nice feature in a house if you know what I mean. But we knew that meant we were going to have to split up one of the bedrooms. This brings us to the two main requirements for f this space.
- An upstairs bathroom with a bathtub.
- A small guest room/office/overflow room.
The Bathroom
If you recall the master bathroom we renovated, it has a curbless walk in shower. While I do LOVE the shower, it is very distinctly NOT a bathtub. And I do like a bit of variety in my life.
When we split this room into a bathroom and bedroom, the bathroom will be on the immediate right as you walk in. That leaves the sink and the toilet on the back wall. I love this SO much because it makes the sink take center stage when you first walk in the room (and boy do I have a FABULOUS sink).
I also hate opening a door and looking at a toilet (call it a pet peeve). This layout will make sure the scrumptious sink is the first thing your eyes see.
Much like the last bathroom, we will have glorious white tile around the whole space. I also have some ideas for fancy built-in storage that will be just GORGEOUS.
The Bedroom
On the other side of the bathroom will be a quaint and charming little bedroom. At around 15’x9′ it will be a very good size for a guest room, office, playroom, densely packed fancy warehouse, or whatever else I decide it should be.
The biggest reason we chose to put the bedroom here is because of something hidden behind the left wall. Despite this house being over 100 years old, it is absolutely LITTERED with closets. They’re everywhere! Every bedroom had one along with the dining room, hall, and kitchen pantry.
This bedroom originally had a corner closet which despite my best efforts, I can’t save. Instead we are going to steal a small bit of space from the bedroom on the front of the house and turn it into a chimney wall closet.
This means that the bedroom can be an actual bedroom if needed, and not just another old house room with no storage.
The Book Nook
Splitting up the bedroom and the bathroom leaves a strange and charming little vestibule right as you walk in. I didn’t want to have to go into the bedroom to get to the bathroom which is why this vestibule is necessary. However, I am also the clever storage QUEEN. So naturally, I couldn’t have just a simple vestibule.
To the left of the main door as you walk in is a space about 11″ deep. That is the very definition of dead space. I’m pretty good at finding furniture and even I know the chances of finding a six foot wide by 11″ deep bookshelf are slim to none.
I’ve taken a lot of cues from the Under New Management blog about how to hack storage into unexpected places, and this is a great opportunity to do just that.
We are going to make a custom, built-in, floor-to-ceiling bookshelf in this spot. It will be the perfect want to utilize this really strange area as well as offer a TON of book storage.
If you’ve been following along on Instagram you know that I’ve fallen hard down the romance novel rabbit hole. Combine that with five-cent thrift store book sales and my collection is growing RAPIDLY.
Of course I can’t simply have NO drama in a renovation project, so where is that going to be? One word: wallpaper. You’ll have to stay tuned to see exactly what.
The FULL Renovation Plan
Above is just an overview of where we came from and what we’re going to do. And while informative, it misses a LOT. To hear the entire renovation plan, see ALL the before footage, and hear about the two different bathroom options we chose from, watch the full video below!
I hope you have a fabulous day! I can’t wait to share what’s in store for this space!
See you soon!