Un Peu de Magie de Salle de Bain!

Bathroom before. Note that gorgeous tub!

The bathroom project is well underway. The inside of the tub was refinished and encapsulated by J&J Bathtub Refinishing out of Kokomo, Indiana and ohhhh is it grand! We've decided to have him come back and refinish the outside of the tub as well as it's just easier to let a professional restore this tub completely while we move onto bigger and more intense projects within the home. That said, the exterior of the tub will likely be black and stenciled with Victorian floral designs in gold or dark brushed brass for a very subtle finish. The brass of the claw feet will be restored to bright shiny brass! 

Just today we began transforming the walls and covered it with coat one of two of paint! The walls are Kabuki red and once we're finished with the final coat and and we've let it dry, it will be taped off with frog tape and we'll be stripping the multiple layers of paint off the wood work and restoring its deliciously beautiful dark staining which will be completed and topped off by a black ceiling and dark brushed brass and black lacquer fixtures.

From there 5" crown mouldings will be installed adding a pop of white and decorated with the same floral stenciling on the tub done in Kabuki and gold/brass. Pretty sure the interior of the linen closet will be red... or maybe black... or maybe white... Hard to decide. It has the original built in drawers in it as the room would have been a dressing room. There's a water closet the next room down the hall so the toilet was an addition to this bathroom and we're torn between 86ing the water closet in favor of a large shower room or moving the toilet out and returning this bathroom to it's former glory completely. Hmmm... Decisions... Modern convenience or historical accuracy... 

Anyway...

We have a gorgeous antique crystal chandelier that will be installed and we are hunting Victorian candle sconces and various bits of wall art to really complete the rich, swanky bordello feeling. It's all about relaxation... And a bit of an homage to the fact the home was a brothel at one point. I personally can't wait to lay in a hot steamy bubble bath on a cold, snowy night with the candles lit and a wonderful glass of Gewurtzraminer from the People's Winery right here in Logansport... And maybe a good book. Yes. The book is a must.

The future is holding such wonderful things.

By this time tomorrow paint coat #2 will be done and we'll be painting our eldest son's bedroom a soft sky blue because boy. He'll likely wind up with a sea-themed wall mural as a break from the antiquity because boy and child. We gotta have fun with this too, right?
Regardless... The dinge and grime we couldn't fix, for love nor money, by scrubbing... Is buh bye. Finito. 

Coat 1! Coat 2 will even it all out! Praise the painting techniques Eric learned in the Navy!

I swear the feel of the bathroom has changed dramatically. The red brings out the terra cotta/brick tiles in that magnificent mosaic floor! Speaking of the floor, it's going to get a super deep professional clean to pull out the dirt all of our cleaning just can't seem to touch and then it will be sealed. 

The upstairs main hall is most likely going to go a very dark smoky purple with gold leaf frieze and period correct sconce lighting. We haven't decided quite yet - but the idea of that degree of drama and majesty is just begging to be brought to life.

I love this old mansion and I love how she seems to become more and more happy and alive with each and every project we start and complete. She's downright giddy right now and we intend to keep her that way. Yes... She's a HUGE undertaking, but we have learned that if we stare at the forest instead of focusing on one tree at a time, we're immediately overpowered and feel very overwhelmed. If we focus one one project at a time then we're quite content and find it easy to contend with. That's what this house needs; vision, scope, and heart. We have tons of it and lots and lots of love as icing on that amazing cake.

Speaking of projects...  permits have been pulled on the porch. The delay in progress is due to the local Ford dealership royally messing up the turbo on our truck to the point where she's routinely blowing her hot-air turbo boot. She's headed to a master mechanic on Thursday and once she's back we'll feel comfortable loading her with the 4000lb jacks, concrete block, stone, rebar, quickcrete, metal lathe, and lumber necessary to complete the project. We're really grooving here at the Greensfelder and are sincerely hoping to open the main parlor for Christmas stories this holiday season!

Stay tuned for an update once the bathroom's magical transformation is finished!