Sunday, October 8, 2017

Three Key Words That Stop me in my Tracks - Antique - Marble - Free

While the decision to add a half bath in the basement was a bit of an afterthought.....the design for it is anything but!!!  It might be small, but I want it to be truly special.

How did this come to be?  Well it all started with a phone call in January.  My wonderful plumber was tearing an antique sink out of an old building.  The owner didn't want it.  Was I interested?  He didn't give me a lot of details, but a few things got my attention.  Antique. Marble. Free.  Ha - of course!!  








It's a good size, with a fantastic round, antique bowl.  The faucets are original brass, with the stopper in the middle. The decorative brackets that hold it up are original and give it a beautiful sense of style.   It went into the storage facility on the waitlist to get used.  And now's the time.  It will take some work to pretty it up, but it's worth it.

And this bathroom is the perfect place!!!  

So here's the design:








1) Amazing antique sink.... that takes a LOT of work to fix up

.  I've spent hours doing online searches on stain removal and weeks applying different poultices to remove them (each one has to remain for 24 -48 hours, so it's a long process to see if it works).  The basement looked like a junior chemistry lab.  My husband periodically opened the basement door and yelled 'don't blow the place up!' (I did discover if you mix rust remover and baking soda, it creates a volcano like reaction.  Yikes!).  It's still not perfect, but heck, it's an antique!  And once I polish up the antique faucets, they will be beautiful!

Lots and lots of chemical mixtures to draw the stains from the antique marble!

Once that was done, I had to strip the old painted brackets and give them a new coat of paint, to highlight the beautiful pattern on them.











2)  I LOVE wallpaper.  When we lived in Amsterdam, I went to all the home decor stores.  I saw this fantastic toothbrush wallpaper in one of them - and finally have a bathroom it will work in.  It's from a Dutch designer, Daniel Rozensztroch, with a pattern called Obsession (which pretty much says how much I like it).  It's crazy expensive, but I ordered it anyway and had it shipped to the US.

3) Lighting - We're using Restoration Hardware sconces on either side of the medicine chest.  That will wash the sink wall with light, but since this room has no windows, we also added a recessed LED fixture in the middle of the room.

4)  Medicine Cabinet - from Pottery Barn, this will provide some storage and lends some old fashioned charm.
With this wallpaper, your kids will never forget to brush their teeth!!


This is the first room we've finished and I couldn't be happier.  Isn't it a great half bath?



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16 comments:

  1. This is one of my all time favorite rooms you've shared with us! So fun!

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    1. So glad to hear you say 'fun'! That's what I was going for - the antique sink needed something to keep it from being too serious!!

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  2. OMG this (and you) is AMAZING!

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    1. Oh thanks so much - I loved doing this room. So much fun to do!!

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  3. Hi! Love your blog and think you are so talented. Just curious. That wall paper- it's so unique and expensive. Being that you sell the houses, aren't you concerned about keeping something like wallpaper more neutral/generic? I work with someone who flips houses (not the same as yours I get that), but I know that the resale is always a thought when making decisions. Would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for such a great blog!

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    1. Thanks for the kind words! Regarding your question, when I first started, I was very cautious on colors, patterns, etc. But as I've done more houses, I've gotten more bold. Most things that I go bold on are easy to change. The new owners can repaint the front door color or strip wallpaper in a tiny bathroom. But I've found that they usually like what's there and keep it! So for this bathroom, the antique sink it pretty cool. But coupled with the antique toothbrush wallpaper?? It's a wow!

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  4. Gosh, I was so blown away by the sink that I didn't even notice the stains. After I finished reading I had to go back and look at just the pictures. You did an amazing job cleaning it up. What a fantastic bathroom.

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  5. Oh that sink! It looks so beautiful in the bathroom. What a score. I'm just overwhelmed with how much i love it. A one-of-a-kind bathroom with that gorgeous sink and the fun, quirky wallpaper.

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  6. I could tell the sink looked used but when you were done, it looked fabalous. I did not see any stains. You did a great job! Yes, the wallpaper has a wow factor! What a fun bathroom! Great job!

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    1. Thanks so much - the sink is much improved.....but there are still some faint stains that I simply couldn't get out of there. But it's a nice reflection of its history!!

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  7. Can you explain in more detail what actually worked to get the stains out of the marble. I have a friend with 3 of these type of original sinks in her house!

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    1. Kathy, here's the link to the site that I found the most helpful. http://www.themarblecleaner.com/homemade-marble-poultice/ Since I didn't know what our stain was, I tried all of the approaches. What I found worked the best was 40% hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and a little ammonia (it smelled like hair bleach). Hope that helps!

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  8. This room is just fantastic. Love everything about it - especially that wallpaper! Love your blog - you do beautiful work.

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    1. Thanks so much!! I couldn't resist that wallpaper and it was the perfect paring with the antique sink!

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