Demolition Blues

Image from depositphotos.com

Our Wednesday Fox asked,  “If you could remodel/redecorate any room in your house which room would you choose and what would you do to it?”

I purchased my present home one year ago, and since this building is 25 years old there were a lot of things we changed before we moved in. There are a few minor things I’d like to improve, such as the lighting in my office and the flooring in the basement, and the downstairs bathroom could use a facelift, but those are on the “maybe someday” list. But if I had unlimited resources, I’d probably re-do a room that’s already been remodeled. 

Before: impractical tub

When we purchased our condo, we loved the floor plan, but the master bathroom needed a few major changes to accommodate my husband’s rapidly decreasing mobility. There was a huge tub surrounded by a wide box covered with tile. As you can see, the tile extended out from all sides of the tub making it difficult for a healthy person with no mobility issues to get in and out of, let alone a couple of seniors. The shower was tiny, and had an eight-inch high step to get into. To make it possible for my husband to shower, we tore out the tub and shower, then installed a large shower where the tub had been. The shower was drywalled, with the plan to make it into a linen closet. 

After: HUGE shower and closet area.

We managed to find a company to install the new shower and create the closet area, but the installation wasn’t completed until after my husband passed away. The closet has not been finished, and I’m working on refinishing the vanity cabinet and replacing the countertop. But if I could, I’d scrap the entire project and start over. 

First of all, the shower is way too big. I don’t need a shower that’s six feet long and four feet wide. Second, the bathroom layout is weird. The shower is set in the center of the bathroom and with the walls that had to be built, the commode is totally hidden. I had to install another light in the ceiling so people using it aren’t sitting in the dark. Third, I just don’t like the look of the pre-fabricated shower. Plus, there’s still a four-inch lip that the bather needs to step over to get in it. If someone were truly immobile, this would cause a problem. 

None of these issues is bothersome enough to make me start swinging a hammer or spending the money to tear everything out. There’s a perfectly good full bath in the basement, and going up and down the stairs several times a day is good exercise for me. Still, I’d like to finish that master bath so that eventually the suite can be used for guests, or for when I’m too tired to go downstairs. But what I’d really like to do would be to hire a decorator to help me create a better layout and select lighting fixtures and other things. Truthfully, I could probably afford to do that now (we sold our house for a lot more than I’d expected), but then the frugal part of me won’t allow myself to spend that much to tear apart a bathroom that I’ve never used. There are just too many other things I’d rather do with my money.

What do you think? Should I bite the bullet and create a bathroom I really like? Or should I just live with what I have?

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