Yes, That is a Toilet...

...and yes, it is in the middle of the master bedroom.  With the kitchen remodel complete, we just couldn't stop there.  Mary had seen some innovative features in one of the bungalows up the street, similar to ours, and thought that since the upstairs bathroom was overdue for remodeling, we might as well go for it.  So for a few weeks, we are sleeping in the guest bedroom downstairs.

As far as the innovation goes, what she has organized is a knee-wall closet.  See, the 1929 bungalow we have, and the four others up and down the neighboring two blocks, were designed as "story-and-a-half houses" - the upstairs footprint is about half of what the downstairs is, with a lot of lost space in the eaves of the roof.  At least in ours, one side is taken up with the central a/c and ductwork from a renovation in the '80's, which is when we think the bath was last done.

To get a sense of the idea, here is a photo of the space where the new knee wall closet will go, in its current state of "demo."  And also, here is the cedar planking, along with some of the wall trim that will go in there when it is complete.

Next on the agenda is the master bath upstairs.  There is a pedestal tub, a skylight, and some nice stained glass windows.  This space is a little pop-up dormer that we think is original to the house - although that is not the case in all the neighboring bungalows.  Note the color of the tub...that's what gives us the idea the renovation dates to the '80's...it kinda makes me want to put on some Katrina and the Waves.

Mary has contracted to have the tub reglazed (that's done already, as you can see in the photos), put new tile down to replace the white 8x8's - a new hex style that is something like the vintage tiles that might have been original.  Later, she's arranged to have wainscott paneling put in to update, and the skylight will be replaced with a working one.  The new sink and faucet have already been delivered too.

So I guess we are about halfway through with this project, since the tile seemed to be the long pole in the tent.  But I can't wait to get that toilet back where it belongs.