Thursday, March 5, 2015

Gutting "The Doggy Bathroom" {Restoring The Lefere Mansion}


This just might be the most dramatic before and after I've ever shared.  It's also probably the most expensive before and after we've ever had because the only thing we kept was the toilet!  Oh, and the beautiful brown and yellow door frame.  It has about fifty four coats of paint on it and still needs another one...


So why is it called the "Doggy Bathroom" you ask?  One of the neighbor boys to the Lefere's growing up told me this was "The Doggy Bathroom" because Mrs. Lefere's adored puppy doggy liked to drink out of the toilet and she wouldn't dream of letting anyone use a bathroom the dog liked to quench his thirst in, so it was the dog's.  I haven't verified the truth to that with any family members, but that's the story and I guess we'll stick with it. :)

We had to replace the stained glass window per home insurance orders.  It is now on display on my piano which you can see HERE.  The wallpaper.  Ohhhhh the wallpaper.  I actually wished I had saved a piece of it to frame or something.  Anyone know what year that might be from?  I know the little fuzzy pom poms bordering the top were popular in the 60's and 70's...


In case you're wondering why the toilet has plastic over it, the home sat empty for a couple of years and had been winterized.  We did keep the medicine cabinet and it got a sweet makeover (if I do say myself) and it is in the half bath which you can check out HERE.

That would be my Dad laying down under what was the floor.  He just loves doing my dirty  jobs.  You're looking at the laundry room, and the bathroom is the room his head is in, trying to remove the tub perhaps?  Dad, what ARE you doing under there?  Something nobody else wanted to do, at any rate!


Gutted!  What a MESS!


My father in law was a great help in this mudroom/bathroom/laundry room renovation.  I think here he is doing a little insulating.  Not sure what happened.  We put heat ducts in here, had the whole thing foam insulated, and I think when someone pees in the toilet in these winter  months their stream is almost frozen before it hits the water in the toilet.  Excuse that word picture.  I think it will pretty much be our "spring, summer, and fall only" bathroom.  I don't want to find someone sitting on the toilet in a frozen state or even just purple and in the throws of hypothermia.  That would be real embarrassing to all involved.


Looking in from the kitchen - the mudroom getting striped, and look!  Is that a vanity I see in the bathroom?  And a floor installed?  Yes!


I could hardly believe Tim wanted to save this door frame, but he did.  So like a good wife, and loving frugality, I painted over that beautiful brown and yellow color combo.


There sits our toilet....  We were true rednecks for a few months this summer!


Well?  Here it is today!  The mirror is actually just temporary until I can get my medicine cabinet installed.  I found one, painted it, and now it's on Hubby's "to do" list.  He doesn't seem to think it is, though.  But it's there!  Oops, I can see from the photo I forgot to paint part of the door... oh well, it still needs a final coat anyway. But remember what I said about the winter temps out there in doggy bathroom...  my fingers go numb out there so fast I can't feel the paintbrush.  Spring project for sure!


I have lots of these old bed and chair springs.  I love using them in my decor!



Can I just say that the faucet is one of my favorite parts of the bathroom?  Tim sent me to Lowes with a picture and model make of the faucet I was supposed to buy.  It was boring and UGLY and this awesome one was on clearance.  I took a chance and brought it home instead.  He was annoyed, until he looked it up online and saw that "I done good".  Phew!


That was bathroom #1. 

 I have five more bathrooms to bring to Kammy's Korner, so stay tuned! :)


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13 comments:

  1. Kammy, Wow! What an overhaul but so worth it, so beautiful now! I'll be cracking up about those pompoms for quite awhile now, definitely a first for me!
    ~Tami @ Curb Alert!

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  2. Wow! What an amazing transformation! I am looking forward to the day when we can remodel our bathroom. It has a salmon colored tub and sink, a white tile floor, and turquoise tile on the walls. Thankfully no wallpaper. I am stopping by from Frugal Friday with Shabby Nest.

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  3. I agree Wow! It looks amazing. The transformation is incredible. Love the bedspring idea. Can't wait to see the other bathrooms you are bringing.

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  4. Haha I have the exact same faucet in our guest bathroom, kid you not :) It looks great--the before was such a crazy mess!

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  5. Cool faucet - never seen one like that before!

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  6. I love these before, during, and after posts about your home. I am curious about your comment that the stained glass window had to be replaced per home insurance orders. Can you elaborate a little more on those "orders"? I love the faucet you substituted, bucking those "orders".

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  7. Five bathrooms to redo, holy cow! This one looks great but oh my, what a of work, and still having issues with heating the space. I am by no means an expert of anything HVAC -- whatever little I think I know is from watching This Old House, Rehab Addict and the Property Brothers, LOL. Just am wondering if there is a lot of heat transfer loss in the ductwork. If it was run underneath the floor and the floor is open to an earth crawlspace, maybe that is an issue and wrapping the ducts with insulation would work? Or actual leaks in the ductwork that need to be taped? Or perhaps the furnace isn't of sufficient capacity to pump warmed air all the way to that run of ductwork. I hope it is something that can be fixed relatively easily and inexpensively, whatever it is. The house is really coming along beautifully!

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  8. Holy cow!!! What an amazing transformation, and a lot of work!! I looks amazing, and you did do good on the faucet!

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  9. I am obsessed with that faucet, I showed it to my fiance' (we're beginning to plan our "big" house that we're building!) and he loves them too, so hopefully we'll be able to find something similar :)

    xoox, SS

    The Southern Stylista

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  10. Wow...you did not just go in and do a touch up here and there or a change this and that you did a whole rip it out and start again and it looks amazing!

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  11. Beautiful transformation! It's amazing how you can breathe new life into a space! I love this!

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  12. It's gorgeous, Kammy! And we have that faucet in our unfinished bathroom, too!

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