bathroom, part 1: demolition
02.04 way more effective than dr. phil
click to see the full photo galleryOne of the hardest thing to get used to about our house was that it has no shower. Taking baths all the time, while not the biggest hardship in the world, is certainly an inconvenience when you lead hectic lives since everything has to be planned around your bathing schedule. But we got used to it just like anyone would from the 19th century.
However. Our tub, at some point in the forgotten past, was surrounded by a rather dubious wooden enclosure for purposes that will forever remain unknown. That, in itself, isn't a big deal. A little odd, maybe, but considering the previous owners, that's certainly not new.
No, the problem with the enclosure was the general sorry state of the thing -- peeling paint, disintegrating grout, rotting wood. It probably looks and sounds a whole lot worse than it actually was, though not by much. I mean, whoever built it put a lot of time into it, mimicking the curves of the tub and constructing it to withstand a category five hurricane. But it was long since time to put the thing out of its misery already and find out if that enclosure was meant to hide more than just a really great original clawfoot bathtub.
So what better candidate for our very first honest-to-goodness demolition job? Now, if you've never had the pleasure of a demolition project, I highly recommend finding one. No, I'm not advocating vandalism, people. I'm just saying that if you've got something around the house that's been bugging you for awhile, find yourself a sledge hammer (or regular hammer, depending on the size of the job) and just start pounding the ever-loving crap out of it. Believe me when I tell you that it's the closest you'll ever be to nirvana.
Thankfully, there were no bodies hidden in there and actually, everything was in surprisingly good condition. For once. It probably looks pretty bad to you -- worse even than the nasty enclosure that came before it -- but it's actually a huge improvement. Oh sure, the walls look like hell right now, though that's mostly different layers of paint and adhesive, but honestly, it's better. Plus, the bathroom looks bigger (not that it looked or felt particularly cramped) and we're so excited to find that the tub is in as good of shape as we'd hoped that we're willing to look past the fugliness of the bathroom for now. We've only just started this project, but a good portion of the work is cosmetic. And hopefully, in the not-too-distant-future, it'll be something out of a spa magazine.
Because achieving nirvana really works up a sweat.