Scotland Road

"If it's not Scottish it's Crap!"

     Or at least, that's what Mike Myers would have had you believe back in this days on SNL.  A dangerous quote on St Patrick's day I guess, but it has it's purpose.  After sorting through a half dozen or so paint sample with 4 shades each, Mary and I came to the conclusion that we were going to go with Scotland Road.

     Our selection was based on a number of parameters.  In a small house, the conventional wisdom suggests color, texture, etc are related, if not consistent.  Mary wanted something a little different from the dining room.  Plus, it needed to make sense, as did every other choice, with a green glass soap pumps that I randomly became obsessed with.  Oddly enough we received two soap pumps for wedding presents.


     And that is how we came to, on St Patrick's Day, select Scotland Road for the walls of our nearly renovated bathroom.



     Plus, the bathroom is now bigger on the inside than it appears to be on the outside and I think Doctor Who would appreciate that.

Motivators

The single greatest motivator in this renovation was to finally shower in the bathroom after spending five years using a makeshift shower in the middle of the basement laundry room.  Pictured is where The Old Cow (a 4 ft claw foot tub) once sat along side a commode, below a partial flight of attic stairs.  Our second greatest motivator was to increase the layout and square footage of our bathroom to include everything above.  The new room is approximately 9x6 ft with an additional 2x4 ft entry.

In an effort to save usable space we included in this project a slight entry way.  Presently this entrance is covered by a canvas tarp.  To the right of this doorway is an opening to our future linen closet.  Once accessible from another room of the house, this closet once served as a center for sorting and storing recyclable materials.  The future home of our recycling bins for paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, etc. is still a great mystery.

Looking forward to what next week brings, I've included an image of some of the lighting that will be included in the room.  Hanging from the 10 ft ceiling, we wanted lighting that would provide ample light in a practical way.  Although this pendant light take 2 light bulbs with a max of 60 watts each, we were advised that compact fluorescent bulbs put out substantially less heat.  With this in mind, we have the option to increase wattage if extra light is needed while saving on our electric bill.  We will be making up for our recent contribution to the local land fills for years to come.  I will be sure to recycle the cardboard box this light came in.

Dip Function

An exciting feature of this project is the inclusion of a pocket door.  Due to space limitations and the layout of the house, we opted for a combination of an on suite bath, with accessibility from another door leading to the kitchen.  The pocket door replaces an older door which featured an odd assortment of angles.  Again, I am having a difficult time locating an example of the before.  Soon to come, I hope.

Contributing greatly to the once awkward door is the unlevel floor.  Much of the delay in starting this project was caused by debates about how to best compensate for the noticeable "dip" in the floor.  The final solution includes a self leveling compound to be applied in the coming week.  Pictured, you may notice the dip in the floor especially where the cold air return is concerned.  Both the return and the vent in this photo are to be relocated to the walls.