Wow, that’s a lot of stuff!
We’re moving right along with the bathroom (the subfloor is complete, the roughing-in is almost done…next comes electric!), so we’ve had to hurry up and make decisions about things like bath hardware and a how we want to keep the room warm.
I’m super excited about our Runtal towel radiator! It’s powerful enough to heat the whole bathroom (there’s no heat source in there right now), with the added benefit of keeping our towels warm and dry. What a luxury! We were able to find a good deal on eBay, too.
We’ve also decided to go with wide-plank beadboard on the walls outside of the tub area (around the tub will still be subway tile, as originally planned). We’re going to run it 8′ high, leaving only a 2′ border at the top of the room. I think that border and the ceiling might get painted a dark, charcoal gray, to complement the black pennyround tile (with charcoal grout) on the floor.
22 Comments
Anna, it will look awsome! Can’t wait to see everything in place.
towel warmers are the greatest things. my mother had one in our old house, it heated the small bathroom adequately & yes, i dried & warmed my knee socks on it in the winter. i can’t wait to see the end result, you know, because i used the old version of that precious little room & i know you are performing decorating magic in there right now!.
I love the combination of vintage-y and modern together, Where did you get those enameled iron accessories? I’d love to use those in my bathroom whenever we get around to redo-ing it. On a different topic, did you strip your woodwork before painting them? Everything always looks so crisp in your pictures and I’d love to know how you got an old house to look that way.
all fabulous choices that are both useful and sleek!
Delurking – just found you through Megan at NotMartha and have been been reading and loving your blog. And I keep saying, “hey, I have that SAME …”
I don’t know if you used to get Blueprint magazine, but the Jan/Feb 2008 issue has a feature on Suzanna Bierwirth’s (the designer behind Binth) victorian rowhouse in Chicago. In her bathroom she has white tile to about 4′ with the upper painted charcoal grey. I did something similar in my bathroom wasted too much money on paint samples until I finally got the color she used: Pratt and Lambert Anubis (#32-17).
I think you would really dig her aesthetic, and I’d be happy to color copy the article and send it to you – just email me!
this is perfect timing for me — we’re considering (if all stars align) putting an offer on a house in PDX that lacks bathroom heat upstairs and quickly considered a wall heater (fugly). But these radiators do add the luxury of happy towels as well as heating the room you say? do you have previous experience with the speed of achieving adequate room warmth?
I think what you have planned sounds delightful, especially the charcoal gray ceiling!
oh, it’s going to look great! i can’t wait to see the finished room.
Hi, new to your blog. Love the fixtures for the bathroom redo. We are also considering a bathroom remodel at our house. How lucky I am to have found your site. Great taste and fun ideas!!
drool!!! I love everything! Did I mention before that my mom is using your bathroom inspiration photos for her (very cool) bathroom remodel? I’ll swap images once she’s finally done this spring (they’re doing an entire house overhaul)
So hard to find towel warmers that don’t look stupid. Bravo!
Elissa: The enameled accessories are from Manufactum. They ship to the US! As for the woodwork in my house, pictures can be deceptive. I did scrape off any paint that was peeling or flaking, but I definitely did NOT strip it to bare wood before painting. Too much work, too little time! My process with the woodwork has basically been scrape, patch, sand, clean with TSP sub, caulk, prime with BIN, 2 coats of satin-finish paint.
mixette: I just ran upstairs and grabbed that issue of Blueprint (which I miss sorely!), and you’re right — her bathroom is gorgeous! I love that gray color, and it looks very similar to the color I had in mind. My mother just painted a cabinet with BM Gray (that’s the name!), and I think I’m going to try her leftovers to see if it works first. We have quite a distance to drive to buy P&L.
Christina: We did a lot of research, and it seems that in the US, Runtal is the only company that makes electric towel warmers that also function as radiators. They are also way more expensive than the ones that only work to heat towels! The rule of thumb is (very generally) 10-15 watts per square foot for bathroom heaters, so at over 700 watts for the model we chose, we’re well over what we need to adequately heat the room. I really didn’t want an electric baseboard heater or a fan blower (or worse, a heat lamp!), and radiant would have raised our floor too much, so this is a good option for us.
Karly: Yes, please share! Your mother obviously has excellent taste. 😉
Oooo, I’m going to be jealous of your towel warmer. I always love those so much when I’m in Europe. I wish they were more common over here.
So excited about your dark and dramatic paint choice… Can’t wait to see the finished product!!!
I was thinking the same thing about the towel warmer – so European. I think all my family in Scotland has those!
I think we’re doing a dark charcoal grey or black in the bathroom as well… on the ceiling and wall and trim.
Everything up there sounds nice… love the penny rounds with the charcoal grout and the enamelled accessories. 🙂
do you know what you’re using for lighting in the bathroom?
Meredith: We’re going to use these Truman sconces (they’re right above the pennyrounds in my collage) on either side of the mirror. We may also have an overhead light, but we haven’t picked anything out yet.
nice!
Can’t wait to see the end result!
sorry, i didn’t notice the sconces at first! maybe i should be concentrating more at work… hehe.
so dreamy. i love the round black tiles and the beadboard, classic and beautiful. I can picture a huge bouquet next to the tub being the only color in the room! (add candles, gin&elderflower cocktail, good book, never leave…)
I reeeeeeally like that towel warmer. Maybe something like this would shorten my showers because I wouldn’t fear getting out into the cold 🙂