Say That Again

The mother: I really like how that’s looking. Me (in an astonished tone): What? The bathroom? The mother: Uh-huh. Wait. Who are you? And where’s my mother?! For the past few weeks, all I’ve heard come out of the mother’s mouth is: “It’s too white. I hate white.” Funny. This is the same woman who fought with me three years ago over painting the faux tin ceiling panels black. And the same woman who, just a month or so ago, put up almost as big a fight when I said I wanted the chair rail and quarter-round black, too. Even so, she's still partial to the off-white/beigy/pale yellow color that was there before. Generally, I leave designing to the mother; I’m more of an order-taker in that department. Occasionally though I feel strongly about something. And, I felt pretty strongly about off-setting all that white with some bold statements of black. (And thank you, Karen Anne, for your choice of the word “stunning” in describing the new black trim. I am still grinning over that one.) I’m down to a few pieces of trim. Trim which managed to set off another battle between the mother and I. This time, I wanted to use a thin rope-style wood trim – painted black – to serve as a transition between the wallpaper and the tub surround. This wasn’t an issue with our old tub surround as it went up almost to the ceiling. (This is a shot from 2009, back before we got the new tub surround.) See how the surround is separated from the molding by a thin strip of wallpaper? That's no longer the case. You may recall the debacle that ensued when this surround was replaced on the hope of putting in what was an awesome surround -- but that wouldn't fit! So, right from the start, the bathroom design had changed and I inherited 16 more inches of wall space to cover on the three sides of the shower. But back to the trim. I wallpapered that inherited space from the new molding that meets the ceiling down to the top of the new (now 3-year-old) surround. It wasn't a pretty transition so it needed something. "If you put that wood up there, it will rot," the mother insisted. I don't think it's quite that tragic but admittedly, it will get an occasional water splash and it will always be subject to steam. What could I use? This was a dilemma over the holiday weekend. My first thought was some of the boards I'd used on the shed. Nothing fancy there though. But as I walked away, something at the opposite end of the molding aisle caught my eye: cellular vinyl DECORATIVE exterior trim. YES! Essentially, it's hardcore plastic (PVC). And paintable. And not that expensive. (A little over a $1 a foot.) Double YES! That's what I painted Monday afternoon ... and have yet to install. I'll get to it. I've just pushed so hard that I gave myself a little downtime. It's been so funny to look at pictures like this. The bathroom HAS changed. In some ways, a lot. In some ways, not that much. But, in putting together ALL OF THE ELEMENTS old and new ... the change is pretty impressive. Photos to come soon, I promise!