A Bathroom with Style (and a View!)

Now that blogging superstar Grace Patton has exited the blogosphere (oh nooooooooo!), leaving many readers stunned and saddened (and I count myself among them), I'm beginning to believe that all those grapevine rumors I've heard might be true: they say the blog is dead.  It's history, a has-been.  People have moved on. 

But in spite of that, I'm still here, and still kicking.  And I thought you would probably just love a look at the upstairs bathroom in our soon-to-be VRBO house ("Oyster Haven") in Upstate NY.  Wouldn't you?

Sure you would!

The Colonial home we bought is very old, at least the main part of it is.  It was built in 1830 and used to serve as the homestead on a large farm that has since been divided up into residential and commercial lots and sold to the surrounding neighbors. 

Directly across the street, however, there is still a small parcel of farmland with some barns on it, owned now by a family down the street--and there are two horses that reside there.  We have been told that we are welcome to visit these horses whenever we want, so yesterday my husband and I took a work break and went over to say hello to one of our across-the-street neighbors.

Yes, this is going to be a post about home décor, not farm animals.  So I better get back on track.  No more horsing around (ha ha!).

As I said, the main part of our house is very old, but there is a 1940's addition that includes an enormous kitchen, a half-bath, and a two-car garage.  The kitchen has since been updated and has all the modern bells and whistles you can imagine, including a huge island with some unique design elements, two ovens, and stainless steel appliances.  (One of these days soon, I'll devote a whole post to this awesome space--for it is truly the kitchen of my dreams.)  The rest of the house is in really good shape, too, and it has updated, custom-designed bathrooms. 

We really like the upstairs bathroom, with its retro look.  I did nothing to change it, except for exchanging the zebra-print shower curtain for something more our style, and using the old window valance (which was very sun-faded) as a pattern to make another one just like it.  Beyond those two simple changes, all this bathroom needed to be ready for use was some cleaning products and a healthy amount of elbow grease.

The double vanity is enormous, and appears to be custom-made to fit the space.

The only decorative addition I made is the painted wooden letter on the wall, which I've actually had since we lived in FL in the early days of our marriage.  And no, I didn't hang that P in the bathroom because I am a fan of eight-year-old-boy humor (although as the mother of five sons, I did hear a lot of that over the years, I can tell you); it's a P for PEARL, of course. 

The lake view from the bathroom window is glorious.

Never in a million years would my husband and I have chosen the bold look of a black-and-white checkerboard tile floor with a bright red tile countertop; but we've decided that it works, and we have no plans to change it any time soon.

What say you, readers?  I'd love to hear what you think of it.

(Before I go, don't forget that if you leave me a comment by Halloween, you could win a free signed copy of Erin's Ring.)