Wednesday, October 14, 2015

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.)

18 comments:

  1. I love, love, love it! So cool. I like the bold simplicity (if that makes any sense) of it. :-)

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    1. That's a great way to say it. It's definitely bold rather than neutral; but I think there's an eye-pleasing simplicity to it. And I LOVE red. Red makes me happy!

      Thanks so much for the feedback!

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  2. Blogs - dead?!?!? Oh NOoooOOOOooo Please say it isn't so! Pleeasse "kick" here for a long time to come, okay?!

    I love, love, love that bathroom. LOVE black and white in a bathroom, and the red gives it a wonderful "pop" of color (red makes me happy too). It has just the retro look I love. (I just realized I've written "love" five - now six - times in 2 sentences about a bathroom... see how helpful blogs are in getting us to see ourselves? A good reason to start a movement to "Save The Blogs")

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    1. I don't know if that's really true about blogs--but I've noticed a lot of bloggers lately saying that they're doing less blogging and more Instagramming. And I believe the reason Camp Patton shut down is not because Grace Patton thought blogging was passe, but because there was some sort of incident involving her family's security (although I'm not sure what it was).

      BTW, I overuse "love," too. I love the word love. ;)

      Apparently the former homeowners thought red was happiness-inducing as well, because the kitchen is red and white. It's everything I ever would have wanted in a kitchen, and then some.

      I'm planning to blog about the master bath at the lake house in the coming days, because it's so interesting (again, not something I would have had the guts to pick out, but I really love it). We're also renovating our half-bath back at home in NH, and this includes turning an antique dresser into a vanity--so I'm sure I'll blog about that. Wow...I'll have to be careful and space these posts out, lest people think this has become a bathroom blog...

      Thanks as always for stopping by, and for the encouragement to keep at it. :)

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    2. Nancy, I think Gabriela loves the word "love" as much as we do! :)

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  3. Love the bathroom, it looks great! And please don't stop blogging ... I look forward to reading everything you write!

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  4. My kitchen is white and red, so I kind of dig the bathroom! I hope you slowly reveal more of Oyster Haven to us! I am pretty sure the "big blogs" are in face dying, or all but dead. But the little folks are still going strong! Thank goodness.

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    1. Madeline, your comments are always such a pick-me-up!

      And you can be sure there will be more posts about the new house!

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  5. Catching up on all your doings! Wow somehow I thought you were buying near your family's lake house but instead you've chosen a different location..I think. Is this anywhere near any of your sons?
    Meant to say in an earlier post love your kitchen!! and the bathroom, yes it is bold but it works

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  6. Oh and re blogs, well I've been blogging for 8 years and haven't any plans to retire soon, so don't think blogs will die entirely but I have seen alot of changes over that time. I don't think blogs will ever die off, just some will go and some will stay. and here was I not even knowing about Camp Patton until you said.

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    1. Actually, Erin, this house is near the family lake house---just 3.5 miles down the road, with almost the same view out the back. We decided that when we finally do retire, this is where we want to be: near family on both sides, in the town where we met and grew up. It's a place that's like a second home to our children and their cousins, and we know that with the lake in the back yard, we'll have a great "draw" for the grandchildren! We decided not to try to live near any of the boys, because with the exception of son #2, who will probably always live in the DC area (where his wife's family is from), the others are not totally set in their lives yet. Son #3 may relocate to FL one day, where his wife is from; son #4 wants to move back up to the Northeast, but has a great job in VA, so he doesn't know when or if that will happen; son #1 is getting ready to make a huge career change and take up sustainable farming, and he may end up near us in NH or NY; and our youngest is in the military and will be moving around a bit before he figures out where he's going to settle. So this seems like the best option for us as a retirement location.

      I know the blog isn't really dead; but I've noticed some of the ones I used to read aren't really posting much anymore, but those bloggers are on Instagram and Twitter. I don't think I'll ever quit blogging, though, if only because I love the writing exercise (more than any other kind of exercise!), and I know there are members of my family who really enjoy it. I can't believe I've been doing it for more than four years already!

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    2. Oh good to know, then I was paying attention:) Yes got to think about the 'draw'. Yes I wonder where all my children end up, certainly hope not so spread out. Thank goodness for your husband's job!
      wow I didn't realise you were up to 4 years, time flys! I do think that some of us just have to write, and we'll be around awhile:)

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  7. Love the bathroom, it looks great! And please don't stop blogging ... I look forward to reading everything you write Please recommend me a best low pressure electric showers.

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