A new look for an old, icky room ...

Though the complete history of our house remains a mystery, there are a few things we have been able to determine with a fair amount of certainty:

• Our land once belonged to the Winnebago Indians;


• Our land and all that surrounds us was later settled by a family named Phillips;


• An American Foursquare was as common to home design in 1890 as a split entry home was back in 1970;


• Our home was once heated with wood and the person who removed the wood stove is rued by me to this day;


• The kitchen was an add-on, sometime between 1940 and 1960;


• The bathroom was last remodeled circa 1960. Note the then-trendy pink cast-iron sink pictured below, and


• We have given this property more TLC in the past 2 years than it has seen in a coon's age.

When you walk into the bathroom, you'll probably notice an immediate sag to the floor. We attribute the sag to aging floorboards, and thus forgive it. (It seems we all could benefit by being forgiven the minor consequences of age.) Less forgivable was the plywood cabinet, the aged laminate that was chipped and scorched, and the wretched flooring that cried out to be covered.

Because bathroom remodels can be complicated and costly, we postponed this project until we felt we could plan it right, meaning we could bring the space significant improvement without having to tap into credit. (Sorry Mr. President).

For us, the stars began to align last summer when one of Handy's customers discarded a perfectly fine ceramic sink and toilet. Being a born recycler, two items destined for a landfill ended up instead in our garage, awaiting completion of a plan. Earlier this winter, we found a remnant roll of attractive vinyl flooring. A light bar came to us from a re-use center in town. After pricing out new tubs or resurfacing processes, we decided to be at peace with our pink tub. That left us with only one piece of the puzzle to place: a cabinet/countertop with the angled edges to allow us to move confortably past the sink to either the toilet or the laundry, which is tucked into a cove at the far end of the bathroom. We quickly learned that standard cabinets had become very costly and custom cabinets were beyond our reach. Well, not quite...

Actually, we put Number Two son on the task, the son who had previously built benches, porch swings, Cupolas, napkin holders, maple cutting boards, and other furniture. Tommy is studying cabinetry in school and was generous enough to put in overtime in the woodshop to craft this beautiful oak cabinet for us. He also built the counter and installed it all. We are so blessed he shared his talent with us.

Custom cabinetry by Tom ... he may not care about this as much as I do, but by adding his craftsmanship to the old farmhouse, he just became part of its history.

A beautiful new bathroom ... and no bank loans required. Sorry Mr. President!