Small Coastal Bathroom

It’s the last day of September already?

On April first, Florida joined 30 other states that ordered residents to remain in their homes for all but essential activities, to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. This was no April fool’s joke.

After the stay-at-home orders were lifted, I had a Saturday morning appointment to meet with Carol, in her lovely home in Boca Grande. This was before it turned into a masked, masked, masked mad world! Nevertheless, during my initial consultation, Carol and I kept our “social distance.”

It cost $6 to cross the bridge to Boca Grande, an idyllic small residential community on Gasparilla Island. From my car I saw sand that looked soft and powdery. The water was beautiful turquoise blue. But sadly, no one was on the pristine beach.

In spite of the pandemic (but with proper caution) Carol decided to redo their 1960’s outdated bathroom, complete with terracotta tile floors and an uniquely odd feature. There were several problems with the original design. The first item on the makeover list was to replace the old-fashioned laminate countertop. Two drop-in sinks seemed to be a fragment of a teeter totter. The laminate countertop balanced above an odd, narrow cabinet. It was clear that this bathroom didn’t function well at all. There were no built-in features like drawers, cabinets, or under-sink storage area. And speaking of under-sink…yikes! The exposed plumbing pipes and valves…really!  Sink pipes are not an attractive feature in any bathroom.  Am I right? Other dysfunctional attributes included dated and inefficient lighting.

This master bath was given a complete, and much needed overhaul. It transformed from dated to spa-like and functional. I just love the way it turned out. The single, skinny teeter totter cabinet was replaced with proper white shaker style cabinets. The dated-laminate countertop was replaced with a beautiful arctic-white solid surface countertop and an undermount porcelain sink. The new countertop offers a generous amount of counter space for this small bathroom. There’s also a new sitting area for the lady of the home: a makeup area. The lap drawer provides a place to store makeup, beauty tools, and makeup accessories.

Carol wanted to replace the light fixtures, but not the mirrors. At least, not yet. She hasn’t been able to leave the house much since coronavirus. But now she has a beautiful and functional master bathroom to enjoy. Once the pandemic is over, the homeowner plans to go shopping for accessories to complete the space!