A tiny but terrific WC- Foxcroft Farm Before and After

While we worked on the front entry, Youngest and I also attacked the 1/2 bath in the front hall. 

It seemed like the natural choice, as we had the snug redone, and the keeping room redone, but the thing that connected those two was the entry and powder room, and they were hollering for help! 

This little wash closet had little to recommend it, other than it was here. It did not even have toilet paper, and presumably folks had been flushing tissues? 

Firstly, getting in to the room was complicated, as the door did not open completely, but instead ran into the vanity on the way. 

The next feature generally noted was the choice of wallcovering that featured "country style outhouses". This border mid-wall had cheery sayings about outhouses. No one that ever actually HAD to use an outhouse would endorse these sentiments. 

"Memories to keep Me Company"

"That Dear Old Country Landmark"

This border was complimented by both a plaid and a sepia faded floral. I found the combination unfortunate.

The floor was mostly inoffensive, a tile printed with pictures of... tile? in an orange/pink tone. 

When one went to wash up and check teeth, that is when you would realize the mirror- a plastic medicine cabinet- was placed so low, as to show only torso. And, to be in front of the sink you definitely had to close the door.  Should you turn on the ventilation fan, you were greeted by the sone level of a low flying aircraft. So, that needs to be replaced too. One shouldn't need ear protection in the bathroom. 

The room was small, windowless, dark, cramped and down in the dumps... 

To liven it up a bit, we left a Sharpie on the obstructive vanity to allow anyone to offer up some graffiti. 

"Peeing and Peeling" was also not discouraged- and patches of wallpaper made it to the bin. 

I think Youngest relished the removal of this wallpaper, and I let him have at it, as there is only room for one at a time in this space. 

Stripping out the room- toilet, light fixture- it was dated, and wildly too low, taking out the vanity and the medicine cabinet gave us the blank canvas I was ready to see. 

Unfortunately, I was not ready to see the hole in the wall where the medicine cabinet had been. It had a stud that had been just cut out and tossed back into the wall space. No one had framed any kind of header above to take the weight that stud had once held... and another mystery of "I wonder why".... was solved. In this case, "I wonder why the upstairs hallway (above this room) has a slant in the floor."

It's all good. I was going to rip out the drywall back there anyway to reinforce the wall to hold the sink...more on that later. 

First, let's get out that floor! And, the floor under the floor - vinyl "yellow brick." 

As it happens, I decide what something will look like after I lay down at night, in order to sleep. The next morning, with my cup of tea, I jotted it in my notebook. 

 Every room needs something special. Something that makes it really sing its own tune. For this room it was to be the sink.  And, this was the one I loved. 

It is a 1926 Crane wall mount, cast iron sink with basin taps. A delight. Huz and I found it at Salvagewrights Architectural Antiquities in Orange, VA. The original Crane taps, and the original mounting bracket were all together with the sink. The sink weighs about 70 pounds. Thus the drywall removal to reinforce the framing in the wall to distribute and hold the weight! 

B&A Tub Savers, a local family business did the refinishing on the sink, and it looks marvelous! 

Ferguson Plumbing supply had a great salesman, Seth, that helped me get the plumbing just right- not easy to get these old sinks plumbed correctly. The old taps were much too damaged to be useable, but we could match the style with new reproductions.

And, Mike from Young's Plumbing, Schuyler, VA, patiently replaced all the old plumbing from the wall out to give us a beautiful feature for this room. 

The next thing I felt this room really needed was space. Making a wall mounted sink so the door would open all the way was fantastic, but I also wanted enlarge the room, give it height. One wall is the back of the keeping room chimney, so is brick, and painting that bright gloss white gave the room some textural interest. 

To add to the height, we put in a high wainscot, as one might see in an Arts and Crafts era dining room, leaving the stiles square to play up the length. Adding crown moulding to the ceiling/wall angle also added an illusion of height. 

The last thing I wanted to do in this room to make it special was add a bonus, something you wouldn't see unless you went into the room and then had "wow" to it. 

Here is the sweet little WC. 

 

We installed a travertine stone floor, framed in an antique mirror I have had for ages,  installed the Reese 2-light wall sconce from Mitzi Lighting, added a heavy antique gold mirror from Circa, Charlottesville, and a sweet little glass table from Twice is Nice (2), a local thrift store. 

The special "bonus" is the Hydrangea wallpaper from Rifle Paper in black on the ceiling! I love it.

  

Can you see the "CRANE" on the bottom of the sink? The angle valves and P trap assembly are from Signature Hardware. 

This excellent lighting by Mitzi needs its own photo! You can see it better when it isn't lit. 

The reproduction basin taps are from Kingston Brass. 

 Can a room that is less than 24 square feet be my favorite? Why not? 

Front Entry Friendly. Foxcroft Farm Before and After.

Foxcroft's front entry. These photos were taken the day we closed on the house. Huz knows I am unlikely to leave "as is", so declared the "before" photos should be taken immediately. He's not wrong. It wasn't more than a week or so before I painted the front door! 

This is the view into the snug, I think that "before and after" is the previous blog.

So, the things I liked Day One entering Foxcroft; I love the knocker on the front door. It is brass, and a brilliant big fox head. I like that the door is centered on the house and wide front porch, and has a transom above. The wood floors are a wonderful 9" wide plank. There is also very nice heavy, wide tongue and groove from the chair rail to the floor. 

Things I wanted to change: It is dark, it feels cramped, I am not a fan of carpeted stairs. So, I determined to replace the front door with one incorporating a lot of glass, and open up the stairwell on both sides. Neither one has happened. I am waiting to mix that in to the other bigger changes to the home, post pandemic, when I can have knowledgable, strong people do some of the heavy lifting! 

Youngest and I started the way one does- stripping down to the basics. Steaming and scraping the ceiling stuff off, steaming and peeling the wallpaper- this one had been painted over, and some other treatment that left ridges between the wallpaper seams? 

Working on the stairs, I really appreciate my Little Giant Ladder. It's a lifesaver, and makes working on the ceiling above the stairs possible. 

This phase is just really dirty!

 

The ceilings are best if I take it all the way to dry wall, and retape and mud the seams. 

 All cleaned up and ready to start re-dressing. First up, fixing the ceiling dry wall seams and then coating  a lot of Kilz Primer, pretty much on everything. 

Then, for this space, gallons of WHITE.

One staircase in the house made it a challenge to paint when it also has to handle foot traffic. 

So, I tagged the stairs you could step on, and everyone had to do two at time for a few days. 

Next up was the floor. I wanted to expand the space and make it feel larger, and also make a transition between the original wood floors in the house which are honey colored and the wood floors we just put into the snug, which are darker. So, I painted one of my traditional favorites. Checkerboard on a slant. 

For this treatment, I just measure out my lines and create the 12x12" squares. Then, I free hand the lines. I have a lot of practice with this, so it is easier for me than tape. One coat of Kilz and two coats of white. I top coated with Minwax Clear Satin Polyurethane. It yellowed a lot, but it ends up looking kind of soft and antiqued. 

We replaced the fixture with a gold toleware one. Then I decided the stairs needed something special, a little detail. So in a nod to wonderful architect and designer, Gil Schafer, I created some decorative detail for the skirtboard, or outside stringer.  

I hung a mirror I bought at auction, added the library table I bought in Oklahoma and my collection of family heirloom walking sticks, including two that were my great grandfather's. A few treasured favorites; hand tied rug, original artwork of Affirmed (winner of the 1978 Triple Crown) as a tribute to the racing heritage at Foxcroft Farm, nests from Cowfeathers Farm and Foxcroft Farm, and a lovely hunt whip from a dear friend. 

The entry is now brighter and simply lovely. 

My models came to help beautify. 

Daisy came for a visit too.

 

I'm a front door person. I am a front porch person. I like these things. Now I am happy to have folks find their way to the front! If only I had a walkway.....

It is on the list.