Big Bluestem | Bathroom Remodel
Imagine an adobe walled bathroom with no additional insulation and no heating—that’s going to be one cold bathroom during the winters here in Northern New Mexico! Those aren’t ideal conditions for plumbing lines either, so I wasn’t surprised that part of this bathroom remodel project was to include replacing or repairing a fair amount of the plumbing. All in all, this outdated bathroom was long past due for some significant improvements that would better support the people of the house, and the cats. Yes, the cats…
Challenges of a Cramped Bathroom Layout
Not only did this single bathroom serve as the only bathroom in the house, it also acted as the laundry room and location for the cat box. The space was cramped and unorganized, with a hot water heater inconveniently located in the closet, and 30” deep open shelving serving as a no man’s land of lost toiletry items…and hiding cats.
There was a small vanity, a protruding pony wall to block the toilet, a cat box, and a barely functioning washer and dryer set up in the room too—all of which exacerbated the lack of space. When you added in a bathtub that was too tall to easily access, and drainage that often didn’t work properly, I could totally understand why the project might have seemed overwhelming to the homeowners. But all projects become more manageable with a step-by-step plan, so I set to work drafting out how we would address the many challenges.
Start with the Basics: Light, Heat, & Water
I should have mentioned that the bathroom had inadequate lighting, with no lights in the shower area; just a single, deeply-set, exterior window that offered too little illumination to counteract the shower curtain being drawn and blocking out what little light came from the over-the-sink fixture inside the room. So I began by replacing the difficult-to-access tub insert with a no-threshold walk-in shower featuring a glass door and a glass half-wall so that more light could naturally stream into the shower from the other fixtures in the room. And I made sure to increase the number of fixtures too, adding two wall pendants to replace the single over-the-sink solution that’d been used prior. Once we opened up the floor space, and painted the new drywall in a pleasing ivory from Dunn Edwards, there was no way the room would feel dark anymore.
After increasing the vanity size and relocating it to the opposing wall so that it could take advantage of the room’s only other external window, I then addressed the heating issue by installing an under-vanity cabinet heater, controlled by a wall-mounted dial, which would help ensure that the bathroom stayed warm and comfortable year-round. This was aided by the fact that when we demoed the bathroom at the outset we added insulation to the exterior walls to improve the bathroom’s overall energy efficiency.
As I mentioned earlier, there were numerous plumbing improvements required over the course of the project. We rehabilitated the faltering gray water system and installed a filter to contend with the hard well water. The large hot water heater was replaced with an instant water heating unit housed in a dedicated cabinet, freeing up valuable space that could be repurposed as more storage.
Since part of good plumbing design involves finding efficient ways to access the fixtures, I made sure we strategically placed the shower valve controls by the entrance to the shower, while the showerhead and hand-held sprayer were positioned towards the back of the walk-in space.
Other Details & Remodeling for Pets
Moving and enlarging the vanity in the room layout was one of the significant ways we gained storage space, and removing the washer and dryer from the bathroom all together was how we gained considerably more floor space. There was still the problematic open shelving issue behind the shower stall, but we replaced that with a tall linen cabinet featuring four adjustable shelves for flexibility of use. As long as the doors to the cabinet stayed closed, the cats couldn’t disappear into it.
In fact, many decisions were made with the cats in mind. The custom vanity cabinet was designed to include a dedicated space at ground level for the cat litter box, complete with a cut-out door for easy access, and a shelf for storing cleaning supplies. This solution not only kept the litter box hidden out of the way, but also provided a tidy and organized storage area for all the cat-related items. We also replaced the shallow bowl sink with a deep undermount style, complete with a bar-style faucet for easier cleaning of cat accessories.
Throughout the project though I didn’t want to lose sight of some of the most charming details that already existed in the space. For example, the original brick floors were retained, with a few replaced and repaired sections, and we worked hard to preserve all of the vigas and hardwood ceiling. My clients and I chose a lovely green tile to use for the walk-in shower and vanity backsplash wall. It created a pleasing color contrast with the warm wood accents above, and the red of the brick below.
Overall, the remodel transformed a cramped multi-purpose room into a warm, organized, and functional bathroom that met the homeowners’ needs, as well as their pets’ needs!
