New marble tile in the bathtub and some much needed deep cleaning

Last February, I repainted and did a mini redo on the guest bathroom, after Dewdrop asked me to paint it pink for her.  Of course, I like pink too, so was happy to do it.

The tub is original to the house and was awful.  We'd put up a cheapo, plastic surround that never looked good either.  I hated both, and while my mini redo last winter cheered the room up, it was purely cosmetic and didn't take care of the bigger issues.

Well, I'd decided that enough was enough, that nasty, old tub and the flimsy wall covering had to go.  This was the GUEST room, the shower that all my treasured houseguests had to use.  And it was embarrassing.

The contractor came out to look at the space, and he suggested a treatment over the old tub to freshen it. Those old, iron tubs are heavy, hard to remove, and are meant to last a lifetime, unlike the newer tub I'd be replacing it with.

But the tub was chipped in some spots, and stained horribly.  My son was helping the tilers and asked if I'd ever thought of cleaning it.

Brat.

He meant, deep, deep cleaning and a scraping with a razor blade. Nope, I'd just used sponges and regular scrubbing stuff on it.  

So, I soaked it 24 hours with a gallon of straight vinegar in the bottom, and the next morning, added a splash of CLR (to remove hard water buildup and rust).  I went after it with a razor blade and magic eraser, and it very soon looked shiny and clean again.

A few touch ups with white enamel paint, and the chips disappeared too.  Honestly, it isn't perfect, but it is 90 some years old and I like old things with imperfections, as long as they aren't grimy and gross. This tub looks shiny and clean, while still keeping the vintage feel.

 I'm very happy with the results.

Next up, tile.   And while the faucets and handles were taken off to tile around, I soaked and scrubbed them too. Our well water had left lots of filmy, white deposits on those and I had thought I'd replace them. Until I saw how nice the tub looked after some elbow grease, then I thought I'd give them a good scrubbing too. 

And you know what? I had them clean in a matter of minutes after soaking.  It was simple, fast, and saved me a lot of money.

I'd thought that that bathtub and the fixtures were ruined. Then I found out that I am just not much of a housekeeper.  

The best part of the redo is this cute, little niche for soap and shampoo.  Since this is an old house, we didn't know what we'd find when the walls were opened up, and didn't know if there would be a space to make this work, but luckily, there was space just where I wanted the cubby to go.

I looked at a lot of tile before choosing the marble.  I was weighing in between this and white subway tile, both felt old fashioned and right for the age of the home.  But the tile seemed toooo white for me, I like the variations of color in the natural stone. I have always admired marble, so I splurged and went for it. And this was a pretty small area to do, so the price tag wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. (and I saved money on not replacing the tub, so that justified it)

And I am so glad that it all worked out the way I wanted.  The old tub is a keeper and the tile looks like it belongs there with it.

I've never liked leaving shower curtains open, in this room, or any bathroom I've ever had.  But now?  Well, I think I just might be keeping them pulled apart. (or at least while the toys are picked up, that clean, uncluttered look most likely won't last long, soon this will return to being a land of naked Barbies)

The lavender ceiling tin might get a coat of white paint…. I liked it before, but now it seems to stand out. (the ceiling tins are a mismatched bunch of leftovers from doing the kitchen ceiling and some stuff I had laying around in the garage from when I used to have an antique business) 

  A few pink roses in the hand painted flowers on the floor might look good too….

There is always a project waiting to be done, isn't there?  For now, I'll enjoy it as it is.