Remember that time I blogged about wanting to be more low-key here on the site?  And how I might (gasp!) post unedited, horrible photos once in a while.

Promise kept.

BAM.

These pictures were taken in a rush as I quickly wanted to document the house as it was when we moved in. Our house had been wonderfully updated in many areas, but this bathroom was somebody’s rush job. It was tiny and poorly finished and, at the time, gave me the creeps every time I went in there. I knew it wasn’t original (almost the entire upstairs was an addition probably from the 1980s) and even worse, the bathroom had been “renovated” sometime around 2005-2006.

I actually really liked the vintage-looking tile when we first looked at the home. The tub even had white subway tile! What I failed to notice in our excitement to move was the very poor installation. Grout was cracking and popping, tiles were coming out, silicone caulk was used in complete excess. Lines were uneven and out of level. The tub was out of level an INCH away from the drain. The shower head leaked badly when the tub faucet was on. The mirror (oh the mirror!) was too high for the kids and of poor quality. I literally felt crazy every time I looked in it because of the distortion. It was like walking into a carnival fun-house, except not fun. We were so excited about our new old house and yet anytime anyone came over, I apologized for this little space and quickly bypassed it. The bathroom is so small, and easy to avoid.  Mostly.

We lived with it for about a year and four months before I had had enough. The kids hadn’t been using the tub/shower for almost as long (we have three other bathrooms) and I was so tired of avoiding going in there and then, when I had to, getting mad at this poor bathroom.

One day, enough was enough. I started chipping away at a popped tile, curious to see how easy it was to completely remove, and then this happened.

I took these photos and sent them to Russell via iPhone. He had no idea I was starting this project. (I hadn’t really planned on it either).  Poor him.

To be continued…