It is possible that I have the world’s smallest bathroom.  I haven’t checked with the people at Guinness, but I wouldn’t be surprised.  This is the price I pay for living in a charming 1904 farmhouse.  They weren’t real big on bathrooms back then I guess.

Actually, I have always suspected that the plumbing in my house was added after the original part of the house was built.  For this reason, not only is my bathroom amazingly tiny, but it’s also right off the kitchen.  Ewwww, right?  It’s also the only bathroom we have, and it’s a long way to go in the middle of the night.

Obviously we did not buy our house for the bathroom.  But we’ve tried to make the best of it.  Over the years we have changed things up.  I made choices along the way that I would not make again.  For instance, I wish I had gone with a vintage looking floor, instead I went with large tiles that were popular at the time but not really in keeping with the era of my house.  However, we also added heat under the tiles and that was an awesome decision.  In Minnesota, a heated bathroom floor is a very good thing.

Another good choice I made was to keep the original etched medicine cabinet in place.

 My tub is situated in an arched nook that has a window in it.  Originally there was no shower in our house, but we added one shortly after moving in.  Showering with a window is a challenge.  We have a privacy film on the window, then some white curtains, then a clear shower curtain over that.  I hope my neighbors can’t see us in the shower, I’m pretty sure they don’t want to.  I’m not going to show you what is behind the curtain, it’s not exactly picturesque.  Re-doing the tile and plumbing in the shower is at the top of my wish list.  The shower curtain by the way is H & M.

The last time I made over the bathroom I chose this dark wall color for the walls and ceiling.  I still like it, but I think I’d prefer a little bit lighter grey.  I’ve debated just repainting quick, it wouldn’t take more than an afternoon to do, but I haven’t taken the time yet.  The bathroom gets a lot of light from the window, so the dark color works for now.

There is a tiny linen closet tucked in beside the tub.  It is quite deep and we fit a lot of supplies inside.  It also has a handy laundry shoot at the bottom.

None of the light fixtures that were in place in our bathroom were original to the house.  They were all kind of awful.  I replaced the wall sconces with reproduction lights from Rejuvenation.  I was somewhat limited because these lights are not hardwired to a wall switch.  The fixture must incorporate its own on/off switch, and these did.  And in fact, when we moved in, there was no wall switch in the bathroom at all.  The ceiling fixture was operated by a pull chain.  We added a wall switch for that when we remodeled the kitchen.  The ceiling fixture is from Schoolhouse Electric.

 Having a tiny bathroom forces you to be creative.  I have a tiny little shelf on top of the radiator that is next to the sink.  The lidded metal box contains all of my makeup, and the metal boxes hanging on the wall hold my makeup brushes and q-tips.  My super magnification mirror (essential for makeup application at my age) is a wall mounted model to save space on the counter.  His and hers towels hang on the back of the door.

 You may recognize my trash can that gets tucked next to the pedestal sink.  My towel/magazine rack is a rusty old crib rail turned on its side.

You can see more of it in this next picture, along with my favorite thing in the bathroom which is my giant photo of a Parisian street scene from the 50’s (or maybe 60’s?).

Mr. Q says he always feels like he is peeing in Paris.  Is that TMI for a blog post?

Somehow our bathroom doesn’t feel quite so small when there is a view of Paris to admire!