The previous owners had turned the parlor floor bathroom into a closet. For some reason, they never removed the tiles or the porcelain soap dish.

Our plan is to turn it back into a bathroom: a pretty bathroom that respects the period of the house. Step 1 into turning a bathroom-turned-closed back into a bathroom? Rip out the 1980s tile! With the help of a friend and some punk rock we were taupe tile free in an hour or so.

As an added bonus of grossness, when we lifted the rug you see above we discovered that the plumbing for the toilet was still intact – capped only with a bunch of balled up newspapers. I will spare you the visual reference because it’s super disgusting. Instead, here is a more pleasant photo of the painted over air-shaft window (check out the cool tin ceiling).

As the space is very small (less than 5 feet deep), we’re making it into a powder room which will serve the parlor floor (our main living area). Once the work in the garden level apartment is complete, this will be Big Project #2