 |
Text by Susan Fadem •
Styling by Kathy Curotto
When their Alton, Illinois, home experienced
growing pains, the Cogans took a mini-skyscraper approach. They built
upward, topping the first floor with a 1,200-square-foot second story that
nearly doubled the house’s size.
For their growing family (Kate, now 7; Sam,
5; and Max, 1), that meant four bedrooms instead of two, a first-floor office, a
mudroom, and an increase in bathrooms from two to three. Of all the rooms, the
one requiring the most creative solution was the first-floor bathroom, which
used to be a bedroom.
Where a single rod once held a wardrobe, a pedestal
sink and shelves now stand. But complicating matters, the front wall, where the
closet’s sliding doors used to glide, turned out to be load bearing. “We
couldn’t remove it, so we put an arch in to give it a little bit more
character,” Suzanne says. Her antiques and junkyard finds, from a $50 claw-foot
tub to the top half of an etched-glass door, added even more
character.
(a) Guided by “champagne tastes and a beer budget,” Suzanne shops
with her heart. The imposing mirror is “just an old thing.” The upholstered
chair is “kind of creaky.” But that endears them to her all the more.
(b) An etched
panel, suspended above the half wall, provides a degree of privacy. For a shower
curtain in a tub the kids don’t use, Suzanne hung a couple of linen sheets.
(c) Open
shelves serve as a linen closet.
resources
how to get the look
(d) The bathtub, now with new faucets, came from a junkyard.
(e)
Suzanne couldn’t resist a new pedestal sink by
Porcher. Sink faucets, Giagni, available through Lowe’s.
(f) The glass etching adds charm and texture.
(g) Initially, she planned to turn the monogrammed linen sheets
into draperies. Then it dawned on her that two of them, encircling the tub,
could make a shower curtain. (If the children showered there, she’d add a
plastic lining.) For a more finished look, Suzanne folded down an edge to form a
valance. With little metal rings and clips, she attached the linens to the
pole.
 Stumble It!
archive »
|
