Bungalow Door — A Dumpster Diving Adventure

On the way back from a late-night run to 7-11 for our Big Ass Diet Cokes, we decided to come back via the alleyways. It was garbage night in the 'hood, and we were wondering if we'd find anything interesting now that it's spring and everyone is working on their houses. The night yielded a few choice finds: a set of funky old rocks glasses and this great, solid-wood swinging kitchen door that came from a bungalow. Now, we already found the two kitchen doors that were original to The Box House, so we don't really need this one, but there was no way we could leave a perfectly decent door to be tossed out with the trash.

It does need some work; one side is painted white and on the top, at the part where it attaches to the top of the door frame, there is a bit of wood loss that can probably be filled in with epoxy. But still, they just don't make 'em like this anymore. I was too paranoid to take the Cokes home first and come back, lest someone snatch it from under my nose, and I didn't want to leave the Cokes behind with the rest of the garbage. Who knows what could happen to them in the five minutes they were out of my sight. So we carried the door under one arm and balanced our drinks in the other hand. What an odd sight!

I have to laugh--after weeks of trying to find new homes for all the junk left by the previous owners, here we are bringing more salvage home!

Bungalow Envy

I love our Box House, but I am suffering a bit from bungalow envy. It's not like I've even been in very many of them. Most of our friends live in condos or two flats or out in the suburbs. Ted and I have one friend who just purchased a 1920s bungalow, but as he lives on the far southern end of Chicago as to be practically in Indiana, we haven't been out to see it yet.

So why am I envious of these homes I've only really ever driven by? It's the bathrooms. Or at least the ones I've seen in Jane Powell's Bungalow Bathrooms.

They're gorgeous, big and roomy. I know I sound crazy when I describe the spaciousness of bungalow bathrooms, but compare them with what we have at The Box House:

Wait, that's part of the master bath at our condo, where our tenants are currently enjoying the jacuzzi tub and the marble shower (oh jacuzzi how I miss you). Here we go:

This is the bathroom in Mom's unit. That's Mom's hand in the photo; she was jotting down measurements during our final walk through before close. Give or take an inch, the bathrooms measure 5 feet by 7 feet. Each unit has only one bathroom, not counting the scary toilet in the basement.

The bathrooms in both units do have the original hex tile. But the old medicine cabinets are under forty layers of paint, the toilet is wedged between the sink and the wall (your elbows bump both), there is an oversized radiator behind the door that is taking up precious space, and yes, the sconce light with its open socket is actually within the confines of the shower, inches from the shower head. We figure the toilet and tub are original, the shower head, shower enclosure, and vanity are not.

The bathrooms are at the top of the list of things that must get renovated this year. I can go for quite a while without a dishwasher or doing my laundry in a 30-year-old washing machine, but a girl needs a decent bathroom.

Seeing as how our design options are limited due to space, what would you do to update this bathroom? We're ready to gut it to the walls, and are open to any suggestions.