How to Re-plumb a Vintage Sink

Vintage 1953 ad courtesy of retro renovation, my sink except in white!

They said it couldn’t be done.

All I wanted to do was find new faucets for a vintage sink. Who would have thought it would be so challenging?

Let me take you back, dear reader, to one day last fall. Ever since we realized that the lovely Kohler Memoirs pedestal sink we ordered would overpower the downstairs powder room, I had been struggling to find a replacement. Not only that, but I was also struggling with the design of the room overall. I had a few ideas, but nothing seemed to really click. So without a design concept to guide me, I really had no clue what I was looking for in a sink.

One day I happened to be wandering around the RE Store, and I spotted this amazing blue vintage bathroom sink.

1 + 1 = 2 Cute 4 Words!

New math, old math—however you calculate, it all adds up to one sweet space for Miss K.

Not to gloat too much, but I do think her bedroom is turning out well.

I’ve been aiming for something lighthearted, but a little bit sophisticated at the same time. Something that fits the preteen she is now and that can grow with her as she becomes a teenager. Here are the pieces, starting with the basics:

Savannah State of Mind

Sorry for the lack of activity lately. Things have been busy on all fronts and leaving me no time to write. But I’m back and anxious to fill you in with recent events.

Having just returned from a short but inspiring trip to Savannah, I’m on a mission to incorporate some of that Southern charm and graciousness into our house décor. Though I’ve been to Savannah just twice—the other time over 15 years ago—on each visit I’ve found something new to appreciate.

The most recent trip was with Miss K on her spring break and so our activities were more centered on things that a 10-year old enjoys. But bless her heart (I’m lapsing into a Southern drawl now), Miss K was a fabulous travel companion and surprised me by being enthusiastic about some good ‘ol antiquing with her mama.

Choosing Floor Materials



Walnut Floor, Wide Plank Hardwood

We have used a lot of different flooring materials over the years in our remodeling and building projects, so the field is wide open with respect to the new house. Looking back on previous projects, we’ve used…

Linoleum tiles in a former kitchen,

White marble tiles in the main bath;

Granite tiles in the guest bath;

Laminate in the basement multi-purpose room;

Wide plank heart pine with a Swedish finish at the house on Whidbey Island; and

Slate in the entry on Whidbey.

All of these were relatively low maintenance and quite durable. The linoleum was virtually indestructible and had the benefit of being resilient enough that if you dropped a dish it wouldn’t necessarily break. I never even got around to sealing it as was recommended—or the marble or granite—but it never seemed to matter! The Pergo laminate was a little vulnerable to dents if you dropped something on it, but otherwise cleaned up very easily and stayed fresh and bright looking. We love the wide plank pine flooring on Whidbey; same with the slate which handles tracked-in mud and wet shoes very nicely. It never shows any wear. 



Pine Floor at our house on Whidbey Island

Softwood vs. Hardwood The fir floors in the old farmhouse on the Sunset Hill site had certainly seen a lot of wear, but still could have been refinished. In fact, that fir flooring was salvaged and may already be in someone’s house living a new life. Our pine floors on Whidbey are quite soft but we haven't had any problems. I really don’t know why there is so much concern over fir and pine being soft woods. Sure, they dent more easily than other materials or harder woods, but unless you are walking around in spike boots or stiletto heels, the damage is really minimal.

Solid Wood for Longevity
Given our success with all these materials, the question is what will we choose for the new house?

Making an Entrance: What Does Your Front Door Say About You?

Of all the 100s of items we are buying for the house, what is one of the most visible and well-used of them all? The front door.

There is a lot of pressure on a front door. It has to keep out the wind and rain, deter burglars, operate consistently year round, and withstand slamming, cat- and dog-scratching, and other abuses—all while presenting a welcoming face to residents and visitors alike.

It gets even more complicated when there is more than one exterior door that is visible from the street. Which one does the deliveryman go to? Which one does the family use? What about guests—are you familiar enough to go in through the back or side door that the family uses? Or should you start with the formal entrance?

Let There Be Light(ing)!



Despite not even having the wallboard up yet, I have been thinking about, researching, agonizing over, and actually buying lighting like there is no tomorrow!

Although lighting isn't installed until nearly the end, the decisions need to be make earlier when the rough electrical work is being done. We thought we had a pretty hefty budget for lights, but now that we have walked through the house room by room, it appears that even more dollars will need to slide into this category.

Slab Shopping

Michelangelo Granite

MTH and I went shopping for stone slabs for our kitchen and bath countertops today and, oh, what a treat! We visited Pental’s showroom in south Seattle where the warehouse contains literally hundreds of gorgeous slabs of granite, marble, and quartz—all so delicious-looking you could eat them!

We already have the following in mind for the bathrooms, but are still uncertain about the kitchens:

•  Miss K’s bathroom countertop—white quartz (she chose the one with sparkles in it)
• Our bathroom countertop—Michelangelo granite (honestly it looks more like marble…)
  
• Mom’s bathroom countertop—something in a soft green

Shop(ping) Talk

Some people love to shop. Some people hate to shop. Because building a house involves a LOT of shopping, no matter which category you are in, you’d better have a strategy for getting all that shopping done.

If you love to shop, you run the risk of overwhelming yourself with the choices available. You’ll spend unbelievable amounts of time deliberating over each of the thousands of decisions that go into building and furnishing a house. Believe me, I know, because this is my shopping style!

If you hate to shop, you have other pitfalls to avoid. In your desire to get the whole thing over with as quickly as possible, you run the risk of choosing items one-by-one without thought to how they work together as a whole. Or you choose too quickly and without enough information. This leads to regrets down the road when you find a better product or a better price elsewhere.

Building a house is a marathon, not a sprint. You’ve got to have a strategy for making it across the finish line with enough energy left to enjoy this creation of yours.