01/28/2026
I have a rare weekday "off" today for some family needs. I have a few minutes to kill, and I thought about this project from last spring, that I don't think I ever posted, because the special-order lights weren't installed until around Thanksgiving.
This is the original bath for the servant's quarters in a house built in 1874. The current owners wanted to make it a powder room for the living area of the house. Unfortunately, 150 years of water damage and settling didn't leave anything salvageable in the space, so the walls, ceiling, and floor were removed to the original framing. A new door was opened to the main hall. I was then brought in to design and build this paneled space.
Once the design was approved, I installed a heart pine floor milled from old factory beams. Then I installed perlings in the walls to catch the seams in the panels, and leveled the ceiling joists. Walls and ceiling were the sheathed in waterproof MDF cut so the seams would be covered by stiles and rails. Poplar lumber and panel mouldings were then used to create the paneled look, followed by lots and lots of surface prep, black primer, and three coats of Ben Moore's Tricorn Black, which has a wonderful sheen.
I designed and built the custom vanity out of rift-cut white oak, and created a custom stain and glaze combination to compliment the space based on the homeowner's tastes. When that was done, I installed the beveled mirror - it only took three tries for the glass company to get the holes for the sconces in the right place, which means I installed it three times!
This is my favorite project from last year. What do you think?
