Remodeling, Italian Style

When we were first looking at what would become our home in Italy, I was surprised to see that there was a bathroom just off the entryway–common enough in the U S but not necessarily to be expected in an ancient Italian house. It was, in fact, a three-quarters bath, that is it had a shower. That was something of a puzzle as I could not imagine someone running from an upstairs bedroom with a change of clothes in hand, or perhaps merely a bathrobe flapping around bare limbs and body. But I soon found the shower was useful for giving dog baths and it was relegated to that purpose exclusively.

It was by no means an attractive room but was a handy one until the day an electrical short in the pump rendered the toilet useless. Replacing the pump meant removing tiles and opening the wall, leaving damage unsightly enough for us to consider remodeling. Pretty quickly consideration became intent and we only wanted a motif to move forward. That presented itself one day in the form of a small round plate decorated with an image from a Gustav Klimt painting. It had been given to me as a hospitality gift by a good friend and now became the inspiration for a new, improved half bath.

Above: Tiny Plate with Klimt Detail – plate is about 3″ diameter..The Start of it All

Although Klimt didn’t paint entirely in yellow, he did use it a lot and since both Terry and I particularly like the color, it would feature largely in the decor. Although it would be some time before work actually began, we were anxious to start realizing the vision, and turned to Etsy.com for ideas and sources. The first purchase was a sink, a deep yellow rectangular basin made by the artisan, Roberto Tarantino, in Greece. Not only was it attractive, but careful measurements of Django’s body determined that it was large enough to accommodate him for a bath.

Each of Tarantino’s sinks is made to order from cement and has to be cured before applying the finish. The curing time and process meant that a number of weeks passed before we received it but when we did, Terry could not take his eyes off it nor resist touching it. I, of course, loved it as well, but since it had been in my mind’s eye since ordering, was not surprised at its beauty. Along with elements of Klimt, the sink would serve as a guide for the color and style of the bathroom.

Below see the before shots of our less than lovely bath and the results of changing the pump along with the ugly stains caused by moisture seeping through stone walls.

So this is what we began with, all set in a space of about 4 x 7 feet. Homely, yes, and small but until it didn’t work, it was easy enough to ignore its imperfections when just making a quick stop before leaving or after arriving home.

Through a friend who managed properties and had previously recommended workers to us, we found Emanuele, a local builder who, like us, lived in an ancient property and so understood well the challenges he would encounter. His work began with chiseling away the deep set tiles then drilling off all the cement that formed the walls. Emanuele filled twenty to thirty paint buckets with debris from the walls and carried each one down the steps to his truck to dump them.

Above: Terry estimates each of these buckets weighed 30-40 pounds

The room looked increasingly like a war zone as Emanuele drilled tunnels in the walls to accommodate plumbing and electrical lines.

As you can see, this is no “Property Brothers” project from Home & Garden TV where removing walls made of flimsy drywall and wooden studs can be done in hours not days.

Once the old walls had been removed, and the electrical and plumbing lines put in place. Emanuele began building the new walls. First he applied a rough coat of cement then added a top coat, sanded to a smooth finish. Later two coats of paint and sealer would finish the walls and hopefully make it impervious to future stains. At last, with the rugged task of dismantling finished and rebuilding begun, we could start to imagine the room that was to be.

Above: New Walls are going up

With the walls in place, Emanuele began flooring the room.

Above: Flooring begun

Above: In the threshold Terry etched the joined hearts of T and M

Above: Emanuele at work and the finished floor of light gray tiles

Soon after Emanuele finished the floor he was laid low with a non-Covid but significant case of the flu. Nursing a sore throat and unable to sleep, he spent most of the following week in bed. That meant, of course, that our project stalled while Emanuel recovered.

As soon as he was able, he was back on the job and eager to make up time lost to his illness. With the floor laid, it was time to install the counter top, which would sit in the space once occupied by the shower. Because there is not a straight wall in the house, fitting a counter top into an existing space meant careful measuring and, to make sure it would all work, the marmista, or stone cutter, made a mock up in cardboard. Once he had assured the fit he installed the actual countertop of quartz, ready to receive the sink that would sit on top of it.

In the meantime, Emanuele built and tiled the box that would surround the toilet, its plumbing, and the mechanism for flushing.

Now our new bathroom was really taking shape, still a very small half bath, but an enormous improvement over the one it replaced. We were more than happy to see the quicker pace of the work. We had lived with building materials, tools and supplies stacked in our entry way for nearly two months, and were only marginally able to control the heavy dust coating every surface.

Above: Our less than inviting entry way

Finally it was time for the plumber to install the final components; all had been sitting in the entryway for weeks–the toilet itself and the tank as well as the faucet for the sink. And, as you may have noticed in the previous photos, the sink sitting on top of a chest while waiting to be installed.

Once the plumber was scheduled to arrive we knew the project was near its end and so when he appeared a day earlier than he had suggested we excitedly looked forward to not only the completion of the new bath, but a return to normalcy. Excited, that is, until Emanuele summoned us to view the plumber’s work and we saw this:

Above: Non Bellissimo!

” E bellissimo, no? (it’s beautiful, isn’t it?) he said but I was appalled by the appearance of this outsize faucet–so large that the mirror to be be set behind it would be half obscured. “No, non bellissimo,” I said, shaking my head. Terry and I asked if it could be lowered and Emanuele agreeably adjusted the height but to no great effect; it was still obtrusive and in our view unacceptable. Though Terry and I both felt badly about throwing a kink into the process at this late stage, we knew that were this faucet to remain, we would always be dissatisfied with the bath.

Though certainly disappointed, Emanuele set off on a search for a smaller faucet, this time, unlike before, checking back to show us photos of our options. Now we chose what seemed to be something more compatible in size and style than the monstrosity currently in place and Emanuele asked “are you sure?” Well, as far as we could be without actually seeing the item. So undoubtedly crossing his fingers for a good result, off he went to purchase the replacement. And, thank all the gods in heaven and stars in the sky he returned with something much better.

Above: The much better replacement faucet

Cautioned not to use the faucet or toilet for a day or two we waited for a couple of days before giving Django his inaugural bath in the new sink. He actually was more comfortable than in the kitchen sink, which I had sometimes used, because the bottom was flat and non-slippery. And it was easier for me since I didn’t have to kneel on the floor as I did when I bathed him in the shower. This first attempt splashed a fair amount of water on the counter, floor and wall as well as on myself, so my dog washing technique in the new sink needs some refining.

Above: Django “enjoying” his new bath tub

And finally we were able to hang the posters and the mirror to complete the look of the bathroom that we had so long envisioned.

Finished!

So what is a more attractive bathroom worth? Like all remodeling projects, it seems, the former room fades quickly in our memories and soon enough we will be looking for another upgrade to make in another needy corner of the house. With each one, though, our house moves closer to eliminating those spaces that provoke a quiet “arrrgh” or are simply ignored. Does one ever achieve perfection in a house? Unlikely, however I can hope that at the least we don’t begin to remodel the remodels.