Unfortunately, our tiny little 1951 bathroom was barely 7.5 feet across, with a big chunk taken out for a closet, now containing our gas heater for the house (and we never even took photos at the start of this project, but it was QUITE awful). The toilet, just inside the door, was in the position to get both of your knees broken if the door was opened quickly. There was no vent (it used to be an outside wall with a window, but years ago was sealed over, and another SMALLER 3/4 bath was added on the other side of the wall). I had to tear all the walls and 6 layers of floors out, then have plumbers come to move ALL of the plumbing (the tub moved to the back wall, the toilet across the room and the sink moves to where the tiolet was located).

I tore out the door and installed a pocket door frame. We located vintage 1930's American Standard green fixtures (tub, pedestal sink and wall-mount toilet) at a junkyard in downtown Los Angeles, and bought deco-style faucets/handles through a chrome shop (I do both company's websites, saving $$ in barters, etc.). I framed up the sides of the tub (and had to make the room 3" NARROWER to center the tub), and had an electrician bulk in all of the outlets, light and fan power.

Next I built frames for the tub "steps", and figure out exactly how to tile it (including the cement board). We tapped power from our bedroom on the other side of the wall for the only electricity in the room.

Once framed, I put insulation all around (a rarity in Southern California, and NONE in any walls in this 1951 home), and build a dual-vent system with a small bath fan, some ducts and lots of aluminum tape.

Next, the drywall and cement board.

Sanding all the drywall and tiling is a VERY messy chore, and the entire house was covered in white dust. There's an amazing tile manufacturer and sales shop in Los Angeles that still makes this color green tile, and even fired a few custom pieces in the green color for us, as well as 2 decorative vent tile I cut a design into.

The tiling and grouting took about 2 weeks; and I did the most injury to my hands during the grouting (the lime in grout REALLY hurts when it gets into cuts and in your nails). It was a week or two until I could play the piano again. Note I took a snack break while grouting.

For images of the finished room, click here.