The 1990s were a time of interesting interior design decisions, like orange-y oak wood finishes, thick and chunky soffits, lots of beige, lots of vine motifs, and, in bathrooms, chrome hardware, clunky built-in tubs, and fuzzy toilet seat covers with matching U-shaped rugs.
Nicole Kappner’s (@thetealvictorian) basement bathroom, last updated in the W. Bush or Clinton years, boasted “a 1990s hodgepodge of design choices, including a stone shower with assorted retro tile, fake tile flooring, and an old vintage sink with a cabinet we couldn’t even open,” Nicole says.
On top of bizarre design elements, it had poor spatial planning. “Our laundry machines could only fit right next to the toilet, so we would hit the toilet every time we went to do laundry.”
In an approximately $25,000 redo, Nicole and her husband, Louis, worked with a contractor to overhaul the space. They had three main items on their to-do list: First, they wanted to separate the bathroom and laundry spaces, and second, they wanted to add shower, since their other bathroom only has a clawfoot tub, and third, they wanted the style to better match the Victorian style of their house.