What is this thing in my bathroom?
A couple of months ago I moved into my first house. I didn't really pay that much attention to this area of my bathroom, but now that I"m trying to smooth out the rough edges on the place, I'd really like to know what the heck this would be used for?
It's right up next to the bathtub, fairly low to the ground. It sits right in front of the toilet. It's too shallow for holding toilet paper rolls. I can't for the life of me figure out the intended purpose. Since there used to be a phone jack in the bathroom (that I recently covered with drywall because it was ugly), we guessed that you could maybe put a phonebook in there? (sitting on it's spine), but that seems like the least logical place to put a phonebook.
Anyone know what it might be for? The house was built in the mid 1990s.
"If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
0
Posts
the molding seems like an odd choice though
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
@Strikor made that guess, too, but it's really inconveniently placed if so. And also it's right in the drywall and not tiled, so it's not ideal for putting a wet hand over there to grab a shampoo bottle or whatnot.
I suppose you could cover a hole that way, but even if you're lazy with repairs it seems like cutting a piece of gypsum board to cover a hole that size would be way easier than making some sort of "shelf" - and why block it off with molding in the front, anyway?
Laundry chute isn't very likely since the kitchen is directly under this bathroom. A hole to the bottom floor from that wall would lead directly to the middle of the kitchen ceiling.
Asking the previous owner isn't possible.
I thought of that too, but I guess I figured that the bottom would need to be solid (instead of slotted molding) in order to keep a magazine from slipping out. And if it were a book shelf I'd think shelves instead of... whatever that is.
I'll accept half-assed magazine rack though, if no one has a better idea.
OP, it's an ugly solution to a non-problem. I'd personally rip it out and just drywall over it.
But then you're left with that tile notched out. Maybe just take off those two pieces of trim and put a little door there? I don't know. It's really low. At the very least I'd replace the two pieces of trim with something else. Maybe metal bars that match your fixture finish.
I'd probably drywall over it too, yeah, it's ugly, and being RIGHT ON TOP OF THE TILE is annoying me just by looking at it. The hardest part will probably getting that plaster look on the paint.
Chip that last remaining tile to be square with the rest, rip off the trim/framing of that magazine rack, and put up beadboard below your wall's rail moulding there.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/14-sq-ft-Cape-Cod-MDF-Beadboard-Planks-3-Pack-8203035/202075059
To look kind of like this:
Then give it a once over with some paint so the beadboard and the chair-rail molding you have matches the beadboard.
You should be able to beadboard over it without much issue.
It's more likely that the frame was already there when they re-tiled. Maybe they put in a new tub that came out more, which would explain the mismatch tile situation.
Of course, on that house we heated the entire bathroom floor so that project wasn't financially barring.
See, this magazine rack makes way more sense because it's a lot more shallow, so the magazines won't slip out the bottom (and the molding is arranged to actually keep the magazines in).
Agreed that my first instinct is to rip it out, but I would have to fix the tiling somehow.
Thanks for the input all.
I think this is the perfect time to find some bizarre and obscure magazines (or just work up some fake covers to attach to a magazine) and put them in there.
Bonus points for particularly worrying combinations (Guns&Ammo, Soldier of Fortune, Something with an article about how to tell if your partner is cheating). Great chance to have some fun here.
Best idea so far has been, "really creepy mirror."
Ok that makes sense. This is definitely the first house in Texas I've ever seen with that design. I have a hunch that it was put in by one of the homeowners after the house was built. I don't think the previous owners were the ones who added it, they're just the ones that put the new tile in around it in hideous fashion.
Edit: it may actually be nice to have somewhere to set a USB speaker or tablet if you're a bath person.
We don't get house centipedes in North Texas. We get delightful little Mediterranean Geckos, the cutest of vermin.
So did I....then I learned it's not! 10/10
http://m.homedepot.com/p/Daltile-Rio-Mesa-Desert-Sand-12-in-x-12-in-x-8-mm-Ceramic-Mosaic-Floor-and-Wall-Tile-10-sq-ft-case-RM1022CC1P2/202329075?MERCH=REC-_-mobileweb_pip_rr-2-_-202195313-_-202329075-_-N
So if you want to rip it out you can get more edge pieces. The pattern also has enough variation that you can mix color runs.
Airline emergency evacuation foldout.
But it loses its thread
Then I read everyone else's comments and I realized how wrong I was.
Steam Me
You mean in your sub slot?
The larger tiles are ceramic, but those edge pieces are real travertine tile. These pieces look exactly right:
http://www.amazon.com/Light-Ivory-Travertine-Tumbled-Tiles/dp/B00332VFRE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454101713&sr=8-1&keywords=travertine+tile+3x6
It looks like this thing was an after thought, and they couldn't find a good replacement tile for the 3-4 they broke. Or rather, they didn't want to pay the more expensive price tag (or didn't have amazon to get replacements).
Nah, I covered that in the op, not deep enough for toilet paper.
I really like the look of travertine, though, and I actually think mixing the two is one of the few things they got right, because the real travertine on the edge fools the eye into thinking it's all travertine (or at least it did mine until I examined it closely).