The simple pleasures of home shine brighter
when the spirit of God intertwines our hearts
with His gentle Joy.

Monday, February 14, 2011

A Quaint Necessity Room!

Dear Ones, our Master Bath is anything, but a Master. "Mr. Ed' calls it a 'hole in the wall', I call it quaint.

quaint:EXPERT, SKILLED
         2a)marked by a skillful design
           b)marked by beauty or elegance
         3a)unusual or different in character or appearance : ODD
           b)pleasingly of strikingly old fashioned or unfamiliar

So~o~o~o. . .
today we're going to tour an unusual or different in character or appearance: ODD . . . A Quaint Necessity Room On Crooked Creek!

Remembering that we live in a later '70's Ranch Style home may help you to better envision the quaintness of this Master Bath. The room layout is rectangular measuring 7 feet 3 inches long X 4 feet 9 inches wide. It houses a sink, toilet, a shower. . . and "Mr. Ed"!

On Crooked Creek the Master Bath was our first MAJOR renovation project! The only two original items are the toilet and the shower. In keeping with our Traditional Cherry bedroom furniture, I had the hopes of a Gentleman's Private Bath. Not that I've ever entered such a room,  but from magazines I'd viewed. Dark, rich cherry cabinetry was the masculine choice I had in mind.

The Resident Decorator, as he is sometimes known, voiced his opinion concerning his preference for Oak cabinetry. However; he was easily persuaded to switch to Cherry. I'd like to think it was the two~drawer storage, fluted front, granite counter top with under mount sink, masculine gentleman's detailing. It wasn't. It was the price!



Before our relocation move On Crooked Creek, shopping was extremely limited in our rural area. I did a reasonable amount of catalog ordering and feel I had great selection choices. I ordered this wall mounted shelving unit to offset the lack of linen storage in our Quaint Necessity Room! I adore the Victorian Era detailing! Rich undertones of Cherry, two shelves for storage and a hanging towel bar made it a perfect fit for the Necessities!

That was. . .until. . ."Mr. Ed" decided to expand on my choice of Gentleman's Private Bath accessories! ! !



Remember how smitten I was with that Victorian Era shelf? While "on the hunt" for the proper accessories for "Mr. Ed's" new Private Gentleman's Bath, I happened upon these lovelies! Victorian Era shaving mugs! Off~white porcelian in nature with perfect crackling due to their age, adorned by roses in hues of creams, pinks, sages and from Leuchtenburg, Germany. Ah~h~h, I envisioned a whole collection over the years of Victorian Era shaving and mustache mugs to line that top shelf!

Enter. . .The Resident Decorator!

One of our hobbies, together. . . as a couple, is to take an occasional Saturday and visit our local Antique and Flea Markets in search of treasures to add to our collections! Neither one of us is quite sure how or exactly when "Mr. Ed" got off the beaten path. I do remember him saying something about his Dad using Old Spice and I noticed these. . .




First they were here. . .


. . .then they were here




. . .and over here!

 


Until finally. . . 
they were all over the top of his medicine cabinet!


Seemed like everytime we went out. . .more came in! My Dad and Step~Mother even gave him some of the ones they'd had for years! ! !



"Mr. Ed's" collection had grown to such great porportions that I put my tea cup collection in the china cabinet and gave him my vintage tea cup shelf to hang in the Quaint Necessity Room!


Oh, now don't think for one minute that The Resident Decorator was in this alone. Yours truly was the one who suggested he might want to collect other 'shaving' things. That's when the shaving brushes and cup soaps came on the scene. Once again, my Dad gave him a wooden shaving mug from his days in the Navy! ( World War II) The razors are from "Mr. Ed's" Army enlistment! (Vietnam Era 1970's)



During our 35th Anniversary trip to Lawrence, "Mr. Ed" was overjoyed to find another Lavendar Shave Mug! This one does hold quaint necessity items.


Victorian Era mustache mugs came on the scene during another visit to see my Dad. My Moma, Carmen, (Carmen's Beauty Shop) had been given these by one of her suppliers through the years.





More cups. . .more shelf space needed!


So. . . as our tour of a Gentleman's Private Bath On Crooked Creek comes to close, I have a bit of advice to give myself. When hunting for collectibles with "Mr. Ed", don't let him far from your sight! What he envisioned. . . and what I envisioned, apparently, weren't the same vision, at all!



What this hopeless romatic On Crooked Creek had envisioned was a simple continuation of this. . .



. . .combined with this


. . .just A Quaint Necessity Room!



On Crooked Creek will be joining Tam @ Three Or More Tuesday . . .I think this posting qualifies for three or more. Be sure to stop over if for nothing more than to see her adorable grandson on his first Valentine's Day! Too darn cute, Tam!

Until next time. . .

12 comments:

Char said...

Oh Pat, this story is just so sweet and full of love. I think the collections are perfect for the decorator in the house. Please continue your paths together, even stray a bit, I love what happens and am left wanting more!! Char

Handy Man, Crafty Woman said...

Very nice! I just love collections like this.

Chari at Happy To Design said...

Hi dear friend...

Just read your sweet note and came right over! Ohhh...I really did enjoy reading this delightful post about your quaint gentleman's bath! It's gorgeous, I love the idea of the darker cherry wood, etc. Now...that is just too cool...that your Mr. likes to go "antiquin'" with you! I love your beautiful Victorian shaving mugs/cups but must admit that the Old Spice is lots of fun and very "manly"! Hehe! I loved looking through Mr. Ed's collection of mugs and mustache cups, and shaving paraphanalia! Great collection indeed! I also really enjoyed your story as well...too cute!

Well dear friend, thank you so much for sharing your quaint Gentleman's bath with us...I think it's fabulous! You know, our main bath was constructed in 1927...so you can imagine the "turn-around" space that I have in there. I would love to have one of these new baths...large enough to house a big tub, vanity, and lots of storage, but guess that my quaint bath will have to do! Hehe! So glad that you came by for a visit today, sweet friend! I always love when you come by and thank you sooo much for your sweet note!

Warmest wishes,
Chari @Happy To Design

Confessions of a Plate Addict said...

Wow, Pat! You have quite a collection! I love the Old Spice collectibles! Reminds me of my dad. Happy week!...hugs...Debbie

Martha said...

What a great collection and I just bet that it's a great bathroom with all of those great shaving mugs!!!

How terrific!

Unknown said...

What a beautiful share, Pat. Love the rose cups & what a fabulous collection of men's shaving items. Beautiful loving story ...

TTFN ~
Hugs,
Marydon

podso said...

I enjoyed seeing your collection. Quite a few pieces look familiar to me and I'm wondering if it's from my grandfathers or what. Lovely post!

Anonymous said...

I loved seeing this post, Pat. I have sort of fond memories of boys who wore Old Spice.....50 years ago.:-)

Marigene said...

What a neat collection of shaving items...love the vintage Old Spice mugs.

Anonymous said...

Hi Pat!!! I just found your blog and love it, I am your newest follower. I SO enjoyed this post for so many reasons!!! I adore the fact that you and Mr Ed shop together for treasures and that he has his own collection going!!! Adorable!!! and it brought back some sweet memories for me too, my Dad used Colgate shaving soap all of my life AND occasionally wore the Old Spice!!!! Wonderful!!! I hope you'll visit sometime, I will definitely be following along with your great blog!!

Mel's Cabin said...

Love your collection of mustach mugs....it's good to include the men's style (sometimes) in decorating...he sounds like a keeper! Mel's Cabin enjoyed your blog today.

Vintage Culler said...

I love this story Pat! Sometimes we forget that our hubbies look at the world through "man" eyes and that they prefer to be surrounded with rugged objects while we ladies are drawn to more feminine decor. I am sure he is one happy man!