The Old Claw Foot Bathtub inches slowly Upstairs

The old claw foot bathtub weighs as much as three pregnant elephants. When the plumber told me he and the carpenter would carry it upstairs by themselves I cringed. I didn't mean to! I do have confidence in their ability. They are big strong guys, but hey that old iron bathtub is heavier than it looks.

 

They asked their friend to come and help; A man of a certain age... when I greeted him at the door he shook my hand and nearly crushed it to smithereens. "Welcome to the team." I smiled as I rubbed my hand behind my back.

 

French Husband and I scrapped the paint off the old bathtub down to the bare iron. Though on this side, the side that will face the wall, the side that is evident to you I didn't bother to take the old paint off. Mr. Exact (aka French Husband) is embarrassed by that fact. Mrs. Approximate (that is me) grabbed his face and kissed it a hundred times and told him to sweetly to shut up.

Sometimes you gotta tell a man like mine that it is perfectly perfect to be imperfect. Especially when it comes to NOT scrapping off the side of the bathtub that will be facing the wall.

 

Okay, as you see there is not a guard rail, no wall, just a free open staircase. I also have no small children. It is a sheer drop from one floor to the next. But it is sure handy when you have to carry three pregnant elephants up or down the stairs.

 

The carpenter has a doubt. He is thinking, "That dang Americaine and her crazy ideas."

Flip and slip. The bathtub is inside.

Note:

To answer the some of the questions asked in the last two posts:

1. Where am I going to put my towels, toiletries and stuff like that? I'll find a small armoire or chest of drawers to put on the side. I am not a girlie girl when it comes to toiletries. I have very little, and do not like clutter.

2. The blue tiles were admired by many. I am sorry. Chelsea was sad too, she wanted me to keep them for when she has a house someday. But well that didn't happen.

3. The other bathroom is grayish brown.

4. Funny you should mention the charcoal drawings that I have in the other bathroom... When I bought them, years ago at a brocante in my little village, I also bought three drawings of nude men from the same artist (1920 Sepyr) I have been thinking to put them in the new bathroom.
Sacha about died when I told him of my thoughts.
Thanks for encouraging me ;) 

5. The exposed facade must be covered. It will keep the house warmer. (If you must know the truth French Husband has to have his way sometimes...but only sometimes.)

6. My Wedding ring... I have looked in my gloves, the dryer, under the bed, in the bed, in the washing machine, in the drain pipes, in the laundry hamper, in my pockets, in my purse, I have licked the floors clean, and gone through the boxes I had put in the closet. I have not yet prayed to St Anthony. Because I believe I should give it my best shot before I pray to him.

7. For the first 15 years of married life we had a bathroom smaller than a broom closet. It had a small sink, a mirror, a towel rack and an old washer tub. The bathroom was about five feet by five feet counting the space where the tub sat. When we bought this house the bathrooms felt like mini castles. I love every inch of them.

8. Don't tell anyone but I am not going to paint the tub. It looks good as it is.

Okay tomorrow I promise not to talk about the bathroom... nor my ring.

Comments

[nancy]

uuuuu exciting...i am sure that it will look fabulous!!! and you have such great taste....
i am hoping the ring turns up soon...
nancyxx

[M-Noëlle]

Pleased to hear the 3 elephants fitted in their new place !
But sorry to hear that the ring is not back to its old one !

(to Chelsea)
Tell me when you get a house of your own, I shall look around for you !

[M-Noëlle]

PS- By any chance, did you bake a "galette des rois" these days? You could have dropped the ring when kneading the dough...
... A new type of "fève" !?!?!

[Stacey]

But I love reading/seeing pictures of your bathroom in progress!

[M-Noëlle]

PS - By the way, did you bake a "galette des rois" these days?
You may have dropped the ring while kneading the dough ?!?!?...
... What a "fève" !
-----------------

Bonjour MN
(MN is my French friend with perfect English!)
We did bake a Gateau des Rois... who ate my ring??

[Holly]

I was hoping the tub would stay as is...
it's perfect! Sacha, please cover your eyes... we want to see these pictures of which your mother speaks!

---------

Hey Holly
(Holly and my Mom have an Antique Junk Style Shop in Willows.)
If I put those drawings on the blog...it will be R rated.
The Full Monty was rated G.
;)

[Vicki]

You can talk about the bathroom and the ring all you want...love to hear about your "redo"!!! It is going to be fabulous!!! Is the industrial lighting in the other bathroom new or old????

[seb]

please keep talking about the bathroom and the ring.....we have an old claw foot tub in our bathroom (with paint on it) and I can't wait to see how your tub looks! I may start scraping the paint off....I will of course have to scrape and then show my husband :)
--------------

Hi Seb
Start scrapping the paint off :) And remember to leave the paint on the side facing the wall.

[carold]

I for one did not like the blue tiles, so I understand your pleasure at their demise. I am not a girly girl either, so my "necessities" fit in a bag. Missouri husband's guy stuff takes up more room than mine!

I am worried about your stairwell, though. I am such a clutz that I would probably fall off.

[Julie Ann]

Can't wait for the final snapshot & hope your precious ring turns up v soon, Jx

[Erin]

good to see that the tub made its way to its new home...that in itself a huge accomplishment :)
sorry to hear you've still not come across your ring. this is indeed troublesome...
enjoy the rest of your day.
hugs
erin

[Dee]

I'm not tired of hearing about your bathroom! Or your ring...I just want you to find it!

[Marcie]

Oh no,no,no,,you "must" take us to the end of the bathroom makeover. When I saw them going up the stairs with the tub,,I noticed no railing,,but, if the tub went,,,so would any rail. I bet it made you nervous watching from below,,do they mind you taking pictures? Wow, can't wait to see the next bath post.

[cheryl]

Corey,
We're facing a health crisis with my four year old daughter, Rosey and I really need bathtub and ring talk...
I am vicariously living with you in France and will be looking forward to hearing about your first soak in that new tub.
I have a "new" clawfoot that sits on an angle in my bay window here in South Carolina.
I can tell you that it took many face kisses to get my engineer husband to set that tub at an angle, and I just couldn't for the life of me see any other possiblity!
My bathroom needs a re-do and I'm sharing your blog with my Mr.Perfect to show him that marriages actually survive such things.
I need bathroom talk, photos of dice and your sense of humor.
Your ring will turn up, I just know it!
Keep a good thought for my Rosebud, please.
Love,
Cheryl
-------------------

Dear Cheryl,

My thoughts and prayers will hold your little girl Rosey. May gentle healing come to her.

I hope others who read this will send good energy towards your daughter too. They are a mighty force!

Corey

[AmandaMay]

oh please do talk about the bathroom tomorrow! I do want to see how it comes along - I am not able to redo my own right now, so I get to enjoy it by proxy through your posts! So inspiring.

And I do hope you will write of your ring as well, to tell us that it is found and back on the finger where it belongs!

[feathers]

Hmmm, about the ring, could it be in a glove somewhere, a work glove or a winter glove. I lost mine in a department store one day and checked every glove I had tried on...finding it gave me such a feeling of relief. I hope you have that same feeling soon.

[Trish]

Oh...You are a true sister of my heart! I found a clawfoot tub sitting on a lawn at a garage sale. The inside porcelain was in good shape...the outside was UGLY blue paint. I hauled it home...(it does weigh as much as several pregnant elephants)I stripped it...and then saved it for 10 years in my garage til I was able to put it into the "perfect" place. I had the autobody people spray the outside white for me. It was totally worth all that effort! There was nothing more perfect than coming home for a little "water therapy" in that tub at the end of a long exhausting day. The only suggestion I might have for you...I had it placed on a platform a step up from the bathroom floor...You won't have to be crawling under it to clean as often...which is always good...:)Happy soaking...Trish

-------------------------
Hi Trish,

The claw foot tub's interior is in perfect condition.
We must think alike because I am putting the CFB tube at an angle too. I hope my neighbor's like the view.
Good idea about the platform step!

[martina]

Please keep talking about the bathroom. It is like being there (without having to deal with the expense of the project). I have a feeling you will be sitting in a room, do a sideways glance and spot the ring in a place you have looked over five times. You never mentioned that your Mom and a friend had a shop-do they have a website like Pink Pomegranate?
--------------------
Hi Martina
Nope they do not have a site...yet. My Mom does not like computers.

[Kit]

I'm glad it was safely heaved upstairs and into place. I like it as it is too and wouldn't have bothered about the paint of the side facing the wall. I got vertigo thinking of the lack of wall on the stairs though. My sister in law also didn't have one for years and I had to cling to the inner wall and inch along whenever I went up there!

[Kris]

How can anyone tire of your bathroom remodel or your lost ring. Please continue with the bathroom in progress and keep us posted on where on earth your ring can be! I wasn't a huge fan of the blue tiles either so I completely understand your wanting to get rid of them. The unfinished tub on the outside...while it is hard to imagine, I will wait to share my opinion after everything is completed.
My daughter had an old claw foot tub in an apartment she rented while going to college. I loved it!!
This is a journey where I want to see your footprints!

[jody]

Are you kidding. your life, ring and bath remodel biggies in the blog.
we love it.

xo jody

[Kel]

I so love your honesty about marriage and letting our husbands "win" once in awhile!

--------------

Hi Kel,

I hope FH overlooks this-- He thinks he wins all the time.

C

[Alina]

I think it was very wise of you to not scrape the paint off the side that won't show. Do keep posting about the bathroom. It reminds me of the Before and After articles in Architectural Digest. Definitely let us know WHEN you find your ring.

Chelsea better watch out because when she gets that home she might end up with tons of tiles sent by your devoted readers! Tell Sacha it could be worse: the drawings could be of Mom & Pop! Then again with the view the neighbors will get you might have actual photos to hang in there! ;)

Oh Alina
(Alina is a blogging friend I met at the SF airport this summer.... We have another story brewing but that is for another time... ;))
You are a tease!

[Trudy]

Oh, Corey. You make me smile every day. This post reminds me so much of the scenes in "Under the Tuscan Sun" when Diane Lane's character has the Polish workers striving to make her dreams a reality... So many funny moments, especially when the wall collapses; no such calamity in your case, thank goodness! I'm wondering if you and I should collaborate on a screenplay entitled, "Under the Provencal Sun?" or "Mrs. Approximate Goes to Provence?" :-)

-------------------

Hi Trudy,
(Trudy is married to one of my brother's best friends.)
I never read 'Under the Tuscan Sun' I guess I best do.
Peter Mayle wrote many books about living in France. 'A year in Provence' reads true down to the last truffle.

Let me tell you the photos do not capture the "swear words, the frustration and the looks of NOW WHAT." But it all works out in the end... maybe tomorrow I'll post the messy upstairs... Oh no I cannot break my promise so soon :)
Say Hi to Dan!

Corey

[Leslie Garcia]

Dear Corey,
You may find your ring someplace that you never thought of before. My cousin found hers 8 years after she went to see the Pope in Chicago during the 80's and on the day of her son's first holy communion she opened up her rosary box from that day and there it was! She looked at it with different eyes after that.
Good luck on your beautiful bathroom!
Until later...PEACE!
Love,
Leslie

---------

Hi Leslie

Thank you for sharing your story of your cousin finding her faith.
C

[Jeanne]

My Grandmother and Mother had a tub exactly like that in our home where I grew up.
Ahhhhh the memories of that tub.
I hope you find your rings.
I love your stories and you.
and prayers for the 4 year old child.
Love Jeanne

[Elizabeth Ann]

Keep hoping that the ring will turn up when least expected. Although it wasn't a wedding ring, I misplaced my Social Security Card and when we moved 2 months ago it became VERY IMPORTANT that I have one, since every time I tried to get a new license and other things, they asked to see it. I hadn't been asked to show it for years, I simply memorized the number (as we all do). Welllll...this morning I was going through a file drawer and noticed some new manilla folders that were unused, so I grabbed them to use. I opened the first because it seemed to have somethings in it and, Oh my, there was the Social Security Card!! Along with 5 Driver's Licences from the last 15 years!! Why did I put them there?? Why didn't I put a title on the folder?? No idea.

But, things can turn up. Unexpectedly. Hoping your ring will too.

------------------

Hi Elizabeth Ann,

You make me feel normal! I often find my things in strange places... I often think it is God's humor.
Corey

[Ruth]

Corey,

Re: your ring. My husband recently lost his wedding ring. After 2 days of searching (similar locations as you), we found it inside the door of the washing machine (front loader). There is a window with a gasket around it. It probably feel into the washer loading/unloading clothes and during the next load, found its way into the door. Just a thought?

[tut-tut]

Oh, I think you should post some more photos of your house.

[Cindy]

Oh Corey, that clawfoot tub is beautiful. Just think of the first time you fill it with water and climb in, it will all have been worth it. Heaven. Thanks for sharing these photos, I'm really enjoying them.
Don't know if anyone else has suggested this but have you tried looking in your car for the ring. Maybe it slipped off while driving.

p.s. Us women are always having to look at naked pictures of us, let the men take their turn at looking at naked pictures of men! ha! ha!

[~Kim]

Corey,
I am really enjoying watching the progress of your bathroom remodel! PLEASE DON'T STOP talking about it on the blog!! :-)

I hope your ring will turn up soon. Did you look in the bathtub? Ha~ha. Just kidding. I really do hope you find it! :-)

[Alina]

Earlier I forgot to add for Cheryl that I am thinking and sending positive thoughts her way for her little Rosebud (what a cute nickname!)

[Annette]

Pardon me, but I thought that the blue tile bathroom looked very nice. Looked being the operative word now! What is it about the old claw tub that is so inviting? Truly, my heart is not into antiques, maybe that's it. Good luck with the renovating... the unexpected always seems to make the project longer.

[Nancy N]

Another Nancy - I was thinking about your wedding ring and had this thought, that sweet French husband slipped it off your finger while you were sleeping to surprise you with something else. A girl can dream can't she?
Hope that you can find the original and still get a sweet new suprise! (still dreaming)
Nancy N.

-----------

Hi Nancy
I mentioned your comment to FH and he said, " The bathroom is your new ring."
Oh.
:)

[lynne]

ah, it begins!

[Charlotte]

GREAT pictures of Remi!! Have you shown them to him??! And I love your "new and improved" blog! Will answer your email this week end, promise!
Lots of love,
Charlotte

[Franca Bollo]

Chelsea found your glasses. I say bring her in for the ring.
--------

Hi Franco Bollo ( Franca Bollo is my cousin Molly Brown. She is a graphic designer in San Francisco, loves cats and has a wicked sense of humor that she often displays while commenting on my blog. She likes to try to shock me.
Her link is http://www.studiosalt.com/studio/christine.html

Oh in reply to your comment...

Chelsea comes home this week end, she is the master to everything. I know she will find it.

C

[Sheala]

Please be sure to post photos of the bathroom when you're all done!!!

[My Melange]

I was indeed worndering *why* a shabby antique lover like you was going to paint the tub??!! I would do exactly what you did and leave it shabby looking! Love it!!!

[Jill Flory]

You Go Corey! Leave that tub alone! And who cares if there is still paint on the wall side? No one will ever see it and who wouldn't save some work??!
Keep talking about your bathroom makeover:-) And let us know when the ring shows up.
Jill

[Linda]

Can't wait to see the finished results of your bathroom makeover. I hope that you find your wedding ring soon, my mother in law lost a braclet a few years ago in similar circumstances, she eventually found it when she put on a pair of sneakers/sandshoes/joggers that were in her closet there it was inside the shoes. I hope you find your ring soon.
Cheers Linda

[Christine Allen]

The new header is great ! Does it have a story ?

-----

Hi Christine

Yes it does. I'll post about it.

C

[Diogenes]

Hi Corey,

Great new banner! Very clever.

I have to say, I'm with you on the blue tiles. The bathroom you already completed is beautiful - very classy.

Hi Diogenes,

(Diogenes was a winner of one of the "Guessing Games" he is also a designer.)

Thanks for NOT liking the blue tiles ;)

C
C

[Mim]

Corey
Love your bathroom stories..
and the new header.
How are your motorcycle trip plans coming?
Mim

---------

Hi Mim

I hope airline tickets don't skyrocket in price... Otherwise that would change our plans
C

[Ellen Cassilly]

Corey, I just got back into town. The bathroom is coming along great. Will you be using any tile on the walls? One idea I like is to put a full or small shelf behind the tub or possibly in the corner of the soap, candles, shampoo etc. If not I know that you will find a fabulous piece to hang on the wall. Love and hugs, E
-------------------------

Hi Ellen ( Ellen is a long time friend that I met in Paris. She lived with us in Paris, saw Chelsea and Sacha when they were just born, and came to help me when I had cancer. Ellen is a gem, a beautiful soul... also a dang good architect!!)
Thanks for the photo yoyu sent. Our bathtub faucet is free standing and made the carpenter's face turn red from frustration.

C

[Courtney]

I didnt want to talk about loosing my gloves several days ago when you have lost something as important as your wedding ring... but in my defence my gloves were one of the first presents my husband ever bought for me, so there was a lot of sentimental value attached to them.

I looked high and low, I called up every place I had been the day I assumed I had lost them, all to no avail. I felt sad for a couple of days and then let it go. They were gone for good and that was that I thought. Until yesterday, when my gloves turned up in the strangest of places (inside the hood of the pram/stroller... when did they crawl up there I wonder?) I would have sworn on a stack of Bibles that they were lost in a local Walmart.

What Im trying to say is stop looking for your ring. It will turn up when it wants to, and not a moment before.... rings are almost as sneaky as gloves are!

And by the way... lurve the new bathtub... devine.

[Betty @ Country Charm]

When we first lived in our little, little house the one bathroom was so small you could sit on the commode, put your head in the sink and your left foot in the bath tub....very small but very efficient....sit on the commode, brush your teeth and wash your foot all at the same time....not really....

------------------

Hi Betty

Our bathrooms seemed like they were twins?

C

[carol]

Hi Corey, I love these posts about your remodel. The other bathroom you did is beautiful and really suits your style! I love handheld shower heads, didn't they originate in France?

Both of my grandmothers had clawfoot tubs and as a child I loved bathing in them. My maternal grandma had a chest of drawers to hold her towels, as you have mentioned. I remember she also had many treasured linens in it that she was saving for "some special day." I thought of you today when I saw a clawfoot tub in a decorating book with a tray across the top for holding essentials and miscellaneous stuff.

Interesting you should mention Peter Mayle, as I'm reading A Year in Provence again and laughed all over again at the moving of the slab for their outdoor table.

-----------------------

Hi Carol

I bought a tray to go across the tub before I had the tub.
I cannot wait to use it!

C

[Elaine L.]

I love the bathtub! I remember taking a bath in my grandmother's tub when I was a child.

I'm very surprised at how modern your bathroom looks. It's an interesting contrast to the decorating in the other areas of your home. The bathroom looks like it could be inside a New York penthouse.

~elaine~
-------------------
Hi Elaine
Yes the other bathroom is very modern, but the elements (ie light fixtures, exposed shower pipes, drawings blend it with the rest of the house.)
Oh actually I like to mix old things with new things... actually I like modern design, but I love the brocante.
C

[Candy]

I love the photos of the guys struggling with that tub up those stairs. I wonder what they were thinking about the crazy lady with the camera. You amaze me. Your energy alone is staggering. Keep posting. We're all intrigued with your bathroom saga and I actually do pray that you find your ring. I am still distraught over the loss of my mother's.

[Suzanne, the Farmer's Wife]

Just the thought of the hallway and staircase without a railing makes me woozie.

- Suzanne, the Farmer's Wife

[Mary]

Corey, I thought you were really 'girlie' that October day in Aix when the rain stopped and the sun came out. Remember how you used your feminine charms on the stall holder with the antiques? You smiled and chatted to him (he was cute too!) in your great French............and he kindly gave me a nice discount on my adorable silver liqueur set!! Thanks again for that fun day.

I believe it was your charming disposition that helped bolster your workmen as they hoisted the three pregnant elephants upstairs! Thank goodness you don't have those iron banisters which are so common in most older French houses - that could have been a disaster.

Can't wait to see the finished bathroom - it will be fabulous for sure. Meanwhile, I'm planning a dining room makeover - my colors will be based on La Madone's blue grey's - I so loved that beautiful place.

Hugs to you as always.

[andrea]

I love to read your blog as we too were Americans living in France.
This story reminds me of when we shipped my Mom's piano and we had to have the neighboring farmers come and help us move it in and uncrate it.

[Shannon]

OMG. As far as that half painted tub goes, you are like me in that I too wouldn't strip the paint off the wall side of it (why bother??). And Yann is like Jeff in that he'd strip the whole thing.

I'm so sad that you can't find your wedding ring. Maybe you and Yann can renew your vows so that he can give you another one.

Naked men in the bathroom is ALWAYS a good thing ;P And embarrassing teenagers is fun!

[Lynda]

LOVE your claw-foot bathtub, Corey! I can't wait to see the finished bathroom (btw, I like the unfinished facade too).

My husband lost his wedding ring taking out the garbage. When he realized it was missing he ran outside only to see the garbage truck driving off. He looked down and there was his ring on the ground. To say he was relieved is an understatment! Hope you find yours as easily.

xo,
Lynda
--------

Hi Lynda

I hope I am as lucky as to find my ring too.

C