Cassis: The Bathroom

The bathroom

 

 

The bathroom in Cassis was were French Husband and I differed. From the beginning we were bartering, negotiating, arguing, sweet talking… just trying to get what we wanted.

The main thing was French Husband wanted a washer and a dryer, in the bathroom. I wanted them in the kitchen under the stairs. French Husband wanted nothing under the stairs.

I did not want any doors in the bathroom, and I wanted a window so when I took a shower I could see the sea, without it seeing me. French Husband rolled his eyes so often I thought they might stick in the back of his head. I threw a tantrum about the washer/dryer, even stormed out of the house and went for a walk where I mumbled bad words. A washer and dryer took the lovely underlining aesthetic out of the space. Practical is not in my favor of design. French Husband, Chelsea, Sacha and Rene thought I was mad for not wanting a door: "When you are going to the bathroom, everyone will hear and see you!" In which I answered, "No they won't."

I was not telling the truth, and they knew it.

 

 

The bathroom in cassis

 

 

4 x 4 foot tile

 

 

The ceramic tiles are made to look old and stained, as if in a warehouse. They are four feet by four feet in size. The Cassis stone sink was made by the original owner, maybe a hundred years ago, he was a stone cutter by trade. It was, and is, a kitchen sink (classic size and design of Provence). Because of that, "we" kept it using it as a bathroom sink instead. As French Husband smirked, "Why not, we have a baptismal fountain as a bathroom sink in Paris. If we ever do a house again, you probably will use a bird bath." 

 

 

Cassis stone  sink

 

 

Rene works with stone as well, he MADE the stone support for the sink. I had him add a rod iron between the two stone supports in case anyone dare hang a towel there.

I haven't found a bathroom mirror, so a slab mirror is standing there precariously until I do. The shower is called a "douche Italian", the drain is a long inox piece against the wall. It is slightly tilted towards the wall so the water drains. It has no ledge, or lip, the glass shower wall appears free standing. Rene was the master, he built it from scratch, because no matter what I asked for, he NEVER said no. I tell you he is like having a thousand wishes come true. French Husband and I think HE is a rockstar. I had Rene put the water faucets etc. on the side to give the appearance that nothing is there. When I take a shower I can see the sea, and the sea cannot see me. But when I pee… not just teasing. French Husband got his washer and dryer too. A win/win.

The ball in the shower is a giant glass floater, I found it at the brocante, I bet you didn't see that coming.

 

 

Items for the bathroom

 

On the side of the sink I hung sorciere mirrors, and in front of the washer and dryer there is a coat rack that I found at the St Tropez  brocante. They are easy to find, but this long is a luxury. We use it to hang our clothes and things when we take a shower. The baskets I bought at Maison du Monde an home decor shop. The folding stool is made of iron and leather, another brocante find. 

The washer and dryer are on the side of the sink. We haven't decided how we are going to "hid" the washer/dryer. A door?

 

 

 

The naked man in the bathroom

 

"We have a door in the bathroom, but not where one would expect it," chimed French Husband.

Directly in front of the sink we have a closet, that holds the hot water tank, plus shelves for towels, toiletries and stuff. I bought the old door at the salvage yard for 25 Euros. In front of the shower and behind the closet is the toilet. The naked charcoal drawing is from 1818. A hunk of a man. I added the ivy leaf to cover his personal wowzer, so that my Mom, who reads my blog, wouldn't get mad at me, I can hear her saying, "Oh for God's sake Corey!"

The black iron heated towel rack (from a national hardware store called, Leroy Merlan), oh how the French love their heated towel racks, and I gotta say it has spoiled me too.

 

 

IMG_6813

 

The painting is another one from Camille.

 

XXX

 

Our Paris Apartment

My Online Brocante Shop

The French Muse Experience

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Comments

69 responses to “Cassis: The Bathroom”

  1. Oh the bathroom is just fabulous! I don’t mind the open door policy so to speak lol.
    I think I’d go with natural (antique of course) more rustic linen curtains to hide the washer dryer so as not to distract the eye from the simplicity of the bathroom decor X.

  2. Elaine Harbison

    Corey, you crack me up! But everything looks fabulous!

  3. Brilliant . . . all of it! Congratulations!

  4. Simply beautiful!

  5. Gorgeous Corey! Love the ball, the baskets, the old door… Will have to have a good think about covering washer and dryer. My first idea would be to have René make a frame for a door and then insert metal, decorative ‘grillage’. Wood same as old door and grillage in old spotty, stained, used… you get the drift.

  6. Gorgeous!!!!
    Is the bathroom on the same floor as the living room? If so, I may have put a door in front of the toilet, similar to the one in front of the boiler. Well, if it fits.

  7. Chico Sue

    The drawing in your new bathroom reminds me of a bathroom in a Minnesota bar. When one used the loo, one was facing a life sized painting of a nude male, with a three dimensional fig leaf covering his “wowzer”. If one was curious enough to lift the fig leaf, a siren and flashing lights would go off in the main part of the bar so everyone knew what one was looking at in the bathroom.

  8. Sharon Morrison

    Love the shower, sink, and potty chair. Great looking bathroom. To bad the w/d could not go in a closet, so this room would be perfect for you. I love it.

  9. it looks like we won after seeing the concessions that both you and yann made.. so extraordinary.. you were born to be a brocante artist/interior designer/Mother/wife/poet /photographer and a awesome friend whom i adore..
    love,
    lana cano kloch

  10. It is amazing! Wonderful! Beautiful! Love it!

  11. I love your bathroom. Wonderful design.
    betsy

  12. RebeccaNYC

    His personal wowzer. BWAHAHAAAhahaaaaa!!!!

  13. I laughed out loud at so many things here while hiding in a bathroom stall in O’Hare. You crack me up, Corey. Paris, here I come. Next year—Cassis!

  14. That is too funny…but I would lift the leaf so to speak…..too funny!

  15. Paula Tyner

    OH! The tour just gets better and better! Just fab, Corey.

  16. Every single thing with your Cassis abode is just perfect! Love it all! Thank you for sharing!

  17. Barbara Blizzard

    You two are the most fun – thank God for Rene. You could probably call him the “Peacemaker”. This is the best blog on the house yet – your sense of humor carries through.

  18. lanmangina@me.com

    Giggle giggle giggle and big smiles 🙂 I so understand design over practical but that is what makes it interesting, whimsical and unconventional. Quirky = Love in my book! Noticing all the details you finished up with the pegs and baskets they look fantastic! Did you put a peg coat rack upstairs in bedroom too? Love the little gold mirrors there! Where is the brown painting you were going to put there before? I want to buy it if you are not using it 🙂 First dibs lol! Bravo my friend you always to a great job!

  19. charland

    You do realize this home is stunning -OMG.

  20. Jacklynn Lantry

    Wowzer!

  21. Gorgeous! I can’t figure out where you put the bathroom door. We have a powder room off of our dining room. Even though there is a door, sounds bounce noisily off the marble floor. Your bathroom is all hard surfaces so I’m glad you decided to put a door on, after all, but where is it?
    What ever happened to the enormous frame that you were going to use on a mirror in the living room? It was on a painting when you bought it.

  22. ….”Why not we have a baptismal fountain as a bathroom sink in Paris. If we ever do a house again, you probably will use a bird bath next….”
    BWaaaahahahahahaha! I needed a good laugh tonight…thanks to Yann I got it! 😀
    It’s a beautiful bathroom!

  23. patty gilbert

    Stunning! Such creativity and vision! I have loved seeing the transformation of the seaside space!

  24. TerriNTexas

    I love every bit that you have done!! What fun!

  25. Jennifer Phillipps

    The new bathroom looks fantabulous! Love the sink, think a bird bath would be excellent for the next do-up and wondering if in fact French Husband actually posed for the charcoal drawing and you just pretended it was from 1818!! Look forward to any further instalments….well done one and all…..

  26. Happy that your dream place by the sea came true. Your vision of old mixed with modern really came together. Enjoy! And I love that big glass float!

  27. Wow! Can I move into the bathroom? Absolutely love it! Congratulations ⭐️

  28. Jacqueline Winters-Hall

    Oh Corey,
    You made my night! I love everything about this, including the way you paint the scene in words. Wowzer!
    xoxo
    Jacqueline

  29. Diogenes

    Love the modern painting. Maybe you could use more art as a door to cover the washer/dryer combo. But not sure I get where the w/d combo is. Do you even need a dryer in cassis? Won’t everything air dry quickly? 😉

  30. We all need our little tantrums every now and then, it proves we have our own opinions, the hardest part is walking back and realising that somehow we have to admit we were wrong!! The bathroom is gorgeous. We once had a house with a downstairs bathroom and one wall of the shower was a huge glass window which looked straight out onto the garden and a wild pond beyond. It always felt as if I was showering in a natural oasis and I loved it. Only once did I get a shock when a stranger walked passed!!

  31. chère Corey!
    je te félicite, c´est splendide!!
    chaque matin , avec mon petit café , je lis avec grand plaisir ton blog, MERCI j´aprécie enormement. je suis plein de gratitude de povoir participer …. l´amour pour mon pays de coeur, vivante…, et ca nouris mon rêve de retourner un jour pour y vivre….;-)
    amicalement d ´Autriche Tina;-)

  32. It looks great! I am impressed with the douche italienne on an upstairs floor–how did you get a shower pan into the floor so the tiles above it would be level with the rest of the floor? We wanted to put one in, but the only way was to make a step up to the bathroom, because there wasn’t enough space in the floor for the pan, and the pan is needed for code, even if it’s going to be covered by tiles–or that’s what we were told.
    Our house used to be the village showers, so all our windows start at shoulder height. It’s very odd. But we can look out at the Pyrénées while we shower and nobody can see in.

  33. OMG; now THiS is the ULTIMATE WOW post – you did everything impossible and a few possible ones too…. (and of course the invaluable and precious star René)
    I am with you regarding the washer/dryer – spoils the über-cool overall effect slightly. And I have no idea how to hide them effectively but without ‘noticing’ those monsters too much. Maybe you should think mosaic/mirror/wallpaper-paint effects? Not another door, the idea with the old door for the cupboard is so unique, you mustn’t put in another one.
    May I ask what a glass floater is? A ball swimming on the surface? Why then, if it’s a shower? Or maybe you’re kind enough to explain if I get that wrong…. As for cleaning the shower; it can only ‘assemble’ the soap, dirt, calcère.
    LOVE everything – I’m now officially in love with a bathroom 🙂
    Oh, and the Italian showers ARE THE BEST – we have one in our refurbised bathroom, v. High at one end and very low the other thanks to the slope of the roof – it is fabulous and every single day we praise (the Lord) ourselves for having found this genius solution (it was a difficult and costly decision, but at the time we also were lucky enough to have a ‘René’, who sadly left France to return to his home country to get married and have a family…)

  34. Hi Sue; I have read this story so many times and every single time it cracked me up – because I SO would have lifted the fig leaf TOO….. Maybe there are many similar nudes with a leaf about because my tales were all happening in England! – Oh the fun for the male patrons 🙂 🙂 🙂

  35. I have a little story for ‘re-using’ of sinks too….. In the olden times there was a rather large double-basin (Belfast sink) standing in the garden and used for collecting rain water to water the plants. We had it installed in the basement in the ultimate guest bathroom (we call it the golden bathroom, we had so many problems and re-do’s with it we could have it done in gold! Although it’s tiled in white and red with matching towels, accessories etc). Anyway, our wonderful builder at the time made us a ’tiled’ stand with a shelf underneath and installed an ‘original’ but new set of taps and we’re extremely happy with it. I also glued two round antic mirrors over the sinks but at one time, one fell down and broke – since then we only have the one plus a small brass mirror (square) which I just stood on the taps about 4 years ago and it’s still happily standing there…. The antic mirror came with me from England – a fleamarket find (bringing sweet memories every time I see it!). It’s such a JOY to have the eyes and imagination to do such things and when people then appreciate it, it’s even BETTER… 🙂

  36. If Rene should need a holiday tell him New Zealand is the place and I will make the spare room available for him…a busmans holiday maybe? Lol

  37. Absolutely lovely. I’m happy for your dreams to come true!

  38. Beautiful, but I have to say a BR wo a door would not fly here!

  39. Nor here!

  40. Yes it is on the same floor as the living room.

  41. Lol!

  42. Glad I made you laugh in the bathroom at O’Hara!
    I hope you enjoy our place in Paris! See you in 2018!

  43. Teddee Grace

    These tours of the Cassis apartment have been such fun. The rooms definitely have your touch even though they are more modern…and I find, because of your ability to blend styles, I’m more comfortable with this environment than I thought I would be. The alterations you have made, with the help of your wonderful craftsman, are essential to the apartment’s now unique character. Loving the tile and sink!

  44. A beautifully crafted space..the story filled with you humor had me laughing out loud, filling my house with the joy you sent out today…beauty, craftsmanship, artistic arrangements…the bathroom is like a perfect work of art, an assemblage of disparate pieces that all fit exquisitely together…the fig leaf is perfect.
    Kristin

  45. When I saw the fig leaf…my first reaction was to see if it could be moved…..bad me..
    I am truly gobsmacked…what a fabulous job you all have done.
    Ali

  46. I thought about a curtain but it just doesn’t look right, it is too straight for anything fluffy looking, and I think it would take away from the clean lines.

  47. I like the grillage idea, but the cost of doing it, is more than we care to do.

  48. Yes it is on the same floor as the living rom. When you open the closet door it acts like a screen, and adds some privacy.

  49. Yes, I agree. But the hot water tank had to go there… I do not understand why.

  50. The other coat rack, pegs, went in the bedroom. I might have to sell you the painting, but I removed the frame, gasp!

  51. Hi Nathalie
    There isn’t a bathroom door. The sound isn’t as loud as one would expect. I did not use the beautiful frame nor painting. The curvy lines of the frame just did not look right. So it is hanging in our home in our bedroom.

  52. Ah now that you are staying in our apartment in Paris you know what I mean. Isn’t it a beautiful baptismal fountain bathroom sink?!

  53. lol, oh the responses I could add here.

  54. Yes exactly!
    A painting is a good idea, I am leaning on that.

  55. Sounds beautiful! When we lived in Paris there was a massive skylight over the bathtub. One morning while taking a bath, several roof workers peered in. I jumped out of that tub faster than I have ever moved before or since.

  56. Merci Tina! When you are in France, come visit us!

  57. I understand what you mean. The entire bathroom floor was raised. That is how we did it.

  58. The floater:
    Glass floats, glass fishing floats, or Japanese glass fishing floats are popular collectors’ items. They were once used by fishermen in many parts of the world to keep their fishing nets, as well as longlines or droplines afloat.

  59. I would love to see a long grain sack with black stripes covering the washer/dryer like a curtain – not gathered so it won’t be frilly, just hanging straight from clips and a rod. The rough texture would add a nice natural element to the modern lines of the bathroom and speak to the hemp rope from the fishing float. OR, make a simple door from the type of metal screening that is used to cover radiators, perhaps? (It is also sometimes used on an under-sink cabinet, to let moisture escape – do they have this in France?) I think it comes in silver, gold, copper and in a variety of patterns…just my two cents.

  60. Wendy in Kennewick

    Simply beautiful. Could we see a picture of the washer and dryer setup? Are they stacked next to the sink or is there a wall separating them from the sink? I was thinking of a bamboo roll-up shade with black linen edging, like a frame. It would keep with the color scheme and natural look.

  61. charland

    You nailed it – all of it!!!

  62. karen from ohio

    just enjoy the washer& dryer as is – SO MUCH BEAUTY SURROUNDS
    THEM !

  63. Agree

  64. Diane Belforte Lewis

    Love that sink…..wouldn’t the stone cutter be happy to see his sink being used all these years later?

  65. Merci Corey, de tout coeur!;-)
    …et si jamais vous êtes en autriche, ecrivez mois, j´aimerais tant vous inviter á une splendide promenade de “vienna flair”. sera un grand plaisir et cadeau pour moi!
    cordialement,Tina 😉

  66. I like that idea too!!

  67. You both did a graet job, the house looks absolutely stylish.Did you consult an architect before tearing out walls ? I think you deserve a big hand for saving that old building and turning it into a coy place to live. My respect !

  68. sorry : *cosy*

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