Winner in the Best Bathroom Renovation Category:
Katie & Mike Naughton
for 2594 South Acoma
Katie & Mike Naughton’s 2594 South Acoma bathroom renovation was not the biggest or most expensively outfitted bathroom renovation among those we considered in the Best Bathroom Renovation category. Our judges were impressed with several aspects of their project, viewing it as a good example of one of the Restoration for Living contest’s underlying messages – the importance of making informed renovation choices that respect a home’s scale, style and historical identity regardless of budget or scope. More often, it’s the grand or unusual project stories chosen featured in magazines, and this year we saw some spectacular projects worthy of any glossy spread. (One of our favorites was the black and white constellation-themed octagonal tile bathroom floor in the astronomy-enthusiast owner’s house at 740 South Washington that nabbed the Honorable Mention spot in this category.) But the reality is that the Naughton’s project represents the majority of old house restoration projects – those completed under budgetary constraints that require use of modest materials and the coaxing of one’s inner “do-it-yourselfer”. The Naughton’s winning project is a small, elegant example of one young couple’s understanding of the nature of their bungalow and a successful restoration with this clear vision. “When we bought the house,” says Katie, “the bathroom had been renovated multiple times between 1925 and the present and it looked like it belonged in the 1980s. There was a fiberglass enclosure that covered an old window that had been bricked in. There were at least two layers of vinyl flooring over two layers of real linoleum.” The couple completed almost 100% of the work themselves, including the installation of an unglazed tile floor, pedestal sink, beadboard on the walls and subway tile in the tub surround. “It looks much like a period bathroom, down to the register cover that we found in the house when we bought it.” Says Katie, whose pride of workmanship is only matched by the pride she and her husband feel in having been recognized among such a distinguished group of not-as-humble, but equally as elegant, bathroom renovation projects.
