Hi Lisa. The recess is part of the early 1970s renovation. I think they dry walled the back of the space between two wall studs, toenailed in 1x4 boards to make the shelves, painted everything, and framed it with trim. It's a handy space, and I may put something similar in a different area of the bathroom. My neighbors have nooks like this, of varying heights and widths, in nearly every room their incredibly cute, and tiny, house. I'm going to have to take photos of their place; they've worked miracles with less than 800 sq. ft, hardly any cash, and starting with what had been a homestead cabin, turned line shack, turned storage shed, turned comfy and happy home.

Sorry, don't know what happened to the first pic i posted. It was from the internet, maybe someone recognized it and pulled it? I'll try to describe. It was like your set-up, but they framed out the edges from the highest part of the box down to the main part of the ceiling with layers of molding. Kind of like rectangular rings, so it actually reduced the size of the box a bit, as it stepped upward and inward. It was painted the same color as the ceiling, then there was a small chandelier hanging from the center of the box. If you need to cover some of the electrical box, you could use those embossed ceiling tiles and paint them to match it all. I'm off to search for another pic, because it really was a great look. edited to add: Found it! The pic is still on the internet, but I'll link to the blog instead... Here is a link that might be useful: Updated light box This post was edited by olychick on Wed, Apr 3, 13 at 12:57

Found another Ins. Co. and signed a new policy (same coverage and price), they have the inspection report and the cloth wiring wasn't an issue. Our agent mentioned that they would be doing their own inspection. Talked to our original agent, she wanted to know who the carrier was. I told her, she said she had talked to them as well and they wouldn't cover my house due to the wiring. She has a feeling the new policy will be cancelled as well. Not sure what to do, we have a mortgage and the bank requires us to have insurance. Replacing the wiring would be a major headache, financially and physically, as the walls are plaster lathe and there is no crawl space to access any wires.

As a vintage home owner, I disagree with opening the floor plan. We know that in order to love these old homes, we make compromises. We did an addition that involved moving the kitchen and adding a full bath in a-gasp- 5x8' footprint. It was a six figure job. And the termite damage we found when opening walls......know what you have the budget and stomach for before deciding. We talked through our options for several years first. That being said, I'm not the layout guru, but I'm looking at what you posted and thinking that the fridge space is a lot of real estate to dedicate to a half bathroom. Is there another space to tuck in a bathroom? What are the code minimums for space? I would take the smallest footprint possible to accomplish the task. PS. Love the yellow stool!