AND NOW, A PENNY-COVERED BATHROOM FLOOR

When Doreen Fisher wanted change in one of her bathrooms, she went to the bank and got 10,000 pennies. Now those coins cover the bathroom floor, some heads, some tails, some shiny and some well worn.

"I like the richness of the color variance in the floor," says the retired industrial engineer. "Whichever penny came up next is what went next."

Fisher got the spark from a Facebook thread that originated with a penny-tiled backsplash. She clicked through many other options and filed away the idea until a few weeks ago, when she was ready to tackle a bathroom in her New Braunfels home.

"Since it's not a primary bathroom, you can take some design liberties," Fisher says. The space, about 30 square feet, is divided into two rooms, one with the vanity and one with the toilet and tub. In all, it took about 9,700 pennies and somewhere between 20 and 40 hours of Fisher's time and patience.

Though some sources recommend cleaning the coins with an acid wash, she left them alone, removing only misshapen or green pennies from the mix. "I didn't want to rob the patina from the pennies."

After removing two layers of vinyl, Fisher painted the concrete floor with latex paint. She laid the coins out along a straight line in rows about 10 feet long and glued them down with Loctite Power Grab construction adhesive. Keeping the lines from veering required patience, and Fisher had to finesse rows around doorjambs to make the coins fit without cutting.

Once the floor was covered in coins, she sealed it with epoxy. The coating is thin, so bare feet still feel the texture and the cool copper. "In Texas, that's not a bad thing at all," Fisher says. Though she could have purchased flooring that cost less than $3 a square foot and was easier to install, it wouldn't match the panache of her pennies.

A hammered copper vessel sink complements the copper floor in the renovated bathroom. Fisher selected a Vetrazzo counter made from shards of cobalt blue glass, recycled from Skyy vodka bottles. Like the floor, the counter provides the curious eye with lots to explore.

To read the complete article, see: Floor made from pennies is priceless (www.mysanantonio.com/life/article/Floor-made-from-pennies-is-priceless-4023689.php)

Wayne Homren, Editor

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