Bathroom Reveal

Well, several months back my husband and I decided to re-do our bathroom.  It was time.  See for yourself.

The floor was dirty and disgusting and beyond the point that you could clean it.  The color of the tiles and the tub, can you say ugly?  The sink was scratched and dirty.  Don't get me started on the heater.  I've mentioned it here.  Let's not go there today, okay?

We tried to work with it and made a few minor adjustments.

It helped, but not with the floor problem.  Underneath one of the rugs we were missing floor tiles, so needless to say, when the time was right we tore it apart.

Sadly, we said good-bye to the old cast iron turqoisey-aqua tub, tiles and floor.  Okay, it wasn't sad.  However, living without a bathroom is never pleasant.  Especially if it's the "girls" bathroom of the home and during construction all girls have to use the "boys" bathroom.  Use your imagination on that one.

So, after several months, it is finally completed.  Can I get a woo-hoo?!!!!  Andy worked on this when his time allowed.  I certainly wish it went faster, but he did the best he could. 

I am very happy with how it turned out.  Instead of replacing the drywall where the old tile was, we decided to use a bead-board to cover over it.

It's so fresh and clean.  I would still like to add to this wall a picture of some sort and possibly a towel rack.  It's just so nice and crisp that I'm not in a big hurry to put holes in the wall.

Here is my sparkly white brand new tub.

I've already had the privelege of a good soak.  I'm enjoying it immensely.

I love taking showers now.  No more sharing the boys shower.

We had quite a time trying to find a vanity that would work in this space.  We actually wanted a smaller one in length than what was previously there.  It did not allow a lot of space between the toilet and vanity.  Andy finally found a used one on Craigslist.  It wasn't exactly what I was looking for but the price was right.

We just topped it with a one-piece granite top from Lowe's.

This shows you just how much space we have now between the vanity and sink.

Much better.  And oh, did you notice the new heater?  No more rust and pee stains.  Hallelujah.  I decided to add a little more storage space and was quite pleased when I found this at my favorite little primitive shop in town.  And, for only $25.

While the bathroom was under construction, we had the mirror resting in the hallway.  Well, with 2 boys running around you can imagine what happened.  It broke.  It turned out to be ok.  We ended up having to cut it to fit with the new size vanity.  Andy built a frame for it, and we painted it to match the vanity and storage cabinet.

I think it looks great.  We just recycled the old light, but unfortunately had to replace the glass shades because somebody (I won't mention who) managed to break one.  That turned out to be the biggest fiasco of the whole project.  I won't tell you how many trips I took to Lowe's and Home Depot to finally find some that would fit.

One more before and after. 




Before

After

So, what do you think?  Did we do okay?

I've been a little busy.

You will pardon my lack of blogging as of late.  Some of it comes down to a sort of writers block, some to lack of things to say but mainly to lack of time.  I am not someone who can handle too many things at once, so the more important things take precedence over blogging.

We were out of town last weekend for a trip to the beach.  It was wonderful except for the $80 ticket my husband got for speeding through Delaware.  Though it was a little annoying she was actually generous and only charged him with a lesser speed than the actual.  *Note to self:  send in the payment.*  Ugh!

Was on my way to one of my cleaning jobs last week and I got hit by a deer.  Yep, you read that right, I got hit by a deer.  I was braking to avoid hitting one, when a second ran out and ran right into the back of my car.  I am so glad it didn't do any damage.  Only damage was to my emotions.  What a nerve-racking moment.  Do you ever wonder why silly things like those happen?  Strange.

Anyway, I've done a few small projects around my home that I've shown on my blog.  Well, we just embarked on a big project just last week.  We are knee deep in renovating my bathroom.  Who knew that one small room could create such havoc.  But I must say it is worth it.  My bathroom has been a mess since we moved into this house.  Clean, but a mess.  Mainly the floor.  The tiles were coming loose and the grout was looking a little...gross.

I will show you what we started with.  The first picture shows what the room looked like when we bought the house.  I must disclose to you that the tub (which is hard to see) was actually the turquoisey minty color.  Though very clean and in relatively good condition, the color was just not my thing.

I decided to put a band-aid on it until it was time to renovate, so here is the most recent photo of our bathroom.

As you can see, I did my best to work with what was there.  I removed the wallpaper and freshened up the walls and vanity with paint.  I placed those two rugs on the floor to hide the loose floor tiles.  What you can't see in this picture is the pee stained rusted out floor heater right by the toilet.  It was nas. Tee.  Nasty.  (Did I just write the word toilet on my blog?)

Anyway, since the majority of this renovation would fall on my husband it was up to him when he wanted to get started.  Well, he wanted to get started and I was in full agreement.  So, we are down to one bathroom.  One woman sharing a bathroom with 3 boys and a dog.  It's proving to be a challenge at times, but we'll get through it.  (No, my dog doesn't use the bathroom to do her business, her food and water bowl is in there.)
Not to mention the fact that my washer and dryer are also in that bathroom. 

Well, here is what my bathroom looks like now.

Nice huh?  Well, you will see I like to keep my rooms decorated during renovating.  ; )  Why not?  Makes me like to go in there.

I will keep you posted as to how things are going.  Aside from the toilet lid getting busted everything has been going smoothly.  I only hope it continues that way.  I can't wait to get to the putting it back together part.  Soon.

A little home improvement

I just wanted to show you what I've been up to as of late.

Last Saturday I had a whole day all to myself so I took advantage of that time and decided to paint my kitchen cabinets.  It's only phase one of the whole kitchen makeover, but so far I'm pleased with the results.

To get a real appreciation I'll show you a picture of what the kitchen looked like before.  This is what it looked like when we bought the house.

This next picture shows what it looked like after we took out the prison bars and painted the walls.

That's about how it has stayed since we moved in.  It's not that I hated the blue, it just wasn't the color I chose, nor would it really be a color I would choose.  And after living here for over two years, the paint was beginning to chip and the cabinets were getting a little on the dirty side.  So, I decided it was time to change.  And with no one around it was the perfect opportunity.

Part of the reason it took me so long to paint them was because I struggled with what color I wanted.  My dream was to paint them black.  Oh I love that, but with black appliances I thought that would be way to much.  I also thought about doing a colonial burgundy, but again I wasn't sure if it would be too dark.  So, I opted for a colonial green.  Green isn't one of my favorite colors, but it's definitely one that I'm okay with.  Better than the blue anyway.

So, here's how they turned out.

Since I took the photos, I've already changed out the curtains and added some decorations to the cabinet sides at the window.  I'll show an prettier picture when the kitchen is cleaned up and ready. 

Well, like I said, it's just phase one.  We want to install a new backsplash.  I'm thinking brick.  Also, we want to install a new counter top.  We have a portable dishwasher (you can kind of see it in the photo above) but I would like to have one installed when we replace the counters.  All of this takes time and money.  Both a precious thing these days.

So, what do you think?  Should I have gone with black or burgundy?

Our new (used) coffee table

I have been on the search for a new coffee table for our living room.  I recently found this baby at a local thrift store.

I'm sorry to say that I had already begun to sand it, so I don't have the original "before" picture.  : [  It had what some would call "good bones."  It's solid wood and the size was perfect.  I also loved the style.  When I brought it home my husband was less than impressed.  Usually he can see potential.  I don't know what he didn't see.  Anyhoo, I spent a lot of time sanding, sanding and sanding some more.  What you can't see in the picture is the finish.  It was a thick thick stain of a reddish color all over.  Not quite what I wanted.

I had all of the supplies I needed on hand.  Wasn't a real complicated job.  Just time consuming.  Waiting between coats of paint and stain.  Spent more time waiting than doing the work.  : ]

So, here is the finished product.

I am pleased.  We finally have a real "grown-up" coffee table.

So when are you coming over for some coffee to put on my coffee table?


Linking up with Traci at Beneath My Heart for her April "linky" party and with Richella at Imparting Grace for her Grace at home series.

I can do this!!

So it's day two of being alone.  And much like I thought, I'm singing a different tune today.  The loneliness has faded and the fun has begun.

I set out to do a project.  Let me share this with you first.  My youngest son is a disaster.  We call him "pig pen" and it fits.  You may also call him the tazmanian devil.  He is very scatter brained.  But to his defense, he lives in the moment.  Good or bad.

Well, for someone who tends to be a "neat freak" his messiness can be very difficult for me to deal with.

Here are some pictures of his room.

This is a good day.  Usually you can't see the floor.

So, the project was to purchase some shelves and put them together.  Then use them in his closet.

Here's what I got.

Around here Andy usually does the building and the tool using.  But, I thought I could handle this myself.  So I did.

I did it.  I got them put together.  Woo hoo!!

I got busy and did some organizing.  It feels good.  I love to clean and organize.   So, an hour and a half later here are a few pictures of his room/closet all done.

Ah, much better.  The pictures really don't do it justice.  Boy was it fun and is he going to be surprised when he gets home.  Now, I only hope he keeps it clean.   ; ]



A little of this and a little of that.

Happy Monday.
I don't know about you, but I love Mondays.  The kids are back to school, hubby is back to work, and I get some time to get our house back in order.  I love, love, love, cleaning and organizing my home.  On Mondays I get to really feel a sense of accomplishment.

As far as accomplishments go, we had a pretty productive weekend.  I started Friday after work.  Feeling a little down I needed something to do, so my challenge was:  my bathroom closet.  I had already spent some time arranging it a few months back, but it got a little out of control.

See what I mean?  Wow, I can't believe I just showed you my bathroom closet!  I feel so exposed!  ;}  Anyway, I love to purge and boy did I.  It was great!  Didn't take a lot of time, but what a difference it made.

Ah, much better don't you think?  I have a great stock pile thanks to couponing.  I rarely have to run out for something when it's needed.  I just head to the bathroom closet.  I also have a (small) stock pile in my basement.  I plan to show you that another time.  Anyway, back to my closet.  I don't have any special tricks or secrets, just good old fashion cleaning, purging, refolding and straightening.  If I can keep the kids (all 3 of them) out, I think it will last.  Only time will tell.

**************************************



We had snow this weekend.  I didn't realize how ready for some snow I was.  It was lovely.  It put me in the mood for homemade goodies.

Yum!  We love homemade bread.  So, I made two loaves.  We enjoyed one, and we took another to our neighbors.  They greatly appreciated it and we enjoyed their company.  What an encouragement she was to us.  To keep pressing on.  She's been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and she still wants to do God's will in her life.  She knows God is not done with her yet and despite the uncertainties, she wants to make plans for their future.

One thing she shared with us was this:  When God places a boulder in our path He really means for it to be a stepping stone to the next journey.  How awesome is that.  I had never thought of it that way.  I've been pondering it since.

******************************************

Also, we began work on my bedroom closet.  It will be receiving a transformation.  I can't wait.  It's still a work in progress, so I'll just show you my before photo.

I got in there just seconds after Andy removed one of the doors, but you get the idea.  I am doing some built-ins and we replaced the doors.  They look great, but you have to wait to see it.  Sorry.  It's not ready for it's debut yet.  Stay tuned.

Have a great day.