While we are busy painting and spiffing up downstairs, our builder is busy getting our upstairs reno project approved and getting things ordered so we can start in June. I found out today that our bathroom fixtures (tub, showers, faucets, toilets, sinks) were just ordered yesterday! Whoohoo!
Thought I’d take you on a little shopping excursion to see what we have picked out.
First, the old bathroom will be getting gutted (can’t wait!!!) We will have a basic boring white toilet, a corner shower, and two pedestal sinks installed in there.
The sinks:
The shower should look something like this, except white and chrome:
Our faucets:
and the floor will be white hex:
Now, the second bathroom, which is the new Master will have a Bubble Massage tub (or as Mister calls it, “The Relaxitub”) a shower, vanity and white “comfort height” toilet. (My back is happy.) 🙂
The shower…kind of like this one:
Our “Relaxitub”:
Our vanity:
And our faucets:
We have chosen black hex tile for that bathroom:
And the ledge surrounding the tub will have this tile (I just decided on this today…Zan doesn’t even know yet. *tee*hee*)
Still need to choose lighting and roofing and other stuff. So far, so fun! I figure if I ASSUME it will all go smoothly, it WILL. Right? Um, right???
So, as you already know, it all starts with a throw pillow, or in this case, a big house renovation. With the upcoming work soon to begin, we couldn’t just leave the rest of the house all shabby and untouched. The kitchen is the first room to get the treatment. It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost 10 years since we last painted it! I was pretty tired of the dark green, as much as I liked it when we first did it. It was time to lighten and brighten things up.
After going through a few samples and color ideas, we came right back around to green, albeit a much different shade. We will see when all is said and done whether or not I like it, but at least it will be fresh and clean when it’s finished.
Of course then will come the downstairs bathroom, then the dining room, then the entryway and staircase and so on and so on. You get the idea!
Stay tuned!
I don’t know about in your house, but in my house, this means trouble:
These spread innocently on the table are enough to strike fear in the core of any husband. Mister asked me this morning, “Are adults afraid of things too?” I said, “Of course they are Honey. Mommy is afraid of spiders, and Daddy is afraid of paint swatches.” Okay, maybe I’m making that second half up, but if I HAD said that it would’ve been true: paint swatches mean a whole lotta work and aggravation for my dear husband. 🙂
But wait till you see what I’ve been dreaming up over here!
Let’s take a look at my staircase.
That horrid carpet has been there since we moved in. The entire house, minus the bedrooms, bathroom, and kitchen, was carpeted with this ugly fuschia wall to wall monstrosity. We tore ALL of it up several years ago, exposing the oak floors underneath. The only piece we left was the staircase. Having little ones, we decided carpet was a good idea (for cushioning potential falls) and we weren’t ready to spend money to recarpet them. So there the staircase has sat neglected and ignored…until now!!!
I’ve been spending lots of time on home and renovation idea websites lately, and look what I came across:
I am suddenly completely, obsessively in love with the look of the black banister, rail, and stairs. I WANT IT! I’ve even gone so far as thinking about painting my hardwood floor in the entry way in a black and white checkerboard pattern, but apparently the going opinion is that painting a perfectly good (albeit in need of refinishing) hardwood floor is a sin of the Mortal kind, so I won’t go there. But don’tcha think it’s beeeeeeyoooooooteeeeeful?!
And while we’re sprucing up the heart of the home, let’s look at what else needs a little attention:
That bookcase has got to go. It’s just not working for me there anymore. We’re thinking of creating a built-in to hold the kids coats, shoes, bookbags, etc. but that’s a whole other post. Or maybe I’ll dream up something else for that wall. You never know!
Stay tuned to see what trouble I get myself into. After all, there’s something about these photos that speaks to me…black moldings anyone?
So today I tackled the crazy disorganized Tupperware cupboard. I admit to letting this get WAY out of hand. These spaces used to be in much better shape. I can blame it partly on my back…getting down low to take care of these cabinets is a literal pain, so often I just shove things in and close the door which has resulted in a mess of mass proportion. However a bunch can be blamed on sheer laziness and an inability to think up alternative solutions to the madness.
But last night it dawned on me…what if I looked at allllll my lower cupboards? They were all a disaster, stacks tipping over…pots and pans in one, baking pans in another, Tupperware in another. I also read somewhere (I’m sorry I can’t remember where) that you should choose a small space to house your Tupperware because your collection will continue to grow to fill the space unchecked. Sooooooo, again I pulled EVERYTHING out of my lower cabinets, washed them out, and started looking at my collection. I started with a big garbage bag and started chucking into it everything I haven’t used in the past year. Then I matched containers and tops, throwing away any incomplete sets. I swear that right there cut my problem in half. I apologize for my poor iPhone photos, but here’s the embarrassing befores:
Crazy right???
And now the afters:
Pots, pans, and baking pans in the big cabinet, round containers in one, and square and rectangular in another. Ahhh…my nemesis is vanquished at last!!!!!
Dotted line is signed, bathroom fixtures are already chosen, and a few months is all that separates us from major upheaval. Tom Builder projects that he and his crew will begin work sometime in June. They are backed up with work at the moment, so we have a little breathing room before things get torn apart. I thought I would share with you a few interior photos of the space we are having renovated. Let’s head upstairs, shall we? Follow me. Please watch your step and hold the railing…Mister took a nasty head over heels fall down these stairs a few weeks ago, and I would hate to see the same thing happen to you!
Let me direct your attention to these doors.
The door straight ahead is the bathroom door, the one to the left is a closet. (Notice that the bathroom door and moldings are cheapo replacements.) The closet will be opened up and made into a hallway that will lead to the new bedroom space, which right now is a low-ceilinged attic over the kitchen. The plan is to salvage the closet door and moldings and use them on the soon-to-be-renovated bathroom.
Let’s open the door to the bathroom:
I have hated this bathroom since the day we bought the house. Several years ago we painted it and stuck down new floor tiles, changed the hardware, but it was a temporary fix. The floor is changing colors and popping up all over the place…it has all got to go. I will do a happy dance the day they gut this space…maybe they’ll let me use the sledgehammer like they do on HGTV?
We will be stealing about a foot of space from this room to make the new hallway to the extension, so this bathroom will wind up with a corner shower, toilet, and two pedestal sinks.
Now back to the hall.
Let’s take a look in the closet…
This poor old shabby thing will become the new hallway. I will be sad to see this hardwood torn up, but we will be replacing it with new. Enter my room:
See that window on the far right? That window will be gone, since the roof outside of it is going to be raised. We will salvage the trim on that window to use in the renovated bathroom. If you turn around:
See that door? That is our closet. Right now three of us share that closet because it is the only bedroom closet in the house. If you go through the closet you will find a secret little room. 🙂
Cool, huh? This room was unlit when we moved in, rafters exposed, and storing old furniture. We made it into a makeshift playroom. Up until two weeks ago it was loaded with toys, and even though it wasn’t a pretty space, it was still a usable space. This is the room that will become our new bedroom, new bathroom, and new laundry room. Whoo hoo! Here it is now:
Buckets catching leaks, redirected with plastic.
And turning around looking back toward the door:
We will have a new air tub in the new bathroom, along with a shower. But I think I am MOST excited about having my washer and dryer on the second floor, up and out of the basement! Whoohoo!!!
So there you have it….the grand “Before Tour.” Next time I’ll show you some of the things we have picked out for the new space. Hold on, cause It’s gonna be a bumpy ride!
A Half Hour a Day 