Category Archives: home

Jul 20 2 comments
bathroom, home

Tiling…it’s not that hard

Tile is on the wall! I was so afraid to start this project…the fact that I kept putting it off for, um…MONTHS is evidence enough. I finally got to the point where I couldn’t put if off any longer, staring at the backerboard day after day was making me crazy.

It’s messier than I thought it would be. I didn’t realize that the mastic would get everywhere, This is definitely a goopy finger project. I highly recommend having a bucket with rags and water next to you if you are going to tackle something like this.

Before I began I reread This Young House’s entry on their bathroom project, and it was really helpful. I also had a tiling book on hand to get me started.

There also might have been a panicked call to Dad to reassure me that I was doing everything correctly (which I was). Thanks Dad!

The most time consuming part of this project so far has been measuring and cutting the end pieces. Several times I mis-measured, cut tiles, realized I mis-measured, swore a bit..got glue all over the place…you know, that sort of thing. I kept forgetting to take off the measurement for the grout line. I would measure the space and cut the tile according to that measurement. D’oh!

I won’t be making that mistake again and I think the rest of it will go smoothly. I hope.

May 04 5 comments
bathroom, home

Tile decisions

glass_tile
You know…I just was not happy with either of the two choices of trim tile we were debating for the counter backsplash and the tub. They were stock from Home Depot, and while they were nice, they weren’t quite right.  So…everything has been on hold while we waited for samples from Anchor Bay Tile. They came really quickly and we have a consensus. We are going to go with the little round penny tiles in a color blend called Izu. I think they will look so good, especially since they will echo the shape of the floor tiles. Yay!

Question: I will need a special saw/bit for cutting glass, yes?

Apr 27 2 comments
bathroom, home

Bathroom update

bathroom_427
New tub! Woo-hoo!! This thing is glorious, let me tell you. Installation went fairly smoothly…there were stumbling blocks that invariably popped up along the way, but Dad was able to hurdle them and we’ve got a good story to tell. I am seriously loving the counter top. What’s left:

  • Tiling the floor
  • Tiling the tub surround
  • Tiling the sink back splash
  • Painting the vanity
  • Installing the light
  • Hanging shelves
  • Finding a new mirror – the frame I had in mind won’t fit now that the sink faucet is installed. D-oh!

Apr 07 4 comments
home

Bathroom Mood Board

bathroom_comp

So…I have been super super busy trying to get ready for an art show I am participating in later this month (YIKES!) and at the same time I am trying to prep and gather materials for our bathroom upgrade that is happening AT THE SAME TIME. Insane? Maybe.

My parents will be visiting us and my Dad in particular is going to help us with the bathroom because he is awesome and knows how to do everything from wiring to tiling.

I attempted to put together a comp a la Making it Lovely of some of the components:

  1. The light fixture. This is four feet long. We have a long vanity and a gigantic mirror so I wanted something big. The glass globes are really pretty in person and I can’t wait to see them lit. Bought from Overstock.com.
  2. Floor tile. I actually need to buy more because we are not ripping out the existing vanity, but we might someday, or the people after us might and it would be nice to have the tile to fill in the space. Also from Overstock.
  3. I was going to get a white vessel sink, but Jeffery mentioned he liked the frosted glass look. This is his bathroom as well, so we are going with a frosted vessel sink. Again…Overstock. I am in love with Overstock.
  4. Counter. We are going to paint the existing vanity black and install a butcher block counter top from IKEA. Much like this bathroom remodel.
  5. Potential wall colors and vanity color. Not shown is the new deeper tub (huzzah!) and the white subway tile for the shower surround.
  6. Harry Allen hand hooks. I fell in love with these the first time I ever saw them and managed to find them seriously on sale at Modern Poverty.  I actually got the frosted versions, not the white that I have in this comp. I couldn’t really find good pictures of the frosted versions so I apologize. I am going to use them as the soap dish and hand towel hook. I think they will complement the sink nicely.

It’s going to be a lot of work, which I am so up for. Demo! Plumbing! Tiling! I’ll be taking lots of pics of the process so stay tuned!!

Feb 16 2 comments
home

New floors

lul_floor1
I am seriously tired. We spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday installing our new beautiful wood floors and yesterday recovering from the whole ordeal. It’s amazing how everything else in the house look gross compared to the floors. It makes me want to tear into a new project and get all new furniture! First order of business is acquiring rugs. Poor Lu had to warm her belly on a scrap of old carpet – but I don’t think she minded too much. We also have to put in baseboard trim which is going to take forever. I just can’t get over how nice it is to look down the hall through the kitchen and see the same floor all the way. No linoleum, no orange carpet. It’s so awesome.

I am working on a macaron how-to, but the flooring put everything else on hold, so stay tuned!