Change In Plans

I decided this weekend would be a good time to re-paint the guest bath.  So I headed to homegoods and target to find a new shower curtain to start.  I wanted to get a new shower curtain first, so I could pull a color from pattern for the paint.  I ended up having success and headed to Lowes to get a color that would match.  I made it home and showed Justin all of my finds.  Next thing I knew he was talking about removing the medicine cabinet before I painted because we really hate it.  I agreed and let him pull it out of the wall.

Here she is, so we can all say our last goodbyes.

Justin immediately started removing the cabinet when I said yes.  I figure I would start painting the other half of the bathroom while he patches the whole in the wall where the cabinet was.

I also requested that we take down the exisitng towel bar and move it to the other wall.  I wanted to move the bar because where it currently was located I wasn’t able to hang a full towel.  I figured if we moved it to the opposite wall I could hang some kind of art above the toilet.  So the towel bar came down too.

I thought we were done from there and I could begin painting. Well, I was wrong and Justin had another idea, he wanted to remove the mirror.  I did hate the mirror and I thought that would also be an easy fix so we took that down too.

Once the mirror was down we could see all the gross grime that was left in the crevices where it was.

Grrrross. Justin then said, while were at it we might as well remove the vanity since its old and we don’t love it either.  You can probably guess that I agreed and we started removing that as well.

We started by removing the doors first.

Justin then shut off the water and we started removing the plumbing below the vanity.

I was lucky enough to get the job of removing the pipes and letting the old water and hair fall on me, not to mention the fabulous smell that comes with it.

From there we removed the vanity top and the sink, turns out the sink was plastic, who woulda thought! Once the vanity top was off we saw this…

A big hole in the drywall, not a good thing the discover.  We were now worried that there was no dry wall behind the vanity at all.  There was no turning back at this point so we trucked on.

It took some prying and shimmying, but we got the whole vanity out and we were happy to find drywall!  Turns out it was just a small hole on the left side. Phew!

At this point we decided we had no choice but to remove the tile as well since there was no tile under the vanity and the new vanity we were imagining was a free standing one.

So we started prying tiles out to find that the previous owners of this home tiled right over the original linoleum. Woo hoo one more thing to remove!

We removed the tile by using a mason chisel and hammer.  We tapped the chisel under the tile, more like slammed the chisel under the tile and then pried them up.

This job was not quick, we pried them up in pieces until every tile was gone.

Also this job is kinda dangerous.  Justin and I were bleeding on our hands and arms and I even was bleeding from my forehead.  Little shards of ceramic tile pop up when you chisel them out. Fun stuff! From here we called it a night considering it was 8pm.

Bright and early I went to town removing the rest of the tile while Justin was prepping the wall to repair the hole from the medicine cabinet.  This time I was prepared though!

Yes, Justin got me a safety mask and yes I am wearing the same shirt.

Justin also removed the toilet so I could get the tiles that were under the edges of it.  So once I finished removing the tile and ripping up the remaining linoleum it looked like this…

Do you notice anything on the floor in this photo? Possibly a crack in the foundation?

Oh hi crack! At this point we were thinking this project just got really expensive, so we called Justin’s dad.  Turns out it is perfectly normal for the foundation to settle and to get cracks in some areas. Man were we relieved!

While I finished up Justin had already installed the drywall to fill the hole in the wall.

Finally making some progress!

From there Justin’s dad told us we should probably pour down some cement underlayment, so we are sure the floor is level when we lay the new tile.  So off I went to Lowes and picked up a bag of this…

Once I got home Justin mixed up a batch of the cement and started pouring it in.

At this point we need to wait for the underlayment to settle and dry for 24 hours and then we can start laying tile and working on other projects in the room! Man this project got big fast!

Art for the Laundry Room

I am very happy with the laundry room at this point, but the wall opposite the garage door was looking pretty bare.  I knew I wanted some kind of art to display there.  So I thought about purchasing something off etsy, but wasn’t quite finding what I was looking for.  I then decided to make something myself and see how that turned out.  I wanted the art to be mostly white and pull some of the colors from the Dave Matthews band print already in the room and the wall color.  I decided to use these guys…

I am trying to go with a bird theme in the laundry room, sort of.  So I decided to try to draw feathers.  I wanted to do something unique though and came up with this…

I thought it looked pretty good and thought the gray color would go well.  So I started working on another in a more teal/blue color to match the other art in the room.

I drew these on a watercolor paper that is pretty heavy, then I picked up a couple frames with white mat.

Then added the art….

and then asked Justin to hang them for me.

I love them! They are exactly what I was picturing.  I am glad I decided to make something instead of buy.

and here is a view where you can see everything…

As you also may notice, the plant on the second shelf has changed.  I killed the last plant unfortunately.  I swear I cannot keep any plants alive.  I think it is easier to keep pets alive!

So I purchased this guy at Lowes, it needs low light and little watering.  I am hoping I will have success with this one! Wish me luck.

Putting Finishing Touches on the Patio

I know that all of our to dos were crossed off on our last patio post, but there were a couple things that still needed finishing.  Since laying the tile, there was still a gap that needs finishing between the tile and the back wall of the house.  You could still see some of the grout and the tiles are also not perfectly flush with the house.

See how the tile is not even and you can still see the unfinished floor below?  Well, that’s what we needed to fix.  So Justin went to Lowe’s and picked up a pack of bullnose tile in the same color of the tile he laid on the floor.  Bullnoses tile are short wide tiles with a finished top edge that are used for trim when tiling.

Basically he started laying the tile against the wall using the same method as he did when tiling the floor.

He then used small pieces of wood as wedges to be sure all of the tiles were level so they create a straight line on the wall.

Next he grouted the in between the bullnose tile and also along the seem on the floor next to the new tile trim.

Here he is again hard at work…

Once the grout was all finished and cleaned up it looked something like this…

and a close up…

Lastly Justin caulked the seem between the bullnose tile and the wall.

Here it is all caulked and cleaned…

The caulk really makes it look finished.

Here is the area underneath the doors that also needed some work…

The issue with this area is that we couldn’t use the bullnose tile, it didn’t fit in between the door and the flooring.  Justin decided to get a piece of wood and paint it white and place it under the door.  It was a pretty deep crevice that needed to be filled so wood seemed to be the best choice.

Here it is installed.

Justin isn’t sold on it just yet, but I think it looks perfectly fine.

The last thing we needed to finish up in the patio was the window.

When we moved in there was siding on the back of the house and the window had a siding type trim around it. Now since we removed the siding the window is bare.

It just needed some kind of trim to finish it off.  The trim around the doors are average size, so we needed some kind of trim that wasn’t to thick, something that would look comparable to the existing trim.  Justin picked up some thin trim that is made specifically for an outdoor area so it doesn’t rot.

He then cut it to length and installed it around the window, apparently cutting those 45 degree angles isn’t very fun. Here’s a close up.

Here it is finished…

So let’s back it up and show you the end results of everything…

Oh snap, I think we have a finished patio!

Once again thanks for checking out our progress! Hope you enjoy.

Char Man’s TWO!

Sorry about the delay in posts lately, we spent last weekend at Kent and Sandy’s to celebrate fathers day! PS Happy fathers day to my dad and Kent, pretty much two of the coolest guys I have ever known.  Thanks for always being there for us. We love you!

Today’s post is brought to you by the number TWO.  Sesame street throwback what what!

I can not believe it, my little man is two!  Do you celebrate your dog’s birthday? Better yet, do you know when your dog’s birthday is?  Well, I do Charlie’s birthday is June 11th and Zack’s is January 2nd.  We have birthday parties for the dogs in this house!  Here is Charlie’s first birthday…

They are spoiled.  My mom says she’s scared to see how spoiled my kids will be… but these are dogs, they don’t complain or talk back, they just love you!

For Char’s birthday this year we had a birthday weekend.  I wrapped some gifts for him and of course we got party hats.  I can’t get enough of seeing a dog in a birthday hat! Here is his pile of gifts…

I got him a bunch of toys and wrapped them all in old wrapping paper or tissue paper.  He really opens them, and he loves it!  It is so funny to watch, kinda makes me want to wrap all of his old toys just to watch him go nuts opening them.  Here he is going to town…

almost…

…got it!

He is the cutest little bugger ever. Pretty much his birthday weekend consisted of hanging out with Justin and I while we clean/renovate the house.  He was kind of bored, but he got lots of gifts and doggy ice cream.  And I know you’ve been waiting for the photos of the pups with their festive hats! So without any further ado…

Would you like to shake my paw?

Come on, can they get cuter?

Zack gets very serious when you make him sit for long periods of time while waiting for food that you are holding behind a camera.

Then he passes out, it was a crazy shindig.

Oh you thought just the dogs wore party hats… well you were wrong.  Justin wore one too, he refused to be in any photos, apparently it’s not cool to have birthday parties for your dogs.  If you don’t I suggest you start, your dogs will appreciate it.

How About a Whole House Tour?

We have been in our home for three months now!  Already!  I have no regrets whatsoever with this house, I love every nook and crannie of it. If we had settled on one of the other homes we were considering buying I don’t believe I would be as happy with our choice.  So Woot Woot! Three months in and we have no buyers remorse!

That being said, I think we have made enough updates in this house that it would be an appropriate time to give you all a whole house tour, complete with before and after photos(my fav).

I decided to go ahead and include photos of the very first day I laid eyes on this house(the photos are from my phone and they aren’t too clear, sorry!), also I will include photos of the house the day we moved in and lastly photos of our progress! I will also explain what we have done in each area of the home to date and what we would like to do down the road. So hold on to your hats cause here it comes.

Front Yard:

Here she is! The first time I laid eyes on her, it was love at first sight.

And here she is today, this photo is a bit closer. I did not get a photo of the front yard on moving day though! poop!

What we have done:

• Removed dying sago palm on the left side of the garage door.
• Removed holly bushes, stumps and all.
• Dug out all remaining plants.
• Removed all garden rocks and pavers around gardens.
• Trimmed back remaining sago palms.
• Added in new red mulch.
• Added solar lights.
• Power washed house and driveway.

What we still want to accomplish:

• Add more plants/flowers to the gardens.
• Paint front door.
• Get new house numbers.

So far were off to a good start with the front yard.  I am sure this to do list will expand. Next up…

Dining Room:

This is the first time I saw the dining room at my walk through with our realtor…

Here is moving in day…

and today…

What we have done:

• Prepped and painted the walls and trim.
• Changed outlet covers, door handles and hinges.
• Steam cleaned the carpet.
• Removed the chandelier and installed new light fixture.

What we still want to accomplish:

• Get rid of old couch.
• Remove carpet, replace with new carpet.
• Get furniture.
• Find art for walls.
• Add window treatments.

We are still unsure what we would like this room to be, we do not necessarily need a dining room.  We already have our table in our little eating nook in the kitchen and we now have the new patio set.  We are contemplating another living/sitting area.  We are not really formal type of people, so a formal dining or living room isn’t really for us.  We still have a long way to go in here.

Office:

First day I saw it…

Then on moving day…

And then here it is today…

What we have done:

• Prepped and painted the walls and trim.
• Changed outlet covers, door handles and hinges.
• Steam cleaned the carpet.
• Added our desk, printer table and lamp.
• Added some wall art.

What we still want to accomplish:

• Remove carpet, replace with new carpet.
• Add walls and french doors to close off the room.
• Get new corner desk.
• Get book shelf or hutch for storage.
• Add window treatments.

Still plenty to accomplish.

Long Hallway:

At first sight again…

Then on moving day….

And today…

What we have done:

• Prepped and painted walls and trim.
• Changed outlet covers, door handles and hinges.
• Removed lighting at front door.
• Added small hanging fan to front entry.
• Added carpet runner.
• Added long hall table.
• Let Charlie live here.

What we still want to accomplish:

• Paint inside of front door.
• Add glass storm door.
• Add art to walls(possibly gallery wall).

Kitchen:

At first sight…

Then on moving day…

And then today…

What we have done:

• Cleaned grout.
• Prepped and painted walls and trim.
• Changed outlet covers, door handles and hinges.

What we still want to accomplish:

• Paint cupboards white and replace doors with new white ones or replace cupboards completly with new white ones.
• Add granite counters.
• Replace island with butcher block.
• Get stainless steel appliances.
• Add art to walls.
• Re-grout tile(it’s all discolored).

Kitchen Eating Nook:

At first walk through…

On moving day…

And then today…

What we have done:

• Prepped and painted walls and trim.
• Cleaned grout.
• Added our kitchen table.
• Changed outlet covers, door handles and hinges.

What we still want to accomplish:

• Re-grout tile.
• Add art to walls.

Living Room:

At first sight…

Then on moving day…

And today…

What we have done:

• Prepped and painted walls and trim.
• Changed outlet covers, door handles and hinges.
• Purchased new couches.
• Purchased new TV console and TV.
• Made cornice for window.
• Added area rug.
• Added art to walls and mirror above fireplace.

What we still want to accomplish:

• Mount TV to wall.
• Add decorations to nooks.
• Possibly add a matching cornice above french doors.

Guest Bedroom #1:

First sight…

Move in day…

Then today…

What we have done:

• Prepped and painted walls and trim.
• Changed outlet covers, door handles and hinges.
• Steam cleaned the carpet.
• Purchased queen guest bed and bedding.
• Added wall art.
• Added rocking chair and small stools for tables.

What we still want to accomplish:

• Remove and replace carpet.
• Get nice antique dresser.
• Add more art to walls.
• Make window treatment.
• Get headboard/footboard for bed.

Guest Bathroom:

First…

On moving day…

Today…

What we have done:

• Prepped and painted walls and trim.
• Changed outlet covers, door handles and hinges.
• Added shower curtain and rugs

What we still want to accomplish:

• Repaint walls(I do not like the color).
• Replace vanity.
• Possibly add bead board.
• Purchase new shower curtain and rugs.
• Add wall art.

Guest Bedroom #2:

First sight…

Moving day…

Today…

What we have done:

• Steam cleaned the carpet.
• Added junk.

What we still want to accomplish:

• Remove border.
• Prep and paint walls and trim.
• Change outlet covers, door handles and hinges.
• Replace fan.
• Get shelving/furniture for storage.
• Remove and replace carpet.
• Get desk for myself.
• Purchase easel for painting.
• Organize and store painting, sewing and crafting supplies.

I have a lot of plans for this room since it will be my office.  I am waiting until I find the right furniture and art.  I want unique things in here! I can’t wait to get going.

Master Bedroom:

Moving day…

And today…

What we have done…

• Prepped and painted walls and trim.
• Changed outlet covers, door handles and hinges.
• Got new bedroom furniture.
• Added art to walls.
• Purchased new bedding.
• Added area rug.
• Added rocking chair and old trunk.
• Made throw pillows for bed.

What we would still like accomplish:

• Add one more piece of art on the wall between the bathroom door and the bedroom door.

Very close to done! Woo hoo!

Master Bathroom:

First sight…

Moving day…

And today…

What we have done:

• Add some decorations.

What we would still like to accomplish:

• Remove shower and tub.
• Remove linoleum.
• Remove vanity.
• Remove walls around the toilet.
• Lay new tile and grout.
• Add storage closet.
• Add new vanity, mirror and light fixture.
• Add glass shower stall.
• Tile and grout shower.
• Add art and decorations.

Basically we have done nothing in here.  We would like to change the whole layout of this bathroom.

Back Yard:

moving day…

And today!

What we have done:

• Added screen.
• Replaced ceiling fan.
• Power-washed the house.
• Painted doors.
• Dry-walled, textured and painted back of house inside screened area.
• Tiled and grouted floor.
• Bought patio set.
• Bought plants for inside patio.
• Re-sodded yard.
• Trimmed bushed and trees.
• Removed holly trees.
• Planted palm tree and magnolia tree.
• Made garden around patio.
• Mulched all gardens.
• Bought Big Green Egg grill.
• Added patio pavers.
• Had new gutters put on back of house.

What we would still like to accomplish:

• Add trim between grout and wall of house.
• Add wall decoration in patio.

Laundry Room:

First sight…

Moving day…

and today…

What we have done:

• Prepped and painted walls and trim.
• Removed old shelving and added new shelves.
• Added decorations and wall art.

What we would still like to accomplish:

• Add art to wall on opposite wall.

So that’s our whole house!  I think we have gotten a good start on changes we want to make.  Of course we still have a few huge projects like the kitchen and master bath, but so far we have made some good improvements. What do you think?  Please share!

Decorating the Laundry Room

All that was left in the laundry room was my favorite part… decorating! I had some empty shelves and walls to fill, so off I went to homegoods.  I came home with some good finds too!

I first found these baskets, I knew I needed some kind of baskets to put my detergent and fabric softener in.  These do the job great.

I also picked up this…

a tinted teal glass jug and

some clothes pins.  I thought they were appropriate in a laundry room.  So I popped them right inside the jug like so…

And you get this…

I also picked up a cute little white ceramic bird that I thought would be cute on the shelf.  I then had this…

I needed one more thing to complete the top shelf, so I began searching the house.

I came up with this…

I wasn’t sold. Next up…

a framed bulletin board.  Didn’t love the look of that either.  Then I tried this…

And I had a winner!  Last thing I had in mind was hanging something on the bare wall next to the garage door.  I looked through what we had and decided on this…

It is a print Justin had plaqued for me from a Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds concert we went to in Canandaigua, NY.  We sat front row! It was amazing.

See! We coulda touched him!  Anyway, I asked Justin to hang it in the laundry room and it looks great.

That is the last of my decorating for now…

Almost makes me want to do laundry.

More Laundry Room Updates

The laundry room already feels bigger because of the brightness the light gray color on the walls brings into the room.  I love it!  One thing I don’t love about the room is the light…

It’s a white circle light hanging from the ceiling, fancy shmancy! We went to Lowe’s(of course) and picked up one of these…

Another boob light!  I don’t like how it looks in this photo though, you can’t see the marble look of the glass in person.

There it is hung nicely by Justin.  Pretty simple light, but a much needed update.

Justin also replaced the light switches as usual.

While at Lowe’s we also picked up some shelving that Justin also installed(he’s so handy).

Here they are all finished…

So much prettier than the wire utility shelving.  Still more to come with this laundry room! Not done yet!

Tiling the Patio!

I came home from work on Friday and saw this on my way through the garage…

Woo Hoo! Tile.  I made it in the house and Justin was just laying the first piece…

They are 18 inch tiles, they are called roman stone noche. He laid a layer of thinset tile adhesive with a notched trowel, then laid the tiles directly on top.  He used tile spacers(the little orange things) to make sure the tiles were all the same distance apart. He also used this bad boy(wet saw)…

..to cut any tiles when needed.  As he laid the tiles he made sure they were all level and straight.

He finished one row of the tile on Friday night, apparently he had some ants in his pants. Saturday morning bright and early he got right back to work.

I unfortunately was not any help to Justin, if anything I just got in the way when taking photos. I did offer to help though!

He did so great.

`Once they were all down it already looked like a whole new patio.  I can’t believe what a difference it makes.

All that was left was grout.  So bright and early Sunday Justin was back out there.

He started by using a grout float to push the grout in between the tiles.  He made his way across the entire floor pushing the grout into the seems.  At the same time he was using a wet sponge to wipe away the excess grout that remained on the tiles.

As he moved down to the other end of the patio, the previous tiles started to dry and look like this…

They were all turning a dusty white, showing all the still remaining grout.  He had to go back a few more times and clean the tile over and over until there was only grout in between the tiles and not on top.  He also went back through another time with vinegar to clean the tile.  This is what the end result is…

YAYAYAY!

Love Love Love!

After we admired it for a while and let everything dry we brought all the patio furniture back out.

One more view…

I am obsessed.  The tile floor just makes it feel more like a room instead of a patio.  List update?

Patio to do list:

1. screen patio. 
2. replace fan.
3. texture drywall.
4. paint patio and doors.
5. tile and grout floor.
6. find patio furniture.
7. enjoy!

Oh no you are not seeing things, everything is crossed off! I would like to eventually get something to hang on the bare wall and I am sure there will be other updates.  Justin still needs to finish the tile next to the house with some sort of trim, but for the most part this room is done!

Solar Lights

We thought it might look nice if we added some lighting around our patio and also in the front gardens.  We settled on solar lights because they seem to be the easiest solution.  So we got a bunch from Lowe’s…

Justin picked this kind, they are Portfolio brand.  We got 8 for $68.  We figured we would see how they work and then possibly get more down the road.  Justin literally just popped them in the ground around the patio and then we just let them soak up the sun all day.  Then we waited.

Once the sun went down they lit right up like magic! I think they are perfect, I even like the circular shadows they make on the ground.

They continue around the patio to the other side of the house.  We put four in the backyard and the remaining four in the front…

We need to get a few more to add to the garden on the other side of the front door.  There is only one lone guy on that side.

So far we are enjoying them, we are hoping they last for a while.  We have heard that solar lights have a tendency to die out pretty fast.  Fingers crossed they last a while!

Painting the laundry room

Next on my list to paint was the laundry room.  I wanted to brighten up the room and try to make it feel bigger.  This is what I have to work with…

Lovely color.  The semi gloss olive green has to go!  It makes the room feel so dark and dirty.  Not to mention that the last paint job was not done that well, there are dried drip spots everywhere.  I know it’s just a laundry room, but come on people!

First I took down the shelving and all the hardware that held it up.

This took a while, there was a lot of stuff hanging on the walls in this room.

From there I spackled all the holes.

Just love this beautiful color, it’s like the perfect shade of vomit.  After sanding everything down, I cleaned the walls and trim really good with pinesol multi-surface.  From there I gave all of the trim a good coat of semi gloss white interior paint.

I also gave the doors a fresh coat of white paint as well.

And I was set to go…

I decided to go with a very light gray color, I thought it would be perfect to brighten everything up.

As usual I did all of the edging first.

Once I was done with the edging I started rolling.  It was already so much brighter!

This was probably the most challenging room to paint yet.  It is small in there, especially with the washer and dryer not going anywhere.  I moved the washer and dryer back and forth to get from wall to wall.  It was a pain, but I think it came out well.

Much better!