Saturday, July 25, 2009

MASTER BATH REMODEL - DAY 33

Into each project some rain must fall...today is my day. It's raining outside and inside!

I am eager to complete our tiny bath remodel and move outside to enjoy what is left of our summer and the bounty of our garden. I popped out of bed this morning eager to prime and paint after last night's sanding. With a smile on my face and a ray of hope in my heart that we can finish our Master Bath this weekend, and once again have a towel bar and a robe hook, I began priming and painting.

As I began cutting in with the primer I realized two things; it was pouring rain outside and...there is just a ton of weirds walls, cabinets, etc. to cut in around - this is going to take a while. Uhg.

Also, as I had suspected, there will be a bit more patching required. The more I paint, the more I see to patch. Steve thinks I am being a perfectionist...me??? (One or two contractors have complained about this character trait/flaw in the past.) Just a little set back...I can hit those spots.

And then it happened, I noticed strange things forming on the wall where I was applying the paint. It's looking a bit like cottage cheese on the walls. Remnants of the wall paper paste!! I have heard about how awful it is to take walls back to paint after they have been wall covered. Here it is. Muck on my walls and in my paint. Black storm clouds outside and inside.

I quickly scrubbed down the walls, yet again, and am back at it, swearing that this project MUST end soon. I am mulling over how typical this scenario is; as the project drags on and the homeowners are eager to have their lives back to normal, something happens to temporarily stall the project and...there's a melt down. Familiar???

So...after a break and a bit of blogging, I am back at it. I have lots of time to think while I am cutting in around every door, window, cabinet (3) and weird angle in our tiny, tight bath and I just keep repeating to myself...I can finish this...I can finish this...I can finish this. Or, in Bob the Builder's terms...can I finish this? Yes, I can!!!




rain, rain, go away...come again another day!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Diana's New Home - Update

We did it!!! What a team! Diana's home was ready for her party!!

Unfortunately, I had to go out of town several days before the party and during the critical crunch time when items were arriving in town to be installed. Fortunately, I have a wonderful, efficient partner/husband/architect who took over and handled everything (especially me...calling and texting for hourly updates.)

The photos below were sent to me by Steve via text message while I was at the conference. Huge sigh. Everything made it on time - no missing pieces, parts, damage.... Bumps are common in our industry so this smooth install was fantastic and one for the records.





Mirror arrived and was installed on Friday morning. The mirror expands the space and the bevels adds sparkle to the room.

The glass table top arrived on Friday morning as well. Castle Glass did an outstanding job of getting our glass on site and on time - no hiccups! The crew used a laser to center the glass on the table and the table under the light fixture. Don't you just love it when people care about their work and do a super job??



Ignore the pillows in disarray. Are not the mirror and the table wonderful??
Window treatments arrived and were installed early/on time. They look spectacular. We did lots of shopping for decorative items and, of course, a few orchids.

More pics of Diana's home to follow soon.

Rumor has it that the party was a huge success!! Congratulations, Diana!!!

Party girl extraordinaire!!

MASTER BATH REMODEL - DAY 32

It's time for a Master Bath update! Things are going slowly...but there is progress! There is an end in sight!

Finally, all of the bath cabinets and woodwork have been painted with Sherwin Williams, Sands of Time, #SW6101. Love it!! Perfect color.

We have replaced the hardware (hinges, lever, knobs) with all new in an oil rubbed bronze finish. Perfect for the slate.

After seeing a post on one of my favorite blogs, Mrs. Blandings, about covering furniture with paper as a decorative finish, I decided to try my hand at this crafty technique. After some searching I found the best supply of decorative papers at Jo Ann Fabrics, and brought an assortment home to try. I decided on a combination of two papers; dots and flowers. I covered the "box" of the cabinet with the floral pattern and used the dot paper for the face frame.

I cut the paper one strip at a time, aligning the dot pattern as I went. I used rubber cement to glue the paper to the frame. I also spray painted the little knobs with an oil rubbed bronze finish and painted the wood strips on the mirror with the Sherwin Williams trim color. My final step was to coat the paper on the frame with many coats of Mod Podge for protection. Aligning the dots was challenging and a little time consuming, but I think the final result was well worth the effort. I love it! But, I'm not so sure Steve loves it....



Oak medicine cabinet covered in paper

You can see the unpainted walls in the background. I have washed them several times to remove the left over wall paper paste. We had some extensive patching to do in the ceiling around the exhaust fan and where the old wall covering took some of the wall with it when it was removed.

Our next steps are a good sanding of all of the walls and ceiling, priming, and two coats of Sherwin Williams paint tinted to match Benjamin Moore, OC-2, pale almond.

I couldn't wait to see the color...I tried a small patch on the wall. It's going to be great!!! Can't wait!!!






New Oil Rubbed Bronze Hardware

Don't you just love the woodwork color???



Last week I attended ASID leadership training in Cincinnati. Our group made the four hour trek from Cleveland to Cincinnati - a drive that took us right by the outlet mall. I found these super thick, yummy pumpkin colored towels when we stopped at the Pottery Barn outlet. I also scored some great towel bars and a glass shelf for the Master Bath. Yeah!!


Yet to do...paint walls, find and replace lighting, replace outlets and switches, install towel bars, new shower curtain and some clean style window treatment over the existing wood blinds - maybe a inverted pleat valance??? Sewn by yours truly. :)
But it's such a small bath...how can it take this long???
PS-Let me know what you think of my paper framed mirror.