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!

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.

Diana's New Home - Update

Sometimes clients really know how to put the pressure on. Just tell the designer that they are having a party in two weeks, "Can we be ready??" EEKKK!!!

After the initial wave of panic passes, I'm kicking it into high gear and I am on a mission. Party ready in two weeks.

What is on our "to do list?"

Window Treatments
Area Rug
Mirrors
Coffee Table
Lamp
Art/Accessories

And of course, as with any project, if you have gobs of money you can do most anything quickly, however if you have a budget to stick to (most of us do), it is a little more challenging. I'm on it!!! Let's see how we do...the clock is ticking.

FLOR Conservatory Rug

We purchased a FLOR Conservatory Rug Kit and a few extra tiles and had our carpet installer customize the area rug to follow the angled wall in Diana's Dining Room.

The Dining Room showing the area rug following the angled wall. Our installer, Steve, (not hubby Steve) did a terrific job cutting the tiles to make the angle and attaching the little stickies at the corners of all the tiles.

Note how we followed the angle of the wall.

What a beautiful area rug at a great price, and so functional too! If Martini (Diana's beautiful kitty) damages one of the tiles, just pop it out and replace it with one of the tiles from Diana's attic stock.

Restoration Hardware Savoy Mirror

We are using the Savoy Mirror from Restoration Hardware for the Dining Room. In stock and ready to ship - perfect. It's a nice size at 40"x60" and will look wonderful in her Dining Room reflecting the light and opening up the space.

Kolkka Dining Table Base


I am in love with this table base from Kolkka furniture. It just arrived at Design Resources in the Ohio Design Center. SOLD! It is stunning in person. Now to find a 54" top that will fit our budget. Glass will show off the beauty of the base and make the room feel larger, however stone would not show fingerprints. Let's see what I can find.

Our new Milling Road stools have arrived and fit nicely under the breakfast bar.

Restoration Hardware Marisol Mirror

Love this mirror too!! I recently read a post from one of my favorite blogs, Cote De Texas, where Joni Webb talks about what what some folks are saying is "in" and what's "out" - sunburst mirrors are out. Psst. I agree with Joni - I think not! Use what you love and enjoy!

Restoration Hardware Whitney Coffee Table


This table from Restoration Hardware is perfect for the space. Diana can easily move the table if she would like to use the Living Room for another purpose - say workout space in front of the TV. Easy - and it was in stock and on sale. :)

I met our window treatment person, Tom, on site yesterday. We measured for roller shades which will give us a clean look, privacy, and a nice base for any future top treatments. And the best part - WE CAN HAVE THEM INSTALLED FOR THE PARTY!!!

Now I have my fingers crossed that the mirrors and the table arrive on time, the window treatments arrive, and that I can find our last few items (art and a floor lamp) and stay within our budget.

Just another day in the life of an interior designer. It's the best!!

Stay tuned....

MASTER BATH REMODEL - DAY 16

Our master bath renovation had come to a screeching halt when Steve's mini-vacation ended and it was back to work for both of us. Two weeks have flown by and I am itching to get back to work and finish our little renovation.

Part of the delay was my fault. I just could not seem to settle on paint colors for our cabinets and walls.

As with many things in life, the decision isn't a simple one. The rustic, dark feel of the slate (we used it because we had it) had me longing for something to brighten up the room - so I turned to paint to accomplish this task.




As Steve will attest to, I spent many hours sitting in the room flipping through paint colors with no success. I just could not find any color or combination that made my heart sing. Purple is prevalent in the slate, but I know that I don't want a purple bath, or any shade there of. I have a red dining room and living room and that's enough red in one house. Gold can be beautiful but I have done that too. Sage green looked nice, I felt bored with it, but it was nice...nope...just not doing it for me. (Plus - I try to avoid green in baths - makes my skin color look dreadful.)

What's a designer to do??? Color block!!! OH NO!!! It can happen to the best of us.

And why is that - I had to ask. I think that I was stalled and unable to make a selection because somewhere inside I knew I had not found the "right" answer yet. In my mind the masculine slate was running head on into the clean, bright, beachy feeling that I really wanted in my master bath. Nothing felt right because I was trying to force a solution that went against what I really want. I sensed it wasn't right and I couldn't make a choice.

And then...quite by accident...I saw a magazine photo of a kitchen that made the light bulb go off for me. Would you like to see the inspiration photo??

I had to stop fighting the slate, accept the "look" and work around it. This style pictured above is a clean, fresh look, could be beachy, and will accommodate an accent color (think shower curtain or towels.)

I am really drawn to the natural beams. Won't work in my tiny bath but I can find a way to incorporate that natural wood some other way. My current plan is to use a piece of a beam and mount several sconces on the beam to create a bath light above the mirror. I mostly dislike the typical bath scones and would like to find something different. Why not make my own and I will use some exterior sconces to do it. That is...with some help from my partner in crime, Mr. Electrician.

So the lesson for me is - when I can't find a solution (read color, chair, stone, drape, etc) I am thinking too narrowly and in one way. Step back, relax, and approach it from another avenue. The answer will come. :)

Back to work with new excitement. Can't wait to finish the job, see the finished results, and enjoy our new bath!!

I think that I previously mentioned how much I dislike oak. Drawers sanded and awaiting paint, pictured above.

Doors all lined up and ready to be painted. I removed all the knobs and hinges and have been scouting for new hardware.

First coat on the cabinet doors, drying on the porch. Ahhh.

Stay tuned....

PS - Thanks to Lawry for providing the magazine photo. He gave it to me for his own home, but I love it too!