A look in the shower.
Another shower look.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Sunday, December 20, 2009
More bathroom progress...
Just had to share the cabinets that were installed on Friday. Whoo hoo! I'm loving them. Thank you Roger!!!
A look in the shower.
Another shower look.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
A look in the shower.
Another shower look.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Some kitchen photos
I realized that I never posted any finished kitchen photos. Well, here you go! I apologize for the messiness of the kitchen. I just snapped a few photos on my phone the other day. And, we are still missing a piece of trim over the window. We'll get to that when we do the trim in the bathroom. It's kind of hard to see in the photos but the backsplash is white subway tile.
The breakfast room -
The breakfast room -
I'm back...
While I hate excuses, I'll give a few for you for my lack of posting:
1. Fall has been one of the craziest, hardest and most tiring of our life. Living in a college football town isn't the easiest life in the fall.
2. I've been sick - still am, but I'm working on that...
3. Ummm... I'm a slacker???
So, there you go. I'm sorry for the lack of updates. Now, on to the real progress.
Little by little, we get a few things done here and there. Every little thing makes the house feel that much better. But, the biggest progress recently is the work on the master bath. FINALLY! We are getting a master bath.
Up until now, we have been using two separate bathrooms. Mostly because the master was disgusting and I refused to step foot in it. So, I used the hall bathroom. Still not real nice, but at least it didn't make me want to throw up.
A few weeks ago, we decided to tear into the master bath. We had to wait until we knew that we wouldn't be having any more football guests (We love you all! So much, that we wouldn't force you all to share one unsightly bathroom with us). About a week or two before Thanksgiving, Dallas tore into demolition of the bathroom and we went from there. I'll have to brag on my hubby. He has done so much of the work by himself including the demo, building of walls, hanging of drywall and durarock (what you put under tile), some of the electrical work, laying tile, and painting. We did have Darius come back and oversee the electrical stuff, had a real plumber move the plumbing (we aren't stupid enough to do that ourselves), and had Tom finish the drywall work. We also had Roger at VanNostrand make up our cabinets again (they should be ready early next week!!!).
Before photos -
The Oh-So-Lovely lighting fixture in the bathroom. The only lighting fixture in the bathroom.
The sad window
The shower
The toilet/vanity area
The heinous single vanity
So, now that you can appreciate why I never used the bathroom, I'll explain the plan. To make the bathroom bigger to allow for a double vanity (those things save marriages, I'm certain), we decided to incorporate the hall closet. The closet would basically become the shower. Then, it would allow for a double vanity. The basic layout is the same. You walk in the door and are standing in front of the vanity. Then the toilet is to the right of the vanity and the shower is to the right of the toilet. We decided to add a wall between the toilet and the vanity. One of my pet peeves is to have the toilet right next to the vanity. I settled for having a wall there to block the toilet from view. In a perfect world, the toilet would be in its own room (like our last master bath had - *sigh*). But, we were a little short on space. So, we did what we could to make it work.
In terms of design, I decided to go very neutral. Our bedroom has lots of dark wood and ivories. I asked Roger to make the cabinets the same style as the kitchen cabinets (shaker style) but to stain them dark. The tile on the floor and on the shower floor is really dark, then the shower wall is a creamy colored subway tile with little accent tiles. The wall color is the trim color that we used in the rest of the house. Kind of a soft white/creamy color (it depends on what it is next to). Actually, I kind of picked out the tile scheme on a whim. But I am LOVING the way it is turning out. I keep reminding Dallas how lucky he is that I'm more of a minimalist and not overly feminine in my decor choices. He cannot complain about the decor I've picked out.
So, here's the pictures of our progress thus far:
Demolition
Progress -
The shower - ready for tile
The inside of the shower. In the corner will be a small shelf.
The shower opening. See the wall that makes the toilet area?
The double vanity ready for cabinets!
Major tiling progress!!
Inside of the shower
Shower floor
Tile on the bathroom floor. It's the same as the shower floor tile, just bigger.
Shot of the tile in the rest of the bathroom.
1. Fall has been one of the craziest, hardest and most tiring of our life. Living in a college football town isn't the easiest life in the fall.
2. I've been sick - still am, but I'm working on that...
3. Ummm... I'm a slacker???
So, there you go. I'm sorry for the lack of updates. Now, on to the real progress.
Little by little, we get a few things done here and there. Every little thing makes the house feel that much better. But, the biggest progress recently is the work on the master bath. FINALLY! We are getting a master bath.
Up until now, we have been using two separate bathrooms. Mostly because the master was disgusting and I refused to step foot in it. So, I used the hall bathroom. Still not real nice, but at least it didn't make me want to throw up.
A few weeks ago, we decided to tear into the master bath. We had to wait until we knew that we wouldn't be having any more football guests (We love you all! So much, that we wouldn't force you all to share one unsightly bathroom with us). About a week or two before Thanksgiving, Dallas tore into demolition of the bathroom and we went from there. I'll have to brag on my hubby. He has done so much of the work by himself including the demo, building of walls, hanging of drywall and durarock (what you put under tile), some of the electrical work, laying tile, and painting. We did have Darius come back and oversee the electrical stuff, had a real plumber move the plumbing (we aren't stupid enough to do that ourselves), and had Tom finish the drywall work. We also had Roger at VanNostrand make up our cabinets again (they should be ready early next week!!!).
Before photos -
The Oh-So-Lovely lighting fixture in the bathroom. The only lighting fixture in the bathroom.
The sad window
The shower
The toilet/vanity area
The heinous single vanity
So, now that you can appreciate why I never used the bathroom, I'll explain the plan. To make the bathroom bigger to allow for a double vanity (those things save marriages, I'm certain), we decided to incorporate the hall closet. The closet would basically become the shower. Then, it would allow for a double vanity. The basic layout is the same. You walk in the door and are standing in front of the vanity. Then the toilet is to the right of the vanity and the shower is to the right of the toilet. We decided to add a wall between the toilet and the vanity. One of my pet peeves is to have the toilet right next to the vanity. I settled for having a wall there to block the toilet from view. In a perfect world, the toilet would be in its own room (like our last master bath had - *sigh*). But, we were a little short on space. So, we did what we could to make it work.
In terms of design, I decided to go very neutral. Our bedroom has lots of dark wood and ivories. I asked Roger to make the cabinets the same style as the kitchen cabinets (shaker style) but to stain them dark. The tile on the floor and on the shower floor is really dark, then the shower wall is a creamy colored subway tile with little accent tiles. The wall color is the trim color that we used in the rest of the house. Kind of a soft white/creamy color (it depends on what it is next to). Actually, I kind of picked out the tile scheme on a whim. But I am LOVING the way it is turning out. I keep reminding Dallas how lucky he is that I'm more of a minimalist and not overly feminine in my decor choices. He cannot complain about the decor I've picked out.
So, here's the pictures of our progress thus far:
Demolition
Progress -
The shower - ready for tile
The inside of the shower. In the corner will be a small shelf.
The shower opening. See the wall that makes the toilet area?
The double vanity ready for cabinets!
Major tiling progress!!
Inside of the shower
Shower floor
Tile on the bathroom floor. It's the same as the shower floor tile, just bigger.
Shot of the tile in the rest of the bathroom.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Counter tops - in!
I am watching the counter tops being installed right now. YAY!!! The sink comes with the counter tops, so that is a huge step forward. Unfortunately, the plumber isn't coming to hook up the sink/disposal until tomorrow, so no home cooked meal tonight. :(.
Today, I got freaked out about my design choice for the first time. I was telling a lady I know from work about our sink issues (read the posts below to catch up). She asked what color the counters were, the color of the sink, the faucet, etc. Then she said, "and you didn't want to do a black sink and faucet with the black counter tops?"
"No," I said - matter of factly. That never even entered my mind as an option.
"Huh. I would have done black."
Hmmmm. This is the first and only time that I have second guessed my design decision. With this whole house, I knew exactly what I wanted. Decisions were easy. I could see it in my head. No issues in terms of color and what to do where. Now - I'm worried.
So far in my typing, they haven't put the sink in yet. All day today I've been freaking myself out that I did this outdated design in my kitchen. It's very worrisome.
Deep down, I know the reasons why I picked what I did. I think the white sink and faucet will mimmick the white appliances and the white backsplash. But still. Ugh. I guess I'll know in a minute.
Pictures to come!
Today, I got freaked out about my design choice for the first time. I was telling a lady I know from work about our sink issues (read the posts below to catch up). She asked what color the counters were, the color of the sink, the faucet, etc. Then she said, "and you didn't want to do a black sink and faucet with the black counter tops?"
"No," I said - matter of factly. That never even entered my mind as an option.
"Huh. I would have done black."
Hmmmm. This is the first and only time that I have second guessed my design decision. With this whole house, I knew exactly what I wanted. Decisions were easy. I could see it in my head. No issues in terms of color and what to do where. Now - I'm worried.
So far in my typing, they haven't put the sink in yet. All day today I've been freaking myself out that I did this outdated design in my kitchen. It's very worrisome.
Deep down, I know the reasons why I picked what I did. I think the white sink and faucet will mimmick the white appliances and the white backsplash. But still. Ugh. I guess I'll know in a minute.
Pictures to come!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Ignore previous post
Well, you can ignore a lot of it anyway. D just got back from his sink hunt. He got one of his suppliers (it helps to know people) to get the sink that we wanted for a decent price (still more than we wanted to pay on a sink) and get it delivered tomorrow. Wow!
Now, the granite was on schedule to be installed tomorrow. But, with all this it will be Thursday instead. Still, pretty good, huh?
Yay! I still get what I want! Yay!
Now, the granite was on schedule to be installed tomorrow. But, with all this it will be Thursday instead. Still, pretty good, huh?
Yay! I still get what I want! Yay!
Sink difficulties
We are having issues with the sink. Actually, I guess the real issue comes from my design for the kitchen. Apparently, my design is using outdated items - namely, the kitchen sink. Humbly, I thought that I had a pretty good sense of style/design. Or, at least it was good enough to not turn anyone off.
So, in this kitchen, my thought has been white cabinets, black counter tops, white subway-tile backsplash. Since we have white appliances (that was a budget decision), I decided to stay away from stainless all together and make the design work with out it - regardless of how popular stainless is today.
With that in mind, only a white cast-iron sink made sense to me. What else would you put in there? Nothing else comes to my mind. I also would prefer to have just one big sink with no divider. That's what we had in our last house and I loved it! I really just don't see the need for a divided sink. It's a waste.
That would make the criteria for our kitchen sink: white, single bowl, undermount (meaning we would mount it from the bottom instead of dropping it in - it gets rid of that lip that just gets cruddy over time).
I don't know all the technical terms for sink materials. Cast iron, porcelain, composite, etc. It's all a little jumbled in my head. I just told D to get a white sink that looked like our last one. Job done. Right? Nope. This morning, he asked if I wanted to take a look at the sink before he handed it over to the granite guys to install for Tuesday (yes, tomorrow! I just might have a sink tomorrow!). Sure, I would look at it. Good thing I did! It was a composite sink. Not cast iron. If you don't know, composite is the type of material that I would use as a utility sink, not nice a pretty for the kitchen.
Well, that sent D back to run around and try to find a cast iron sink that would be okay for the budget and the timeline. Meaning, it had to be in stock. Come to find out, no body carries cast iron undermount sinks because they don't sell that often. Hmmm. Well, I guess I'm an odd-ball.
I did just get another call from D. Basically, we are going to be back on the microwave diet this week. We're going to have to order something else. Too bad. But, at least I'll get what I want. Or, as good as I can get. The pictures below are my options:
This is the sink that I want. Deep, single bowl, cast iron. Would look perfect in my kitchen and would function fabulously. It's the more costly option. Why? I don't know. I really can't figure out what makes something that seems simpler, more expensive.
This is the back-up option (read: budget). The reason I would be okay with this one is that they call it the "smart divide" where the divide is lower than normal and you can fit pot handles across it. Again, if you need a "smart divide" it would probably be better to have no divide at all, right? And, this one is some how less expensive than the one above. Sheesh.
So, in this kitchen, my thought has been white cabinets, black counter tops, white subway-tile backsplash. Since we have white appliances (that was a budget decision), I decided to stay away from stainless all together and make the design work with out it - regardless of how popular stainless is today.
With that in mind, only a white cast-iron sink made sense to me. What else would you put in there? Nothing else comes to my mind. I also would prefer to have just one big sink with no divider. That's what we had in our last house and I loved it! I really just don't see the need for a divided sink. It's a waste.
That would make the criteria for our kitchen sink: white, single bowl, undermount (meaning we would mount it from the bottom instead of dropping it in - it gets rid of that lip that just gets cruddy over time).
I don't know all the technical terms for sink materials. Cast iron, porcelain, composite, etc. It's all a little jumbled in my head. I just told D to get a white sink that looked like our last one. Job done. Right? Nope. This morning, he asked if I wanted to take a look at the sink before he handed it over to the granite guys to install for Tuesday (yes, tomorrow! I just might have a sink tomorrow!). Sure, I would look at it. Good thing I did! It was a composite sink. Not cast iron. If you don't know, composite is the type of material that I would use as a utility sink, not nice a pretty for the kitchen.
Well, that sent D back to run around and try to find a cast iron sink that would be okay for the budget and the timeline. Meaning, it had to be in stock. Come to find out, no body carries cast iron undermount sinks because they don't sell that often. Hmmm. Well, I guess I'm an odd-ball.
I did just get another call from D. Basically, we are going to be back on the microwave diet this week. We're going to have to order something else. Too bad. But, at least I'll get what I want. Or, as good as I can get. The pictures below are my options:
This is the sink that I want. Deep, single bowl, cast iron. Would look perfect in my kitchen and would function fabulously. It's the more costly option. Why? I don't know. I really can't figure out what makes something that seems simpler, more expensive.
This is the back-up option (read: budget). The reason I would be okay with this one is that they call it the "smart divide" where the divide is lower than normal and you can fit pot handles across it. Again, if you need a "smart divide" it would probably be better to have no divide at all, right? And, this one is some how less expensive than the one above. Sheesh.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
A slight break
Sorry for the lack of check ins. I know that everyone is busy, but it seems like we are double busy. I seriously don't know where my card reader is. It's sad. So, the only way I can get pictures to you right now is from my phone. So, not the greatest quality photos, but at least you can get an idea of things.
So, here's what I've got for you. Some kitchen shots. It's taken about 4 weeks for us to see visible progress. Pretty much all work ground to a halt while we waited for our kitchen cabinets to be made. We left the old kitchen in tact during that process just so that we could semi function normally.
Last weekend, D started demolition on the kitchen. When he was done, it was bare except for our range and refrigerator. Like this:
So, you can see that the entire original kitchen was wood paneling. Yuck. The white areas you see are where we have primed it for our backsplash.
Now, for the new cabinets. Ta da!
Yeah, I'm so happy with these cabinets. Thank you Roger!!! They are exactly what I asked for. I love them! Of course, they look even better when you remember what we came from.
So, you can see that even though we've gotten over the major hurdle of getting cabinets, we are still without counters, trim, backsplash, etc. A kitchen re-do is not an overnight project.
The last pieces of the cabinets are coming Monday. Not all the shelving was ready. Also, the open cabinets that you see will have doors with glass panes and those weren't ready either.
Today, D and the electrician are putting in the under-cabinet lighting. Nice! Something we didn't have in the last house and it will be a nice addition. Counters, sink and dishwasher will all happen at once too. Probably Thursday or Friday this coming week.
The first step has been taken. Yay! It's nice to see something coming together! Thankfully, I should have more to show this week!
So, here's what I've got for you. Some kitchen shots. It's taken about 4 weeks for us to see visible progress. Pretty much all work ground to a halt while we waited for our kitchen cabinets to be made. We left the old kitchen in tact during that process just so that we could semi function normally.
Last weekend, D started demolition on the kitchen. When he was done, it was bare except for our range and refrigerator. Like this:
So, you can see that the entire original kitchen was wood paneling. Yuck. The white areas you see are where we have primed it for our backsplash.
Now, for the new cabinets. Ta da!
Yeah, I'm so happy with these cabinets. Thank you Roger!!! They are exactly what I asked for. I love them! Of course, they look even better when you remember what we came from.
So, you can see that even though we've gotten over the major hurdle of getting cabinets, we are still without counters, trim, backsplash, etc. A kitchen re-do is not an overnight project.
The last pieces of the cabinets are coming Monday. Not all the shelving was ready. Also, the open cabinets that you see will have doors with glass panes and those weren't ready either.
Today, D and the electrician are putting in the under-cabinet lighting. Nice! Something we didn't have in the last house and it will be a nice addition. Counters, sink and dishwasher will all happen at once too. Probably Thursday or Friday this coming week.
The first step has been taken. Yay! It's nice to see something coming together! Thankfully, I should have more to show this week!
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