Master Bedroom... Check!

Hurray!!! We finished painting and decorating the master bedroom this weekend. I used a faux stone painting technique by tearing up newspapers and applying to the wall when the glaze was still wet. The colors are rust and gold. I finally feel like the house is becoming our home.

Bathroom During and After

Bathroom Before and After

I thought it would be fun to see some before and after pictures of the bathroom. It's so awesome to see progress.

What Do You Do With a Parlor?

I've never had a parlor before, so I've struggled a bit with what kind of room I want it to be. It serves as the entryway to our home, and it also serves as a home for the baby grand piano that was given to me by by uncle. So far, our parlor has been a place to store things that haven't yet found a home. However, since the vanity and bathroom shelf have been moved upstairs to their new home in the bathroom, I decided to work in the parlor today. I'm still considering reds and browns for the room, but right now other rooms are taking a priority.

Now For Our Work to Begin...

Here are some pictures of the completed kitchen tile. Our new focus, now that the bathroom is finished, is to concentrate our efforts on the cabinets, lighting, and walls in the kitchen.

We Have a New Bathroom!!!

OK... It is against my nature to show off a room that is almost completely finished, but not quite. However, it is also against my nature to have to wait to share it with you. So... here it is!!!

We have a working sink, shower, and toilet. The unfinished part of the room would include the plantation blinds (ordered from Home Depot) and the curtains, which I have not sewn up yet. It is absolutely my dream bathroom! My plan for this morning is to start "moving in."

Comments Please

Just a note on comments...Your comments are welcome. Family, friends, acquaintances, fellow remodelers/renovators, etc. just click on where it says "comments" at the bottom of each blog. We would love to hear your feedback on how we're doing with the house.

One More Day?!!!

I learned today that tomorrow is supposed to be the last day for the contractors!!! As you can imagine, I am ecstatic! But first, here is an update on what's been going on this week:

1. Kitchen -- Tile is completely done and grouted.
2. Bathroom -- Shower and floor time is completely done and grouted. The vanity is in place. The toilet is somewhat in place as it is still in the box.
   

So... Here's what remains for the bathroom:

• Install recessed light over shower
• Install vanity light
• Hang mirror
• Final plumbing hook-up -- so that we can actually use our shower, sink, and toilet
• Trim on top of shower
• Put bathroom cabinet in place (It has been sitting in the parlor for about a month now)

The rest is up to me/us! We have blinds ordered, and I have all the fabric I need to sew curtains. Of course, you'd have to be able to actually get to the sewing machine to do that, and I can't until our walk-in closet is done because most of our clothes are piled a mile high in the guest room, which, as you can guess, is where the sewing machine is. Of course, you can bet that I will start to decorate it before the contractors pull out of the drive-way. This is the part I've been waiting for! I have been hoarding my bathroom furnishings for the past three months in one small little corner of the (you gessed it...) guest room.

Pictures of the kitchen and bathroom to come soon...

Bathroom Shower Tile

Today should've been the last day to put the tile in the bathroom prior to grouting; however, we have run out of tile... again. I purchased two more boxes this morning at Home Depot, but now I've got to get one more box. And, man, are those boxes of tiles heavy!

The tile in the kitchen is, I'd say, about two-thirds done. They had to move the refrigerator to tile under it.

I am SO READY to have the house back to ourselves. And to have a place to eat. And to have an upstairs bathroom. And to have a master bedroom closet. And to have a guest room that you can walk in. And to have a dust-free house. Need I go on? We are ready to get this thing done, at least be able to move onto the parts of the house that we are fixing up. But, I still have my sanity, at least for another day or two!

Color Washing

This weekend, Gary and I painted the new bathroom. This was my first attempt to try a new faux painting technique. I chose "color washing." Gary wasn't convinced he was going to like it at first, but it looked really nice after it dried. I'm going to use a dark brown as an accent color in the room, and I've already purchased material to make the curtains. We can't wait until our new bathroom is complete!!!

More Before and Afters

Before and After Pics

We Have Tile in the Bathroom!!!

Although it is not yet grouted, we have our tile down in the bathroom.

Kitchen Update Continued...

Current State of the Kitchen

This is the current state of our kitchen. I took these pictures yesterday, and today, they are already putting down the hardy-backer board to prepare the floors for tile.

Now I Have No Excuses (well.. maybe I do)

Gary installed our new stove top today! Many of you know that we have not had a stove since we moved into the house in Feb. So now I have no excuses not to cook except for the fact that our kitchen will soon be getting a new ceiling, which means scaffolding, plastic coverings, and dust. Oh, well... I'll take advantage of it while I can. We'll be having spaghetti tonight!

New Website Addition

I have created a new addition to our website called "Our House the Way It Was." It is a collection of pictures we took of the house prior to the time we moved in or just shortly thereafter. Take a look at the sidebar or go to http://ourhousethewayitwas.blogspot.com/

Painting the Exterior of the House... Check!

Well, it appears that the painting of the house is finished! The first thing we can really check off our list and celebrate!

Bathroom Update

Some "Before" pictures before there's an "After" (yet). Does that make sense?

One New Shower... Coming Up!

OK, it was hard to imagine how it was going to look, but now that I see the frame up, I love it! The hardy board should go down today on the floor and in the shower.

More Progress

Other progress today included some electrical work (done by the experts as Gary preferred not to get shocked again). Before the contractors are able to tile the new upstairs bathroom (located directly above the kitchen), the electricians had to remove the florescent lights in the kitchen and run wiring for two canned lights and the other light fixtures we plan to install. This should now lead the way for the contractors to move quickly on the bathroom, including building the shower, tiling the floor, installing the toilet and vanity, etc. It also means that we won't have any lighting in the kitchen until the new ceiling and new light fixtures are installed.

By the way, I'm still smiling through it all!!!

French Roast

We painted our front door today! The color is French Roast by Sherwin Williams. It goes very nicely with the body color and trim, we think. We also painted the door that goes outside on the upstairs porch. Take a look!