Honey, let’s REMODEL something!

Stick to the things you really love. An honest room is always up to date.”

Billy baldwin

As you might have guessed, Mr. G. and I are embarking, once again, on a home improvement project, with more to come! We are remodeling one of our guest bathrooms. This one happened a little faster than we thought it might, because our tile guy is moving out of the area, and we really wanted him to do the job. The above picture represents 70 years of remodeling projects! Our home has been the victim of many “happy hands at home” well-meaning do-it-yourselfers. We are, slowly, trying to bring everything up to date and still honor the classic cottage style of the house.

Built in 1948, our house began as a 1400-square foot home. In the early 90’s, the then-owners added another 1000 square feet, including a beautiful family room and master suite. We moved in in 1999, and at the time, everything was fairly up to date. Now, twenty years later, some things need updating, our kids are out of college (no more tuition!), so we are tackling the projects one by one. And, we’ve done plenty over the last 5 years! New flooring in the family room, all new copper pipes, remodeled the kitchen, completely re-landscaping the front yard, new decks, new fencing, one bath remodel. As you know, all of these improvements cost money, so we’ve had to plan, scrimp and save to get them accomplished. And as much hassle as it can be, we’re really happy so far with the results.

So… back to the bathroom in the spotlight! The bathroom in question was the former master bath before the addition in 1990. It is cute, and has a perfect shower. However, the flooring and the fixtures needed updating. We knew that someone had laid linoleum over tile at some point, but we didn’t realize that there were two layers of tile and linoleum! The demo took longer than anything else. However, we’re thrilled to report that the floor base was old, but completely sturdy, and dry as a bone!!! Yay!

So, after the demo was done, the next step was pouring the foundation for the new tiles:

While our tile man was busy doing his thing, I was doing the fun part: picking out new tile and finding the right paint (more about the paint choice later).

I chose an old-fashioned tile collection, patterned after Victorian tiles from Britain. I loved the colors, and the pattern itself. It’s a tad busy, but the area is small, so I thought I could get by with it. I’m so glad I did. The paint choice to the right side of the tile in the above picture (it’s called Perfect Tan by Behr – don’t you wish you could name the colors – what a fun job!) is going on bead board that will go on the bottom half of the walls, with creamy plain walls on the top half. I’ve chosen all new fixtures, although we managed to save the pedestal sink, which is really cute and fits perfectly in the space. The only thing left to buy is a new toilet.

Mr. G. and I are adding the bead board ourselves. Are there storm clouds ahead? I sure hope not. We do pretty well together on projects. We have our moments, but mostly, we have the same sensibilities. He’s a bit slower, a bit more perfectionistic, than me, but I thank goodness for that, because the tasks he takes on turn out really well (even if it takes a little longer!). We hope to add a small shelf across the top of the bead board on the wall with the sink and the toilet, for sundry things. We’ll see how it works out!

When we’re finished, I’ll give you a tour of the “new” bathroom! Until then, my friends! Have a great weekend…