transformations: upstairs bathroom

Since we are in the midst of bathroom renovations, I thought now might be a good time to show you the evolution of our upstairs bath (and work towards finishing our room-by-room look at the second floor). This one-post documentation will in no way do justice to the amount of work and time that went into this transformation. Just so you know. :)

This is where we began:

Linoleum floor, 1960’s fixtures, oh-so-lovely yellow floral border on hastily-painted white walls (were they going for better resale value??).

 

 
Tile that made you dizzy (and also started to decay, fall apart, and leak).

 

 
And a toilet that must have once been a uniform peach color but whose seat faded to into a weird, dirty, orangey tan.

It was a sight to see. And to use… for 3 1/2 years.

In February of this year, we finally got the courage and energy to plunge into redoing this space. Evan again offered his assistance (he’s a saint), so he, Curtis, and I went to work…

 
Unfortunately (fortunately?), we didn’t take many pictures of the bathroom in process, but this is a glimpse into the reality of renovation… mess, mess, mess. Note that they tore out the floor, all fixtures, the tile (back to the studs), and basically started over from scratch.

 

The most dramatic and time-consuming part: the shower. They did an AH-mazing job on it, including breaking apart and tearing out the solid cement (?) shower basin, the addition of an overhead light, and even tiling the ceiling!

 

 
For Curtis’ first tile job EVER, I think this is unbelievably impressive.

 

 
We had to patch some major holes in the wall (medicine cabinet, wall heater, etc). I did a lot of that and will be 100% fine if I never have to do it again.

 

 
It’s incredible what a coat of primer will do to make a room seem cleaner and more finished. And to highlight the interesting trim color choice.

Now, the pictures jump ahead to where we are today. Drum roll please…

 
Gorgeous, right?! I just love the new tile floor. I apologize for the crazy lighting in these pictures… I didn’t realize how luminescent the light fixture would be until I downloaded the pictures. Too late!

 

 
The vanity makes the not-large bathroom feel so much more spacious, with it’s shallow depth (is that an oxymoron?) yet plentiful sink area.

 

 
The shower in all its glory, complete with new shower doors.

 

… and new showerhead/handle. I love it! Sorry for the condition of the “clear glass”, by the way. They were still wet from the morning’s showers and are also in desperate need of a good scrubbing!

 

Mirror and vanity combo, top half: wood mirror, fun new faucet and light fixture.

 

 
Bottom half: cherry wood vanity topped with a glowing sink basin.

 

 
Finally, a new white toilet in it’s nook beside the shower. I know, I know… we are in desperate need of something to hang on that wall!

 

There you have it, folks! Our fabulously new and improved upstairs bath. Come over and take it for a test-drive anytime!

cooper is smart. or should I say “pepe”?

Our boy baby seems to get older and smarter by the day. It is blowing us away and humbling us as we realize how much he is able to learn…

… yet still not able (or willing) to say his actual name.

Disclaimer: Curtis had just gotten back from playing ultimate frisbee. He does not normally sport the cut-off sleeve look.

thank heaven…

Much to the chagrin of a few of my faithful readers, I have neglected to mention on the blog that we are expecting another baby! This child is an absolute blessing and we are so very thankful. My due date is mid-February, so our two babies will be about 26 months apart.

Last week we finally had the big 20-week ultrasound and the baby looks wonderful! The ultrasound tech said that all of the baby’s measurements are right on target and everything looks normal. I breathed a huge sigh of relief and thanked the Lord for what seems to be a healthy baby. Later, Curtis confessed that he wasn’t relieved because he hadn’t even known that we could find out something was wrong! Ha ha ha… it was probably better that way for both of us.

Isn’t that just the most precious profile that you’ve ever seen? It’s okay. You don’t have to say yes.

The other exciting news (the news that Curtis was awaiting)?

Aren’t you thankful that they spell it out for you? As if we can tell by looking at that picture! Apparently, there are three parallel lines in the baby’s “private area”. She was very cooperative in letting us get a good view, so we are fully sure… we have a daughter!

p.s. I am not just posting each ultrasound twice. These are each distinctly different snapshots… at least according to the ultrasound tech.

Are you wondering who she’s going to look like? So are we, of course! Just for you, I’m posting this picture of her face.

That clears everything up. Right?

Seriously, though, we feel so blessed and thankful for this baby girl. Cooper will be such a good brother (just give him a few months… or years) and I think I will feel even more comfortable raising a female, at least when it comes to dressing and wiping and stuff.  :)

The sweetest thought to me, though, is of Curtis as this little girl’s father. My eyes tear up just thinking of them together. A daddy has such power in the life and heart of his daughter, and I am so confident that Curtis will breathe truth, love, and security into this little one. And probably a lot of money.

transformation in progress: bathroom (days 8 & 9)

Saturday and Sunday were slightly shortened days, with a wedding, church, and a first birthday party. Regardless, there was progress made! Quick update:

Day 8 (Saturday)

 
The big score: we have trim! Curtis purchased, measured, cut, and attached nearly all of the trim- baseboards and window/door casings.

 

 
It made the room look SO much closer to being done. It still needs to be caulked and painted, but just the primed wood is enough to give you the feel of the finished bathroom.

 

 
There a few spots- like to the right of the window- that need extra attention. In fact, as is typical for our 70 year old house, there was a lot that needed extra attention. Retrofitting… it is tedious.

 

Day 9 (Sunday)

Sunday afternoon, there was an unsuccessful attempt to install the toilet (again, retrofitting… something about the cast iron drainpipe needing to be cut off lower to install the new toilet). Instead, Curtis did more measuring, cutting, and painting, but this time it was for the linen closet!

 
He has all of the wood supports and shelves ready to go into the closet. I cannot wait to organize all of that SPACE! I love to organize. I know, I’m weird. I once thought about starting a business where I would organize people’s kitchens for them. I just think it’s fun!

 

 
Also exciting: he even managed to find time to install a new light overhead.

 

 
Isn’t it lovely? Not really anything special, but a whole heck of a lot better than the gold dangly thing that was there before!!

Happy Monday!

transformation in progress: bathroom (days 6 & 7ish)

Day 6 (Last Saturday)

Curtis spent lots of time in the bathroom last weekend and I didn’t post about any of it! Good thing y’all know that he’s renovating that bathroom or that would sound really strange. Again, there was some drywall work. If there’s anything that Curtis might pay someone to do in the future, I’m pretty sure that drywall would be it.

Thankfully, there was also tiling to be done. Lovely, progress-obvious tile…

It is certainly time-consuming work.

 

  
Lots of measuring, cutting, and trying to lay tile down before the fast-drying adhesive hardens. (p.s. If you look closely, Corey and Jessica got a little free publicity in this shot!)

Curtis finished laying the tile in time to watch the UT football game, but came home and started grouting at 11pm!

 
Check out the result- it looks so good! Very professional and so finished.

 

I can’t lie though. I freaked out a little when I woke up Sunday morning because the grout was so dark. By the way, I picked the grout color... yikes! Apparently (thankfully) it lightens a lot as it dries. Phew.

Day 7ish (cumulative weekday work)

During the week, Curtis and I both spent several hours painting.

 
First, Curtis primed the walls. Even that made such a difference. Doesn’t it look so much cleaner?? The room started to feel like a room instead of a project!

 

Then, the paint. You see that beautiful blue? I picked the color and painted the first coat all by myself! It’s fun when I get do something productive too. :)

 

 
It was a little darker than I had pictured, but we think it’s going to look great.

 

I completely neglected to take a “before” picture of the ceiling, but I’m hoping that you can see it in this. It’s the top of the wall as it runs into the ceiling… and those brown dots are what the WHOLE ceiling looked like. I guess it was old mildew?? Disgusting.

 

And now, after Curtis’ priming and painting… crisp and clean. Ahhh, I can’t wait to enjoy this bathroom!

transformation in progress: bathroom (day 5ish)

We’re going to compile all of the work done in the last five days into ONE… day 5! Poor Curtis has been working like a dog, but he’s only been able to do so before & after his days as a full-time student and husband/father. He’s even been seen getting up “in the 5’s”, as he calls it. Wow.

For Curtis, the week was spent doing lots and lots and lots of drywall work and Evan did some more plumbing as well. While most of the work was not camera-friendly, there is one big change that is super exciting and visually impressive!

 
This is where we started on Monday morning.

 

 
Wall tile started to go up! We chose a clean, white tile for the bath, which will be such a new world after the ancient PINK tile from before.

 

Look at that hottie in action, putting up the border tiles like a pro.

 

I caught him just as he was finishing up the last piece. And, voila!

 

The gorgeous shower tile, just before the grout was added.

 

 
And then the beautiful end result!

 

 
I just took these pictures tonight, and I hate that I had to use the flash. It makes it so washed out. You can’t see the details that show the evidence of hard work!

 

 
That helps a little! By the way, didn’t I (with Kelly’s help) do a fabulous job picking out the tile? :)

 

The floor tiles will match these border tiles, though the picture makes them look lighter than they are. I can’t wait to see it all come together, and to show you!

There you have it! The boys have put in lots of hours and it is surely paying off. Curtis is on his own this weekend (Evan is at home in Durham), but I know I’ll still have lots to report.  Oh, and one more thing…

 
The toilet “nook” is fully drywalled! This is a big deal both because all of the drywall is now complete and because that means that all of the plumbing for the tub/shower is finished. We have running water again! Woo hoo!

transformation in progress: bathroom (day 4)

Curtis and Evan certainly did not get a true Sabbath yesterday. While Cooper and I went to church, they stayed home and kept on keepin’ on….

 
They finished putting up the last of the drywall.

 

 
Unfortunately, the work doesn’t stop there. Drywall is such a process. There was a lot of this tedious work going on.

In the middle of it all though, there was something unbelievably un-tedious and dramatic. I came home from church to find the frame of….

 
… a linen closet! Can you believe that?! Out of nowhere!

 

 
Old houses aren’t exactly known for an abundance of storage space. We aren’t going to know what to do with all of that shelf room! Okay, so maybe I have a few ideas.

 

 
Not only had they built a closet, but they had put the vanity in it’s place. All of the sudden it was looking like a real bathroom again!

 

 
Speaking of the vanity, we need to give a HUGE shout-out to our friends Brooke and Dave. Not only did they generously give us their old vanity, but Dave searched for and found FREE faucets for both our sink and our bathtub through his job!  We can’t thank them enough. And it’s all going to look amazing!

 

Also amazing? The amount of dust and dirt that exists in my house right now. On Saturday, after I took a shower, I had to put on my old flip-flops to walk around downstairs. I determined that they were indeed cleaner than the floor. Woe is me, right?

 

Curtis and Evan will probably be working a little bit each night (after school, work, and family obligations), so I will probably do a cumulative update at the end of the work week. But don’t worry, there is plenty more to come! We are ALL going to be sick of this project by the end.  :)