You know the saying that a “mechanic’s car never runs”? The same goes for contractors.
Paul and I remodel homes. Both in different ways. He can do all of the repairs, replacements, and building parts, while I design and decorate with the pretty things. But… when it comes to our own house? We never have time for it. We’re always working for the customers to make sure they are getting what they want and need, all while building our business. When we get home, we don’t want to keep doing the “work”.
For our anniversary this year, I looked for somewhere for us to get away for the weekend. Because we also haven’t taken the time for a vacation lately either. But as I looked at the prices of hotels and took into account all of the other expenses we would have (food, shopping, wineries 🍷), it added up to a lot. So I got to thinking… since we already had someone to man the store AND it was a three-day weekend… why not spend the money on doing something at our house that we could enjoy for years to come?
I brought it up to Paul and he was onboard. Now while he wasn’t onboard with the remodel I wanted to do, our kitchen, he was okay with remodeling one of our bathrooms. Keep in mind that our house was built in 2001 and there has been little to no remodeling that has happened in those 23 years. I’ve told him before to look at our house as he would when walking into a house we were going to flip. What would we change? His answer? Everything. Not that our house is old, falling apart, or disgusting, it’s just that it needs some cosmetic updating. New makeup, if you will. But of course that takes money. So we’ll start with one room at a time. At least I know a guy that can do the work. 😉
So the hall guest bathroom was chosen! I started designing, which I think is the fun part. I wanted something that would be timeless and go well with my vision for the rest of the house. We decided to leave the layout as it was and not replace the shower/tub combo. It’s still in good shape and there wasn’t a reason to change it. I looked through Pinterest to find some inspiration once I decided my color scheme. I may have also been influenced a little by the colors we use for Sterling Avenue’s brand as I kept being drawn to a soft olive green. I paired that with an off-white, some wood elements and black fixtures.
Now that I had a picture in my head of what it would look like, it was time to find the materials. I had a very specific vision of the floor tile I wanted as I had found one online but it was in an extremely large size and our bathroom isn’t that big. But you know how it is when you have your mind set on something… I wasn’t going to settle until I found that tile. While on our way home from a family wedding in Indiana, we stopped by a home improvement store. I went straight to the tile section and found one that I thought would work perfectly. We also found the vanity that I wanted as well. We loaded up the tile we would need and ordered the vanity. Two things marked off the list!
The next day, I happened to have an appointment in Effingham. So of course, what do I do? Go to another home improvement store to look at their tile. And… I found the exact tile that I had originally wanted in a smaller size! I took pictures so I could compare it with the one we had already purchased. When I put the first one in the bathroom to see what it would look like, I wasn’t feeling it. I just knew the one in Effingham was it. Paul, being the wonderful husband that he is, went the next day to get the other tile. And you know what? As soon as he saw it, I got a text from him saying that he agreed, it would look better! It is so pretty! ❤️
Once all of the materials were picked out, ordered, and delivered, we were ready to start the remodel on the Friday before Columbus Day. For those of you that don’t know the process of remodeling, I’m going to try to go through some of what is involved. Now, keep in mind, I did a lot of watching while Paul did the work. I helped where and when I could but he just has so much more of the expertise and knowledge needed. Plus, he just wants to do it himself 😜. And honestly, it probably got done faster that way.
Friday
Paul started with taking out the vanity and toilet. Then he tackled ripping off the linoleum that had been there for 23 years. He thought it would come off in one big sheet but that was not the case. When it had been installed, it was glued down very well with liquid nails, a lot of glue, and a lot of staples. It took way longer than expected to remove the flooring.
Saturday
My day was spent outside sanding and painting boards that were going to be used to create a board and batten look on the walls. There were a lot of boards to do and it took me most of the day. While I was outside, enjoying the beautiful weather, Paul was inside painting the ceiling and walls and installing the cement board and the gorgeous new tile floor.
Sunday
Since I had chosen black fixtures for the shower and sink faucets, it wouldn’t have looked right to leave the original round gold door handles on the bathroom closet and main door. So I chose a lever style handle in matte black. In the hallway where that bathroom is located, there are five more doors. My design mind then starts envisioning what that will look like with five round gold door knobs and one black handle. That’s definitely a no-go. As most things go with remodeling, one thing leads to another leads to another. I ordered enough of those handles to change out every door in the house, as well as the hinges. And that’s what I did all day on Sunday.
Paul spent the day working on putting the board design on the walls and then installing the vanity, all the plumbing for the toilet and vanity, and installing the toilet. He also replaced the trim kit in the shower to black fixtures for the shower head, drain, and tub faucet. He was a busy guy that day!
Monday
After installing the vanity, Paul had to finish putting the boards on the walls around it. There were some design issues with that to make it look right. Also the vanity ended up being taller than the original one so there was an outlet that had to be moved up as well as the light fixture. That included some drywall patching that had to happen then as well.
We didn’t get it completely finished by the end of the day but we were so close. Paul finished the touch ups and installed the mirror and light above it as well as other hardware.
Overall, I am in love with the finished product! There are still some finishing touches that I need to add, such as decorating, but it is so pretty and makes me smile to see it remodeled. If you’re now inspired to tackle some small jobs around your home, check out my Basic Tools list that every homeowner should have on hand. Of course there were more specialized tools used for our bathroom remodel, but these basic tools were also used every step of the way!