Deadline Day :o)

Well - it is official. Today was 1 month since we started this bathroom renovation and we were planning on being done in 1 month. You'll have to cut us a little slack here, our home was built in 1938.... and we have no idea who actually worked on the home. There were a LOT of hiccups in the process that definitely set us back, and a few days here and there that we just needed a breather. Knowing all of this - we aren't that far behind. Tonight we are officially done laying tile! It has been quite awhile since the last post that gave any sort of update on the bathroom - so pictures are truly worth a thousand words here!

Lets see... the vanity and linen cabinet are installed, the butcher block countertop has been cut to size, sanded, sealed with Waterlox and finished with a satin coat. The vessel sinks and faucets have been plumbed and the mirror hung! We finished the electrical and installed all of the outlets and lighting (including the new exhaust fan for the bathroom). We installed the heated floor and put a coat of self-leveling concrete on top to make sure our tile would be level. Also sanded down and painted the pocket door white. We let the concrete set overnight and tested the heated coils in the morning to make sure everything was still working. Heat will be a luxury in a drafty old house - I can't wait!

Heated floor down with the quick set concrete layer
(plus a quick glance at the vanity!)

The heated floor coils are on the entire floor area
and stop by the toilet

Here's a quick glance at the tile on the walls as well

Today I spent a majority of the night texturing the walls to match each bedroom that we removed a doorway from. Since we stole one of the closets in the back bedroom, we had to close up a doorway in that room. 6 coats of mud later, and I'm finally 'stippling' the walls. This is a fancy word for - sand mixed into paint which creates that rough feeling. It is almost a mix between an orange peel texture and a popcorn. Barely there, but not flattened out like a knockdown style would be. It is close enough - and we'll be painting that room soon anyway. (I've picked this one to be the nursery... so new paint colors are coming soon!)

Back bedroom wall with stippling texture

The 2nd doorway that was closed up happens to be what I called the 'secret' closet. There was an original tiny closet in the front bedroom that we had to square off to create room for the tub. We only used this closet to store our suitcases and extra bags - so it's no big deal to lose it. The same texture was done on this wall as well. Just a coat or two of the sanded paint and then I'll paint the color 'Prickly Pear' on this wall so that my closet can be put back together and clothes all hung back up.

The 3rd, and most difficult of the textures is the plaster walls that I had to match in the hallway. This technique takes 2-3 sizes of trowels and many layers of plaster or joint compound. Unfortunately, to match the walls of the hallway I would have to somehow add sand to the mixture so that it has a scratched look to it. I opted out and just went with 3 layers of trowel scrapes in different directions. Since we haven't painted the walls yet to match, it is hard to tell if it will even look good - but from what I can tell - it is good enough ;o) Hehe. We'll see once the first coat of beige goes back on the walls.... that will be the true test! From there, it will either end up with me doing my own technique to the rest of the hallway to match what I did, or trying to figure out what else I can do to somehow add that sanded look. Ugh - I hope it will fabulous with just a coat of paint!

My version of the troweled plaster texture...
I like to think of it as an art piece, haha!

Here's the painted pocket door!

After I was done with the walls, it was time to start helping Brook with the tile floor. Diamond patterns are beautiful and so worth it in the end, but what a pain in the but they are! At least we did the wall tiles last week and had a bit of a break from them! Tonight was much easier, but gravity was not working against us! Brook and I might be frustrated with tile for awhile as looking at it gives me a negative vibe, but we both love how it has turned out so far! We have ordered our shower/tub glass panels and door from a professional company out of Des Moines. They stopped by on Saturday to do any final measurements and will be installing by Feb. 3rd or 4th. This will be the last step - so we may not be able to shower until then, but I can definitely take a bath before then! :o)

Floor is done!
I love the diamond pattern look

Here's a better look at the wall and knee wall

A better look at the new vanity, sinks, faucets
and my favorite mirror

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I'm a huge fan of HGTV. I almost worship it - when the TV isn't turned to ESPN while Brook is home, it is tuned into Divine Design, Color Splash, Dear Genevieve, Holmes on Homes and my new favorite: Design, Inc. I learn something new everyday and come up with new crazy ideas for projects in our house. One of the more recent ideas was to use a stone cap on our knee wall instead of the typical grouted tile look. Since our knee wall is only 6 inches, if we used tile - it would create one grouted seam all the way up the center of the wall and on top. I wasn't a fan and neither was Sarah Richardson on Design, Inc. Her idea was to use a marble slab for the front as well as the top because it creates a more 'professional' look and you don't have to deal with the corners of grout and tile not matching up, etc. I took the idea and ran with it! We ordered a dark brown granite slab that will cover the top of the knee wall and run down the front of it. I'm super excited and supposedly it will be done tomorrow! I'll believe it when I see it, but if not tomorrow, definitely by Saturday we hope!

Here is Sarah Richardson's (Design Inc.)
table with the stone caps. It finishes the legs
of this table much better than the tile.

We will take that idea and put in on the top
and front of the knee wall, only ours will be
dark brown granite instead of white marble :o)

Now... if you know who I am married to, or at least the personality type of an engineer, you would understand what I go through on a weekly basis whenever we have projects planned. Brook enjoys his spreadsheets and I enjoy getting emails throughout the day with lists of what needs to be accomplished and what errands need to be run to get them done. Here is the list that I received today :o)

Wednesday: CHECK!
Paint door - Steph
Install door - Brook
Texture back bedroom, front bedroom and hallway - Steph
Cut and install window sill - Brook
Paint window sill - Steph
Lay floor tile - Brook and Steph

Thursday:
Menards run to select vent covers - Brook and Steph
Cut window, floor and door trim - Brook
Cut trim for back bedroom, front bedroom and hallway - Brook
Paint window, floor and door trim - Steph
Paint trim for back bedroom, front bedroom and hallway - Brook
Paint front bedroom wall - Steph
Paint hallway wall - Brook
Paint 3rd coat on bathroom window sill and bathroom door - Steph
Paint back bedroom wall (new nursery color) - Steph
Install vent covers - Brook
Grout all tile - Steph
Use flexible caulk around tiles (all corners, tub, etc.) - Steph

Friday:
Day off! Dinner with Brook's parents and a comedy show

Saturday:
Install granite slabs - Brook
Install toilet - Brook
Install door, window and floor trim - Brook
Install back bedroom, front bedroom and hallway trim - Brook
Seal tile grout - Steph
Install shower head and tub faucet - Brook
Install toilet paper and towel racks - Brook
Cut and router oak transition piece to bathroom - Brook
Stain transition piece to bathroom - Brook
Clean front bedroom (set closet back up, clean room) - Steph
Clean rest of house before Steph's parents come in the afternoon! - Brook and Steph

Looks like we have a lot of work still ahead! It goes pretty quickly though. As long as I can get the grout done the rest will just fly! I'm getting excited though! It is almost a working bathroom!! In the meantime - this is the look I get whenever I walk out of the bathroom..

Poor Cody - he just wants some love!