A Before and After Story.....Master Bathroom

OK, so I'm ready to show you the pictures of the Master Bathroom BUT, the shower glass is not in yet. Not that big of a deal but I just want to let you know that yes, there is a frameless shower panel and door on order. So without delay, let me show you a few before shots just to recap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to read the entire before post, go here.  In a nutshell, this bathroom was gutted down to the slab. Windows were added to bring in some much needed natural light. Plumbing was moved for a toilet/water closet and new plumbing was added for a vintage Kohler cast iron tub and a new shower.  And now for the after......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the pull I went with instead of the ones I bought from Anthro.  I've bought these at a thrift store a while back and funny thing is I had just enough for these drawers.  Guess it was meant to be.  I'll use the ones I bought from Anthro on something else.

 

 

Cabinet goodies.....I put my bath salts ( they are more like a coarse powder) in the vintage shakers.  They work perfect!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 So, there it is....  the new and improved  Master Bathroom.  I love the way this turned out and  how it feels like a room with all of the furniture pieces.  The doors are awesome in here and really add that special touch that I was looking for.  And Eleanor (the tub)?  She looks fabulous. She fits right in....  So worth the wait.  Remember the industrial light I bought frotm etsy?  It looks great in the center of the room and I'm glad we were able to incorporate it in here.  Recessed lights were put in around the space for general lighting (every light in here is on a dimmer).  The jars chandelier cast a warm and flattering light with no creepy shadows and adds a nice touch to the aesthetics in here. It also creates a great balance to the other lighting.  The one thing I would like to add is an old wood shelf under the mirror by the tub.  I'm keeping an eye out and put the mirror high enough that I have room for it.  One more vintage painting wouldn't hurt either.  That gives me something fun to look for. Once more, a big thank you to my HH who worked so hard and was so gracious to give up many weekends to complete this. This was a big project but the payoff to be able to enjoy this room is worth it.  So, what do you think?  I'd love to hear your thoughts..... 



Master Bathroom Update #3.....

We're on the home stretch!  The grout is curing, the trim is being installed and HH and I are working as fast as we can to get all the details wrapped up.  The plumbers are coming on Tuesday to install all of the fixtures and then the only thing left will be the shower door.  That I am told will take another 2 weeks. I will be stripping the old paint off  an old door we are going to use in the water closet this weekend and get it ready to hang.  I also ordered some frosted glass for the french doors we are using but I don't think I like it.  It's not frosted as I had it in my brain.. I'm going to look at some other solutions.  So ,this is the last update until I reveal.  The cabinet is filling up nicely and I picked up yummy bath produts at Kuhl-Linscomb yesterday.  I really like the Dayna Decker body products and candles so I picked up a few different scents yesterday and can't wait to try them out. I've never been disappointed in her products. So, with that I'll leave you with a few shots of vintage apothecary which is totally inspiring me at the moment.  Have a great weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Checking in and checking out....

Hi there!  Just want to check in and wish you all a fabulous weekend.  We will be laying tile in the Master Bathroom this weekend but will also be taking some time to enjoy some good food and family time.  Here's hoping your weekend is just the way you want it. Cheers!

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Milk Paint Furniture..... China Hutch Sneak Peek

So, last weekend I tried milk paint for the first time on a china hutch that I bought for my bathroom. As for the results, I'm really happy with the way it all turned out. I used the driftwood on the back and pitch black on the rest of the cabinet. The only issue I ran into was the paint kept clumping. You have to stir it frequently and well. When I first mixed the paint ( I used warm water per the instructions), the directions say to stir for 2-3 minutes and then let it sit for 10-15 min. Easy enough. After that, I stirred it again really well and then started to apply with a sponge brush. After a short time, it seemed to clump back up so you really have to stir every so often. The finish is very matte and the adhesion is good. I bought the polymer adder for adhesion and added to the paint mix before applying. I did a very rough sand on the cabinet, just enough to dull the shine. After two coats, I lightly distressed it and them applied two coats of Minwax clear satin wipe on poly ( I love that stuff). Keep in mind if you try this, the color will darken up quite a bit with the poly top coat. I knew this and expected it so I was really happy with the results. I put the original hardware on the door but will use different hardware on the drawers.  Not sure if I want to use the pulls from Anthro yet because there's something that's "eh" about it.  Maybe when it gets moved into place in the bathroom it will be clear.  For now, I'll show you the finished piece as is, then I'll show you a pic all done up and pretty.  Here's the before:

 

And here's the after

 

 

 

A couple things to note:  First, we took the top piece of moulding off and replaced it with a smaller piece lower on the cabinet to make the piece lower.  In the bathroom, this doesn't cover the new window but I wanted as much clearance under the new window as possible.  This is as best as we can get and actually I like it better this way.  Also, there is a little piece of moulding missing on the bottom right door panel that I have ready to go back on.  So when I show you the pic of it all pretty, this will be all fixed.  Well, what do you think?  Painting the back a lighter color really makes the shelves pop and it keeps this piece from being really heavy feeling.  I've got another piece of furniture that I'm going to do in Driftwood so I'll share that with you too when I start that project.  Ciao for now!



Milk Paint.....

Have you used milk paint before?  I'm about to use it for the first time this weekend on a big piece of furniture.  I bought three colors: Snow White, Pitch Black and Driftwood.   I'm thinking of starting with the black and diluting it just a little with the snow white so it's not pitch black but more of a faded black.  So, what is this furniture piece you ask?  Well, after debating back and forth about built-ins for our Master Bathroom, I decided that I wanted to keep going with the furniture concept so I bought a china cabinet.  I love that this cabinet has the glass door with wood shelves on the top and drawers and extra storage on the bottom. I have some vintage bath accessories and old bottles that I'll display and I want this piece to have an old apothecary feel.   I found some old looking pulls at Anthropologie last weekend that I am going to use instead of the more traditional pulls that are on it now.  The drawers are slightly bow front and offer plenty of storage for the stuff you need but don't want to see and the sides are perfect for housing the trash bin and taller items. So, I'll be experimenting this weekend trying to give this piece of furniture a new look.  Here's what I'll be working with:

 

 

 

 

These are the pulls that I got at Anthropologie to replace the ones that you see on the drawers in the pictures.  These were on clearance and are not available on the website anymore so I'm not linking to it. If you like them and live near an Anthro, go there now.

 

  

Here's what the milk paint looks like.  I'm excited to see how this comes out. 

 

Quick update on bathroom progress.  Flooring will be done over Labor Day weekend.  Our schedule has been packed and we've been doing some floor leveling so that's taken some extra time and $.  But, it was necessary to do and it will be worth it in the long run. We're almost there.  I will not show any more pictures until it's done (maybe just one sneakie peek) so you can see the whole thing completed. 

 

Have a great weekend!

 



 

An update and other business....

Happy Friday!  Hope your week has been great.  Let me give you a quick update on the status of the bathroom first.  The plumbers have finished the rough in work and we have the green light for tile.  The Sheetrock is still being worked on and should be completed by Tuesday at the latest (fingers crossed for no delays).  I'm still deciding on paint colors but I'm really leaning to the light/white shades for this room to make it as bright as possible without feeling sterile.  Oh, and Eleanor got a little "work" done and looks fabulous. Besides that, I've been thinking of how I want to decorate the bathroom and I've been looking for a few special pieces.  I have an idea of what I want to do but I'll share that later when it becomes more solid. 

In other news, I've been shopping for a client that I am working with through e-design and I've picked up some neat things along the way that I thought I would share.  I bought some great books from a dealer who knows I love old books. Every once in a while, I sit down and read through some of the books I have and realize that reading was the only form of entertainment for many people back when these were published. Although that is not the case today, these books hold a value of unique craftsmanship and literary history. I hope to one day, read every book I own. But for now, I will admire the artistry in the covers and appreciate the journeys they have been on so far.

 

 

 

That's all for now.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!



Operation Master Bathroom....Update #2

Happy Monday to you!  Ready to start another fabulous week?  Things here have been buzzing with activity and non-activity.  Let me explain.  On my last post, we left off with the sounds of jackhammering and progress being made.  That is until we got to the tub. The plumbers wanted to wait to mark the drain until the faucet and supply lines came in. The space is very tight where the tub is going and there is no room for second guessing.   I totally get that and agreed so as I was tracking the order which of course was late, I was told by the plumber I ordered them from that the supply lines I ordered would not work with my tub.  He said that I would need to order another set of supply lines to make my faucet work.  This was not good news because that would be an additional  3-5 days since this is all special order.  So with several big holes in the floor, the plumbers left and told me to call them when the supply lines came in and they would come back and finish.  The faucet and wrong set of supply lines came in late on Tuesday and the plumbers came out Wednesday to pick up where they left off.  The idea was to move the tub in the bathroom and do a mock up of where everything was going.  Using the wrong supply lines as a guide, the plumbers determined that the distance was short about 1-1.5" or so.  Which is to say we would have to take the water closet wall down and move it over 1-1.5".  This was definitely not the news we wanted to hear. I called the plumber that I ordered the supply lines from and decided that I was going to return the wrong ones and order the correct set and have them sent overnight.  These were actually in stock so I received them the next day. The plumbers came back out on Friday to do our mock up with the new supply lines and everything fits fine where it's supposed to .  That brings us to today, where they are suppose to be finishing up the rough plumbing so we can get on with things.  Want to see pictures of the tub that's causing all of the drama?  Here she is as a before.  I've named her Eleanor. I'm going to wait another week or so before I have her all cleaned up. 

Actually, she doesn't look all that bad for her age but I'll make sure she looks beautiful again. 

Oh, and I took a picture to show you the mosaic tile that I bought for the shower floor.  The colors in this are muted but they pull a lot of the colors that are in the travertine really nicely. 

 

That's all for now.  Hope you have a wonderful day.