Bathroom Struggles

Back in 2007 I came home to a torn apart bathroom. My ex had taken it upon himself to redo the bathroom. He and a friend completely gutted it.

I won't go into the long detailed story but putting the bathroom back together took years, tears, fights and a lot of money and little actual input from me other then "nagging" to finish it. It never was finished and eventually we got divorced.

Since then I did have a co-worker hang up molding around the window and the door frame so when you walked by the door you couldn't see in anymore. It was unfinished/not painted molding and I never did paint it. I did get around to grouting the little nook that had tile. I posted a post about that.

This weekend I decided that I would try to finish/update it. I would love to gut the tub area but I don't have the time, money or skill for that.

My plan was to paint and lay down some new tile on the floor and I wanted to do it all this weekend.

I did not get very far. I was able to break up the 3 tiles that I needed removed that were placed higher than other tiles which prevented the door from closing and got the area patched and level. So that is a plus.

I am struggling with paint colors though. I wanted a nice sage green. The first color I picked was too light. The second color was too dark. The third color was too teal. I did mix the first and second and that was closer but those were just samples. I ended up buying a gallon of the too dark but now I'm questioning it.

I want something neutral but still a color and not just white or beige.

Too light

 Darker and too teal

 Mixed the light and the dark

 This is what I am working with. Any tips/suggestions for a new color scheme!?

The Evolution of Our Kitchen

Over the years, I've done a lot updates in the kitchen. I've posted other blogs about it. I'm happy and hoping to say that it is *almost* done. I would love a new fridge and still need to finish the backsplash by the oven but other than that, it's coming along!

2011 was when I first started working on updating the kitchen. I always wanted a red kitchen so I went to the store and painted it red. I bought a dark red in flat paint and just threw it up on the walls. I didn't know the differences between all the sheen options. Even though I did tape the ceiling and edges the paint bled through and it was hard because of the contrast between the red wall and white ceiling. I also never moved the fridge and finished the wall by it.

As the years have passed I have learned a lot about painting and home updates. The cabinets, the floor, the counters and the backsplash have all turned out well. Then there is the red paint. I decided that it had to go. We are also considering moving in the future and that red paint job just wasn't going to cut it. So I decided to paint the kitchen a nice neutral gray.

Covering the red was going to take some primer. Luckily I had Zissner Mold and Mildew Killer Primer leftover from use in the basement bathroom. I don't have mold or mildew in the kitchen but since there is moisture from cooking and cleaning, it is a good option. I then went to Lowes and bought Valspar paint in Polished Silver. This was my first time using Valspar. I have always used Behr paints in the past but I couldn't find the right gray in their swatches.

I also bought a Wooster 2in angled brush. I did research into best ways to get clean lines at ceiling and trim. I didn't have the greatest luck with taping with the red and I've used the edging took before and while it works okay, it isn't my favorite to use. I did most of the walls freehand with this brush. My first two walls did need some touch up but by the end I had it down and had a really good clean line without having to tape!

I'm very happy with the grey. Oh I also used semi-gloss. I've found I prefer eggshell sheen for bedroom and living room but semi-gloss is good for kitchen and bathrooms. It's easy to wipe and clean.

Here are some photos of how my kitchen has changed.The first photo is from 2008. Nothing had been done in the kitchen and when I first started to do updates I never took before pictures. This is the only picture I could find that showed the wall paper, the cabinets, the floor, etc. It was like this from 2005-2011. Ignore the crazy outfit I'm wearing and say hi to the best dad in the world.

Now here it is painted red.

The white cabinets helped a lot.

The floor was updated in Feb 2015 and then the counters and backsplash Dec 2015. Here it is today with the new paint

It feels much brighter and larger. I am very happy with it. It seems more polished. I do have black curtains to put up over the window that have been there before but I'm also considering something else for that area. I'm sure if I do something different I will post a blog about it.

Updates to come soon

I've been going back and forth about my kitchen. I painted it red 5 years ago. It was a spur of the moment, half assed paint job. I didn't tape well, I never touched up where I got it on the ceiling or the molding and for 5 years I had part of wall not painted by the refrigerator.

I love the red but I look at it every day and it drives me crazy what a poor job I did. A lot of the changes that I have been making in the house are for me to enjoy but also to help it when I want to sell it in the future. So I decided that the red has to go .

With the white cabinets, and dark countertops I've decided on a neutral silver color. So today I broke out the gallon of Zinsser Mold Killing Primer and started to paint over the red. I don't have mold but I had it left over and figured it would be good to use in the kitchen.

I don't have as much free time as I used to so I plan to just do it in stages. Hopefully it will be be completely done in another couple of weeks and I'll have before and after photos to post! 

I'm also doing some thinking and researching of how to change the upstairs bathroom. Anyone who knew me between 07-10 knows what hell I went through with it and all of the changes that were made then were not approved or chosen by me. I can't do anything with the tile in the tub/shower area but I'm hoping to improve and finally finish other parts of it.

Back Splash

About two weeks ago we had beautiful counters and a new sink put it our kitchen. This left me wanting more. The back splash needed to be updated. I went back and forth on a lot of different options. I wanted something affordable and easy that I could do myself. I considered bead board, subway tile, and the beautiful mosaic glass tiles. All of these required more money and also more work than I wanted. I have a week off of work but I have more than one project I want to do this week. I needed something easy and affordable.

After a lot of looking on Pinterest I came upon Smart Tiles. They are peel and stick tiles that look like the expensive mosaic glass tiles. They are still quite pricey which is why I've only done the area around the sink and you will not see photos of the stove back splash. I will probably update that in another month or two.

I read a lot of blog posts from others who have used Smart Tiles and looked at a lot of photos. For an easy, affordable but not entirely cheap update they are a great option! These tiles are a 3D gel tile and easy to cut with both a razor or scissors!

First thing I had to do was rip off the silver wallpaper which was pretty easy. Then I cleaned it with a good degreaser. Blogs recommended TSP but I didn't have any so I just used the kitchen degreaser that we had on hand.Here is a bit of a before from this morning. Ignore the clutter, I hadn't started clearing off the counters yet.

Peeling away the silver.

 Another thing that will be updated are the outlets. They are old and almond colored. I bought new plates and outlets but I am nervous to try replacing them myself so I'm going to have my dad show me how.

This one is upside down and doesn't have a ground!

 

I started in this section first and it was very easy and went by pretty fast. 

 I continued on around to the next side of the wall. 

The area above the sink is where it got tricky. I had to do a lot of cutting and fitting in like a puzzle to get it to work. The area was 3 full pieces across but also left about 2 inches on one side open. So I had to cut other pieces and fit it in. Luckily, as I mentioned before these were easy to cut. 

 Above is the finished product! Below is a close up. I still need to add some trim around the base and along the edges of the wall. The current trim is almond/yellow on the edges and a little trim between the counter and the tile will hide any imperfections where it wasn't completely straight to the counter back splash.

Finally, I decided our counters were too messy and cluttered. We rarely use our toaster oven. I can't even tell you the last time I used it. So I decided to put it in the cabinet below so it's still accessible but not out on the counter. I also want to start making smoothies more so I put our fairly new blender in the corner. I also bought a tiny little gray basket to put our sponge and scrubbers in. They are still on the counter but I think it looks a bit more organized. 

New countertops!

Hello ! It's been a while since I've blogged. I started a new job on September 1st which has me working later days. So updates on the house dwindled. One great thing about the job is back when I interviewed with the company my husband told me that if I got the job we could get new counter tops and a faucet for the kitchen. Most of my home updates have been do it yourself and fairly budget/low cost. Counters are the biggest upgrade we have done...well other than the roof and the garage door but those were both necessary a not really blog worthy.

We decided to go for laminate because we have a small 3 bedroom ranch and don't plan on being in this house forever. The neighborhood we are in isn't bad but it isn't quite granite counter neighborhood. We're (I) am saving that for a future house. The wonderful thing about laminate nowadays is it is much nicer than years ago and has a stone look.

Since this was a bigger job, I opted to have Lowes do the tear out and install. Scheduling for this was quite a pain in the butt. They use subcontractors and the people were VERY nice but it was difficult and very frustrating to schedule both the measuring and the install. It all worked out.

Along with the countertop we got a new sink and a new faucet. My husband is pretty neutral on most of the home updates but since we don't have a dishwasher, a new higher, better faucet was definitely a welcome improvement that he was happy about.

Here are some before and after photos of the counters.

After putting in the  new counters I realized that the silver temporary wall paper back splash just wasn't cutting it. Here you can see what it originally looked like before I put the silver up. So I decided it was time to invest a little more money and update the back splash for real.

Patio is done!

My last post I mentioned wanting to work on a new patio. Well it's finally done!

Here is a quick before picture

The first step was removing the grass and digging up enough dirt to make it level. This was a big harder than expected. I had to recruit my husband to help me otherwise it would have taken much longer than I would have liked.

I ended up taking out TOO much dirt and had to fill it back in a bit and make sure it was all level. Then came the trip to Lowes. I bought a cobblestone Quikrete mold for my design and 4 80lb bags of cement. I'm proud to say I got that onto a cart, into my car, and then into my garage all on my own! Do you even lift bro? Yes, I do!

The next day I recruited my dad this time to help me with the cement. I didn't have a wheel barrow so he had to bring that over so we could mix the cement. This job could be done by one person but having two people definitely helps a lot! One person mixing while the other is putting it into the mold and smoothing it.

One of the first things we did before even mixing was trying to figure out placement of the mold. The are that we are doing was surrounded by other cement and not a normal square shape.

 Here you can see we went as far as we could with the mold. We tried turning it a bit and left a little area in the middle thinking we could try to get it to fit by the fence.

At this point we couldn't fit the mold anymore so we had to make the shapes elsewhere.At this point we were hot and tired. It was 90 degrees and had been a few hours. The work wasn't difficult but was labor intensive. For the last area we did the molds on cardboard in the middle of the yard.

You can buy dye for the cement to make it different colors. I bought the charcoal coloring but I didn't measure it out quite properly so you can see that the cement is mostly the light color with a few darker blocks in between. After all the cement has cured for the amount of time recommended (3-5) days it should be set. You can leave it how it is or you can fill the cracks. I don't want to be pulling weeds and wanted stability so I decided to fill it in.

I chose to use polymeric sand. It is expensive. It was $20 for a 40lb bucket verses about $3 for regular paver sand. Everything I have read is that this is the way to go. It hardens and fixes the joints of the blocks. It also helps prevent weed growth.

It reminds me a bit of grout. You don't want it to get on the blocks because it can stain the blocks. I wasn't too worried about staining but I did find it helped to pour it in with a small garden shovel and then smooth it with a paint brush. Then you wet it down. You have to make sure you don't make it too wet because then you wash the polymers out.

Once it was all done and set (72 hours) it should be done! I hope it's done! We moved the fire pit onto it. Not every block was completely level so we had to turn the fire pit a bit to get it to sit right but it wasn't too difficult.

Next up was chairs for the fire pit. I had old wrought iron white chairs that are over 10 years old in my garage. They are a bit rusty but I figured they would do. I cleaned them off and then bought some Rust OLeum Spray Paint. Blue and Orange for the Detroit Tigers. I sprayed the chairs and voila! Nice new chairs. I'm not sure how long it will last, I didn't prime it (I did buy primer & paint in one) but I figure for the rest of the season it will do.

Here are final pictures!

Future Projects

I have a lot of future projects that I would like to work on. I am trying to figure out how to prioritize them. Originally the next project that I wanted to do was sand and paint my old nightstand. In order to do that, I cleaned out the garage this past weekend so I could have a work space.

Doing so, I moved my patio table that I do not have room for on my porch, onto a small patch of grass in my yard. After doing some thinking and some research online, I've decide that I want to tear up that spot of grass and create a small patio.

a

 

As you can see from the picture above I have a very small porch. We have a nice fire place we got last fall as a wedding gift and have used that a bit this summer. My plan is to put down pavers or some sort of decorative stamped cement where the grass is in this photo and then put the fire place there and the patio table/umbrella up on the porch. 

I think this may be my project not this weekend but next weekend. 

If my mother ever comes home from Florida with her mini-van I hope to use that to bring over a large filing cabinet and a chest of drawers that my parents have in their basement. The filing cabinet I want to paint orange and stencil a D on for the Detroit Tigers. Lay it on it's side, put wheels on it, take out the drawers and use it as a yard tool organizer in the garage. I found this idea on Pinterest of course. 

The chest of drawers I want to sand and paint as well. We have a lot of old furniture that isn't quite my style but I think with some paint I can make more our style and update. 

Lastly, I really would like to lay new tile in our bathroom. Years ago the bathroom was renovated by someone who did not know what they were doing. It was out of my control, with no decisions approved by me. Natural stone was laid and never sealed. I didn't realize that natural stone had a special cleaner to use. So after years of not being sealed, cleaned properly and now me just being annoyed by it, I would like a new floor. 

I am considering doing the resilient vinyl tile like I did in the kitchen in the bathroom. I can lay it right over the tile and grout it. This project can wait until fall/winter since it's indoors. The others require good weather/outdoors.