Just call me Bob.
Vila that is. The original home renovation TV show, ah the good old days.
We are in full swing of dressing up the lake house. It has come so far from the days of drunken squatters (also called friends and friends of friends) sleeping on the nasty gray carpet, and it just keeps getting better. Of course, there's always something else to take care of, fix, update, and so on but I suppose that's half the fun.
A lot has been done this past week. In major projects, Scott installed new wood plank ceilings in the third bedroom (previously referred to as the storage room) and what I now call the "Master Bath." The kitchen is still to be completed, but it is the biggest of the jobs and may require a little assistance. We all have our limitations, and would like to keep the chiropractor bills reasonable.
The "Master Bath" has been the bane of my existence since the house was purchased. After several failed attempts at getting the folks from Save My Bath to come save my bath, it's become obvious that if it's to be, it's up to me. So, working with what we got I made a few small improvements and the net effect is drastic.
I scrubbed, re-caulked and purchased new bath organizers for the cast iron tub. That bitch is big and heavy, and the only way we are replacing it is with a crane. While I know the mens would enjoy that thoroughly, not currently in the budget.
I threw away the $7 flea market gold mirror circa 1967 and installed, what else, an Ikea bathroom cabinet. That alone was HUGE.
And now for the creativity...
The sconces on either side of the mirror were also gold (to match of course), and old as dirt. I bought new ones from the pottery barn outlet a year ago (yep, aspirations are long standing), but soon realized there was no switch on the new sconces to turn them on and off. Hmm. Electrical is not something we mess with in this house, less the super easy flush mount lighting replacements. Believe me, in a house this old with several ungrounded outlets and do it yourself electrical routing, you too would not want to play with wires.
I decided to update those gold beauties with spray paint. You would not believe the options available to one in spray paint these days. I got one sconce off the wall to paint outside, but the other one, with the switch, wasn't happening. So we built a box around it and, voila, inside spray painting. Note picture.
The bathroom is without a linen closet as well. Yours truly grabbed a wine rack (I have an abundance of these) and once again, magic! A stylish towel holder. Add to that a corner shelf and decorative yet functional baskets and now we have an almost renovated bathroom.
I still need to add a new door and replace the cabinet fixtures (did that in the kitchen last week, so pretty), but the fact that I actually want to shower (and will) in this bathroom is a first.
Several little improvements, but combined make one much better bathroom. The devil is in the details, and when you can't completely demolish and replace, think about the little things that end up making all the difference.
Onto the kicthen...
We are in full swing of dressing up the lake house. It has come so far from the days of drunken squatters (also called friends and friends of friends) sleeping on the nasty gray carpet, and it just keeps getting better. Of course, there's always something else to take care of, fix, update, and so on but I suppose that's half the fun.
A lot has been done this past week. In major projects, Scott installed new wood plank ceilings in the third bedroom (previously referred to as the storage room) and what I now call the "Master Bath." The kitchen is still to be completed, but it is the biggest of the jobs and may require a little assistance. We all have our limitations, and would like to keep the chiropractor bills reasonable.
The "Master Bath" has been the bane of my existence since the house was purchased. After several failed attempts at getting the folks from Save My Bath to come save my bath, it's become obvious that if it's to be, it's up to me. So, working with what we got I made a few small improvements and the net effect is drastic.
I scrubbed, re-caulked and purchased new bath organizers for the cast iron tub. That bitch is big and heavy, and the only way we are replacing it is with a crane. While I know the mens would enjoy that thoroughly, not currently in the budget.
I threw away the $7 flea market gold mirror circa 1967 and installed, what else, an Ikea bathroom cabinet. That alone was HUGE.
And now for the creativity...
The sconces on either side of the mirror were also gold (to match of course), and old as dirt. I bought new ones from the pottery barn outlet a year ago (yep, aspirations are long standing), but soon realized there was no switch on the new sconces to turn them on and off. Hmm. Electrical is not something we mess with in this house, less the super easy flush mount lighting replacements. Believe me, in a house this old with several ungrounded outlets and do it yourself electrical routing, you too would not want to play with wires.
I decided to update those gold beauties with spray paint. You would not believe the options available to one in spray paint these days. I got one sconce off the wall to paint outside, but the other one, with the switch, wasn't happening. So we built a box around it and, voila, inside spray painting. Note picture.
The bathroom is without a linen closet as well. Yours truly grabbed a wine rack (I have an abundance of these) and once again, magic! A stylish towel holder. Add to that a corner shelf and decorative yet functional baskets and now we have an almost renovated bathroom.
I still need to add a new door and replace the cabinet fixtures (did that in the kitchen last week, so pretty), but the fact that I actually want to shower (and will) in this bathroom is a first.
Several little improvements, but combined make one much better bathroom. The devil is in the details, and when you can't completely demolish and replace, think about the little things that end up making all the difference.
Onto the kicthen...
The end result...
Gold Beauty in a Box
more pics!
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