Are Those Angels I Hear?

We put the finishing touches on the master bathroom last night, moved our stuff in, and had our first complete morning routines this morning in the new bathroom. I hesitantly say the bathroom is done, although that seems very strange to say. Our projects are never completely done; there's always some small detail (or four) that needs finished. But on this project, I think I can say we're done, and it feels amazing.

The most important finishing touch was installing the mirrors, and I am so proud of us on this task. The original bathroom had a huge mirror, about 36" tall by 60" long. Instead of getting rid of it, we took it to the local glass service and had it cut down and polished to two mirrors 36" tall by 24" wide. This involved two cuts and polishing the edges. The total cost was $10. I can't imagine what we would have paid for two brand new mirrors that size. Not only did we save lots of dollars, we also kept a good usable product from going to the landfill. Yea!

Here is the vanity with the newly installed mirrors:
As for the morning routine, mine will get adjusted a bit, but in all it was a spectacular morning. That new shower made it much easier to get out of my warm bed this morning and head off to work. I guess the 2-hour delay due to snowy/icy roads helped a little, too.

Vanity is IN!!

It always seems like the small finish work takes the longest, so I am glad to report a major completion on our master bathroom - the vanity. This is the part I have been most excited about, and I am glad to say it well exceeded my expectations. I can't wait - here is the photo of the finished product:

For the vanity, Chad and I agreed on a furniture-style vanity. We researched our options at the local home improvement stores and online and couldn't believe the price for the quality of the product. So, we headed out last winter (probably about a year ago) to the Scott Antique Market in Columbus and found the perfect furniture piece for use as a vanity. It was a 1920's buffet/sideboard, about 5 feet long. Of course it came with an entire dining room set (table, 2 leaves, 6 chairs, and a hutch), but the price for the entire set was less than we would have paid for the single buffet on its own. Plus, it was less than the other vanity options we found, and this was an actual furniture piece! It is made out of real wood and has a real history. So cool!

Chad started working on the vanity last year when he sanded down the top, stained it, and coated it with 8 coats of spar-urethane, like polyurethane, but for waterproof applications. He cut holes on each end for the sink and faucets. Then, the vanity sat and waited for yesterday - its installation day.

Fairly easily and without leaks we were able to install both sinks and both faucets with few problems. Very little of the vanity needed cut to accommodate for the drain and water lines. With the exception for a little cut for the right sink drain, everything fit in the door compartments:

Once the plumbing was installed, the top drawers needed cut down for the drain pipe to the sink (they're now about 8 inches deep), and the bottom drawer needed a small cut out of a back corner, but otherwise it was an easy transition from furniture piece to bathroom vanity.

We found the vessel sink and matching faucets from Lowe's, and I think they really fit the look. The only problem we had was that for two "matching" faucets, one was quite a bit different than the other in its water line parts. It didn't make much sense to us, and it cost us a little extra time, but nothing too major.

I am in love with this vanity. It has lots of storage space, and is so classy looking. I just can't believe we pulled this off. In addition to the vanity, we did lots of other finish work this weekend - enough to keep us busy and to feel like there's really not a lot left. We even cleaned out the master bedroom in preparation for our work in there. Next weekend we will have our mirrors for above the vanity; hanging those should be IT!

Closet Organization

This past weekend was dedicated to getting our closets in the new master bathroom organized. Chad and I chose different features and layouts in our closets, but organized them with pieces from the Lowe's line of ClosetMaid products. I think we both found these products easy to put together. Chad got the more expensive line of organizers, so his were a bit higher quality. Each closet ended up being about 45 inches deep by 55 inches long.

Chad chose a corner shelf organizer with three racks going from the corner piece to the wall. I think he'd like to add a few hooks, but for the most part he's happy. He did say he could use a little more hanging space.






I fold most of my clothes, so I chose 12" by 12" cubes for both sides of the doorway. There are 12 cubes on the right (2 units with 6 cubes each), and 6 cubes (stacked in a single column) on the left. Under the 12 on the right, I got a shoe organizer the same width, so they stack. That left room along the back wall for two racks of hanging clothes. The bottom rack doesn't go all the way across so that I could hang dresses from the top rack. I haven't "moved in" to my new closet yet, so I'm not sure how it will work yet, but I'm hopeful it will be great.

After we had all of the elements in our closets, Chad installed the newly stained and polyurethaned closet doors. That didn't go as smoothly as he would have liked, but they are at least in. The only thing that needs done on those is a little repair work. Chad put the knobs in the wrong location (bifold doors - tricky), then the screws were too short for the thickness of the door. It was rough for a little while, but we/he made it. It may seem strange to have painted woodwork and stained doors, but it matches the rest of the upstairs, especially the adjoining bedroom.

In other touches, we added a towel rack above the toilet and next to the shower for easy shower access. We considered an option we found online, but we saw this at Bed Bath & Beyond for a better price, so we went with it.

The progress this past weekend puts us approximately one weekend away from completing this project. This weekend - installing the vanity.

Privacy

Thank goodness for snow days - I've had two this week (Tuesday and Wednesday) and have used the time somewhat wisely. Granted, snow days aren't packed full of activity, but I try to take advantage of the extra time. It's funny, one year ago this week I had three snow days (followed by three more the following week) during which I stripped the woodwork in the guest bedroom. I can't say I was nearly as ambitious this year, but I can report progress.

The completion I am most excited about is applying decorative window film to the window in the master bathroom. This window is really cool - rectangular on the bottom and rounded on the top - nothing I'd ever want to cover up with a curtain. But, since it's a straight shot to the new shower and toilet, I had to do something about the privacy issue.

I considered using frosted spray paint, but I'm not a good spray painter. It tends to gob up in places, and I was concerned about an even coat (mom said she had the same problem). I decided against frosted contact paper because it always sticks in places I don't want it to, plus the air bubbles - ugh. Instead, I found decorative window film at the Home Depot. It's quite a bit more expensive than contact paper ($20 a roll), but worth the extra money.

How it works: Cut the window film (it's paper backed) down to size with a utility knife. Apply water mixed with a little dish soap to the window with a sprayer or sponge. Peel the backing from the film, and apply to the window. The liquid underneath allows for correct positioning, then use the squeegie (sorry about the spelling) provided with the film to remove the excess liquid. It can be removed and re-applied if it needs cut down (although I made sure it fit before I peeled off the backing). I do recommend not trying to re-stick it to the paper backing if you remove it from the window. I tried that once to make a small adjustment and part of the backing ended up sticking to the film and was a mess to fix.

I was really worried about how this small project would go, but it was awesome! I moved quickly through the rectangular pieces, but the rounded pieces slowed me down a bit. I ended up using wax paper (because it's so flexible) to get a pattern for the four rounded panes. I used that pattern to trace onto the film, then cut with the utility knife. I learned that scissors also cut the film and were helpful on those rounded sides. I made sure to dry fit each special piece and cut down where needed before removing the paper backing.

I'm really happy with the result and am glad to have privacy for the shower/toilet area. I like that it lets in the same amount of light, but I don't have to worry about a curtain to cover up that neat window. The window from a distance:
And the film/texture close up:

This film is sold in many patterns and textures, but this one is the only semi-clear one available (it's called Champagne). The others are all patterned or stained glass.

In addition to the window film, I also applied two coats of stain to the closet doors we special ordered. They've been waiting for stain for a long time, and I finally got there yesterday and today. I applied the first coat yesterday, but it just didn't seem to fit the richness and color we were looking for. After a second coat today they are perfect. As always, this small project took longer than I had expected (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours per set of doors both days). After polyurethane, they'll be ready to install.

I Heart Boston

I mentioned in my last post that my sister and I spent a weekend in Boston two weeks ago. Neither one of us had been, so it was a new experience for both of us. Until this trip, my favorite city was San Francisco, but Boston may have given it some competition. Like San Francisco, it is easy to get around by either foot or by public transportation, but it didn't seem quite as large as San Francisco, so you could see more in a day.

By far, my favorite part of the trip was visiting the old neighborhoods and gawking at the old houses. Boston is such an old and historic city, little (and big) nuggets of architecture are everywhere. I've never seen so many brick row houses - but all with their own unique features - and in gorgeous condition. And these neighborhoods went on for blocks and blocks and stretched through several parts of the city that we visited. It was just amazing.

This is the first house I laid my eyes on, but when I look at the photo I'm not sure what made this house so special. I think it's because it's the first house I saw, and had no idea the amazing houses that I would see over the next four days of the trip.




This is one of the most amazing houses we saw on our walks, and it's the back and side of the house! I'm not sure what happens in this house today, but can you imagine who must have built this house and lived here originally? It is located in the Back Bay area of the city, just west of downtown.

The area of Charlestown is just north of Boston (within walking distance) and it's the location of the Bunker Hill Monument. This was one of my favorite spots of the trip. We walked through neighborhoods of old row houses to reach the monument, where you could see the city in the background behind the old houses.

The Italian neighborhood, just north of downtown Boston, had street after street of Italianate-style row houses. Many of the houses had restaurants, groceries, or shops at the street level, then I assume residents on the upper floors. We had dinner here one night at a fantastic Italian restaurant.



The Beacon Hill neighborhood really took me back in time. I could imagine the gas lights on the streets and houses. It also had an area of shops and restaurants, but it was mainly residential. It was also quite hilly - another reminder of San Francisco.

I hope you don't mind my quick Boston re-cap, but it was an amazing trip. It was cold (and rainy one day), but we didn't mind at all. It was a great chance to escape the house for a weekend, but also gaze at some amazing houses and architecture.

Off The Wagon...

... at least for a couple of weekends and for good reasons. It seems like forever since I've posted and since we've worked on the house. Chad spent a weekend out of town, I spent a weekend out of town (I'll post about my trip to Boston soon), and this week and weekend I've come down with a terrible cold/sickness.

The last I posted, we were working on staining and polyurethaning the newly refinished bathroom floors. After my mis-judgment of polyurethane drying times, Chad and I were able to get the three coats of polyurethane on the floor in two days (without sanding in between :) ), which seemed to meet the newly modified drying schedule. We ended up doing each coat about 8 hours apart; it took about that long for each coat to dry completely. The floor is now finished and we are quite happy with the results:
We had never refinished floors, but we saw a recent episode of Ask This Old House in which Tom Silva helped a homeowner refinish her kitchen floor. He had a great suggestion - the first two coats of polyurethane should be a gloss finish, because it is the strongest finish and will hold up to wear the best. Then, the third and final coat should be the sheen you want. When we started the floor project, our intent was to do the first two coats in gloss, but then do the final coat in satin. But, after the first two coats of gloss we really kind of liked the look, so we went with gloss for the final coat. It looks nice and another plus - we saved money on the second gallon of satin polyurethane that we can return to Lowe's (the best part of all).