Nearly Finished!!

When you embark on a remodel, there are loads of details to sort out including the extras. It will not be much of a stretch for you to imagine, in our home, that would include something bird related. Agreed? I had to return one thing to Ross and am I glad that I did because instead of what I purchased, I found this little cutie who Bruce turned around to look out the window.

With the sun pouring in, I think we can all agree that he is indeed cute. Not everything is new including the candle holders that go way back. Most of the decorating is complete, however, we still have to find some shelving we like because, what's a room without shelving? Dull in my opinion!

When last I wrote, Daniel was working on the floor which he actually did fairly quickly, leaving a portion to complete on his fifth day working here. Yup, five days I had to stay close to home because he worked very, very, slowly. He told Herbert it would take three, which set us back a bit, however, we cannot complain about the job he did because it looks great.  The tile on the tub face went on very quickly and I am delighted with the results. He then set up for grouting,

and I held my breath, hoping that I'd chosen a good color. In fact, he began applying it and at first I was afraid it was too dark.

In the end though, it is perfect. Okay, with Daniel's work done, Herbert and Eli returned and put the pedal to the metal. He installed a small light over the toilet, closed in anything that was open, and fixed a little bit of Daniel's mistake on the privacy wall. While that was going on, I began the shower curtain by laying out four yards of each color on the living room floor.

Originally I was planning on going horizontal with the colors, however our neighbor Jane Lou came over and convinced me otherwise. As she spent her career as an interior designer, I listened. I cut 100" pieces and sat down to sew with the intention of making french seams in order to encase the raw edges. Good plan, but I messed it up because I'd already hemmed one side and the seam ended up on the front side. I'll quit while I am ahead with explaining it because most folks don't know what the heck I'm talking about anyway. Suffice it to say that I put it together without hemming until we could figure out the best length. 

Once the floor went in, next came the baseboards and boy did Herbert do an excellent job with them, cutting the pieces in the back yard. 

Look how nicely they turned out.

And there, my friends is the glorious green paint which I'm afraid is not getting the love it deserves. For those who've seen it in person, most folks rave about the floor or the cabinets, all of which I love, but it is the Clary Sage paint that brings it all together. 

Green was my first love when it comes to color before orange reigned supreme in my heart. In our home we used "Hearts of Palm", Dancing Green, and Sweet Caroline to name a few shades of green. Note how dull that white paint looks and how comfy cozy the green does.

Before the room felt cavernous with such light walls, but that feeling is no more. As with all of their work, they did an exceptional job with the painting. My excitement was mounting as the finish line was nearly in sight. 

Bruce put the track on the shower ceiling, 

and then we tried the curtain. I have to admit it is the weak link in this remodel, but because they are so hard to find in 90 X 90, this was my best option. For now, anyway. I'll show it  momentarily but first there were lots more details to finish. Such as the most functional part of a bathroom and that, of course, is the plumbing. Herbert was not looking forward to tackling that part and who could blame him as he had to squeeze into the cabinet to get to it!

Astonishing really because he is not such a small man! He found the old plumbing a fat mass. Note the convoluted copper tubing in the photo below on the upper right.

Not only is he a sturdy man, he's also as strong as an ox which came in handy when he had to  remove the old tub drain. That's another thing we love about Herbert, he does not give up easily and with all the strength he could muster, he succeeded. 

While Herbert was wrestling with the tub, Eli was hanging the lights!! All the pretty stuff was happening now.

Now what? The vanity sink fixtures is what. Herbert got all the parts sorted out on the floor.

It was now that I just couldn't stay away and kept watching what I could because, let's face it, I'm the curious type.

Not to mention that I was finally seeing the counter top. Mastering the first one, the second one went in smoothly. Just after 5PM on Friday, following a thorough tidying up, Herbert and Eli took their leave. Oh my gosh!! Bruce was down at the lake for his evening chit chat with Dave H. and when he came home, he went to work putting the finishing touches into place, including the mirrors, towel holders, that sort of thing. We never even ate the dinner I made because we were so excited.

It might have been that night that he hung the shower curtain in order for us to test the length.

Please note the hanging towel because it is awesome with the puffy circles. Finding two of them at Marshalls, I could not leave the store without them. Speaking of shopping, I did more of that in the last six weeks than I did the entire previous year as it seemed like we were always needing one thing more. 

In the morning I ran a wet rag over the cabinets, only to discover that the paint was not quite set and that would be because we learned the hard way that sample paint is not really true paint. Shall I say that he was not exactly a happy camper, having to take the hardware off and re-paint? Indeed.

Not ideal, but it took far less time than he imagined. We took the opportunity to purchase all sorts of organizing containers for our stuff as well as move stuff around. Having moved in nearly three years ago we put stuff where we thought it should go and have since learned that perhaps there was a better way. 

After pickleball I hemmed the curtain and we cut the plastic curtains (it takes two for width) that hangs behind it and up they went.

Weak link for sure, but it should be noted that we keep the curtain open unless showering, so that is some consolation. 

While I thought the Bathtub Guys were coming today, I thought wrong, however they will be here in the morning to paint the tub a white that I hope will go nicely with the wall tile. I am crazy for that vertical stacked tile. Maybe not as much as I love the floor tile, but darn close. 

The final photo of the sickly yellowish tub. (taken as Bruce was preparing to put some frosted  sticky paper on the lower windows as our custom shade no longer fit.)

And here is the other side of the room with the Bruce-made medicine cabinet blending in beautifully as well as the Bruce-made raised cabinets!!

The counter top turned out to be perfect. Got that rug on sale at Marshalls too. 

Now wasn't that fun? 

I keep walking in there to feast my eyes on what I'm finding so wonderful. My vision brought to life by the artisans who made the tile, my darling husband, Herbert, Eli, Daniel, and let's not forget the clerks who wait on us at the various stores. Plus the delivery drivers! Wow, it takes a whole heck of a lot of people to transform a room doesn't it?

This morning the sunrise was coming in and casting such a golden glow over everything. 

And now my elbow is much improved so that I am able to play pickleball again. Life is good.

your friend,

Gail 

p.s. Should you have forgotten what it looked like before, check back to this post.