The year in remodeling

[pjthompson]

After posting the pictures of the kitchen paint job yesterday it occurred to me that one really positive aspect of 2007 was that we did a lot of remodeling—both big jobs and small, by ourselves and hiring people. It started off small, buying new light fixtures and the like, because we couldn't really afford the big things. Both my bathroom and the roommate's were in really bad shape, but we were just going to have to live with them.

Then the floor of the roommate's shower (one of those prefab stalls) caved in on her. We didn't have any choice about fixing it then. So we decided that if we had to spend the money, we'd get a modest home loan and do both bathrooms and if there was anything left, get some painting done, et al.

Again, I didn't take too many before pictures, but here's the gallery of changes.





New shelf for the sitting room.



New light fixtures for my bathroom.



Tearing up the hideous brown carpet in my hall to reveal the hardwood floors beneath. This was actually taken after my bathroom floor had been redone but before any painting. Please note the ugliness of the walls.



A similar shot after painting. I did the bathroom and hall in this rich gold with white trim everywhere, and white ceilings. It made the space look much bigger.



Moody night shot showing the door to my section of the house and the new light fixture to match the ones in the bathroom.



Spiffy new hamper (because the green faux wicker hamper wasn't cutting it anymore—besides, Min had worked her claw-sharpening magic on it).



Etagere we assembled to go over the hamper since I needed more storage place. Ironically, I purchased this etagere three or four years ago to put up in my old apartment and never got it put together. We had to build a stand for it so that the open space in the middle was the right height to leave access to the light switch in that part of the hall.



Etagere detail. The light switch is out of sight behind the travel soap pack.



We didn't bolt the cabinet to the wall. We bolted it to the base we made so that if we decided to move it, we could. This was very fortunate because once we had it assembled and in place we remembered that...



The door to the attic stairs was in the ceiling there and the whole shebang will have to be moved when we need to get into the attack. Color us redfaced.



Looking into the bathroom from the hall.



Window and shower curtain. (Guess that was obvious, huh?)



Cabinet and towel rack. (I'm sure you couldn't have figured that out on your own.)



Detail of the tile work in the shower. I always wanted black and white tile work in a bathroom!



The old sink was one of those boxy icky crappy ones. I love this one.



And here's a self-portrait with the yards and yards of mirrors in the bathroom.

I may post a real self-portrait one of these days if I can build up the nerve.



P.S. We are now out of money. :-(

Comments

[wldhrsjen3.livejournal.com]

Wow - you have done so much! It's amazing how little details (er, and lots of money) can totally change the look and feel of a space, isn't it? I love what you've done!

::frowns at boring bedroom walls and white bathroom walls:: I think I've got some work to do this year...

[wldhrsjen3.livejournal.com]

Oh, and YES! Show us a portrait! :D

[pjthompson]

::works on nerve::

[pjthompson]

Thanks! We didn't set out to do so much, but one thing leads to another...And yes, it's amazing how just a little paint can make such a big difference. And colors! Everything in the place was "Navajo White" boring. The colors really perked up our mood.

[hominysnark.livejournal.com]

AAAIEEEE!!! Where's your head??!?!

I love the bathroom, especially the tilework and the shower curtain.

[pjthompson]

AAAIEEEE!!! Where's your head??!?!

Sucked into the 11th dimension. It took me forever to get it back out again, but it could have been worse. (There's a visual here if you're reading from email.)

I love the bathroom, especially the tilework and the shower curtain.

Thanks. I'm totally in love with it, too.

[kmkibble75.livejournal.com]

That is all simply gorgeous... I'm in awe!

[pjthompson]

Thank you! You know, looking back at it all in these pix, I'm a little in awe myself. :-) (Remember, though, we paid people to do most of this. It wouldn't have gotten so far along if we'd been strictly do it ourselfers.)

[kmkibble75.livejournal.com]

You should hang the photos all around your place, if for no other reason than to remind Min how good she has it now...

[pjthompson]

lol--she's the total Princess of All She Surveys and probably wouldn't believe me. There's always more the servants can do for a princess.

[merebrillante.livejournal.com]

You're so skinny, but you have no head! What happened to your head!?!

The tile work is just incredible. Two thumbs and two big toes up on that stuff. And lordy, the hardwood floor is gorgeous.

Did you install the lighting fixture yourselves? I did that once, and it was one of the hardest jobs I'd ever undertaken. Part of the problem was that I was doing it all on my own. My future ex-husband had kept handing me excuses why he couldn't help, so I just threw the main breaker, took down the old fixture and went to town.

[pjthompson]

You're so skinny, but you have no head! What happened to your head!?!

Sucked into the mirror sucking vortex. It took many incantations to get it back out again and unfortunate I plumped up some in the process. Dang.

And lordy, the hardwood floor is gorgeous.

I love my hardwood floors. That same hardwood runs through at least 2/3 of the house and has been covered in carpets probably since the house was built in the late 40s. And the carpet was laid down in the 80s and is hid-e-ous. We're slowly pulling it up, but it's a job and a half. We've got to fill in some nail holes (whoever laid the 80s carpet didn't bother to put down new padding, just nailed some new stuff on top and went nail crazy) and polish it. Not sure I want to urethane. I don't need or necessarily like sparkly shiny hardwood, but I do want to protect what's there.

Did you install the lighting fixture yourselves?

No. We're both afraid of electricity and I can believe it was one of the hardest jobs! :-) We lucked out and got a freebie installation on the bathroom one and got a (mostly un-) handyman for the hall one. This same handyman painted over the ivory fixture in the bathroom, even though we bought a new white face plug to match the new white face plate, so we'll have to have an electrician out again one of these days, but whatever. There's a lot of stuff I'll mess with, but as I said, electricity scares me.

[inkbabies.livejournal.com]

I love your bathroom!!!!!!
everything looks great!
I wish I'd seen your post before I started on my bathroom!

[pjthompson]

Thank you! We're going to Home Depot later to check out the "slate."

[purdypiedad.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous!!!

[pjthompson]

Thanks!

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

Wow! You've done (and hired out ;-) )fantastic work. Your bathroom is so chic!

[pjthompson]

Thank you. All those hours watching design shows paid off, I guess. ;-) Seriously, I just wanted some color on the walls. Coming from a white on white apartment to "Navajo white" walls was making me crazy.

[geniusofevil.livejournal.com]

yay on the pretty! boo on the no money!

but you did a very very nice job!

[pjthompson]

Thank you. It's amazing how the pretty can lift your spirits, even if you're broke afterwards. :-)