The Angels Must Be Smiling Today

I know I am. Because after 2 long months? I have my bathroom back. Yes, the bathroom remodel from hell (is there any other kind?) is finally complete.

Some background:

1997, I set out to redecorate our second bath, which was cheerily wallpapered with dancing teddy bears in primary hues. I had one child; a well behaved tyke who took long naps well into his fifth year.

It was not an unreasonable goal.

It didn't take me long to realize that the former owners, who had an unhealthy love of wallpaper, had apparently put it up over bare drywall and thus, the wretched stuff had become one with the wall itself. I scored and steamed and peeled for eons.

I lost a lot of my enthusiasm long about the third week. The rest of it disappeared when, after SIX coats, I still could not achieve a uniform coat of the fire engine red I had chosen for the bottom half of the wall (to compliment the nautical stencil I planned to use).

Being a new homeowner and a home improvement neophyte, I didn't realize that primer would have solved this problem.

You think somebody might have mentioned it.

About that time, my sister, who had been living in Wyoming with her husband, called to tell me that her husband had gotten the job in Atlanta and they would be moving to town the following week. And by the way, could they stay with us while they looked for a house?

The following week would be spent clearing out the bonus room where they would be staying. There was clearly no way the bathroom would get completed before they arrived. They would just have to use it as is.

Frankly, it was a bit of a relief. I needed a break. I figured after they left I would resume the project with a fresh outlook and renewed enthusiasm.

Six months later, they found a place to live. And shortly before they moved out, I found out I was pregnant with Diminutive One. My pregnancy was hard. And the post pregnancy part...you know...parenting? Has been even harder, as you may know, if you've been reading my blog for any length of time.

As a result, the remodel got put on hold. For ten years.

Now we want to sell the house, and are trying to address some of the more prevailant issues. A persistent leak had caused the subfloor to rot in places and the linoleum to warp and discolor. And it was ugly. If I were a prospective buyer, that bathroom would have sent me shrieking into the night.

I didn't think to take pictures before we began to dismantle, but I do have one taken after we had begun.



Note the quality and craftsmanship of the construction grade vanity. Regretfully, I did not get a picture of the spectacularly cheap and ugly light fixture, so my ecstasy over the new one might seem a little excessive to you. But it's not. Trust me. It's not.

Our goal was to address the plumbing issues and to make it look attractive, without sinking a buttload of money into it. And I think we did really well.

• Paint, primer and polyurethane: $85


• Peel n'stick vinyl tile: $30


• Wall covering: $12


• New light fixture: $30


• Hardware (knobs, hinges, toilet tissue holder, doorknob, towel hooks, doorstop): $30


• Toilet seat: $20


• Toilet accessories (tank and floor bolts, washers, wax ring): $15


• Assorted caulks and compounds: $20


• New baseboards and quarter round: $15


• New subfloor and new toilet flange installed: $200

The chair rail was purchased ten years ago for the first remodel and never used. The shower curtain and accessories I bought six months ago on sale at Wal-Mart. I guess I should include that in the total, but I'm not.

The toilet was disgusting, and I wanted to ditch it. But husband was insistent that it was in good shape and just needed a good detailing. He was right. It looks brand new.

The vanity was terribly ugly, but essentially sound, so we decided not to replace it. A little paint and new hardware does wonders, as you will see.

So, for a grand total of $457, this is what we accomplished:
(click images for larger view.)



(I included this picture because in the upper left hand corner you can see the rope detail that made in absolutely insane. I tend to be a perfectionist, you see, and sloppiness can be my mental undoing)





Now, sharing my bathroom with two boys, if you don't have boys, is truly disgusting. I haven't cleaned it since we started because there is simply no point. The boys are sick of having to walk downstairs to pee in the middle of the night. We are all ready for this project to be finished and now it is.

The problem is, that now I don't want them in there because it looks so nice, even with no decorative touches whatsover as yet.

I ordered the prints below from ebay for $6.95 and have super cheap frames from the dollar store that I'm going to spray paint silver to match the fixtures and hardware. I think they will add a nice touch.

And so...me and those angels? We're really friggin happy. They must have boys too.