Phase One: Complete!

On Monday I shared with you our plans for getting the Downstairs bathroom/ laundry room renovated. I am happy to say, phase one went off without a hitch. Want to see some super boring progress pictures? (Furnaces aren't that sexy).

To truly illustrate the change, here's the new view from the side.

You can see we managed to get about two feet of space we can incorporate in to the bathroom which is just the right size for a door.

A little something like this. Well, almost. The contractor comes Tuesday to demo the existing wall and frame out the new wall and door. Which is great, because I'm almost done making over my closet and I'll need a new project. More on that to come. Let's just say I'm loving the new changes!

Cheers!

The Time Has Come

I took these pictures of the laundry room on November 19th of last year.

Yikes. It got better at first, but like every room that doesn't have a clear organizational process it quickly devolved. Not any more though. Welcome to our newly cleaned out laundry room.

Come on in.

Straight ahead, the back door.

Look to your Right. Notice the lack of shelving and clutter.

Look to your left. Water heater. Ohh fancy.

Turn the corner to view the newly cleaned off ledge. Junk free is how life should be.

Here's a better view of our server, furnace, and the door to the second bath. Weird right?

For those of you who like visuals, here's an aerial sketch. 

What are we going to do now? How nice of you to ask! Since day one I have wanted to do something about the fact that you have to navigate the Laundry room just to use the bathroom. Add to that the fact that our Laundry room is officially considered "unfinished" space and thus is not counted in to the square-footage value of the house. So, as the title implies, the time has come! 

Here's the general breakdown of the project.

1. Move the furnace
2. Move the wall
3. Demo tile in bathroom
4. Fix shower? Possibly relocate
5. Storage

This might make things clearer.

Not that this is to scale but you can see we'll be swapping a smaller Laundry room for a larger bathroom (which I would prefer). We haven't exactly nailed down the plans for the bathroom since most of them depend on what we find in the demo. After remodeling the kitchen I've learned not to plan around any one aspect until you know exactly what is underneath. 

Much more to come. The furnace guys come on Thursday and then our carpenter will be here next week so we should have a better idea about what we have to work with soon. Until then, I'll keep dreaming about bathrooms. 

Cheers! 

Sweet Dreams

I blogged about ordering our new bed last week but I thought I'd let you see it in it's natural habitat.

I love the way the light streams through it. It is a total plus not to be leaning against the cold window any more too. Who would have thought a headboard would have made me warmer.

Of course this opens up all sorts of issues like curtains, night stands, and flooring, but for now I'm enjoying this little upgrade.  And to illustrate just how much space we gained with the kitchen rearranging

You can see that we used to have about a foot of space between the bed and the wall. This is much better. Still tossing flooring ideas around but for now we just have to live with it (weird plug in the middle of the room and all).

Cheers!

Front Yard Progress: Hedge Edition

Who doesn't love a dramatic before and after? I've already shown you the first phase of this project (here) but I thought a little picture by picture run down would be fun. 

To begin: The view from the street right after we moved in.

First phase: Remove that ugly rusted fence and hateful juniper bushes. Juniper in Gin? Great. In my front yard? Not for me. 

Phase two: Trees. Buh-Bye

Phase three: Planting!

Last Wednesday the guys from NurseryTrees.com planted five English Laurels. I now am the proud owner of shrubbery. We chose Laurels for their reputation for their look and speedy growth. Soon (about 5 years) we should have a nice tall hedge that provides privacy but doesn't block the view. It will be great to have a usable front yard instead of the monster pit from before. 

Here's one more just to compare: 

I'd say it's an improvement.

Cheers!

Carpe Carpet

Seize the carpet! Let me just say that I have been dying to start this project since about the day we moved in. All of the carpet in the house was dirty and stained and well, just plain gross. Even though it has been a year and a month (exactly, isn't that weird) since I started my carpet eradication and repainted the stairs I am happy to say we are officially carpet free!

I give you, the office

 And the Guest bed

I'm currently playing with the way things are arranged. I haven't decided what I want to do headboard wise or what the best orientation is but at least it is in one piece again right Mom?

More to come! We are currently having a flooring debate. Since the hardwoods are not likely salvageable we've laid all options on the table. Carpet? Cork? New hardwoods? They all have pros and cons and we are not in a hurry to decide. I'm leaning towards carpet for the warmth but after tearing up that nasty old carpet I wonder how it would look. What do you think about carpet? Love it or hate it?

Cheers!

Worth The Wait

I think the most frustrating thing about buying a house in need of some "work" is just how much there is to still do. Sometimes I envy people who bought move in ready homes or, well, basically any home that had been taken care of. I feel like so much of my time and energy in this house is focused on trying to fix the little things that aren't quite as glamorous. That being said I can't get too far down because I love our house and would choose it again in a heart beat (and well I own my own home which makes me pretty fortunate). You have to love potential right?

Since we've been spending most of our time and money on big projects I don't often get to focus on the fun little details that can really bring a room together. And let's face it, when you are living with open walls and torn up flooring it is kind of hard to imagine what the right chair is for the space.

So, for the last two years we've been bed-less. Ok, so we have a bed, but it consists mainly of a mattress and shin gouging boxpring. Why have we gone this long without a buying a bed? One word people, compromise. I had been dreaming of a gorgeous tufted headboard along these lines.

Spaces design by Toronto Interior Designer Meredith Heron

Beautiful right? I even love the whole color scheme. What did Daniel want? Something metal (preferably salvaged). His reasoning? Our bed is against the window and a solid headboard would block the light. My reasoning? We never open the blinds so who cares if we block the light I just want to be comfortable. Alas, that did not win him over. So I searched and searched but everything was too expensive or just not right (and after the couch debacle I have to be double sure before any big purchase is approved). Luckily I'm a patient girl.

I was cruzing Overstock.com while taking a bath (which is where I do the majority of my shopping and reading-thank you iPad) and happened on this beauty. Not too feminine, not to masculine, still lets light through. Check, check, check.

I practically leaped out of the bath and ran soaking wet to show Daniel. Miracles of miracles he liked it! Still, after waiting so long I was hesitant. After about three weeks I still knew I wanted it and Daniel still said he liked it so I figured, all systems go. Then, up popped a 10% off coupon and I couldn't resist any more. So 10% off, free shipping (which was a huge deal since large items usually have a hefty delivery fee) and no tax brought the price tag to just over $300. Score!

Delivery date is Monday! Can't wait to show it off in it's new home!
Cheers!