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Search Results for: label/Big D

{Big Box Bathroom} Day 2

October 6, 2014

Monday morning rolled around way too fast over here…what about you? Between the State Fair of Texas and a local Art Festival, we had a great weekend full of family fun, and fried food! I think I have a junk food hangover this morning!

Things moved quickly last week on our Big Box Bathroom remodel...in fact, our rockstar-contractor is virtually done with his part…and now it’s up to us to finish it off. Even though it’s exciting to see the progress unfold every day on this end, I know it doesn’t make for pretty posts. But I also know many of you like the details of these types of projects, so I wanted to be sure and document the steps and decisions we faced along the way. And Day 2 was a busy one!

Once the demo was complete, we decided to go ahead and paint the ceiling and walls. The thinking was, it’d go faster since we wouldn’t have to tape it off or cut around trim, nor would we have to worry about drips and splatters on our brand new tile. It ended up not really helping much, since the rest of the remodel process is so messy, we’ll have to go back and paint some areas again. I put my best child-laborer on the job.

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom Remodel, Days 2 & 3

Day 2 started with new (dry!) wet board being installed in the shower stall, followed by the tile.

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom Remodel, Days 2 & 3

I sketched the cut-out I wanted for shampoo bottles and soap, and they created the area between studs. Yay for no more parade-of-bottles on the edge of the tub!

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom Remodel, Days 2 & 3

You may have noticed the sliver of window in the Before shots…well, we beefed it up by framing it out with 3-inch trim. Now instead of being awkward, it will be part of the room’s design.

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom Remodel, Days 2 & 3

My intent was to paint the trim white, but now I’m kind of digging the raw wood against the shiny tile. The design board also called for the shower tile to be laid on a herringbone pattern, but I was concerned that would get too busy…not to mention, more time-consuming to install…so I went with Allen + Roth 4×12 white subway tile in a brick pattern. The larger size cuts down on the number of grout lines, which is less busy on the eye, and easier for me to clean later!

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom Remodel, Days 2 & 3

With only a single small window, the room can be pretty dark, so they installed two recessed lights (on dimmers!) in the ceiling, along with a jumbo-sized fan. For some reason the bathroom didn’t have a ventilation fan, and I’m not taking any chances with that gorgeous wallpaper! (I’ll paint the fan the same color as the ceiling.)

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom Remodel, Days 2 & 3

They also cut new holes and re-wired the wall for sconces. (Reason #87 we are grateful for professional help on this project!)

Remember we had a wonky, wobbly toilet…and they had to jackhammer the floor? Well, they re-installed the toilet thingie at the proper depth, and filled the surrounding hole with fresh concrete. (Reason #92)

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom Remodel, Days 2 & 3

In the meantime, they cut the 1/4-inch thick sheets of plywood in to 8-inch strips, and primed them. These will later be used to panel the bottom two-thirds of the walls.

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom Remodel, Days 2 & 3

We special-ordered this Roth + Allen vanity from Lowes, and I’m thrilled with the quality! It’s solid wood with dovetail joints, and even though it means we have to tile the entire floor, I love how it sits high like a piece of furniture. Not to mention, it almost doubles the storage space of the previous vanity.

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom Remodel, Days 2 & 3

It was a creamy-white, so we sprayed it the same bright white as the rest of the room. You can’t really see it, but they also added a piece of trim to the left-side edge so it will sit flush against the bathroom wall once the top is added.

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom Remodel, Days 2 & 3

I’m not sure what hardware I’ll use on it, so they puttied over the holes, as well.

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom Remodel, Days 2 & 3

They finished out the day by taking the shower tile all the way to the ceiling.

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bath remodel Day 2

Now the shower feels twice as big! And I’m crazy about the dark paint against the white tiles!

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bath remodel Day 2

What do you think about the wood tones? Should I leave them with just a clear seal, or paint them white? Can you even believe the transformation of this room in only two days?!

Follow along from the beginning:
The Big Box Bathroom Challenge
Before
Plans & Inspiration
The Design Board
Day 1

*** For those of you asking about my rockstar-contractor, I highly recommend
Classic Kitchens & Baths (214-349-5999)! But be patient,
affordable greatness like theirs books up fast! ***


by Cassie 
36 Comments
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Bathrooms

 

 

{Big Box Bathroom} Day 1

September 30, 2014

Things are moving along quickly with the Big Box Bathroom remodel…so far, my rockstar-contractor has done most of the actual work, while I squeal and take pictures. It’s not every day we remodel a bathroom, so I’m trying to document the work by day, so you can follow along with the steps and progress. Today is all about Day One…the demolition!

It’s funny how once I stripped the little guest/kids bath of any accessories, it looked like it was beat with the homely stick. Seriously, shield your eyes because these pictures might burn your retina. #exaggerator

 Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom makeover Day 1

Since we’re planking part of the walls (see the design board here), I painted over most of the stripes so the color wouldn’t show through the cracks between boards.

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom makeover Day 1

That is one bad-looking floor, right?! You thought I was kidding about the whole Brittany Spears/gas station/barefoot thing! But awful Before shots, make for dramatic Afters…so enjoy!

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom makeover Day 1

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom makeover Day 1

When we pulled the toilet out, we discovered why it never sat level with the floor…the opening was about an inch taller than the tile! #doh

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom makeover Day 1

Once we had the room prepped, my rockstar-contractor came in and ripped out the floors, shower tile, vanity, and mirror. No turning back now!

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom makeover Day 1

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom makeover Day 1

In order for the new toilet to sit properly, he had to jackhammer the concrete so the base could be lower. This was the first of many times to come I was grateful we admitted our DIY limitations for this project!

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom makeover Day 1

Next they pulled out the wet board from around the shower. The previous tile hadn’t been installed properly, so there was some water damage. The tub is the only thing we salvaged, so it’s covered for protection from flying concrete and tile.

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom makeover Day 1

The hot and cold water knobs in the shower didn’t work properly, and continually leaked, so we decided to convert them to a single valve. Reason #2 I’m grateful for professional help….blow torches!

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom remodel Day 1

Finally, we sketched out the vanity and mirror location so we’d know where the sconces needed to be wired. Normally you can wait for this step until the vanity is in place, but because of the planking, we had to make the cuts in the sheetrock first. Hopefully that doesn’t come back to bite me in the butt.

Hi Sugarplum | Big Box Bathroom makeover Day 1

I think my favorite part of Day 1 was discovering this old wallpaper behind the toilet. It makes me wonder who lived here before us, and what their stories and lives were like. I can almost picture a woman excitedly watching this paper go up, and being grateful for her new home. It’s funny to think one day a future homeowner will be laughing at our design choices.

I’d say Day 1 was productive!! And the next best thing to having the rockstar-contractor do all that hard work, was having him haul the debris away! That’s certainly something to think about when planning a remodel…trips to the dump! You can follow along for more real-time updates on InstaGram. And rest assured Day 2 gets prettier!

*** For those of you asking about my rockstar-contractor, I can’t recommend
Classic Kitchens & Baths (214-349-5999) enough (for the DFW area)! But be patient,
affordable greatness like theirs books up fast! ***

by Cassie 
17 Comments
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Bathrooms

 

 

{Cool Tip} Ikea Ribba Hack

September 29, 2014

I’ve never been so happy that our guest/kids bathroom is so small! I think the only time you wish a room smaller, is when you’re painting the ceiling! Ohmywow, is there anything worse or more painful?! (Obviously, there is, but go with me here.) 

My rockstar-contractor (hyphenated because that’s his name) is set to finish tiling the shower, and start the tile floors today, so I wanted to paint the ceiling first so I wouldn’t have to worry about splatters and drips ruining my beautiful new tile. I hope your weekend didn’t leave you with a crick in your neck! Although, mine is worth it…the Valspar ‘Mark Twain Gray Brick’ is dee-vine!! (I’m talking about the Big Box Bathroom remodel.)

Today I have a cool little tip for you fans of the Ikea Ribba frames. Or any matted frames, really. I love using landscape photos from our travels to decorate our walls, and in most cases, we use the 12×17 frames. (See our travel gallery wall here.) But I wanted something much larger for the Dining Room.

Hi Sugarplum | Oversize Framed Art with Custom Mat

I had a poster printed of a photo from our Italy trip at Staples for a cool $20 (watch for their sales). To keep the savings going, I chose the large 28×40 Ikea Ribba frame for $25. It’s a great deal, especially considering the frame includes a mat, but I didn’t care for the yellowy shade of the mat, or the asymmetrical opening.

Hi Sugarplum | Oversize Framed Art with Custom Mat

To have a custom mat made would have cost $50 or more, but did you know Michaels only charges $2 per cut on your existing mats?! And since the flip-side of the mat was a nice bright white, I had them bevel the cut so the white side became the new front. So for just $8, I got a custom look that fits my image and frame perfectly!

Hi Sugarplum | Oversize Framed Art with Custom Mat

Hi Sugarplum | Oversize Framed Art with Custom Mat

This large Ribba frame is made of wood, but the front is plexi…making it near impossible to photograph without a glare! At first I was disappointed it wasn’t glass, but realized that would make it much too heavy. I do recommend using the additional brace included to keep the frame from bowing.

Hi Sugarplum | Oversize Framed Art with Custom Mat

Hi Sugarplum | Oversize Framed Art with Custom Mat

Suddenly I’m looking at all my frames to see if the mats need custom-sizing! Oh, and the picture is of Cinque Terre…the final stop on our Italian trip last Spring. Maybe one of these days I’ll actually post about that little slice of Heaven! Happy Monday, lovebugs…I hope your week is off to a great start!


by Cassie 
15 Comments
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Dining Room, Simple Projects

 

 

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