Updating our Retro Blue Bathroom.

...or was it? We spent one 8 hour day in our blue bathroom this weekend. It is incredible to see what 8 hours of scrubbing, spackling, and sanding can do to transform a space. Already our bathroom feels revitalized!

Here is a shot of the blue bathroom BEFORE:

I scrubbed the floors using a baking soda and bleach mixture. I would allow the thin paste to sit on the floor for 10 minutes, before using a grout scubber to clean the tiny grout spaces. (this seriously works! its two days later and the grout looks whiter and whiter each morning)

Grout BEFORE:

Grout AFTER:

All shiny and new.

I really wanted to open-up the bathroom. So we removed the door to the linen closet and started repairing the walls and painting the shelves. {since we are trialing this door-off-the-closet thing, you may notice that we did not repair the door hinge holes}

I used high-gloss trim paint for the shelving, trim and walls to give the linen closet a bright white feel that matched the trim in the rest of the bathroom.

I labeled the closet shelves as I removed the to ensure I could put them back in the right place once they were painted. 

Two coats and we were ready to install and decorate our new and improved shelves!

Ty spackled, sanded, and primed the majority of the wall space in the bathroom (if you remember from his project on that wall.... he used the same process for our blue bathroom). He also scraped the caulk tile/wall line and re-caulked the entire space. You wouldn't believe the difference a fresh bead of caulk makes!

Our bathroom may not be the city of Rome, but hey, we feel like kings in our snazzy new bath!

(Note: After 8 hours in the blue bathroom, we made a mad-Sunday-night-dash to Lowe's, we are nearing completion of the blue bathroom. More on that to come!)

TO DO: 
Paint the Ceiling, Trim & Walls
Repair Walls
Scrape and re-caulk tile
Clean grout
Paint Linen Closet & shelving

Replace light fixture

Replace/Repair shower hardware 

Refinish tub

Install NEW vanity (oh em gee, I cannot wait for this!)

Repair frame around linen closet... if we decide to keep the door off

Install towel hooks

Install new wood blinds for privacy

Purchase and hang white extra long shower curtain

Purchase new towels and a floor mat 

Install new vanity mirror

Kitchen Renovation: How To Repair Plaster Walls

We have referred to "that wall" for quite some time. 

"That wall" has been that wall since demo day in late October of last year.
 In fact, that wall has been around for SO LONG its become a household name. 

"When are we going to fix that wall?"

"The Kitchen is almost entirely done - except for that wall."

"You hardly notice that wall "(and so another week goes by without repairing it!)

"I'm going to hang a picture on that wall so its less noticeable "

(this in fact, makes the undone state of that wall even more obvious)

Which wall? THAT WALL! You know, the one in the kitchen that is hardly noticeable until it is and then you are like "WHOA! what is up with that wall?!"

What's up with that wall is that during demo day, I thought painting over the wallpaper and plaster would be a good time saver - I just really couldn't take anymore wallpaper removal at that point. WRONG-O!
This short cut turned into a long cut. We began the tedious process of removing the wallpaper, which now was sealed to the wall by my grand painting idea. This revealed disastrous chipping plaster walls, faux wood paneling, and just a plain ugly peachy tan and white splattered wall. So began the weeks of neglecting that wall, and the looming question of how DO we fix that wall?

1. Gather Supplies.
Face Mask
Palm Sander (or heavy grit sand paper if you are really brave!)
Joint Compound
Flat Trowel
Patience & Time
Shop Vac or other form of vaccuum (lots of dust)
Drop cloths
Kilz Latex Primer

2. Apply joint compound in a thin layer. filling holes and uneven surfaces.
Allow to dry (every compound is different , read your bucket for exact drying times!).

3. SAND. Make sure the first layer of joint compound is dry. Sand the uneven surface until smooth.
4. Repeat Steps 2 & 3 until the wall is completely even and smooth. (Ty sanded the surface twice)

5. PRIME. Once the sanding is complete, wipe down the wall with a dry cloth and vaccuum the area to remove any dust. Prime the wall using Kilz Latex Primer(our favorite primer, not our favorite cost... a small quart is $15 a pop!)...but man it gets the job done. Allow to dry. Repeat step 5 if necessary (Ty did!)

6. PAINT. Mindful Grey, for us of course.

This finished product had us saying...
Take a  look at that wall!

Credits to Ty for this project. I was basking in the warm sunshine of Miami, Florida while he was at home in the first snow showers of the season while battling that wall. 

Missed our kitchen reveal from start to finish?
Click here, here and here!
Can't Wait: The Kitchen Final Reveal

Kitchen Renovation: Budget Breakdown

Well, we are all about transparency here...so here is our budget breakdown for the kitchen. In case you missed the Kitchen Reveal, here is a  little Before & After of the kitchen. So, what does our total budget breakdown look like? 

• Demo: FREE! (see that here)
• Microwave: $180 on craiglist plus a $30 new microwave tray
• Fridge, Range, D/W: $2481 (Fridge was scratch&dent from EE, D/W was new, and Range was negotiated down from $1250 new to $850 plus tax and electrical cord)
• Tile Floor: $903 (free installation - oh yes, we did that here, here, and here)
• Backsplash: $150 (seen here)
• Electrical & Plumbing: $1125 (We had a professional install the sink, garbage disposal & dishwasher. We also had a LOT of electrical work done since our wiring was from 1950. This included some things in the Master Bedroom and Living Room, as well as adding a recessed light over the kitchen sink, but we just included all of it here)
• Lighting & Garbage Disposal: $621 (We bought a fancy-shmancy 4-light fixture by Kichler & our garbage disposal on build.com)
• Kitchen Island & Rug: $425 (Rug found on CL for $75)
• Solid Wood Custom Cabinets & Installation: $7387 (We received 10% off plus a buy more, save more discount, plus an additional 10% off price match with HD, plus free soft close doors, free sink base, free roll out drawers in the pantry and a wood cutlery drawer)
• Granite: $1250 (this was a STEAL for 3cm granite at $35/sq.ft. including installation and a free sink)
• Tools: $150 
• REBATE from Lowe's -$532
• Selling old appliances and cabinets -$510 (old D/W, fridge, stove & microwave...and cabinets)

TOTAL COST: $13,660

Not too shabby for our first entire kitchen remodel.

In case you are interested in undergoing a kitchen remodel yourself here are some average costs for kitchen remodels:

A basic kitchen remodel: laminate counter-tops, everything remains in essentially the same spot, & average appliances costs around $12,000 and up

A minor kitchen remodel: new cabinet faces and hardware laminate tops, new flooring and paint, maybe new average appliances $17,300 and up

A major kitchen remodel: complete gutting, higher end appliances, granite/stone counter-tops, relocating or adding electrical, custom cabinets, new floorings: $50,700 average

Tell us about your kitchen remodel!
The good, the bad, the pricey...we want to hear ALL about it.

Kitchen Renovation: How To Tile a Backsplash

Well, the Kitchen Reveal has come & gone, but there are a  few missing links on HOW we got there - and this is one of them: Our White Subway Tile Backsplash.

I flew solo on this one. Ty permanently denounced tiling forever (not really, he was just at work so we could actually buy the tile!), so this kitchen backsplash is up to me. We are going for a classic look by using white subway tile. I have to say that round 2 of tiling (see round 1 here,  here, and here) is MUCH more enjoyable. With no time crunch, smaller tiles, and experience... its FUN!

PREP:
Prep for the backsplash was SO EASY.
 I used kraft paper and painters tape to protect our LUNA PEARL granite. 

 I removed all of the outlet plates. If we had not done a lot of work on the front end of demo-ing the kitchen, I would have had more prep work. The walls were  patched with spackle and then sanded to level the surface. We also went over the area to be tiled with a light sanding to rough up the walls and help the thinset stick.

Covering our bases: We did not want any grout, thinset, etc to damage our gorgeous new faucet so we wrapped awkward surfaces in plastic wrap.

As seen in our previous tiling endeavors, here I am again, mixing thinset! Some people use MASTIC as their tile adhesive. I have heard great things about it for a tile adhesive in the backsplash setting BUT being a savvy saver, I wanted to use the rest of our thinset from the floor rather than having to buy another product. 

Laying out the tile. 

Another difference in the floor tile and the back splash...  the white subway tile has built in spacers. 

Although we still had to use spacers to keep the tile off the granite. Later, we will caulk between that space. 

Once the layout was set, it was time to tile!

As part of laying out the tile, I had to decide how to "finish" the edges where the counter ended but the wall did not. I used pre-cut edging pieces to create a finished look at the ends of the countertops.

 GROUTing!

Left side grouted, Right side ungrouted.

We had a big debate between dark grey and white grout while the thinset and tiles dried. We ended up going with white grout for several reasons, but mainly because the look is so fresh and does not obligate any one person to grey in the kitchen forever. 

Before

After

Have any of you guys ever tackled a backsplash?
We'd love to see pictures and hear about your experiences tiling!

We will be featuring YOUR HOME PROJECTS in the New Year.
Post in the comments below for more information!
We look forward to hearing from you!

HAPPY (almost) NEW YEAR!!

Plans to Update the Retro Bathroom

The most common question after our Kitchen Reveal has been...

WHAT's NEXT??

 Well..... I'll tell ya it does NOT involve TILING...although it DOES involve TILE.

In all seriousness, we plan on enjoying the holidays and hibernating, before gearing up for our next big project. 

We have a lot of small projects and decorating that we want to complete before spring springs!

We DO have big plans for the Spring though: BATHROOMS!

BATHROOM #1: The White Bathroom

This bathroom is small but functional. It is attached to the bedroom/office space off of the kitchen. It has a standing shower, sink and toilet. 

1. Replace shower pan. We will have a proffessional come do this. Ours is at the end of its life and we are looking forward to being able to use this shower once it is in new condition!

2. Install new shower fixtures. 

3. Install Pedastal Sink

4. Paint walls and Trim. I am thinking of going with GAUNTLET GREY (just two shades darker than the Mindful Grey of the attached bedroom). 

5. Replace toilet. It has a padded seat cushion from the 60s (yuck!)

6. Install shelving above toilet. 

7. Install new blinds.

8. Patch hole next to toilet.

9. Refinish tile.

10. Install new light fixture & updated mirrored medicine cabinet. 

Bathroom #2: The Blue Bathroom

This is our main bathroom. It is has a shower tub combo, linen closet, toilet, and vanity.

1. Paint trim and walls (colors TBD)

2. Install new vanity and fixtures.

3. Replace mirrored medicine cabinet

4. Re-glaze bathtub

5. Install new shower knobs (we have already replaced the shower head)

6. Install new blinds

7. Install a new light fixture & adjustable makeup mirror.

8. Paint linen closet and add organizers.

9. Refinish tile. (we are not sure what all this entails, but we WILL keep you updated!)

So while most of y'all are having visions of sugar plums, we are dreaming up our next big project.

Happy Holidays everyone!

What are you guys dreaming up for the new year? 

We would love to hear about your DIY/renovation/remodel plans for 2014.

We will be featuring YOUR HOME PROJECTS in the New Year. 

Post in the comments below for more information.