The First Project in the New House

The Mister and I have lived together since 2007, first in an apartment, and later in his grandmother's house (est. 1969) where his mother lived as a girl. Much like me, Mister is a go-getter, so there is very little we weren't able to tackle together.  After we married in 2009, we decided to brave the housing market and buy our first home.

Our first Christmas in the house, and we got SNOW! Very rare for here. :)

Buying a home is like enabling an addiction to a DIY-er.  There wasn't a lot that needed fixing in our 1997 house, which had recently had some interior upgrades done.  But as first time homeowners, fresh to this new adventure and full of unmitigated enthusiasm, we found things to do.

The master bathroom was the first project I tackled when we moved in.  It was smallish (for a master bath), with white walls, laminate floors, builder grade cabinets, and very little storage to speak of.  The previous owners had left their shower curtain, which I loved, and used for inspiration for the paint colors. (The curved hotel-style shower rod was our doing, to increase the space inside the shower for my 6'2" hubby).

The muse for my bathroom redo.

I am an earth sign, and the greens, grays, and tans of this curtain really spoke to me.  We took the curtain rings to Lowe's to get paint matches, and decided on the lighter green-gray on the top portion of the walls, the darker green-gray on the lower portion of the walls, and the gray on the cabinets, with dark brown accents.  We also decided to install chair rail (in white) to divide the two paint colors on the wall.

My brother-in-law helped with the cutting for the wood projects, as he is the super for several rental homes and does this on a regular basis, and therefore owns POWER TOOLS! I also own power tools (what successful DIY-er doesn't?) but mine are basic and his more specialized.  It definitely helps to have the right tools for the project.

After painting, we installed the chair rail to hide the line where the two colors met.

Before. Tape line indicates where the chair rail was going to be.  We set the height based on keeping it below the outlets.

After.  Paint and chair rail complete!

I also decided to replace our single, massive mirror with two smaller mirrors, which I framed myself.  Three and a half years later, this is a decision that I regret.  Not because I don't love the look of the two mirrors, because I do.  But because the OCD in me HATES that the light fixture, mirrors, and vanity are not all centered.

Before.  The mirror went from the wall to the light switch.  HUGE.

After. We broke a shade installing the light, but we got that fixed.

As for the framing of the mirror, it's simple decorative molding with add on blocks in the corners, cut to size, spray painted (black and brown), and glued to the mirrors.

The leaf motif echos the shower curtain, nicely framed in this photo :)

By this point, I was getting pretty worn out.  So much cutting! So much nailing! SO MUCH PAINTING! So a couple things got left undone (and are still undone today): the chair rail didn't get painted, the cabinets haven't been painted, there is still laminate on the floor, and the vanity has been left untouched, gross cracked sink basins, old cheap faucets and all.  But I did add some finishing details!

Hooks on the door and wall near shower for robes and towels.

New rug to (partially) hide ugly laminate.

New hardware to upgrade builder grade cabinets.

New window treatment.

Do I consider this a success?  Well, mostly.  It is my hope that one day I'll be able to finish it.  Touch up painting and painting the chair rail and cabinets, mostly, but I also want to reinstall the big mirror and frame it (we kept it after we took it down), and replace/reuse the vanity.  Maybe with a new single unit, maybe with two separate units.  I haven't decided.  I have decided that I want vessel sinks, and definite added storage.  I want to redo the floors too, with either a different, sturdier, better looking laminate (stone or wood look) and if I'm feeling rich and fancy (and my budget agrees), in floor heating and tile bath/shower.

My Can-Do attitude got me this far, and makes me believe I can go further.  How about you?
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