Guest Bathroom Paint and Progress - One Room Challenge Week 3

Thanks for coming back for Week 3 of the One Room Challenge! We actually got a lotttt finished this past week, but for the sake of stretching my posts out over 6 weeks, I’m going to focus on the paint and a few other details, and save the vanity for next week!

We started painting this room a couple weeks ago, but then had to mud some additional things, so it actually got finished being painted this week. The paint is Valspar that’s color-matched to Farrow and Ball’s Pigeon (because let’s be honest, we’re already so over budget on this house and I’m not spending $100+ for a gallon of paint right now!) We already had the paint on hand because we’ll be using it on part of our fireplace wall (that’s another project for another day) and I’m just obsessed with it lately. Our kitchen cabinets are actually pretty much this color as well, so I guess you could say I’m feelin’ it for this house!

I also got a window shade for this room, even though the window already has privacy glass. It was more to add texture and make the window look more finished, and Ryan only threw out a few dozen expletives while hanging it up. ;)

In other fun news, we now have another functioning toilet in the house! Woop woop. You can see it making it’s first public appearance in the photo below. We also hung up a hook for towels near the shower, hung the mirror, and added hanging planters above the vanity. I’ll talk all about the vanity in next week’s post - it’s one ball of plumbing putty away from being completely done and useable!

My vision for this space is getting more and more solidified each week, and I already love how it’s coming together! What do you think of these hanging planters? Would you ever try them in your bathroom? I love the color of the terra-cotta pots against that green - mmmmmm!

Don’t forget to check up on everyone else’s One Room Challenge progress! I can’t believe we’re already half way through, and will be seeing everyone’s finished spaces in a few short weeks.

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Guest Bathroom Tilepalooza - One Room Challenge Week 2

Welcome back for Week 2 of the Fall 2018 One Room Challenge! This week we’re talking tile in our guest bathroom. (Catch up on last week here)

The floor tile in this room has been done for a few weeks - our contractor’s guys laid it when they did the rest of the flooring throughout the house. I went back and forth for months leading up to that about which tile to use in here. I finally decided to search for terrazzo-inspired tiles (a nod to the era the house was built) and that’s when I found my winner.

I love that this tile has (faux) terrazzo detailing, an awesome pattern, and isn’t STARK black and white. Judging by the amount of messages I got about this tile over on Instagram, I think everyone else is a fan too! We chose to use Mapei Warm Gray grout, and it does a fabulous job of just blending into the tile and not distracting from the pattern.

Next up was the tile for the shower surround. We had a bunch of boxes of plain white 3x12 subway tile laying around, so even though it wouldn’t have been my first choice in here…the practical side of me won out. Free tile is free tile, after all. We ended up having it installed in a stacked pattern, and extended it all the way around the room. The edges have a gray bullnose tile, and we went with the same warm gray grout that we used on the floors.

I also made sure to have a niche put in the shower. There’s nothing worse than having bottles piled up on the sides of the tub, and I personally hate those caddies that hang over a shower head. A niche solves those problems!

So there you have it - the finished floor and wall tile for our One Room Challenge guest bathroom makeover! In case you didn’t get the hint above… we did NOT tile any of this ourselves. I’m more interested in the design part of rooms, not the DIY… and my poor husband tiled more than his fair share of walls at our previous house, and was dreading doing this bathroom. It was worth hiring it out for his sanity! ;)

Don’t forget to check out all of the other transformations going on - from what I’ve seen on the #oneroomchallenge hashtag, everyone’s rooms are well underway!

Hey, We Actually Live In Our House!

As you may have gathered from the title of this post... we are officially moved into our house! What a concept - actually living in the house you own!? Ha. This is our third week in here, and we're loving it. The house is still in shambles, with moving boxes, decor, shop vacs, and stuff everywhere. Which is just awesome since our housewarming party is this weekend! Whoops. Hopefully our family and friends will go easy on us - this house is far from finished, and will probably be a work in progress for many months (heck, years) to come! 

On the *bright* side, we do have kitchen lights now...

It feels like we've done a ton since I last gave you an update... but then also not so much. We've had our fair share of nights spent binge-watching Netflix rather than doing house stuff. I don't think we did a single project the whole first week we were living here. These two, on the other hand, have been SUPER BUSY creepin' on the new 'hood from my office window. ;)

The biggest things we've been working on are the backsplash in the kitchen, painting the fireplace, and getting the office in order. 

After much deliberation (subway tile? arabesque? beveled subway? herringbone pattern?) I stuck with my original backsplash choice of plain ol' subway tile in a brick pattern with dark gray grout. At the last minute I started throwing around other options, but just wasn't sold on anything. I didn't want to take a chance on a job as big (and permanent) as the backsplash, so I stuck with the original plan. Subway tile is classic, and I already know that I love it. So there ya go! 

Ryan's spent the last week painstakingly placing tiles - did I mention that I just HAD to have the backsplash go all the way to the ceiling? He loves me, I swear. As we speak (or I type...) he's finishing up the last sliver of wall under the uppers. Hallelujah! 

We continued the white out by painting our fireplace and the walls next to it white. We planked the walls on either side of the fireplace with wood to add some more interest and texture. Even I had to admit that it's so white up in here at the moment... but I think it'll all balance out once we add in all the stuff - mantle, things on the walls, etc. 

Before | One Coat of Primer on Fireplace | First Coat on Everything

The "After" - Two Coats on Everything... plus some lovely table clutter ;) #keepinitreal

Aside from the main room, the only room that I've put any effort into organizing is the office. I spent some serious time last weekend planning out what kind of storage I needed. Three cheers for having somewhere to put everything. A $10 Craigslist bookshelf and one IKEA trip later... we are in business! 

I can't decide what I'm more obsessed with in this room... my huge elephant ear plant, the 24x36 prints of the girls flanking the window, or my ugly vintage chair (that Ryan HATES haha). I'm happy with the direction this room is headed, and it definitely feels like a place I want to hang out and browse Pinterest - I mean, do some work - in. ;) 

That about brings us up to speed! There are a million other little things we've done, but those are the biggies. Make sure you're following along on Instagram for even more updates! 

Homespo Reno - Weeks 10&11

I've been putting off writing this post, because SO MUCH has been happening over here the last two weeks! We've got an (almost) functioning kitchen! We've got an (almost) functioning bathroom! Lots of exclamation points are necessary! It really looks like an actual house over here, and I never want to leave. We're shooting for this weekend to start staying here full time, and I can't even wait. 

Kitchen Cabinets Installed

After a few delays, our kitchen cabinets and island finally arrived last Tuesday. The outer cabinets are all white, and the island is gray. We've got drawers, doors, and lazy Susan's a-plenty & I couldn't be any more in love with how it all turned out. The shaker style doors look awesome, and they'll only look better when we put some bling (ahem, hardware) on them. 

Countertops Are IN

I've always been a fan of concrete countertops, and had been torn between those or quartz for our kitchen. When I found out the quartz I wanted would be significantly more dough, the decision was easy. Concrete it was! 

The original plan was to have plain white-ish/light gray-ish concrete counters. That was, until I found out that the guys doing our counters could do so many badass things! I ended up giving them a marble coaster and saying "I want them to look like this!" - and they so delivered. It's truly insane the things they can do with concrete - can you tell I'm kinda impressed? To say I'm thrilled with how our counters turned out is an understatement. They look like marble, but they're way more unique, durable, low-maintenance, cool, etc, etc. I. Am. In. Love!  

Guest Bathroom (Mostly) Finished

Priority number one before we move in is to have a functional bathroom (not counting the port-a potty that's still in our front yard...) so we've been busting our butts trying to get that room finished up! We planked the bottom third of the walls and painted them Benjamin Moore's Simply White. The top 2/3 we painted Benjamin Moore's Dark Harbor. 

We've got our toilet in and working, and just need to scrub the shower and put the finishing touches on our dresser-turned-vanity! 

Painted the Closet

I suddenly decided that I was dying to paint something in our house black. It's still a neutral, but it adds some draaaama and makes a statement! I started off small, and painted the bottom 2/3 of our master closet Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black. I have no regrets. #PaintItBlack

I think Ryan's concerned I'm going to start painting the whole house black now. Not to worry - I only have plans to paint some doors and one of the office walls... so far. ;)   

Moved a Uhaul Worth of Stuff

Last Friday Ryan conned two of his oh-so-lovely co-workers into helping us move. They grabbed the Uhaul and moved over all of our big stuff like beds, dressers, and the couch. It's so nice to be able to sit on our couch again! And to have our bed over here - even if we are still sleeping on an air mattress at the townhouse currently... 

The only things we have left to move over are our day-to-day essentials like clothes and toiletries. Hoorah! 

Hung Curtains

We got the curtains hung in the two front rooms (and by we, I mean Ryan) and it's amazing what a difference it makes. My office feels so much fancier already. Even though they are definitely nothing fancy - a $20 curtain rod from Lowe's and $25 curtains from IKEA. ;) 

So that's where we're at! We're actually in the home stretch now, and should be spending the night here in a few days - we can't wait! 

Homespo Reno - Weeks 8&9

I know I say it every week, but I can't believe we're done with week 9 of our renovation! We painted, we nailed, and we had some pretty great mail days over the past 2 weeks! So without further ado...

Finished Installing Baseboards

We managed to get all of our new baseboards cut, placed, and nailed. Ryan did the majority of the work on this one - after a foreign object flew into my eye while I was nailing a board in our closet, I tapped out! Good times. We still have to caulk everything and then touch up the paint, but that seems to keep getting pushed down our list. Our new motto seems to be "if it doesn't have to be done before we move in - we ain't doin' it!" 

Our Dining Chairs & Rug Arrived

Having packages arrive is the fun part amidst all the stress and frustration. Our dining room chairs and rug got delivered last week, and we are in loooove! Of course I had to set it all up immediately, even though we're pretty much still in a construction zone. What can I say - my patience only extends so far. 

Painted Front Window Trim

Since I wasn't helping Ryan with baseboards after the eye fiasco, I bit the bullet and tackled the trim around our front door/windows. It was the last (ugly, poop brown) trim standing, and holy cow we can't believe what a difference painting it white made! The front looks a million times lighter, and I'm happy to have that task crossed off the list!

Hung Our First Light

I swear we've been trying to hang a fixture in our house for weeks, but our efforts keep getting thwarted. It started with the fans... we were gung-ho to hang them, until we couldn't find the blades and hardware. Minor details. Next, we went to hang the closet light... but there are about 12 wires coming out where there should be 3? So until we get the electrician back in there.. no closet light for us! Then there was the overly-gigantic pendant lights I bought for the kitchen. They hung about half way to the floor...Return! Oooof!

Anyway, we finally got ONE lone light fixture hung - one of our flush mount hallway lights. And it only took us about 3 times longer than we anticipated - victory! ;)

Hung Our First Door

I guess we were on a hanging roll this week, because we got our first door hung as well! Ryan successfully got one of our hall closet doors functioning, so that's one down, only about a dozen more to go! 

Worked on Guest Bathroom

You know our new motto I told you about? Well, the guest bathroom is something that has to get done before we move in. We currently have zero functioning bathrooms (unless you want to count the portapotty out front... which I totally don't!)

Ryan repaired the drywall that needed it, and we picked up the planks that we'll be covering the bottom half of the walls with. Shiplap FTW! We're hoping to make major progress on the bathroom front this weekend. 

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That's what's been happening over here lately - what do you think? Are you as in love with our dining room setup as we are? Insert Heart Eyes Emoji Here! 

I'm hoping that the next progress pictures I share will have some kitchen cabinets in them! They were delayed, but are supposed to be here at the end of this week (although it's already Thursday, so I don't feel all that hopeful...) That'll be a game changer when they arrive, and I can't wait to show you!