Renovation: Stage Two. Choices, choices, choices

The house has been undergoing a renovation for several weeks and we are, slowly, making progress.

After the initial demo I had to make a lot of decisions, in a rather quick time frame, as to what I wanted in the house. First, I had to choose the tile and grout color for the bathroom. I decided on classic subway tile for the shower/tub wall as it will never go out of style. I picked a light gray grout to give the tile a bit more “design” and also because white grout seems to get dingy fast.

Choosing tile and grout color. Who knew there was colored grout?!

Next up, my nemesis, choosing paint. It’s the easiest thing to change in your house but for me it’s the hardest choice to make. I feel so overwhelmed by the sheer volume of colors and options available that I become almost paralyzed. I would have taken months to decide (and a ridiculous amount of samples) if left to my own devices, but the contractors needed an answer so I had to choose. 

Narrowing down the options.

I choose Edgecomb Gray by Benjamin Moore for the downstairs and hallway (although it looks beige on the walls), Revere Pewter (also Benjamin Moore) for the bathroom and back bedroom, Cashmere Grey (BM) for the middle bedroom, and Normal Grey (Sherwin Williams) for the Master Bedroom. You don’t need to adjust your monitors – none of these colors actually look grey!

Normal Grey Sherwin Williams

Cashmere Grey Benjamin Moore

Revere Pewter Benjamin Moore

The last big choice I had to make was what color to stain the floors. I like a more modern look and decided to stain the floors a rich, dark brown. Don’t they look pretty?!

Dark floors and first coat of Edgecomb Gray Benjamin Moore

A couple quick updates on other areas: the bathroom has walls and a door!

We are getting there!

We have a pocket door!

And……drum roll please, the glitter ceiling is gone! 

Say buh bye to the glitter.

Now I have to work on getting movers (1600$ to move 2 miles? Really? For a one bedroom move?), buying furniture and figuring out how to pull it all together. Oh yeah, and how to save money fast so I can get that awful kitchen remodeled.

Lastly, just because …….

He seems a little confused here 🙂

Until next time, stay warm out there!

Stage 1: rip it all out!

Gutted!

Guts of a bathroom

Uh oh Deb, don’t fall down!

Gone, gone, gone

Nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey goodbye

After the craziness of closing on the house, trying to find a contractor I liked (and trusted),and the general overall panic that happens when you decide to embark on a major project comes the time to put everything in motion.
So begins stage 1 which I like to call – just rip it all out already! The bathroom has been completely gutted. No more shiny silver wallpaper and hideous peach tile. Gone is the block of a vanity with its linoleum lined medicine cabinet, along with the peeling linoleum from the floor. In its place is a Dark, empty hole just waiting for inspiration to hit. (If you have some to spare please send it my way).

Next up was the removal of the minuscule railing. Seriously, this thing maybe came up to my thighs. I was envisioning my nephew saying “hey watch me” as he flung himself from it and onto my sofa, when he gets a bit older. So, clearly, the railing had to be replaced with something a bit higher and safer.

Lastly, the half wall between the kitchen and living room was demo’d. I hope this will make the house feel more open and have better flow between kitchen and living room.

That’s it for stage 1. Next up will be removal of carpet and wallpaper (thankfully!). The next big thing for me is coming up with a color scheme for the painter – I’m thinking pale grey and white? What do you think? Feel free to make color palette suggestions.

Until next time ……