Bathroom's almost done too

At this point, it's a draw as to whether the bathroom or the kitchen will be finished first. The kitchen counter is installed but no pictures yet since we're not completely happy with the installation and need the installers to come back and fix some problems.The kitchen window will be installed by the end of the week then we wait for K to come back finish trimming it out. The pantry doors are still out of stock (any one surprised?) and we've decided that the stainless steel-look plinths from Ikea are really cheap and crappy. It's basically particleboard cover with a piece of foil that will scratch easily so we've decided not to use it. Instead, K says he can get actual sheets of stainless steel cut to size and installed. It'll be more durable and look much better, plus it's not wildly expensive. We're sold on the idea.

The bathroom is almost done. The tub/shower tile is up. The original tile was a glossy white subway tile which we liked so we stuck with it. The only change we made here was to install it in a vertical subway pattern instead of the usual horizontal. It looks fabulous! It heightens the room by drawing your eye upwards. Plus it picks up and carries the pattern from the floor, giving and nice, cohesive look, I think.

Still needs grout but looking good!

Tiles with grout and the bold look of Kohler

While the guys have been concentrating on the main floor, I've been picking away at getting the laundry area finished off. We put in a little storage are with a counter for folding clothes and I love it. It's nice to have a high, flat surface to fold on. I was using the bed for fold but it's a pretty low bed so my back was getting sore from bending over. We'll be posting some pictures of the laundry area as soon as it's completed (it's still missing some hardware) but for now, here's a photo of me assembling a door with a drawer attachment.

Almost there

The main bath is almost done. The light fixture is in and the new vanity is up minus the drawers since the plumbing still has to be connected. After that, the new window gets installed (we have to wait until next week for that) and the tile can go in the tub area. We're sticking with a simple white subway tile there for a nice, clean look.

Warm tiles

Since we have so many renos going at once, Kevin brought his cousin, Bryan, in to help out. Things are moving along and while the kitchen is undergoing its transformation (stay tuned!), the main bath is coming together nicely. The floor tile we chose is 12"x24", in a dark mocha colour, with a subtle, variegated stripe running through it. The colour name is 'chocolate'. That can't get any more perfect as we're big chocolate fans. A heated floor was installed under the tile and now the floor is nice and warm on our bare feet.

Wiring for the heated floor control panel

Deciding on the layout

The finished floor! (Yes, it needs cleaning)

We have a big soaker tub...

...in a tiny bathroom. We didn't realize exactly how big the tub was when we bought it. Yes, we did measure it and the space, but sometimes things are larger in real life. I think the tub is deeper than the one I had at the condo. Either way, we love the clean, minimal lines of it and the depth is good for those post-massage, epsom salt baths (ahhhh!). It'll be a cozy bathroom. R wasn't crazy about the tubs with all the wavy decorations on the front (there are lots of those and I have to agree, they're not the most attractive) so we were happy to find this one.

Good insulation makes for warm walls!

The new soaker tub and dual flush toilet

The toilet's a bit close to the tub but there's a floor joist to the left of it so that's as far over as it can go. The only other option is to have it on the other side of the joist but that cuts into the vanity area and creates other problems.

The corner for the vanity

If walls could speak...

...I wonder what ours would say.

We've been hoping that our main bath would be getting its makeover soon and this week was the week. Yay! On the surface, there was nothing terribly wrong with the bath, except that it wasn't our style, the window was aluminum which had seen better days (and tended to collect water in the track), the bath tub was tiny, not a huge amount of storage and the overall feel of the room was drafty and cold. At first glance, the tile floor had a nice vintage feel to it but the installation job, on closer inspection, was poorly done. Hmmm, on second thought, there was a lot terribly wrong with it.

The original bathroom

One of the reasons the bathroom was cold and drafty was the old aluminum window. Since all the main floor windows were the same vintage (and drafty), replacing them with new, energy efficient ones was our top priority, especially since it's the middle of winter right now and we're cold! We were told it would be better to pull out the tile to put in the new window, so we told Kevin to go ahead and gut the whole bathroom. He did and found all sorts of surprises. There were loose wires, bad electrical boxes, lots of excess pipes, improper support beams, crappy insulation (which was another reason why the bathroom was cold), and a beehive. Yes, there was a beehive but sadly, no honey. Lucky for us, it's the middle of winter and there were no actual bees in residence. An added bonus was that the whole thing, along with the sill, was a block of ice. Apparently water was leaking in from the shower and getting in behind the wall.

Lurking behind the walls...

...is a beehive...

...and some questionable DIY

All the questionable stuff is being removed and cleaned up. Here's how it looks now:

 

No more beehive
(sorry, bees, you'll have to find another home)

A nice, clean starting point for the new bathroom