Category: Home Improvement

Affordable ways to update your home.

Un Homme & Une Femme

Published on by Our Humble Abode30 Comments

As I mentioned yesterday, the main bathroom isn’t finished, but that’s not stopping me from working on finishing touches.  I could resist making art for the back wall.  A large piece of art at that.  For bathrooms, I try to stay away from anything with eyes, because that just seems creepy to me.  Who wants to feel watched while doing your private business anyway?  So, I thought up bathroom appropriate art, but nothing felt perfect.  I didn’t want anything frilly.  Nothing too fancy.  Nothing to compete with the patterned shower curtain.  But something bold, simple, and most importantly, fun.  Then, it came to me.  Why not make an over sized version of the classic man/woman signs to mark commercial bathrooms?  It’s bold.  It’s simple.  It’s fun.  And bonus, it was easy to make. 

 

I started with a 2 foot by 3 foot frame I had sitting in the basement.  For my background, I painted a large piece of paper I had on hand navy blue.  An internet search gave me photos of the signs, so I made a design in Photoshop, printed it to plain paper, and used the designs as a template.  Then, I cut a man and a woman from card stock.  A few piece of rolled tape on the back held my people in place.  Popping it in the frame instantly made it look more chic and cheeky than the standard bathroom sign.

It certainly adds a dose of fun to the bathroom.  Best of all, it cost me under five bucks for materials!

Would it be too much to hang one of each of these vases over the toilet?

In other breaking bathroom news, Ben grouted the shower.  Crisp white grout is nice to see.  Once we, ah hem, Ben installs the faucet set, we can shower in here.  Yippee skippy. 

One of these days, I should wash that mirror.

So there ya have it, cheap, funny, eyeless bathroom art.  What do you think?  Too commercial feeling?  Just the right amount of kitsch to add personality to the space?  What do you have on your bathroom walls?

The Chicago Blues

Published on by Our Humble Abode6 Comments

Knowing we’ll have several rounds of visitors over the summer (and in the next few weeks) we’ve pushed to get more done in the main bathroom.  Despite the vanity needing a few details, I put the first coat of Chicago Blues on.

I love it.  The swatch looked a little nuts, but in the space, it reads as a brighter navy.

A second coat will follow once Ben installs the top trim pieces, but the change and progress is welcome.  You might notice I painted the walls and ceilings.  Well, everything that I could around the patched areas.  In my mood board, I used Stone White from Ben Moore, but it looked too blue in person.  Eventually, I’ll paint the main areas Wood Smoke by Glidden, so I had the paint guy at Home Depot give me a 25% tint to flow with the rest of the house.  I figure getting a first coat on the majority will help.  Then I can prime and paint the patched areas, go over the entire room again for a seamless paint job.

Handy Sammy’s family stopped in to stay with us, so I added a few accessories to pretty it up a bit.

We’ve got more trim work to do, grouting in the shower, and painting, but we do have a functional toilet complete with toilet paper holder.

Fingers crossed Ben has time to grout the shower to get it functional for our guests.

How was your weekend?  Did you do any painting?  Maybe you installed a toilet?  We had fun chatting with family and eating dinner on the deck.

You Light Up My Life

Published on by Our Humble Abode4 Comments

Over the weekend, we enjoyed windy, gloomy weather.  No work on the roof, but Ben did some work inside.  On Saturday, we ran our usual errands, Ben washed windows, and cut the left over slab of Bubinga to fit the entertainment center.  Sunday, we had high temps in the 60’s, so we took a trip to Home Depot to get various electrical supplies.  Cooler days are better for attic work and we took advantage of it.  First, Ben ran wires for the theater speakers.

Speakers will flank the front living room window for a true theater-like experience.  The wires run from the outside wall, through the attic, and down the wall behind the entertainment center.

While he was up there, he moved the cable from the temporary place to the same box behind the tv.

Though unfinished, that is better than this:

You may have noticed the sconces are gone, too.  Ben pulled the wires completely out because we’ll never have sconces there.  Now we’ve got patching to do.

That’s all great, but I was most excited for the pendants in the main bathroom.  While painting the small linen closet, I realized just how dark that bathroom was.

Step out of the dark ages, we have created light!  Finding lights Ben and I could agree on wasn’t the easiest part of this bathroom reno.

We knew we wanted chrome pendants with hidden bulbs.  Of course the options are nearly limitless, but we also wanted something around the $50 or less price point.  One of our original choices were industrial chrome pendants for $48 each from Lowes.  Currently, the bathroom doesn’t have a ray of natural light.  We will add a Sky Tube, but Ben and I worried the downward direction of the lights wouldn’t fill up the bathroom.

Luckily, using only one rod kept the pendants high enough, giving off more light than I thought.

And we love the look.

The style of this pendant is very similar to this one from Home Depot.  Twenty dollars less each, and I like the style of the Lowes option better.

We’ve got some trim installed, but more to do.  Then filling, sanding, priming, and painting.  And grouting the tub, installing the toilet, getting the sink functional, adding functional items like hooks and such.  But we’re getting there.  I’m getting some of the finishing touches ready.  And you caught a peek at the shower curtain that inspired my revised plan.  Mood board to come soon.

What did you do over the weekend?  Have you found a cheaper version of something that you liked more than the expensive option?  That’s always fun for me.  Usually I gravitate toward the more expensive items.

Roof in the Rough

Published on by Our Humble Abode10 Comments

Ben and Handy Sammy started one of the biggest projects we’ll have to do to this house.  Re-roofing the entire house and pool room.  Not only is it a hot job, it’s rough.  They started with the hardest part, the pool room.  Eight sky lights to work around and a system of solar panels (the crazy blue thing on top of the roof) to tear off.

Before and of the tear off could start, we had to get a 30 yard dumpster up the driveway, which sounds easier than it was.  You see, our driveway winds up, and getting a large truck up there wasn’t especially easy.

Careful maneuvering made it possible.  So now we’ve got this to come home to.

Having it close to the house is a must because we have no other way to get the shakes off the roof.  An empty dumpster meant Ben could get started.  Leaking solar panels, see ya later.

For a little while, they lived in the dumpster.  Then Ben and Sam tore the pieces apart to recycle.

Ready to go.

We knew the pool roof leaked before we made an offer on this house.  But the leaks damaged the plywood.  Ben had to replace a few sheets before doing anything else.

I guess the roof project isn’t all terrible.  Do you see the mountains over the roof line?  Not too shabby.  After planning his attack method, the boys got to work.

Sheets of tar paper under the shakes made removal quicker.  Ben pried up the pieces while Sam rolled it all up into a self-contained shingle burrito.

Time consuming, but they’re making progress.  Much more than I would, that’s for darn sure.  They’ve finished tear off and weather proofing the pool room.

Just the house left.  Oy, that’s still a lot.  And that’s why the bathroom is on the back burner.  Weatherman is predicting cooler temperatures through the end of the week.  I hope he’s right, because that would make this project all the more enjoyable.

Stone Cold

Published on by Our Humble Abode6 Comments

Here’s the much requested stone counter cutting post.  Let’s dive in.  Well, not literally because smashing your head into the counter doesn’t sound like fun.

To cut your own stone counter top, you’ll need:

  • A skill saw with diamond blade
  • A right angle grinder with diamond blade and stone polishing pads
  • Clamps
  • A straight edge
  • A hose with running water
  • A GFI protected outlet
  • Saw horses or another system to hold the stone up
  • Protective gear for eyes, ears, mouth, and nose

Now you know the ingredients, let’s get to the instructions.  If you need to cut length off your stone, first mark where you want to cut.  Then, measure the guard of your skill saw.  Clamp a straight edge factoring in the width of your guard.

While wearing protective gear, slowly and carefully cut along your guide.

Now you’re ready to start polishing.  Ben asked the local granite companies for their used polishing pads, so ours were free.  To get a new set, check the link above or search ‘granite polishing pads’ to find a better deal.  Here’s what the pads look like:

For a polished finish, the pads work best wet.  Ben clamps a slow running hose to the counter top to let the water trickle over the edge.  Remember, electricity and water are not friends!  Plug your grinder in a GFI protected outlet and keep your plugs out of the water.  Use extreme caution.  Then sand the edges just like you would with a normal sander on wood.  Keep it moving to avoid gouges and slightly round the edge for a factory-finished look.

Polishing didn’t take nearly as long as cutting the sink hole did.  Ben only uses drop in sinks so he doesn’t have to have a nice looking cut, just a place for the sink to go in.  Use the sink template to mark the cut lines.

Take the polishing pad off the grinder and replace it with a diamond blade.

Plunge cut the sink hole slowly and carefully.  You won’t be able to cut through with one pass.  Slow and steady on this.  Clean the dust and water off and you’ve made yourself a stone counter top.

The polished eased edge looks just as good as the granite company, too.

What do you think?  Are you willing to try this at home?  What is your favorite type of counter top?  Granite?  Marble?  Concrete?

Disclaimer:  If you are not comfortable using this equipment, don’t try this.  Use caution and always wear safety gear.  This is an overview tutorial and we cannot be held responsible for injuries.