Our First House – Page 48

Master Bathroom Reno, Take 2

Published on June 14, 2010September 9, 2010 by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

After we replaced the old furnace with our new geothermal heating and cooling unit, we were able to remove the ductwork raceway in our master bathroom.

Without the wall for the ductwork, we had enough room to move our toilet and add a 5 foot bathtub/shower.

With a new floor plan, we started to re-remodel our master bathroom.

The first item to go was the small shower stall. You can see into our kitchen through that vertical hole.

The toilet and vanity soon followed. Ben moved the toilet plumbing and we got to work rebuilding. We had some sheet rock to patch after tearing down the wall, so that was the first change. Then Ben installed our new bathtub and we built a wall at the end.

We decided to make the end wall a 3/4 tall wall to keep the shower light and bright.

Once our wall was built, we installed out 12 inch square white marble surround. This is a square lay pattern with glass tile accents. I love that the marble extends to the ceiling.

More marble and grainte soon followed. Ben did a wonderful job installing our absolute black granite and white marble checker board floor. It definitely makes a statement while being classic.

We let the tile set before grouting with an unsanded white grout. Sanded grout would have scratched the marble. To keep with the rest of the house, we installed the same trim pattern we used in our master bedroom. Unfortunately, we could not completely install the trim at this point becuase we had to move our electrical panel first.

Here’s a shot of the vanity Ben built. He even cut and polished the granite!

I filled and sanded about 1,000,000 holes. A lot of primer, paint, sweat, blood and tears later, we had a new bathroom!

Master Bathroom Reno, Take 1

Published on June 11, 2010September 9, 2010 by Our Humble AbodeLeave a comment

Our master bathroom was awkward, to say the least. Unfortunately, I don’t have photos of it, but here’s a layout:

As you can see, there was a lot of wasted space and even more doors. The master bathroom, and therefor, the master bedroom, were connected to our kitchen!

Ben closed the door way to the kitchen and added a shower stall in place of the small closet. The wall on the other side of the shower had to stay because the furnace duct work ran through it and out the roof. Notice the electrical panel:

Ben ripped up the linoleum floor, replaced it with ceramic tile and installed trim. Not great, but better than the walk through.

The original vanity and toilet stayed, too. Not pretty!

So, after two years of living with this, we decided to take the plunge and renovate the master bathroom…

How To: Light It Up

Published on June 10, 2010September 12, 2012 by Our Humble Abode7 Comments

Another item checked off my to do list. Our dining room light fixture wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t quite what we were looking for. So, I ordered this light fixture from CB2. The only problem? The fixture is meant to be plugged in to an outlet, not hardwired. That’s okay though, I have a handy hubby.

Here she is in the box:

Before we could install the fixture, we went to Lowe’s to buy a 2 in 1 ceiling plate. Because the light is meant to be plugged in, one was not included. Not to worry, we found one in a brushed nickel finish for $4.98. It is however a little more traditional than I was hoping for. Oh well.

We went home, ready to install. First, turn off your breaker. You can never be too safe!! Then Ben removed our old fixture.

He installed the new mounting hardware for the box cover and we measured the height (32 inches) from our table. Ben marked the cord and cable to know where to cut. He adjusted the cable to hang at the proper height and tightened the screws in place.

Then he cut the wiring, leaving 3 or 4 inches more than he needed. He stripped the ends and connected the proper wires to one another, securing with wire nuts.

I held the fixture while Ben hung the ceiling plate.

After about 10 minutes, we had a brand spankin’ new light fixture.

I think it’s great. What do you think?

Flower Power

Published on June 8, 2010May 25, 2011 by Our Humble Abode3 Comments

Spring is by far my favorite season. Everything is bright green, flowers are blooming and birds are chirping. The flowers are a big selling point for me. Anyone who knows me should know that I cannot keep indoor plats alive. Sometimes I think they commit suicide because they know their fate. Rather than having dead indoor plants, I have outdoor plants, which Ben lovingly tends to. Probably The only reason they are still alive.

Two years ago, Ben built two window boxes and new shutters for the front of our house. Here they are this year with my purple and green color scheme in full bloom:

It was such a beautiful day yesterday. It has rained for the past few weeks-very unlike Montana. So beautiful I decided to take a few photos of our house. The roses are beginning to bud out, leaves are green and the sun was shining! Just don’t pay attention to the hoses…

I’m very pleased with our shade plants, too. They have filled in very nicely:

Four long years ago, I transplanted a group of peonies from my great grandma. After three years of small buds and no flowers, I have this:

I’m pretty sure I will have at least 4 flowers! YAY!! Now we need to fill in with rock-and paint our fence…

The Curtain Call!

Published on June 7, 2010May 25, 2011 by Our Humble Abode5 Comments

I’ve been wanting to add some color to our living room for quite some time. Repainting is out of the question for now due to small children and lack of time. So, what else makes a big impact while being cheap? Curtains, of course!

I considered sewing curtains, but decided to look for a pre-made set first. First stop, Target. And guess what I found? Two sets that I liked. Target rarely lets me down.

Option number 1: The first set is made be Fieldcrest. A navy blue with a lovely overlapping circle pattern and lining. Perfect for blocking light and adding privacy.

Option number 2: The second set are from Target’s Home line. The faux silk has the texture of real silk, but unlike real silk, these curtains can be machine washed and dried. Perfect for homes with kids with sticky jam hands. And the color is great.

I bought both sets to get Ben’s opinion. He liked the navy curtains becuase the color would help hide dirt. BUT, the sea green color, texture, and airyness almost matched the dining room curtains I sewed last year.