Another (MAJOR) Transformation: of the Master Bathroom variety

There is a super long story that goes with our Master Bathroom.

I will spare you MOST of the details,

but the backstory makes this bathroom transformation all the better!

Because God's timing and provision were behind all the details.

Plumbing and rotten wood have been issues with this house since before we purchased it.

It started with us having to keep the plumber's number on speed dial

because inevitably, whenever we would have a huge get-together at our house

the pipes would back up and we would be left with only one working toilet.

And it was not uncommon for us to be standing in a 3-inch high puddle in the shower.

It got so bad that we were forced to shut the door to our bathroom and use the only other bathroom in the house with the kids for nearly 9 months.

And even with that, plunging became a tag-team event with our closest of friends, ha!

The first two photos above were taken of our bathroom shortly after we moved in.

The last photo was taken after the bottom of our shower rotted out.

A company came out and had to tear the whole shower bottom out to the basement/crawlspace,

and then peaced out after realizing all the work they would have to do to 

make our bathroom functional again.

It sat like that for months!

We called several companies and friends who gave us different estimates and answers to the ongoing,

and seemingly unresolvable, problem(s), but still nothing was happening.

We were beginning to think that we were never going to find somebody to help us fix everything.

So we closed the door and pretended like nothing was wrong.

But somehow, every time I sat down in certain colony member's pee on the toilet I was quickly reminded of the problem we had on our hands.

But after one look at it by our friend from Journey, Ulises, 

he surprised us by actually taking on the job...and FAST!

Within two days he had a crew together to begin demo on the bathroom, plumbing

and replacing all the joists and supports under the house.

Left: The demo from our bathroom went straight through to the basement.
Right: looking into our bathroom from our bedroom.

Left: Josh made the guys breakfast to show them just how THANKFUL and GRATEFUL we were for their help.
Middle: While the guys were jacking up the house and banging under our feet for 2 days we made up fun games to play.
This particular one was setting up all the action figures to see which one would be left standing last.
Right: Jude was motivated to get his own hammer out and "work" on some projects too.

Lowe's trips were one of the most stressful things an adventure with five kids.
The guys were working SO quickly that we had to get supplies and make decisions very fast,
and ALL the kids wanted to give their input as well, ha!

Ulises was SO sweet and patient with Jude.
He didn't mind all his questions and was always finding a job for him to help with.
These two would create quite a bond over the next few weeks as
Ulises team helped finish up a couple of other projects in our home.

We had some friends help us draw out a new, more efficient floor plan
and Ulises' team nailed it!
The day we finally got a full floor down in our bathroom was a day to celebrate!

Then the tile went up

And then the toilet and vanity went in,
followed by the headboard.

Josh and I sanded, caulked and painted

I still can't believe this is MY very own bathroom.

Josh and I have had a running joke about how every time we move our bathroom 

gets smaller and uglier, ha!

But now our bathroom belongs in a fancy hotel.

God cares about the details.

He cares about our needs.

And He provides for us in His perfect timing.

I know I always say this, but nothing is sweeter than seeing God's children use the gifts and talents God gives them to bless and help others.

So if you stop by my home don't think I'm crazy if I ask if you'd like to see my new bathroom, ha!

Another Transformation - The Birth Of A Pergola: Part 2 - The Details

Here are some of the necessary details to help this project come together.

We scoured the yard for rock and brick to help level the deck all around.

The lattice to fill in the gaps in the wood.

To the right you can see where we need to add the rest of the lattice.

The floating pallets help give options for expanding the area for different occasions and views.

I found some extra burlap for curtain ties, and used the tablecloth packaging for two more.

~candles and color~

Two of my favorite things!

(they are a must for repelling bugs anyway, ha!)

the tension rods to go around the upper perimeter

outdoor lighting

I found the hanging planters at the Dollar Store

I made the other two out of extra rocks and bricks around the yard.

We'll see how hardy these ferns are:)

Besides covering the top eventually,

we still need to find some kind of plexiglass or plastic cover for the table and benches to keep water from sitting in the crevices of the doors table/benches

And that wraps up my project of the month!

Another Transformation - The Birth Of A Pergola: Part 1-The Construction

The Picnic Table

I had an idea in my head of a beautiful space for outdoor eating on crisp, fall nights.

All we needed was a picnic table, benches and everything else to make it a reality.

One night while I was supposed to be sleeping I got looked over to the door propped up in our room as a "decoration" with lights draping down and saw our table!

So I dragged it down the hallway and found the other one that had been in our shed since we moved into the house.  They were originally the doors that opened up to our "foyer".

Then I went to the store, found some outdoor paint in a color I liked (blue of course)

bought a couple of beams for $7/each and began the project.

I hammered and banged off the striped screws took off the hinges and doorknobs

sanded down the rough edges and cleaned the surfaces.

Picked a side and spray painted a couple of coats.

Next I googled the standard size of table and bench legs and cut them to size.

I asked Josh to saw the other door in half longways, much to his dismay and puzzled looks:)

And within a day we had our table and benches.

We carried them around back to the place I envisioned our "space" to be

and began mentally putting other pieces together.

The Deck/Future Pergola

Next was to gather pallets from the local hardware store and other places who were eager to get rid of their "junk".  I had seen a picture on Pinterest of a pallet deck, but knew that I'd have to do a lot of board rearranging on those pallets to make it work, and ain't nobody got time for that.  At least this colony mom sure didn't.  So I opted for some siding board pretreated for roofing and siding.  I bought 2 sheets, although I really needed 3 to cover the entire "deck", but I'm on a budget so I'd figure something else out for the extra slots on the sides.  I found 2 sheets at $18/sheet.

The next step was to level the ground and pallets.

Which was a beast to do by myself (especially those heavy posts!), 

but my hubby told me that leveling is sexy so I dug in my heals (literally) 

and leveled that mug until it was flat, ha!

The posts were husband approved, but the deck floor left much to be desired, 

so Josh volunteered to help me out, cursing the fact that I insist on using "imperfect pieces" to make my creations.  I just told him to embrace those imperfections because that was going to be the thing that gave our space its character.  Am I right?!

Next was the painting, which we already had on hand.

And then the FUN began!

Adding the final touches to our project.

This has happened in stages.

(remember I still am a mom and wife)

I painted 3 extra pallets to add as "floating" decks to place other chairs on 

or maybe to house the grill 

or even the kid's picnic table if we have LOTS of people over.

This just gives us some options

(for the times when I feel the urge to rearrange and now-permanent structure;).

Meanwhile, I had found a solution to the space-between-wooden-slats problem.

I had picked up some plastic trellis from my parents barn a few months back and wouldn't you know that it not only dresses up the space 

but keeps us from breaking our ankles in our excitement to get to the table, ha!

(we still have to put some more down,  

we just haven't gotten around to cutting it to fit the other sides.)

I spent right at $100 for the entire structure and table/benches.

I had some of the drapes in my home already so all I needed were a couple more drape panels and some color.  I found 2 long table clothes at sewed the top to make curtains for the backdrop.  Bought a few tension rods and 2 hanging baskets at the Dollar Store.  I'd also been waiting patiently for a sale or clearance offer on the lights which I found at target.  Two strands work perfectly to add to our space around the fire pit.  

Altogether this entire project was right around $140.

Tomorrow I'll be showing some more of the details and 

final touches I've added since the initial creation was built.

While You Were Gone - A Story In Pictures - another transformation (of the more difficult variety)

Last weekend Josh and I headed to his parents house in Virginia to drop off the kids.  They were about to spend the week with their Meme and Poppie in order for Josh and I to have a couple of days away for our anniversary.

Luckily I am not a hard-to-please woman and we had the best stay cation EVER, and the only thing on the agenda (well, except that it WAS our anniversary so there were "other" things on the agenda as well;), was to re-do our kitchen floors that we had been given Christmas money to do.

I made a list of all the things I wanted to complete while the kids were away and started knocking the projects out as soon as we got home on Monday afternoon.

We found some beautiful wood flooring on clearance (thank you Heidi!), and with that price we still had plenty of money to cover the other smaller project we wanted to get done around the house and stay completely in budget.

We immediately began prepping the floors to lay down the wood flooring.  Three layers of old linoleum later we found the subfloor.  We had a couple of friends warn us of asbestos (after we were almost done ripping it all out) in the old linoleum backing and glue so we did a worrisome amount little bit of research and calling around before making the executive decision that it was NOT full of asbestos, but if it was, the damage was done and was now sealed into the subfloor after some advice from our contractor friends, aired out the house for 3 days straight and gave each other lung cancer for our 13th anniversary, ha!

This is looking into the kitchen from the dining room.  This is how the floors have been adjoined since we moved in.

The white tile was the top layer.  That yellow tile under our living room? That was the second layer in our kitchen.  We still aren't quite sure how far into our home that layer goes under the carpet,
but that's another project for another week day.

Josh temporarily lifted my ban from tools, yay!

ahem...moving on...

Our laundry "room" is in the kitchen so we tore out the cabinets above the washer and dryer and used the wood to make a new desk for the girls to share in their room.

These are some of our "laundry room" transformations over the years

and then we knocked all the cabinets out

Since Josh's time was limited with work and school I found several other projects to occupy my time:)

I found an old cookie sheet to make a magnet board for Jude.

I finished up the painting in the kids bathroom that I began several months ago and painted the cabinets in there as well.

I added a little romantic eye candy to our bedroom.

using an old door that has been in the shed since we moved in

Painted and revamped the boys room.  This is the only room in the house that we hadn't touched since moving in over 5 years ago.

Painted all the exterior doors.

And began the work of painting the cabinets in the kitchen, which will be finished on a day when I get complete movement and feeling back into my hands again.  Painting for 3 days straight really begins to limit mobility and function of my griping muscles, ha!

After all of that my body is now paying the price.  I love the finished products, but man was I exhausted after picking up the kids Saturday afternoon and calling in quits!

Here are some shots of the finished products of the kitchen.

(I really started off good with photos on my good camera and then got a bit lazy:)

And for your viewing pleasure, a little before and after:)

this was taken shortly after we moved in

then I had the bright idea of accenting some of the cabinets with dark brown
(what WAS I thinking?!)
and then adding the backsplash a year and a half ago.

This was taken yesterday.
I can't wait to get a fresh coat of white on the cabinet doors and finish the grey border in between them:)

Another Transformation ~ of the fireplace variety

After almost 5 years of this...

we finally lightened up our living room with paint

but that didn't fix our fireplace "problems"

after 2 inspections and lots of work we fixed all the issues with our fireplace

which included the removal of the wood burning stone

(apparently it wasn't installed properly and had lots of years of damage to the chimney to prove it,
including, but not limited to smoke damage, chimney fire damage,
water damage, cracked sealant, closed damper...)

after the work was complete we went to town on the paint job

we put a primer down and then chose a warm latte color

and finally figured out how to install the mantle that had been in our storage since before we moved in

(thank you baby!)

I suppose I should have gotten a better photo but I was tired

and the iPhone was closer

and the fireplace was beckoning me:)

Another job complete.