August 31, 2017

A bathroom reno

I'm finishing typing this as the rains from hurricane Harvey start up again.  I've not seen so much rain over a 2 day period ever.  Two hours one direction is complete devastation and one hour the other direction has had barely an inch of rain.  I started on this post over a week ago- and well- Life happens.  Please don't think this post trivial in light of everything that is happening around us- I ask that you cover the eastern half of Texas in prayer- We are showing a transformation here- and I know in the worst of times we see the best come out of people.  God has a way of working in us to transform us- in all situations.

Have you ever seen how a door knob can make a hole in a sheet-rocked wall- kind of like it got punched?? I have this first photo to show you... it's taken from a little bit of a distance... but none the less- a hole in the wall..





So a while back I had the cutest client ask about updating a bathroom- hard to say no to this one.

A Bathroom Reno/update was much needed for this room- according to the homeowner it was only 1 of 2 rooms that had not had Any paint put on it's walls since purchasing the home 17 years ago!!!  Meaning the rest of the house has had color put on the walls!

This tiny bathroom has 5 Doors in it---- 5!!!!!  Roughly 36 sq feet with a door on every wall and 2 on one of the walls!


From these pics you can see that new trim was about to go up- that was a must! The owner wanted a bit of a 'farmhouse' feel like what she had grown up with at her grandparents home.
The wall with 2 doors...
As you can see- tone on tone- very very plain... Not very indicative of this homeowner.  The above photo gives you peek of the next room with turquoise/green paint on the wall.
Little bit dated here- giant mirror taking up the entire wall- and a random vanity top that was angled to the corner of the wall.... Not sure what the builder was thinking on this one.

Nothing had been painted- but the homeowner did have some neat silver custom drawer/cabinet pulls. Mirrored back 3 light above the mirror- not very farmhouse feel going on.....

Since all the door and baseboard trim was out- next......Down comes the mirror- actually kind of popped of... little scary! And bye bye vanity top!!!

Now- here come the goods.....

 Brand spankin new Shiplap..... Plain pine..... Left over from a job a contractor in town finished.  I spoke for it, a cast iron sink and an unused light fixture! Then I got in touch with it, or a hold of - and

stained it.... Dark Walnut and grey and pecan... I was mixing stain all over the boards!

Next came a dry scraping on of paint.... the antique white color...  Enough to cover the board- but not to cover all of it... There must be some of the dark color left to give it a good aged feel.

I cannot resist color- so 2 were scraped with Junk Gypsy Paint in Granny's Cornbread, Wanderlust and Free Range. Not really the customers idea though.......









So after some sanding and another layer you only catch a 'hint' of those pretty bright colors.  The idea was to make it look like aged shiplap that had been on a wall for years and years......

Fairly certain I was able to get that look accomplished!  At least to the customers liking!!!!



Using Junk Gypsy Paint was just the touch it needed along with a crackle paint technique I think I've 'perfected' over the last few months.  These two whites are just enough different on the shades to see it when looking! Buttermilk biscuit and Dreamcatcher were the 'go to' colors for this!

 Yes, Yes- Getting closer to the look they wanted!  I hand picked each board for where it would be placed and to what point it would be cut- You cannot have shiplap cut at the exact same spot on every row...... no no- it must be different!  The vanity top came from wood that had been rafters in a house and previous to that they had been barn rafters..... Nice and aged!  You can see the black marks along the front- that is where the square nails were pulled out.
A solid cast iron sink straight off an old trailer bed from a contractors previous house renovation- quite perfect for this bathroom!


 Cabinets... Well that light pine color wasn't quite the Farmhouse feel the client was going for....

 



 So again I opened Junk Gypsy Paint in Buttermilk Biscuit and Dreamcatcher- really a good combo for a farmhouse feel.  After two coats and a once over with the clear coat they were ready to go back up.





Oh- And super cute hardware...  Hobby Lobby had a sale 50% off on hardware and the clients picked these pretty glass knobs for the drawers and sturdy pulls for the cabinets- I think they did a great job!!!!  I was in love even more now!

My carpenter put a bar top finish on this counter-top- just what wood needs in a bathroom!

 Getting there..... by this point I was in love with the shiplap wall and wanted to do my bathroom wall in it!!!! 

 The beveled glass mirror was pulled carefully from an old shed months ago-- just waiting for it's new life! I love it when I can put finds to use for customers!


 Most perfect door header purchased from Jill Suzanne during Warrenton in the fall.  Again- another piece that I'm so happy worked for this client... Scraping it to have some wood showing amongst the original paint works very well in this room!
Oh- and did I mention my carpenter is awesome?!  I gave him this old piece of 'venting' from a smoke pipe and also gave him my vision for a light fixture... a few days later he showed up with this-- Exactly what I wanted!!!!  (I'm sure venting is not the correct word- feel free to email and correct me.) This piece has the Perfect amount of rust and galvanized combination- a little spray of clear coat and it was ready to go!



Ready for the 'Reveal'   --- I have a picture of the client seeing it all for first time- but they didn't want me to show them.....


 Ta-DA!!!!!


 Pretty Awesome compared to where it started!!!!

Oh- and in the mirror--- do you see that neat steely grey color-- that is at the bottom 3 ft of the other walls in this tiny room- and then a nice 'chair rail molding' to cover up where the hole in the sheet rock was!  This really finished it off and gives a dressier farmhouse feel!



I was loving this reno when I remembered a sign I had purchased from Sisters Treasures 
a while back.  This is one of those old County Fair Carnival looking signs- from when they were all hand-painted.  This one is quirky in the way the hand is upside down of sorts- but it is fun and unique and different- much like the rest of this little room now!

So there is the finishing touch on the little Bathroom with 5 doors that has a totally new/old look. God can do the same with us!  He can peel back the old- in this case the baseboards and door trim and put on a new exterior when we come to have life with him!  When we transition to this new life we renovate our previous life and discard some of the things that aren't pleasing to God.  We do this not because we 'have to' but because we 'want to' in order to show Him to others.  We should be like the mirror in the above photo and reflect 'Him' to all we come in contact with.  As the storm continues may we be able to share God's love through helping hands in our communities or those around you affected from this storm.

One renovation at a time.....
Suzanne









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