Bathroom demo has begun

I told ya'll about the bathroom remodel... the '16 years in the making' bathroom remodel...

I gave B-rad strict instructions that it was to be done BEFORE he started planting.  It has been slow going, but progress HAS been made.  Usually when he comes home from the barn each night he does a little something in there.

Before w/ the useless tub.

Taking the tub out gave us SO much room.

(The towel is covering the hole in the floor where the plumbing for the tub is.  You could feel cold air coming up from the garage!)

Our little shower...

buh-bye little shower...

(side note - this is where the toilet will be.  We've gone back & forth w/ ideas that I won't bore you with - but when this all started I wanted 2 things:  a bigger shower & a closet.   The closet was going to be where the shower was & the new shower would've been on the same wall as the toilet was.  We've figured out how to get an even bigger shower which leaves no room for the toilet where it used to be.  Now, don't feel too bad for me about not having a closet...I am getting a MUCH better vanity that will have tons more storage, plus there will be room to fit a small cabinet between the shower & the wall for extra storage.)  I'm so freakin' excited you guys I can't even tell you.

I thought you guys might be entertained by me whining about my new living conditions using the other bathroom.  YES I should be thankful that we have an extra bathroom & I am (blah blah blah) but you know how it is to have all your stuff in its own spot & then to have all that disrupted is a pain.  

I am glad we had done some work to this bathroom a few years ago.  Nothing major - just paint & B-rad put a sliding door on the tub (all it had was a bar for a curtain) & I added this shelf.  

The vanity isn't much to talk about in here (I'll show you in a sec) & there are no shelves to put anything on.  There's no medicine cabinet either so all my facial stuff is out on the counter.

I had to bring my hand soap dispenser from my bathroom so it's 'fragrance' free soap... ugh.

The vanity is crammed w/ towels & the decorations that used to be on the counter but had to be moved to make room for my all important age defying facial regimen.  My 'hair essentials' basket is on the bottom along w/ my deodorant & hairspray.  The pink bag houses items like extra contacts, B-rad's shaving stuff, etc.  See-no shelves... just allll open space. Notice how cheap the vanity is - it has no back!  I'm telling you - when we got married at 23 & 22 the modular was the best way for us to go.  (plus they were all the rage in 1999) It came w/ everything we needed except furniture & was cost effective... but you can see where the costs are cut in this pic...

It's all hands on deck around here & the decorations had to become functioning pieces.  I stuck our tooth brushes (does that sound right?  TOOTH brushes?  It's not teeth brushes...) in the little glass stones.  You might think ghetto but I think I need to put this idea on Pinterest, people....

Of course I had other stuff crammed in the spare bathroom vanity that had to be moved to make way for day to day items.  It all resides in my office now.  I have travel sized things in the top basket, band aids & other items.   In the bottom basket are all my cosmetic bags...yes that basket is the same size as the top & it's stuffed full.  I have an obsession w/ cosmetic bags...  

I had a cabinet over the toilet in the master bath so I had to shove all that stuff into boxes which are also now in my office...

We're going to do 2 pocket doors & I volunteered to stain the doors because B-rad 'had to go to the barn to load trucks'.  He got me all set up & started to demonstrate how it should be done.

While he was giving instructions I was busy taking pictures listening intently...  

& making sure my nails were well protected.

I have no 'old' clothes. You know - like clothes that are dirty or painted on or old so you don't care if they get dirty or painted on.  (I throw away, people - if it doesn't fit, if I don't like it, if I haven't worn it for a year it's GONE.)

But I know someone who DOES have lots of that stuff - B-RAD.  I grabbed one of his work t-shirts & I was immediately overtaken by the wonderfully intoxicating smell of detergent.  (I wash his stuff separate from mine...) & then I realized, "Wait - I can't let this touch my skin..." so I had to put one of my 'no smelly goodness' t-shirts on under it & I was ready to go.

I quickly realized that the longer I stayed quiet the longer he would keep staining... so I stood there as quiet as a little mouse until he remembered I was there & handed the brush over to me.  Curses...

(I'm totally not good at stuff like this.  I am not a perfectionist.  I am not patient.  And he was right not to trust me...the doors have a couple of spots where the stain ran... OOOPSIE.)   He said, 'See-that's what happens when you don't pay attention & don't take your time...' I hate it when he's right...

Another unfortunate side effect is that my house is now in dis-array.  There's a vanity top, side splash & a pocket door frame all in the dining room.

B-rad is super handy but he learned everything he knows from his dad.  Stanley offered to help him do the work & he came over last night so they could start working on a game plan & figure out how they want to do the plumbing.  Of course everything looks like a bomb went off while they're working but after he left last night I tried to organize things. 

Power tools in the kitchen.

The washer & dryer became the spot to set things down & to write on.  (It's right outside our bathroom.)  I moved everything off, put towels down to protect the washer & dryer from scratches & then put all the stuff they had had on it back. B-rad also brought in the industrial trash can so I didn't have to keep going outside w/ garbage.

 The black box is where the toilet used to be & that door goes into our bedroom.  (you can see our attempt to update it a bit by using the peel & stick tiles over the original linoleum.)

To give you a sneak peek, this is the color of the vanity top... it's called 'Blue Pearl' but I see more grey & black in it. It does have some blues in it put I choose not to see them.  The bathroom is going to be black & grey w/ red accents (to match our bedroom).  I don't know how much trouble it will be to keep clean or how well it will show dirt but I really love it 

This is a better picture of what it will look like.  The middle vanity is the one I picked (ours will be twice this size - the floor model is only 24") & the top is the blue pearl.  It's a bit more of a modern look than I usually go for, but our bedroom is a mix of modern & rustic so I plan to do the same with the bathroom.  I have a mosaic vase in the bedroom in these colors w/ sticks in it & the vase matches the front of vanity & the top.  

Strangely enough, this ensemble is called 'Mosaic'...I thought that was a good sign!