Guest Bathroom Before & After

So the long, slow renovation reveal continues. This time I'm sharing our downstairs guest bath.

It doesn't look too impressive on its own, so let me share some of the before photos:

Yep, this thing was a MESS. The subfloor under the toilet had to be replaced (slow leak around the seal- ick). The tile on the wall was hideously dated, and the fixtures needed a lot of help. As this was our only bathroom that was mildly operational, it became a priority to get it in working order prior to moving in. 

Fixing the subfloor and floor tile was priority number one. It was pretty obvious that a few heavy steps would land you in the basement. We ended up re-plumbing most of the house and installed a new sink. The existing toilet was actually new, so we kept it (but replaced the seat. Because ew.). I really liked the existing sink, but it had some rough spots and needed re-finishing. The cost to re-enamel the sink was the same as the cost to refinish the wall tile for the whole bathroom plus the tub, so we scraped that idea and sold the sink. I know, I know... but it did go to a good home.

We had the entire bathroom sprayed by a professional refinisher, including the cast iron tub. Mike has refinished tubs before and it could have been a DIY project, but that wall tile was a more difficult job, so we brought in a professional. 

Not to mention that we also had to have a professional re-tile the floor and replace some tile behind a built-in. Do you see the sliver of shelf peaking out behind the door above? That built-in behind the door caused all sorts of issues. It made the wall crooked (hello, plaster) and thus made the tile crooked. The tiled wall did not extend to behind the shelf so we had to match it and then refinish everything in the same color so that it was seamless (spoiler: still not seamless). It also means we have a narrow door to the hallway.

The home's former tenants were obviously desperate for storage, because there was a cabinet and shelf built in on the other side of the room. (I totally feel their pain, you should have seen our junk crammed into there when this was our only working bathroom. Thank God and Home Depot our master remodel meant we added an upstairs en suite.)

We found a mirror/ medicine cabinet at salvage and just painted the other shelf. Later, I removed the door because the shelves were too narrow to be useful. I decided to use it as a display shelf instead. (Note: this shelf still needs retouching and removal of some very old hardware.)

I also added some frames to the space behind the door (where the larger old shelf used to be). I posterized an image that I found online and now I can't decide if I like it. Maybe the same image of a bee in each frame? Either gradually faded out or colored Warhol-style?

 

So, at least now the bathroom is clean and serviceable to guests. A few things that I really want to add/fix:

1. Crown molding. The rest of the house has picture molding, but the entry and this bathroom have none. I'd like to add crown but the uneven plaster walls are going to be a real bear.

2. A monogrammed shower curtain.

3. Some type of trimming or framing on the sides of the mirror.The issue there is that framing may very well reduce the functionality of the mirror's hinges.

4. A wider doorway... at least a standard door size! (I'm not even suggesting that now because Mike may murder me if I do.)

5. Some type of very narrow shelf or furniture piece for behind the door. I like the empty space, but the tile makes it very obvious that the wall is crooked.Some sort of small piece would hide the unevenness of the wall.

6. The door handle. It will lock you in. If you visit, be sure to take your cellphone to the bathroom with you so that you can call us to come let you out. I wish I was kidding.

So that's the guest bath reveal so far. Do you have any suggestions on how I could make it better? Please leave a comment!

Quick and Easy Autumn Wreath

This was a really simple, easy project. It took about 20 minutes altogether and used minimal materials (most of which were recycled from other projects).

I used an inexpensive grapevine wreath that I bought at Michael's using a 50% off coupon. It ended up costing me about $3.

Then, I took a remnant from the decorations for my brother's rehearsal dinner (the burlap-lace ribbon), along with a burlap bow that was bought to do double duty for the rehearsal and this project.

The letter "H" was purchased at Michael's a while back. The paint color is "Autumn Leaves," and in person it is much more of a reddish orange than is pictured. I simply painted two coats on the letter and let it dry.

I attached this all with my adhesive of choice: hot glue. I put the lacy-burlap ribbon down the back of the wreath, glued the letter to the front, then supported it with a narrow strip of cardboard up the back.

I attached the bow to the top and glued the ends down in an attractive way so that they framed the letter. I wasn't worried about it being weatherproof, as our porch is covered and the front door is well-protected from the elements.

This was so, so simple that I think it could use some jazzing up in the future. For example, I'm thinking of redoing this using the same wreath and letter for spring. Perhaps a green "H" with pastel polka dots painted on with a nice accent color ribbon for the top and behind the letter. Maybe I will spraypaint the wreath white. There's a lot of color going on with our front door, so I try not to compete too much with that.

Do you have any other suggestions on how this project could be "jazzed up" in the future? I would love to hear them!

Projects in the Mix

So I have a few lingering projects that need some attention, but I am feeling creatively "meh" about them.

First up are these amnesty week finds from last year (please excuse the iPhone photos). These two old radios are definitely in need of some TLC. The smaller of the two looks as if it had been cut up and transformed into a jewelry box at some point. A lot of the detailing is still intact, whereas the larger of the two... not so much. 

I was thinking perhaps a bar for the smaller one? The veneer is beautiful. But then what to do with the larger one? Planter box? Art piece? Firewood? It has a lot of the original elements inside intact, so I will probably sell that for parts since the case is so destroyed. I wonder if anyone on Etsy is interesting in buying old radio parts...

The second project is my first ever amnesty week find- an office chair. 

I found this bad boy on a run and promptly ran home and got my car so I could go pick it up. Probably posted my best time ever with that little sprint. (It's amnesty week... vultures are circling...) It reminded me of Mad Men, and I definitely needed some Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce swag in my life.

I thought about getting it recovered, and the wood needs a good cleaning, sanding, and either staining (I hate to stain, so probably not) or a bit of satin poly. I really like the cream leather (pleather?). It did have a tag barely hanging on to the bottom, but I lost it in the move and now I cannot remember the manufacturer. I looked it up at the time and saw that it was collectible, so I was very excited about giving it some love.

Also, if it is not a pillowcase or a bottom curtain hem I can't sew it, so I'm not even going to attempt to recover this myself. There are some good upholstery businesses in Hapeville for sure but I am very cheap, especially when it comes to projects. I have tried to clean the upholstery, but with very little success.

So these things are currently taking up space in my garage and basement, respectively. It's time to complete some projects or give these to someone who will! Do you have a suggestion for what to do with these three great finds?

Life with Chickens

I thought my husband was crazy when he said he wanted to get some backyard chickens.

I mean, I move from a rural area to the largest metropolitan city in the southern United States and this man wants to raise farm animals in our backyard.

The coop. Notice all of our flowers have been eaten by... you guessed it... chickens.

To say the least, I was skeptical.

"Hey there, my name's Fricassee."

But, as it turns out, chickens are not that much work. Truth be told, they are barely any work at all for me. Mike is the one who feeds them and gives them water. And after building a coop, that is basically all the maintenance that is required.

It is likely that you will open your blinds in the morning and see this.

Plus our eggs are soooo good I can't even eat regular eggs anymore. My dad feels the same way. He asks before every visit if we have eggs and coffee, as those are apparently the only guest accommodations he feels are necessary.

Chickens were even guests (or "scenery") at our surprise backyard wedding.

There are certainly downsides. These include going to your window one morning then wondering aloud "Why are there white feathers all over the yard?" Answer: raccoons.

Or hearing a shrieking hen desperately try to fight off a hawk. Just to reassure you, the chicken won. Well, I helped. That was the first time I ever hit a hawk with my bare hands.

Yeah... you could say I'm that chicken's hero...

The chicken that survived the hawk's attack is a Sussex hen named Gimpy. At almost five years old and with a limp caused by a birth defect, Gimpy has endured where other chickens have fallen prey. She's a tough old bird, and she is the slowest, smartest, and sometimes out of necessity, the meanest.

Though she is past her laying age, Gimpy became a mom for the first time this week. She has always been broody (a term used to describe a very "motherly" hen). The city allows for plenty of hens but no roosters, so Gimpy had not been able to lay fertile eggs while she was laying.

Since she is his favorite and because we are running low on chickens (blame the raccoons), Mike bought her some fertile eggs last month.

Within 20 days, we had five sweet baby chicks. Gimpy absolutely dotes on them. She is a great mom.

Our other chickens are two Polish Top Hats and one Ameraucana.

Buffy

Salt n' Peppa (two much chicken for just one name)

Gertrude Stein

We use our chickens for eggs and generally don't slaughter them for meat. We did slaughter one once who terrorized the other chickens and was an egg eater. (It's really difficult to break a chicken from eating eggs, and other chickens will pick up the habit.) I didn't care for the mess and thought it was more trouble than it was worth. We let our old hens die a peaceful death (or, you know... raccoons).

Only the Top Hat chickens are still laying eggs. Luckily, in about 20 weeks we should have some new hens to start laying. They grow up so fast. *sniff*

Nursery Reveal

I promised updated shots of the house... and I am delivering! This post is all about our nursery.

Let's go back to the before picture, shall we?

Would you put your baby in this room?

The bug bomb in the center of the room really sells it, doesn't it? Funny thing is, this is the room that probably needed the LEAST amount of work. A little bit of cleaning, refinished floors, and a metric ton of paint later, we had a workable space.

Most of this courtesy of grandma.

Much cuter, right? I also added a simple name banner above the crib...

I found these adorable Botanical Garlands by Rifle Paper Company on Amazon and the paper doilies at the dollar tree. Some twine, scissors, and tape were the other supplies used.

I strung the twine through the pre-cut openings on the letters, then taped the letter to the center of the doily.

Then, I hung the banner with a touch of hot glue. The birds are from Michael's. They were plain, wooden cut-outs that were less than a dollar each. I painted them a few of the nursery colors using some acrylic paint that I had lying around. I then attached the birds to the wall with some command strips to give them a 3D look.

Disclaimer: The pillows and stuffed animals are in the crib for the sake of staging. Peeling the vinyl wall decal is currently not in her motor-skill set. The banner and birds are out of her reach and firmly secured to the wall. Always do what is best and safest for your baby. 

Radio Rehab: Farnsworth EK-264

Shopping our little city's amnesty week is a real exercise in self-control.

For those of you who are not familiar, amnesty week is what the city calls the one week per year when items previously excluded from trash pick-up gets a reprieve, and neighbors pile their yards with all sorts of interesting items for discard.

There are restrictions of course, which often people ignore. Why? Because the garbage collectors get there long after the vintage collectors. (It's also a great time to pick metal for scrapping, which is why I'm so rarely able to find any cool metal objects for reuse.)

I don't even have to tell you how happy amnesty week makes me. It's like free shopping, antique picking, and treasure hunting all rolled into one.

So that brings me to my favorite find, which is the result of my refusal to do anymore curbside "shopping."

Naturally, when I refuse to shop anymore is when all the really good stuff gets put out. Such was the case when my husband came home one afternoon and said, "there's an old radio two houses up."

Um... yeah. It took me about 10 minutes to run up the road, call my husband to bring the car, load the radio into the car, and put it lovingly in my living room. The stickers on the back told us it was a Farnsworth EK-264. Google told us it was a chairside console radio circa 1946- 1947.

A real working radio with all (or at least most) of the parts was too much to ask. This thing was gutted (I assume in order to make it useful). The speaker was the only original part left.

 So, as you can see, the case was in great shape. The insides... not so much. Plus the radio's most recent rejuvenation was no longer adequate in order for it to be useful for us.

We could have gone three different routes. The first was to restore it as much as possible. The second was to completely overhaul the components of the radio. The third was to haul it back out to the curb.

Option two was going to be the best choice for us. We would have loved to restore it, but honestly we don't know a lot about old radios, are super cheap, and also use a lot of Bluetooth.

Well, well, well... looka here...

After all this time, the light still worked in the tuner. We did replace the bulb with a yellow LED. The original bulb still worked, but we did not know for how long. Therefore, we decided that once we had its guts out, we should give it a little fine tuning. That pun was totally intended.

I ordered some vintage-looking speaker cloth on Amazon and replaced the ripped and torn cloth using a staple gun.

As far as the components go... the most useful, least expensive, and easiest idea we could come up with would be to replace the insides with a car radio and speaker. Which is what we did. We also liked that this meant that there would be little to no damage to the case, making it easily reversible if we wanted to legitimately restore it in the future.

 In order to make this work, my husband plugged the car stereo into an old computer power supply. He had to cut a few boards in order to make the new speaker and radio stable. Then, he painted the boards black so that it "blended in" a bit more. As it only needs to be opened to change settings, it's not a big deal to us that it is just very simple on the inside.

(Note: I did polish the case and dust the inside. I did not notice the dust was quite so bad until I'm blowing up pictures on my blog! Lesson learned. A fine toothbrush cleaning is in store for next time.)