A blogger friend of mine (and yours too, probably) – Kate – is undergoing the hellexcruciating paindistress pleasure of a bathroom renovation at the moment. This is reminding me that I have promised and so far failed to deliver on my own recent renovation experience, also a bathroom.
This was a whirlwind of a renovation, with most of the work being completed by contractors within the space of ONE WEEK in May.
Don’t hate me. This has never happened to me before and will likely never happen again.
It helped that two contractors (drywall, tiling) live a few houses away from me and could pop over in the evenings or on the weekend for an hour here and there, while still pursuing more lucrative and involved day jobs than my wee bath. And that my favourite plumber had openings on his schedule.
Here is the BEFORE: the old bathroom in all its beige 1990 glory:
The toilet is only a year old. It’s the freshest thing in here 😉. It’s surviving the renovation but will be removed temporarily for installation of the new tile floor. I’m also keeping the medicine cabinet over the bathroom vanity as it remains useful and inoffensive.Tired tub/shower unit. This wall (and the unit) are going buh-bye.This corner used to house a stacking washer/dryer unit. I have a second-hand corner cabinet for this space, to hide the plumbing hookups as well as provide storage. It got a refresh (from me) while the bathroom was undergoing renovations.
And here is a video of the glorious AFTER:
I am so happy with my refreshed bathroom space. It puts a big smile on my face when I pass by and catch a glimpse of the shower curtain and the plants and coloured glass hanging in front of the window. And an even bigger smile on my face when I am relaxing in my new, much deeper soaker tub. It’s the hippy-dippy bathroom of my dreams!
This is officially the last large renovation I am doing in my little cottage (she says, hopefully). And also hopefully: LAST RENOVATION EVER.
I don’t want to temp the renovation gods after this incredibly smooth, incredibly fast one!
Funny story about my fireplace…I can’t have a wood-burning or gas fireplace where I live so that leaves me with electric as the only other option. I’ve had an electric fireplace before, and it was…OK. Pretty, but noisy to run and very obviously fake flames. So last winter I researched electric fireplaces and decided that the Dimplex Revillusion fireplace was the realest fake on the market and the one I was most interested in. However, it is not to be found IRL (in real life) anywhere near where I live. I didn’t want to buy one sight-unseen as they are not cheap. So I shelved the idea and went on to other projects (of which you might rightfully guess I have many! 😉).
Then I went back to Ontario in June to attend a special event for a friend’s daughter and while I was there I visited my good friends Kenn and Jonathan (who now live in my old apartment, above their museum). They show me all the changes they have wrought in my old place (all magnificent!) and lo and behold they had built an electric fireplace into a wall of bookshelves and IT. IS. THE. DIMPLEX. REVILLUSION. I practically screamed when I saw it. (Another funny story: they had also bought the exact same washer/dryer unit as I did. Can you believe it? What are the chances???).
Anywho, I got to see it in action and was convinced it was the unit for me. So I ordered one in late August.
Now I had to find a mantle to fit around the firebox. I went to good ol’ Facebook Marketplace and searched and searched. Nothing would fit it exactly. Then I found one that almost fit…and it was FREE. What did I have to lose? I could try to fix it and if I failed… well, it was FREE! I picked it up.
My free find.
I had to remove the shelf in order to fit the firebox so that means I needed a new front piece. I went to Home Depot to buy a piece of wood and the helpful guy in the lumber area suggested a piece from the “FREE pile” (did you know they had one???) and he cut the perimeter to fit. So far so good! My expensive firebox is getting enclosed in a free mantle with a free front piece. Whee!!!
Shelf removed and ready for sanding.
And here’s where it started getting expensive…Home Depot couldn’t cut out the inner piece to make it snugly accommodate the firebox so I ended up buying a jigsaw so I could do it myself ($75). And then I bought some peel and stick stone tile to decorate the front (2 x $60).
Inner piece cut out by Yours Truly and her new jigsaw. The tiles I bought to finish the front piece are in the centre. The tile is called “weathered granite” for some strange reason. It sure looks like slate to me. And I am not mad about it!It fits!!!
And then I stupidly bought way too much paint for this project ($85). But I was able to use it for the long overdue painting of my 2nd hand drop leaf dining table, and I will also use it to paint some other 2nd hand cabinets I have (yet another future project…sigh).
The colour is Potting Soil, by Behr – a deep earthy goose poop olive. I picked it to match the undertone of the slateweathered granite tile. I bought the top of the line paint-plus-primer because this piece really needed the coverage love.Starting to look much better. Beginning to apply the stone to the front piece and checking how it is turning out…I just love the look and gorgeous colouring of the slate…uh…I mean weathered granite. 😉Tiling completed.Closeup of slateweathered granite tile.I also used the jigsaw to cut out a bit of the base of the mantle so it could fit snugly over the baseboard and against the wall. Finished project, with Bowser photobombing once again! He MUST be in the middle of all things I do, just like a cat.My new living room setup – a very Grandma’s cozy cottage vibe, doncha think? 😁 Future plans include perhaps some built-in looking shelves on either side of the mantle (after all, I have lots of paint! 🤣). My TV, bought for the much larger living room in my old apartment, looks a tad out of proportion here but it will have to do.
Me dreaming up new projects as I enjoy my new fireplace.
I am so pleased at how this turned out. The DIY gods were certainly smiling down at me for this project. Or maybe it was Beginner’s Luck. I hope I am this lucky with my next project: The Cloffice. Stay tuned!
Rock on,
The WB
p.s. for those wanting to know without doing the actual math:
I’ve been in my little cottage just over a year now. During that time I’ve had the kitchen renovated,
Original kitchen.Gutted space.New cupboards in.Completed, almost. At this point I was still waiting on the tile backsplash.
and new flooring laid,
A much younger Bowser inspects the work.
painted walls, and created a new laundry room and a backyard oasis. Also on my to-do list for my home this year was finishing off the unfinished entryway and getting myself a fireplace before winter.
Here is the entry way, before:
View to front door (and Bowser photobomb 😂)View to back door.
And here it is after engaging the services of a talented family friend to finish the space, and painting the walls myself:
Facing the front door.Facing the back door.I’m lining the space with old furniture (including from my daughter’s teenage bedroom!) to provide me with much needed storage. The only piece I bought for the entry is this tiny pantry cabinet, and some shoe cabinetry from IKEA.
I’m super pleased with how this turned out. And how much more spacious my entire place feels with this area finished and providing extra storage for me. My entryway is now so much cooler in the summer and I anticipate will be warmer in the winter, thanks to insulating and finishing off the ceiling and walls.
Stay tuned for Part 2, and my fireplace dream come to life!
Bowser here. Oma has been pretty busy the past couple of weeks so I’ve had to stay over at Mommy and Daddy’s more than I am used to, during the day. There have been big white trucks in the front yard and strangers over at Oma’s. Here is a picture of me looking good at Oma’s – she just washed her kitchenyum-yum room mat and I am decorating it.
Not so Patiently waiting for you, Oma. Let’s do something fun please. At least drop something tasty!
Oma asked me to show you what she has been busy with.
It’s behind that solid door in her entry way. The entry way is currently in the process of being renovated as well – Oma
Here are the before/in-progress photos.
View of toilet with wallpaper border scraps decorating itView of other half of roomOriginal lighting and wall paper borderVanity torn out
And here are the photos of after.
Walls repaired and painted, plumbing and electrical in, floor laid, baseboards doneView of new laundry/rest roomView of “new” (relocated from main bath) toiletView of opposite cornerNew ceiling lights
Oma is so happy! She says now she has another useful room in her little house.
Can we play now Oma?
Bowser says he hopes you have time to play this weekend. Oma says she will be busy painting the entryway.
