Life is like a bath- the longer you're in it, the more wrinkled you get!

For real- I felt like this bathroom was never going to get done.

I knew from the moment I entered this home, I would want a bathroom in the basement.  A finished basement was at the top of my list when house hunting, with the goal of renting it out.  My agent Joe and I figured it wouldn't be too difficult to get a bathroom installed.  I was fortunate enough that the seller gave me $5,000 towards renovations.  The night before closing, we met with contractors to get estimates, and boy were we shocked!  The estimates were coming in at $20,000-$30,000... this was way more than we had figured.  And none of the contractors seemed to like the space I picked for the bathroom.  We had this small area on the other side of the stairs- many felt like it was too small.

But I didn't want to give up all this unfinished space- I felt like it had a lot of potential for the future:

I finally found a contractor that was willing to do the job in that space, at a reasonable price compared to all the others.  And the work started.  And man was it messy.

There was no rough in, so we had to start from scratch.  They were able to locate a pipe under the concrete and hook into there.  The water heater needed to be moved back to make more space too.  Dust was everywhere- this was the part I didn't expect.  No matter how many times I dusted and vacuumed, the dust was everywhere.  But, once the concrete was drilled, I knew there was no turning back.  The next few days they started framing out the bathroom and cut the door:

Then was the fun part- picking the tiles.  I had fallen in love with these huge (12"x24") wavy white tiles, and this mosaic with some silver.  Since this is a basement bath without any windows, I wanted to keep the shower tiles bright.  I also had to keep in mind that my goal is to eventually rent out the space, so I wanted larger tiles to prevent tons of grout lines.  I know no one that rents is ever going to treat the space the same as I would, so I wanted it to be very minor maintenance.

The tile guy HATED my tile selections.  He said my tile was too big for the size of the shower.  Then he hated that the mosaic had so much texture- both tiles were wavy, and hard to work with.  But, he figured out a way to lay them that looked good.  We then decided to pop in a niche for bottles and soap... thanks to Tessa consistently bumping her elbow on her soap dish- she said I HAD to do a niche :P  I was impressed that this was all done before they installed a light!

I learned that the shower tiles have to be 2"x2" for drainage- they allow for the water to slope down to the drain.  So I bought the same tile I used on the floor for the shower floor, just smaller.

Once they laid the floor tiles, I wasn't allowed to walk on the tile for a night.  They sealed it off to make sure I didn't!  Once it was grouted, it was time for the finishing touches.  They painted, put in the toilet, vanity, hardware, lighting, etc.  And the end product- amazing!  I'm so jealous that this isn't my bathroom.

I really didn't want to put up a shower curtain, but I got this hotel style shower curtain from Home Goods.  I guess I'll get over it!

Cost: approximately $16,000  YIKES!

Be Our Guest!

Next up... guest room!  It wasn't awful, except the wallpaper border.  That was pretty awful!  Plus, once again, it had that yellowish brown paint color.  I knew this would be the last room that I would do, because my old bedding matched this room pretty well.  But, I've had this bedding for about 5 years, and it wasn't hanging in there so great anymore.  But this wall color compliments the blue carpet so nicely :P

I'm not sure if I've mentioned before, but there are THIRTEEN different types of flooring in this house.  Thirteen.  So, this was the lovely carpet that was selected for this room. 

One night, I had a friend staying over- the first guest in this room.  We were looking around the room and she asked if I had put the border up.  I laughed and mentioned it would be an upcoming project- and I noticed the edge was starting to peel up.  So, at 3am, we jumped up on the bed and started pulling,  To our surprise, this is what we found underneath:

Not at all what I expected.  She then said that the bluebirds were so nice, and that she got to sleep with the bluebirds.  Then, as I went to shut the door, we just started laughing about the back of the door.  Because, it was of course painted- why wouldn't it be?!

So, I decided this would be a good winter break project.  I figured I'd remove the border quickly one day, make sure the surface was wiped down, and then work on some other projects the next few days to make sure it was totally dry before I painted.  My plans were quickly changed.  I ripped off the Live, Laugh, Love border within about five minutes, with just a pull, but I was neither laughing or loving this project.

I wound up with really jagged edges, but I could see the bluebirds.  I used the same solution of ammonia and fabric softener as I had on all of the other wallpaper.  But this time, it was coming off in the smallest strips ever.  And I found yet another surprise- another border!  Do you spy that deer?!  Yea, he was part of the third layer.

So I kept peeling and peeling, and about an hour later, this is what I had accomplished:

Since they had painted over some of the border (s), it made it super difficult to come off.  So I finally decided my sanity was worth the $50 it would cost me to buy a wallpaper steamer.  So I ran to Lowes, and came back excited to give the steamer a try.  And then it took forrrrrever for it to warm up.  So I sat at the computer and watched Netflix while I was waiting- I didn't want to go too far since I had read the reviews about it starting to boil and spill hot water all over the floor.  This steamer was worth every penny for this project.  It wasn't needed for the other wallpaper projects, but it was perfect for this border.  After hours of scraping the border, I got to what was below.  And what was below?  I still have NO idea.  Some weird paint job involving a navy blue, then a red, and then a lovely blue sponge painting job.  I have tried and tried and tried to visualize what this room looked like before all the layers, and I still can't imagine it!

This was a huuuuge mess.  I tried using the wet vac to get it up, and that wasn't really working.  So then I used a regular vaccuum which worked pretty well for a bit.  I did have to stop a couple times to unclog it.  I also had to continue moving the bed as I went around the room.  The room is so small, there was very little space to get to the walls.  This was my stopping point for the day- I couldn't imagine spending any more time in this room.  The next day, I just went over the border again with the steamer and a big sponge to make sure all of the glue and tiny pieces had been removed.  While waiting for it to dry, I decided to start painting the closet, closet doors, and bedroom door.  Again, the closet was also painted a crazy dark color.  I had made the decision to prime the closet and doors since I was painting them white- I was afraid with the colors already painted, they would show through the white.

I was amazed at how much this already freshened up the room.  This made me (a little) more motivated to get painting.  So I started prepping the room for primer- removing the outlet covers.  But again, I ran into a problem.  One of the outlets was not only painted, it was painted to the outlet itself, and I could not get it off without ripping the outlet out (luckily, no sparks or shocks).  So I quickly replaced that outlet, and waited till after painting to replace the rest.  The vent cover also had a fantastic painting job!

Once I got everything off, it was time to prime.  Since I removed the wallpaper, this primer would help cover up any remaining residue, and I was afraid I'd wind up with another funky border if I just painted directly over it.  So I started priming.

 And priming...

And priming....

 And more priming....

Finally, the room was ready to be painted!  All this prep work just to paint the room.  I was exhausted, and my foot was throbbing.  Turns out, according to the doctor, standing on a ladder is about the worst thing you can do for Plantar Fasciitis.  It also didn't help that I kept running into the same corner of the bedframe, with both shins.  You would think I'd learn after doing it once, but I guess not.  I had huge bruises- the doctor assumed it was from Crossfit.  Not so much.

I decided to use the Yellow frog tape for most of this job since I had used primer- I didn't want it peeling up the primer, and then the paint job too.  After much debate, I decided to go ahead and use the same gray that I did in both of the other bedrooms.  I had some leftover, and figured it would be best for consistency upstairs.  I know as a buyer I hated how all the floors were so different- so I figured some buyers might not like the different colored rooms.  Plus, with the white I chose for the doors, I knew it would look really fresh and clean.

It was then time for the finishing touches- new outlets, new covers, new vent cover, new closet knobs, new light switch, and freshly painted trim on the doors and windows.

I then knew I had to buy new bedding to match the room.  I dug through my closet for some color inspiration, and decided on black and white, with red accents.  So I began searching for bedding that would complete this color scheme.  I wasn't able to find anything on Amazon, so I knew I was going to have to wait for shipping :(  About a week later, my $50 bed in a bag set arrived from Walmart!  I couldn't wait to tear into it.

I still need to add the red accents and change out the curtains, but the colors help tone down the blue carpet (a bit).  I can't wait to get the floors installed, but the upstairs is well on it's way to being complete! 

I Like My Money Right Where I Can See It... Hanging in My Closet- Part 2

So this is where we left off yesterday- all the holes were filled, walls were painted, floors were sanded and the first coat of paint was done.  I was in the home stretch!  I added one more coat of brown to the floors.

Then I started covering with poly.  This was what it looked like right after application, before drying.  It dried mostly clear, however, I have a few patches where I must have made it too thick, and there are a few streaks.

So while the floors dried, I ran back to Ikea, to get more shelves for the bookcases, I started assembling them.  I had found a pinterest Ikea hack- this was where I got my idea for the closet.  This would prevent me from having to spend the money on a pricey closet system, and would result in a very customized closet.  First up was the tall and wide Billy bookcase, and a bunch of extra shelves to fit all  most of my shoes.  This was with the shelves included- I added five additional shelves- this made it pricier, but maximized my storage.  This shelf was attached to the wall, then I then screwed in one of the closet rods into the bookshelf and the other end into a piece of wood remaining from the original closet system (since there was no stud there).  This bar will be for my dresses and other full length items.

Then I put together the narrow Billy shelf.  This shelf fits my baskets perfectly!  I have had them for years and use them to store socks, belts, and tights/leggings.  The baskets help hide my clutter and give the closet a cleaner look.  I made sure to secure this one to the wall too so that it was able to support the weight of the rods.  Then I used the super long closet rods- this time I doubled up to make two long hanging racks.  I was also able to screw these into the bookshelf and then into the stud on the other wall.  I was concerned about sagging since these rods were 100" long and had a lot of heavy clothing hung, however, the rods seem very strong and durable.

Then I put together the last little bookshelf.  This was the perfect size for this little nook, and is functioning for gym shoes, boots, purses, etc.... and of course my penguin slippers.

I then bought an adult hamper- with three bags!  I'm in love with it- it's making hauling laundry up and down the stairs so much simpler!

And now, for the final results....

I'm thinking it totally needs a fun, girly light!

Now for the total cost, worth every penny.... I know that this is what I'm always most curious about:

Billy tall/wide bookcase- $69.00
Billy tall/thin bookcase- $49.00
Billy short bookcase- $49.00
5 long extra Billy shelves- $10.00 each= $50.00
5 small extra Billy shelves- $5.00 each= $10.00
2 72" to 100" adjustable closet rods with hardware- $13.96 each= $27.92
1 30" to 48" adjustable closet rod with hardware- $7.98
1 quart of poly- $11.31
1 quart of Behr paint- tinted with "Coffee Brown"- $17.98
1 custom closet system = $292.19