The 10 Month Bathroom (My Side Project)

We have a bathroom that belongs in the Medieval era.

When we first looked at this house, the bathroom haunted me... literally...I had dreams about the horrible tile. Most people that see our bathroom do not think the tile is that bad, but look at the pictures...it is everywhere, I mean everywhere - floor, ceiling, walls, everywhere! AND it is so masculine. We don't live in a dungeon. Plus the bathroom is very small. What were these people thinking. The worst part, the tile is basically brand new, so realistically ripping it out is a big waste of money and not an option for us since we have prioritized other areas of the house. 

For ten months we have basically left the bathroom alone. We didn't even have a towel bar, just flung our towels over the shower curtain rod (classy, right?). Over the past few weeks, I made it my goal to improve the bathroom. It is not completely done as we have a light and fan that still needs to be installed, but, it looks much much better and is much more functional (we have a towel bar...AND hooks!! oh my!) Below are the before and after pictures!

Before

New Mirror, Replaced all Chrome hardware and lighting with Oil Rubbed Bronze. Removed rack over the toilet. Added light colored  more feminine shower curtain and rugs to mask the tile.

One of our towel racks! (we also have hooks!)

So there it is. A few small changes really make for a more inviting, more modern space! 

A little money saving tip: Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze Spray Paint

This stuff is amazing! We used in when updating some of the fixtures and hardware in our old house as well! 

After a Six Month Hiatus...The Work Continues!

MHello All and Welcome Back to our project blog!!

Where we left off:

Six (long) months ago we were remodeling our kitchen and dining room. In December we welcomed our beautiful baby girl Natalia into our family! We are still remodeling our kitchen and dining room... When Natalia was born, all work on the house came to a screeching stop; we have basically been surviving, living, existing, and this so called thing "time" has been non-existent. We left the kitchen almost finished. What remains? - The back-splash, trim, and the French door!

We are finally ready to resume work on our house. Do we have more time...I am not too sure about that but we have figured out our new normal and have been able to begin finishing projects up and starting new projects!

Spring and Summer - Let's Enjoy Our Back Yard!

As warmer weather rolled in, we were more than excited to get outside and have a place to burn off some of the stored winter energy! This is easier said than done. 

Our backyard although functional, was less than inviting and was semi-hazardous for anyone with legs of the same length. The old owners must have had a dog who liked to dig. Our yard was very uneven with lots of large dips and holes. Not only did the yard need to be leveled, but the entire yard needed to be regraded around the house to create proper drainage. For anyone that has done these tedious yard tasks you they are time consuming, a lot of work, and there isn't much visual show for them. Jake worked hard for multiple weekends to improve our yard, the terrain, and the drainage!

Now we come to the most unsightly section of the yard, the ferns... Our backyard had hundreds (and I literally mean hundreds) of overgrown, unkempt ferns. They were growing rampant and I can only assume a mosquito and spider haven. Jake and I really do not like landscaping plants, shrubs, trees, etc. We hated these ferns. The work on the ferns started last fall when my mom dug out a bunch to replant. In the spring I dug out a number more for her and then Jake took care of riding the bed of the remaining ferns (hundreds and hundreds of ferns). 

The last weekend in May my dad and brother came up and braved the horribly cold and rainy weather to help Jake build a deck! They literally worked through rain all day Saturday! Due to the weather, they did not quite finish the deck, but Jake has been working very diligently to finish it up so that we can enjoy it! Fin has also enjoyed helping dad on the deck! I am not sure what he is going to do now that it is complete. He talks about the deck a lot and every time Jake is outside Fin thinks he is working on the deck!

Jake also did some landscaping work along the back of the house and the side creating an area for firewood, the hose, drainage pipes, and other small yard tools.

We have been unsure of where we will put a garden so this year we planted a few select items in pots. Fin helped me to plant our vegetables and flowers. We added flags and solar lights for a little patriotic flare!

Below are the before and after pictures!! We don't have a table yet, but we were too excited to wait to share!

If you made it this far, you are probably thinking, "Wow this is great! But what about the kitchen?" Well, the kitchen and dining room are still in a standstill. We really wanted to have the yard complete and functional for the summer! They are next on the list! We are hoping to have them done by July as we are having a family gathering and would love to show off our (finally) completed project!

Slowly, but Surely...We Will Finish...

We are continuing to work on multiple projects throughout the house! 

Jake's brother Josh came up the other weekend and helped with the Kitchen! He was a huge help and I also think Jake really enjoyed having him around!! We now have a microwave!!! This seems trivial, but we have not had a microwave since June. Reheating food has never been easier!! After the microwave was installed, the final upper cabinet went in, meaning ALL of the kitchen boxes are now empty and out of our house! Jake has been working on capping the cabinets and installing trim! We have light fixtures - which aren't our permanent ones, but since we couldn't agree exactly on what we wanted we decided to put up some temporary lights for now.We once again have a dining room table! I have so much enjoyed eating meals as a family at a table - it has been a long time since this has been possible!

The only things left in the kitchen are the subway tile back splash, the french door, and the remaining trim! We likely will not have this complete before the baby comes as I am due in 19 days. However, I have come to terms with this. The finishing touches are purely cosmetic and our kitchen is not only functional, but awesome and a huge, huge, huge, improvement from what it was. Jake has a winter break with school in which he will have a little more time to hopefully finish up these last few things. 

Fin and the baby's room is basically complete, decorations and all! I am waiting on another dresser to arrive and one more decoration from a dear friend!

My mom came up the other weekend and was a tremendous help in cleaning up our house, getting all of the baby stuff washed and organized, organizing the kids room, and setting up our guest room! We now have a room for guests to sleep!! Although it is by no means finished, there is a bed and a door on the room! Once again this is leaps and bounds from where we were two weeks ago. Jake and I have also managed to organize and declutter our bedroom (construction material free)!! There is room for a baby!! Thank goodness!

We are headed out of town this weekend, back to MN for Thanksgiving! A little crazy at 37.5 weeks pregnant...probably, but we are going to go for it! It is one of two time/year the whole Rouse family gets together! We could not be more excited!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Back At It!

Alright, so I think it is pretty clear that I have not posted an update in a while! We have however been working on the house!

Since the kitchen/dining room is functional, work has been put to the side momentarily while we get a few other parts of the house in order. I had a minor freak out a week or so back revolving around the fact that we have a new baby coming within the next six weeks and our bedroom was so full of construction materials there was not even room to put a child. 

Therefore, we have been doing our best to organize as many parts of the house as possible in order to move things into the proper rooms, storage areas, closets, etc. and clear out space to make room for our new little bundle!

Our bedroom, although definitely not cosmetically finished, is officially organized, put together, clean, and ready for a new baby! Also, a huge positive for me is that I finally have a place to put everything - clothes, blankets, etc.

I have also managed to finally get ALL of our kitchen stuff put away into the proper cabinets and closets. We have a large closet at the base of our basement stairs (right off the kitchen) that is perfect for the storage of all of our specialty kitchen items - stoneware, crock pots, fine stemware, etc. This really freed up a lot of room in the kitchen and made it so that the cabinets are not over-full or cluttered!

Once I was able to put our food away in our new pantry, I was able to clean out the linen closet. This in turn made it possible to organize all of our bathroom and bedroom linens as well as bathroom and cleaning products!

Finally, Jake did begin to remodel the kids bedroom. The bedroom that both children will eventually share was covered in paneling. It did not have a light or light switch and only had one outlet. His plan was to tear down the paneling, install outlets and a light/light switch, then drywall, mud, sand, and paint. A huge project to undertake while also working on the kitchen/dining room. To our luck (finally, a little luck), when he tore down the paneling, there was drywall underneath! There were also four outlets instead of one and the wiring for a light switch! The drywall needed a little patching, but this was much easier than replacing all of it! The room is now painted and the floor is almost completely in! The trim will go up in the next couple days and then we will move Fin into his official bedroom!

Once Fin and all of his belongings are moved into his bedroom, we can then organize the other bedroom as the guest space and office area! 

So, although we have not made much official progress on the kitchen and dining room, we have made immense progress of the house! We are no longer living out of boxes - finally!! Most everything has a "home." I feel much better about bringing a baby home with the amount of organization that has taken place over the last two weeks! I think we are ready! :)

This weekend we will be making even more progress as Jake's brother Josh and my mom are both coming to help us finish some projects! Josh will be helping Jake with the kitchen, dining room, and a few other construction-like projects. My mom will be helping me by watching Fin so I can clean and organize and/or cleaning and organizing a few more areas of the house! 

We are hoping for big progress this weekend as we are officially 33 days from my due date!! Stay put Baby Two! :)

We Have Floors!!

So...it has been a while since I have written a post. Needless to say we are behind schedule. With Jake getting sick, taking a family vacation, and Jake starting grad school we may just have a little too much going on. With that being said, we have made some great progress in the kitchen and it is all starting to come together!! 

This last week Jake's brother Jesse and his family visited us in Green Bay! Jesse helped Jake level the floors and install our new flooring! What a huge help he was! It looks so fantastic...I love it! My kitchen is starting to look like it has come out of a magazine. It makes me super excited to decorate for Christmas! 

This weekend we are hoping to make big strides in the house! Stay tuned for a Sunday night update!

I Can Organize!!

This last week Fin and I were in MN Monday through Friday as I was there for a work trip! We both had a wonderful week visiting with family and friends!!

Jake was hard at work while we were gone. He primed and painted all of the doors and drawers. He installed them and attached soft close hinges and all of the pulls! Priming and painting took most of the week as both sides of the doors required a coat of primer and two coats of paint. 

The majority of the cabinets are now done with the exception of one of the small upper cabinets which will be installed after the microwave is installed and the pantry corner unit.

I am so excited that most of the cabinets are done!! I can FINALLY start to unpack boxes and organize all of our kitchen stuff. We have literally been living out of boxes since we moved from our house in June! I am also in the major nesting phase of pregnancy and am more than happy to spend countless hours sorting, organizing, and cleaning!!

This Monday Jake starts grad school and we are taking a vacation to Montgomery, AL at the end of the week! We are still hoping to get a few things done in the kitchen but with a short week, we may just have to wait!

Out with the Old, In with the New!

The theme of this weekend was "out with the old and in with the new." A lot of forward progress was made and I am very excited to share the pictures!

Fin and I spent a short weekend at my parent's house to give Jake all day Saturday to make uninterrupted progress in the kitchen.

Jake removed the old base cabinets, sink, and plumbing. He then leveled the floors to make room for the new kitchen cabinets.

He installed the new base cabinets!

Installing the new counters is something he has done in the past....however, when he went to install the counters he found out that the counter which holds the sink was an inch and a half too long. Luckily, Jake was planning to cut the sink hole. He was able to cut an inch and a half off of the straight edge of the counter and the opposite corners ended up matching up perfectly! 

He then cut the sink hole and installed the counters, dishwasher, sink, faucet, garbage disposal, and hooked up all of the plumbing. Speaking of the sink - everyone should be very jealous of my new sink! We chose to install a single basin sink - it is awesome and we are both so happy about this decision already!!

Although the cabinets do not yet have doors and/or drawers you can see below all of the progress which we have made so far! I added the old pictures so you can see just how far we have come so far! 

 

This week Jake will have four nights to himself after work where he will be able to work uninterrupted on the kitchen project. I have to go to MN for work and Fin will be coming with me!