Never Trust A Salesman

Ok, this title may be a bit unfair.  Really it should read, "Never Trust A Salesman Who Says Something Is Unavailable".

Since the seller of The 8 Cow House was in the middle of quite a few projects, I actually told him to not complete them so that I could do what I wanted.  Not only did it leave things to be done, but it also left some loose strings with me scratching my head as to how to fix them.  One of these was the apron,  or front of the tub, that usually covers all the plumbing and base of your tub from view and seals it up to look all nice and pretty.

Most tubs usually come with one, but of course ours didn't.  I didn't think it would be that big of a deal to find one until I started asking around and everyone I asked told me I couldn't buy one separately.  I asked at Lowe's and Home Depot with the salesman always telling me they couldn't get me one.  I called the number from a sticker on the tub, sent the guy a picture and never heard back.  GRRRRR!!!  Terrible costumer service.  I was resigned to the fact that we probably would just have to tile the front or do wood with trim and paint it really well.

One day while running errands, I had to go to one of the afore mentioned home improvement stores and felt like I should really go to Home Depot.  I went in and proceeded to get the items I needed.  I generally swing by the clearance section and that day they happened to have a few items set out right near the section I was in so I started looking through them.  I almost skipped over a long rectangular box but on second look, realized is was a white tub apron marked down.  I was amazed!  I asked a sales associate why it was there and he said it was most likely from a special order that was returned.  "Huh!", I thought to myself, "I thought they didn't do special orders for this item."  I didn't even know if it would fit, but I bought it and took it back to the house anyway.

Ta-dah!!!  It fit - with a little help from my my contractor.  I'm so happy.  One less thing to worry about!

This may sound crazy to some, but I have no doubt the Spirit led me to that store that day.  He knew the tub apron was there.  He knew it would fit.  Yet again, another miracle and evidence to me that God truly is in the details of our lives and He even cares about something as small and seemingly insignificant as a tub apron.  I am truly grateful!

Kids Bathroom Tile Reveal

This past weekend we got things done, but not as much as I had hoped.  Saturday it seemed like we were spinning our wheels and couldn't quite get going.  We really can't afford many days like that.  It's crunch time and 3 weeks to move in - hopefully (major crossing our fingers and praying for miracles sort of crunch time).

Despite that, we did make some major decisions for the house in the way of countertops for the kitchen and plans for the master bathroom.  I will blog about those later this week.  I have an electrician lined up to do some much needed work in the house this week so that is exciting.  This house is something we will be working on FOREVER so I hope you all get comfy and stay along for the ride.

We did have a MAJOR project almost completed this last week and it looks SO good.  I'm beyond happy with it.  The kids bath is tiled!!!!  Once we get it painted and the sink and toilet back in, I'm going to call it good for awhile in there.

Here is what it looked like when we moved in:

That sock still cracks me up!

Here was what I chose for the tile to finish it.  The white to go all around the shower, a bubble for the border, and stone for the floor:

 One of the things that had to be done was to replace the window.  It was time.  The old one had a wood frame and just wasn't going to work - especially in a place with a lot of moisture.  I ordered this nice vinyl white one that is hinged at the top and swings out at the bottom.  I love it!  It instantly made the room so much brighter.

We also demoed out the existing floor.  This is what the room looked like after it was demoed and before we stared the new tile.

As you could see in the above picture, the tiling had to start around the window.

The whole bathroom was done in two days.  Happiness!!!  Here it is installed without the grout.

Doesn't that floor look amazing?!?!?  I am so happy with it.  I love the bubble boarder too!!  It is just a fun space.

Here are pictures of it grouted, the tub apron put on (a post about that later this week), and now all we need is a toilet and sink and some new paint.  I had not planned on repainting this but some drywall repairs make it necessary and since I don't have the original paint color, I get to pick a new one.  What color would you suggest?  A greenish blue, another tan, all white?  Let me know fast!

I hope you like it!  I hope it is a happy and great space for my kids for years to come!!

Have a great day!

Going For It

Happy Monday!!  Our weekend was crazy, so I'm actually glad to get to a routine this week.  I hope you are all staying warm wherever you maybe.  I'm so excited to be sharing the kid's bathroom tile choices with you today.  It is a space I will be very excited to see once it's all put together.  

I think one of the biggest hang ups many of us face when decorating is the fear of making a mistake.  Home imporvement projects are not always cheap and when you are installing or replacing something there are many things you need to consider.  However, from personal experience I have come to realize that we often settle for something we may not like as much as something else all in the name of resale, or what the latest decor trend is, or what the "experts" tell you should or shouldn't do, and often what our mother says we should or shouldn't do (don't get me wrong, mother's have great advice, but sometimes they may not quite get your style).

Why do we do that?  Why don't we just get what we like the most and be ok with it?  I think it stems back to our days of schooling and thinking that if we don't pick the right thing, we fail.  Guess what?  Is there really a "right thing" in decorating?  I don't think so.  The "right thing" is different for everyone.  Obviously there are rules of color and decor which will help, but they don't always apply and can be tweaked to individuals and individual styles.  That's what makes decor so amazing.

Many things in this house were in an incomplete state when we bought it and that was more by my design then the choice of the seller.  We opted to have him not complete them so that we could finish them the way we wanted.  The kids bathroom is a good example of this.

 Sorry this photo is blurry.  

But it's a good look at the whole bathroom.

Here is one of the shower, 

which is where the work really needs to be done.

Since the bathroom is currently in a condition which makes is unusable, it is a top priority before we move in.  I was planning on using the existing flooring and finding something I liked to match it for going in the shower, but the truth is, I really don't like the floor tile.  It has too much orange.  I feel badly since the seller worked really hard on it and actually did a great job but it's going to get ripped out.  

Also, it's not a huge space so the cost is relatively low to replace it.  If it had been in a larger space,  I would have made it work somehow.

So off to the Tile Shop I went a few weeks ago to start looking for exactly what I wanted.  There are so many choices, that it can get overwhelming.  Since it is the kid's bathroom, I knew I wanted something whimsical but still classy, childlike but still mature.  It's a fine balance to get all that.  

I decided on the surround tile for the shower pretty quickly.  I had found a smaller similar tile at Lowe's, which I may still use once I see how the larger tile looks.  It's a white porcelain with a wave in it.  It gives movement to what would be just a plain white tile and has a water feel to it.  For an accent boarder I decided on a glass circle tile in greens, blues, and grays.  It reminds me of bubbles and fun but it doesn't look too kidish.  When in came time to pick  the floor I went back and forth and finally decided to really go out on a limb and chose a smooth stone/pebble floor.  Because nothing else really says whimsy and fun like a stone/pebble floor.  Here they are all together:

MANY people (namely my mother and husband) have raised concern about the floor being comfortable to walk on and easy to clean.  I can say it is comfortable to walk on.  I took my shoes and socks off right there in the store to check.  As for cleaning, I guess we will see.  I'm not too worried about it.  

The important thing is that when I look at all of them together they just make my heart happy.  And let me tell you friends, I have learned from experience that if a decor choice makes my heart happy, I'm going to like the final result.  I can't wait to see it all together in my space.  It will be a small space of extra happiness in a house full of happiness.  It really can't get much better.