Wednesday, August 1, 2012

First Completed Project! The Half Bath



I begin my journey into blog land with the first project completed in our new home, the half bath or powder room as some people still like to call it. I always say you have to celebrate the little things although renovating any room in a home is no little thing as any DIYer will agree. A half bath generally is a little thing and ours is no exception however it is a decent size and serves its purpose.

The half bath is located on the main level adjacent to family room and will most likely be the most used bathroom in the house. In our last home we had 1-1/2 baths. The half bath was actually the master bath and the full bath was in the main hallway. The full bath had to be thoroughly cleaned up anytime guests showed up and good luck if they arrived early and you were still showering. You were hoping they wouldn't notice as you sprinted in a towel down the hall and into the master bedroom. Having a half bath for guests feels very luxurious.

Let's discuss some before and afters, shall we

Here is the half bath before in all it's light house wallpapered, oak vanity having, antique brass fixtured self. Not only was the space outdated the finishes were worn. The previous owner's cat had a claw party on the wall in a few spots. That cat will come up again as I post on other rooms. It definitely left its mark throughout the home and not in a fun way.

I wanted some drama in the half bath. Design 101 - you can be dramatic in a powder room because the drama is in small doses and easier for people to handle. I am an interior designer and can live with dark walls. I had an all black bedroom for two years in my last home. I LOVED IT! I only repainted it when we considered putting the house on the market. So here it is - a half bath with some drama.

The old wallpaper and border were removed and replaced with a black strie' wallpaper, white detailed molding for the chair rail, and a light warm grey paint for the bottom half of the wall. My mom, the one woman dynamo, is my wallpaper installer. I learned all I know about maintaining and decorating a home from her. You couldn't ask for a more detailed oriented person and always goes above and beyond for her clients. She has a business of her own decorating, painting, wallpapering, and staging. She lives in Camdenton, Mo. however she works on projects all over the states. If you are looking for any of these services I would be glad to pass her information on. You will see projects she has helped me with from time to time on FG&C

I repainted the vanity with a semi-gloss warm grey paint and swapped the old antique brass hardware out for some lucite and chrome ones from Lowes.

The flooring is a great vinyl tile product called Traffic Master Allure. I like it because it is thick and can be grouted like porcelain or ceramic tile. One other advantage it has to stone and tile products is that it generally stays room temp. so you don't have cold floors under your bare feet all the time. We installed this product in a larger subway size in our last home's kitchen and said if we could we would use it again.

The light fixture is one we have had for years. It was actually installed in the full bath of our prior residence. We replaced all the fixtures in our last home before it went on the market so we could bring our lighting with us to the new place. The new chrome faucet is from Home Depot. The new rocker switches, outlets, and cover plates are from Lowes.

Lastly, I installed a new mirror found on clearance at Gordmans and some artwork from our large stash of existing pieces.

We are pretty proud of our 1st project completion. The master suite, family room, and library are in various stages of remodel as well. I will be posting on them within the next few weeks. Come on back if you want to see more!






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