Kids' Bath Vanity

We did move in on Friday (thankfully, because the weather was perfect, and it rained all day Saturday and was freezing on Sunday).  We lucked out on that one!  The plumbing was NOT complete when we moved in, but we came anyway.  The plumber was working until the movers arrived and had to come back on Monday morning to fix a number of things.  We still don't have our master sinks yet because the countertops will be installed tomorrow, so we are waiting on that first.  There are lots of photos to share eventually, but so many things are mostly done and not yet completely done, that I can't yet take a decent picture of the space.  But, the kids bath is finished.  Yay for that!  We love the cabinetry and want to thank the Artisan Studio for their hard work, professionalism and accountability in making them!

Before we decided to remodel the bathroom it looked like this:

 

 

Originally, I had planned to do a 2-sink vanity 36" high (this one is a short 32").  But, once we found the Duravit sink we ended up using, I designed the vanity around it.  It's still a double sink (2 faucets), but not what I had initially envisioned.  Ironically, we replaced this short vanity with another vanity exactly the same height!  That is because the sink is 5" tall, so the vanity needed to be shorter to make it easy to use.  We left the 1989 neutral floor tiles because they were clean, neutral and we were out of money!  If I had unlimited funds I would have replaced the floor tiles as well as the almond colored bathtub, but we don't, so we didn't! :)  The tiles will be fine and we have a few ideas for the tub.  We did remove the glass shower doors (I can't stand those things!!!) so that I could bathe the boys without decapitating one of us.  And we replaced the toilet (as you all know!).

Here's the completed vanity and new mirror.  For the mirror, I had the cabinet makers remove the frame from the old mirror and create a new one out of reclaimed lumber.  They did a fantastic job!  They also made these step stools for the boys, which we love!

For those who might be interested in the details...

The color on the vanity is a very bold Sherwin Williams "Gulf Stream".  The countertops are maple with 3 coats of polyurethane to protect them from water. The sink is by Duravit.  The faucets are by Signature Hardware.  The door pulls are by Alno.  The light is from Lowes (it's an outdoor light).  The wood paneling is by Brett.  The artwork is by Sydney (starfish) and Pierce (shark) - see this post.  (The reason the artwork is not centered is because I need to hang a towel hook between the mirror and art.)

I'll post kitchen pictures after Thanksgiving.  We just got the fridge and freezer installed and as soon as they were up I had trashed the kitchen with unpacking it!  Not photo ready at this moment!!! Ha!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

A Tale of Two Toilets and The Lazy Grasshopper Plumber

Would you like to hear a story?  Or two? 

A Tale of Two Toilets

Once up on a time there was a toilet, a $98 toilet purchased from Home Depot.  We chose this charming toilet to come home with us because it was dual flush, all white, nice and tall, attractive, and inexepensive.  We decided to choose “comfort height” toilets, because, well, who doesn’t want to be comfortable on the toilet?  We bought three of these toilets and our plumber installed one of them in the kids’ bath, while the other two sat for weeks in the garage waiting for our negligent plumber to come back and finish his job.  One night, the night before the plumber was set to come back and (theoretically) finish his job, Claire was working late cleaning the house and she needed to use the restroom.  So, she tried the new toilet, and the minute she sat down (well, sat up, actually), she gasped and realized she hated the toilet!  (Sorry to use such a strong word here, but hate is the only way to say it, folks.)  Her feet did not even touch the floor, they dangled like a little child’s.  And the toilet rocked and made a horrible sound as she sat down and stood up.  And upon closer inspection there was only the tiniest little bit of water in the bowl.  And the flush was so wimpy.  Ahhh!

So early the next morning, Claire rushed around town trying to find three suitable and affordable replacement toilets.  $600 and three stores later, three new toilets that were NOT comfort height and were NOT dual flush sat in the garage, ready to be installed.  Claire was sad to pay $100 for a toilet and $100 to the plumber to install it only to have to pay him again to uninstall it and reinstall another and have to donate that first toilet to charity.  So, her new $200 toilet really cost probably $600 or so when it was all said and done.

When Claire left the house at midnight last night, all three of the standard height toilets were installed in their new homes (by the plumber who was also still there at midnight working to finish a job that should have been done days ago), but one toilet was rocking and two were leaking, so ending to this story is yet to be written.

The moral of this story is: comfort height is only comfortable if you are six feet tall.

The Lazy Grasshopper Plumber

You have heard about the ant and the grasshopper, right?  The ant worked diligently collecting food for the winter while the grasshopper relaxed and sang and procrastinated, pretending that summer might never end.  Remember that story?  Well, we met a grasshopper during our remodel: our plumber.  Our plumber is just like that lazy little grasshopper and he waits until the last minute to do anything.

Last week Brett sent out an email outlining all the work that needed to be done by each tradesperson this week and the days it needed to be done in order to get our inspections done in time to move in on Friday.  He made sure to resend the email a second time and to make sure no one had issues with the schedule or thought it couldn't be done.  "No problem," said the grasshopper plumber, "Tell Brett NOT TO WORRY.  I will have everything done before Wednesday.  No problem!"  But, on Monday the grasshopper plumber decided not to show up until 1:00 pm to start his work. Then he decided to leave for the day at 3:00 pm, knowing that he had to do the following before Tuesday evening: uninstall one toilet (see above!), install 3 toilets, install 2 showers, install one tub, install three sinks, install 4 faucets, install one garbage disposal, install one dishwasher.  His clients nearly had a heart attack when the realized that he wasted his entire day doing nothing and that not one single appliance was installed.  But, like the wise little ant, the homeowners just kept working at their jobs until late at night, hoping the plumber would wise up and get his work done before move-in.  On Tuesday, the grasshopper plumber didn't come to work until after noon again! And with all that work to do!  Can you imagine?

And what do you think happened next?  What always happens to procrastinators?  The unexpected!  The grasshopper plumber got a phone call that a family member had passed away!  And the funeral was set for Thursday!  Oh, no!  And all that work that hadn't been done!  Now, he realized that he had been lazy and not done his job.  And how could he get it all done and make the funeral?  Remember, he had promised, "Don't worry!  I'll get it all done.  NO PROBLEM!"  Oh, the plumber had quite a dilemma!  So, the grasshopper plumber had to work until the wee hours of the morning to try to finish the job he had avoided doing and was already a day past his deadline on.  He was so tired from cramming three days of work into one, that he fell asleep in his car after midnight and didn't wake up until 5:00 am.  And with a job still unfinished and a funeral in a few hours. What will he do?  How will he fulfill his obligations?  The diligent little ants offered to help the lazy grasshopper late last night, but it was no use, he did not want any help and was too tired to work.

We will see what happens to the lazy grasshopper and the nice little ants.  But, do you think that grasshopper will learn his lesson about procrastinating?  I doubt it.

The moral of the story is: do not put off until tomorrow what can be done today (and thoroughly research your plumber before choosing one!)

Thank you for joining us for story time today.  Stay tuned!

Kids Vanity

I got to swing by the cabinet maker's shop today to peek in on our vanities, and the kids' vanity is finished. I LOVE it!  It is so fun. This is not a great photo, taken with my cell phone, but you get the idea.  He also made the maple countertop and the two step stools underneath.  The countertop is being finished with several coats of polyurethane to make it waterproof (along with a backsplash, not pictured).  Once we add the hardware and faucets, it is going to be an awesome piece.  If you are in the market for cabinetry, thinking of redoing a bathroom or kitchen, don't forget about your local cabinet makers.  This for us was a far better option than ordering a mass-produced piece online (for a similar price, depending on where you are shopping).  Our cabinet maker offered to make these stools for the boys so they can reach the sink.  The stools are fabulous - they are wide and sturdy, but still light enough for a child to easily move around.  They are made of the same wood as the countertop, and fit perfectly under our cabinet.  The quality of craftsmanship in the stools is evident when you look up close. They are just the kind of pieces you keep and let your kids' kids use one day.  (I'll post a better picture of them when they are delivered this weekend).

To complete our vanity we'll be adding these ring-pulls to the drawers and doors:

And these faucets:

Not sure about the mirror... that may have to be added later.  I haven't found just the right one in our budget and am considering trying to reinvent the one that came with the house, which is the right size, but wrong look!

For our Wilmington friends, we are using The Artisan Studio for both our bathroom vanities.

Almost!

We almost pulled it off - moving in on the 16th.  But, not quite!  We had about six or seven things that had to all fall into place last week before the floor sanding and staining started this week in order to be able to move in.  We needed the painter to finish up, and he did.  We needed the tile to all be installed, and it was.  We needed the contractor to finish a few final items, and he did.  We needed the movers to have an opening on Saturday for us to move, and they did.  We needed the gas line to be installed and new propane tanks for our gas range, and they were (not until the very last minute, but hey, who's counting).  The only person to fall through was the electrician.  Miscommunication between our contractor and electrician as well as the electrician supposedly being sick meant that he could not come until next week!  Agh!!! And we can't move in without a certificate of occupancy and can't get that without passing our final electrical inspection, which of course we can't pass until the electrician finishes his job!  So, the move in is currently set for Friday Nov. 22.  Pray it doesn't change!  (Yes, we are hosting Thanksgiving.  Yes, we are crazy.  I think we've already established that, right?).

Here's what we DID accomplish last week.  Brett and I (ok, mostly Brett) worked every night once we got the kids in bed until about 11:00 or so.  And Brett went back every morning to work from 7:30 to 9:30 before he started work.  It made for a really long week (and weekend, in fact), but a lot was accomplished.

Brett hung 10 new lights!

These flush-mount drum shades are in the hallways, "formal" living room, master closet, and laundry room. We have 8' ceilings in this house, so we are limited in our lighting choices - has to be flush mount in many of the rooms.

These are in the new office.  I randomly found these lights at JCPenny of all places.  I haven't been in a JCPenny in years, but went in looking for blinds and was distracted by these beauties.  I went online and they were on clearance and I had a coupon.  Sold!

We had to select the stain for our hardwoods.  The color choices were almost as comical as the whites I had on the walls. They all looked the SAME!  Well, almost the same.  We decided to leave them natural (the one on the far right).  We want a casual, coastal, light feeling in this home and the natural seemed to be the best choice.  A bonus to our choice is that it will save us $0.30 per square foot!  Yippee!  They started finishing them today, so we can't go in the house until they are done on Friday - a forced vacation from house projects for the week for us.

We tested and selected bold paint colors for the kids' bathroom vanity on some leftover plywood we had from another project.  You are not going to believe these colors!  I picked the color on the top left.  Sydney wanted green, Pierce wanted blue, I wanted something fun, youthful, unexpected, but something we could live with for many years.  It needed to have a little grey to it and not be too bright.  This is our compromise.  For the record, Pierce wanted the one on the bottom left and Sydney wanted the one on the bottom right. (And they all look a little deeper and darker in this picture than they actually are. Sydney's choice in this picture actually looks perfect to me, but in real life it is seriously bright!).  Mommy won, but the color is blue-green, so everyone is equally represented!

Brett bought the tools he needed to cut and install shelves in all of the closets in the house and was able to get the pantry completed.  I was so thrilled to see this beautiful pantry.  One down, many to go!

I painted the magnetic chalkboard wall in our kitchen, and Pierce and Grant gave it a try to make sure it works.  By the way, the magnetic paint is a real pain to use.  Be warned!

Brett finished painting the boarding in the kids bath. We tried whitewashing, but it didn't look like we hoped it would, so we painted it white and it looks great.

Our master bath was completely tiled and we love it (so far).  This is our floor tile (it's dusty dirty, but you get the idea!) It's solid grey with light grey grout.

 

 

And the new, twice as large shower with two shower heads (soon-to-be-installed) was completed.

Hopefully we'll be in next Friday!  I'll keep you posted and also post some final pictures once our appliances are installed in the kitchen next week and the floors are finished.