We returned from our vacation last week….AMAZING! One day of floating and fishing the Gunnison Gorge, one day of fishing the Colorado River and five days of beautiful Aspens in all their glory! Sadly, Brian nor I took our phones into the Gorge or I would have some breath taking pictures of some of the most beautiful landscapes this country has to offer. All I can tell you is to go see it yourself! It will not disappoint!

I knew I would have to hit the ground running when we came home. I have an apartment that needs tile repair, a cabinet rebuild and paint. And I found an amazing mid century dresser that has all the problems one might encounter with a dresser and I was excited to do a step-by-step tutorial on properly repairing busted drawers, fixing chipped veneers, stripping and painting.

But Monday the tile guys called and they are ready to start on my bathroom. Since I am too cheap to pay someone THOUSANDS to demo the old tile, I decided to tackle that chore myself with the help of my son, Matt.

And chore it was!!!! My plans to take out the wall tile in sections only worked about half the time…the other half we were beating out little chunks of tile and durrock. My plans to “pop up” the floor tiles went by the wayside when we discovered it came up in small slivers with a mere chisel and hammer.

One of the things I learned from my dad…build it to last a lifetime…and since I installed the tile 19 years ago, it was more than a booger to get up!

Thank goodness for tool rentals. This little “tile-buster-upper” thingy saved us about 2 days of work! Seriously, it was the best $60 I ever spend.

I still had to replace some insulation, add a few studs, do some floor scrapping by hand and I had to hire plumbers to move the drain and rebuild the shower valves. But all in all it is coming along nicely and HOPEFULLY it is ready for the tile guys.

As with all “best laid plans” there is one small snaffu in my plan. I had intended to do a shower niche on each side of the shower head…two shelves in each…like the one in my “inspiration picture.” Unfortunately the layout of the studs and plumbing messed up that whole plan….

…so now I can only put one on the right…que sera! Sometimes you just have to drop back and punt!

I can tile. Not a problem. Here I showed you the new backsplash I installed on the vanity! But I am glad I decided to pay someone else to tackle the bulk of this project. After two days of demo, I’m not sure I could lift a box of tile if I had to!

This is where I want to reiterate the importance of doing what YOU love! Not what is “in”, not what Pinterest says is all the rage, not even what your friends and family think you should do! I am all for “finding inspiration” for home decor and improvement projects, because let’s be honest, sometimes we just can’t find a vision for the changes we want to make. But doing what YOU love is important because otherwise you may find yourself hating an expensive change in the not so distant future!

I still love the wall tile and floor tile I picked out 19 years ago…but I know the day will come when stepping into a big ole’ whirlpool tub we NEVER use may be a major feat…a walk in shower will be, some day, a necessity!

So find your inspiration but do what you truly LOVE!

MAYBE next week I will have time to get started on that amazing dresser and I can share how easy it is to turn a trashed piece of furniture into something you will be thrilled to use in your own home!

First, I blame it all on my realtor, John. He was the one who pointed out that my little entry was a bit "tight." Seriously, up until then I never really noticed it, but once it was pointed out I have done nothing but obsess about it for over a year.

Then there is Chip Gaines...yes, Chip from "Fixer Upper." He always seems so pumped about demo day! And if he can demo an entire house in one day, how hard could it be to demo one little ole' closet?

Both of them should come give me a massage and hold the ice pack on my injured leg...and bruised arm...and wrenched back. When a 52 year old woman falls off a ladder onto the stairs and a 2x4 with 12 penny nails sticking out of it, there is going to be some pain!

Not that I don't demo all the time...I am forever having to rip up subfloors at the older apartments. People let water rot bathroom floors and then there are the animals tenants are trying to hide, so they never take them outside. One guess as to where they do their "business." Trust me, there is NOTHING that will get months of animal urine out of wood subfloors!

The difference is, this is my home. And I live here and I don't want all the saw dust and sheet rock dust and mess all over the house.

Want in one hand, poo in the other...see which gets full faster. (Again, dad's words of wisdom!)

So my plan was to remove the entry coat closet. Seriously, NO ONE in this family hangs their coats in that closet...it was filled with stuff that had not seen the light of day for YEARS!

After obsessing over this for over a year, I was pretty sure I knew exactly what I wanted to do and how I was going to do it. But as with all projects, there are always the unexpected. Like that pesky electrical wiring that feeds the light switches and the living room fan. Matt and I discussed wrapping it in Washi tape and starting a new "trend" by leaving them hanging.

But I am not a trend setter so I moved the wiring. A few other small issues....I can't get the outlet wire down the outside wall because of the insulation and the wires for the switches are too short so I will have to create a "junction box" in the attic and run new, longer wiring.

I also discovered that the "header" for the opening actually sat on the outside corner of the closet. This means I have to crawl up in the attic and scab in a new header. Curses. Is it a "must do?" Kinda...since the roof rafters and wall framing all sit on that header and it now is just suspended in mid-air with no support...yeah, I kinda have to do something with it.

OH. MY. GOODNESS! I think home remodeling is like giving birth...you forget what a nightmare it can be. If we REALLY remembered the pain and hassle we would only have one kid and NEVER do any remodeling to our homes!

Sooooo, after two days of back breaking work, all I have to show for it are a few missing walls and a bunch of short wires hanging out of the wall. And of course dust and insulation ALL over my house!!!

One thing I have always wanted is an entry space that would allow me to "stage" a little table. It just so happens I recently acquired a small walnut table that was once my grandparent's. While it is not really "my style" it is my first love on two fronts...an heirloom piece and walnut. It will fit perfectly in this space if I ever get it finished!

I am mulling over installing board and batten on the walls, but I know without a doubt I want travertine tile on the floors. Hardwood is NOT something you want next to an exterior door!

Once this project is finished, but before the new flooring, I want to make some modifications to my stairway.

This is my "inspiration" from Remodelaholics!

I am not going to rebuild the post or change the stain...just expand the bottom 2 steps and move the post up. Simple project...remove the post, replace the bottom two treads with wider boards, cut down the bannister and remove a few newel posts, reinstall the post, stain it all to match. No biggy. HA!!!!

Eventually I want to paint the living room walls and restain the treads, risers and railings....but that's a whole nuther project!!

But it is progress. This kind of mess and disorder would have driven me nuts years ago, but I am coming to terms with the fact that I can't move as fast as I use to

Hopefully next week I will have a finished project to share...but no promises!

Vacation and the bathroom renovation!

IT'S DEMO DAY!!!!

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