Master bath reveal!

I KNOW! I have been MIA for a while now….there is just soooo much going on right now that I can not share! I promise, in due time.

In the meantime, AGAIN, I want to revisit one of my all time favorite “makeovers.”

I revealed my master bath makeover almost two years ago and I can honestly say I STILL love this bathroom. Love it! I don’t missed the tub at all and the walk-in shower is still my favorite addition to this house!

Head over to this post and check out the transformation and MAYBE next week I’ll have something new to share!

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Vacation and the bathroom renovation!

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!

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Live edge tile backsplash and a dresser makeover reveal...

In my quest to make changes in my master bath, I FINALLY decided on the a sliced white pebble tile for the shower floor and niches. One decision down...too many more to go!!!

When I first remodeled the master bath, I did a glass tile backsplash on the vanity...I like it, but honestly I am no longer in LOVE with it.

And to be honest, I think the glass tile backsplash craze is running it's course. In other words, it is a fad that is fading...at least in my opinion. Besides, it had brown in it and I am moving away from browns!

Since it is such a tiny bit of tile, I decided to change it up a bit.

AGAIN WITH THE DECISIONS!!!! But I got to thinking...I love live edge wood countertops, coffee tables, benches..."live edge" wood anything is just beautiful! If you don't know what I am talking about, google it!

Why can't I make a "live edge" tile backsplash?

The pebble tile I picked out for the shower floor has a "live edge."

In other words the pebbles are laid on the sheet in such a way that the edges of each section of tile are "natural."

This vendor carries a tile border but it is only 4" tall. You can also remove each individual tile from the netting and place each individually...nah, way to much work for me!

Since I have a small backsplash, I cut each 12x12 sheet of tile in half with a wet saw. I only needed 3 sheets of tile...less than $40!

Then I had to set it on the vanity for a few days to see if I was really going to like it!

LOVE!!!

So here is a tutorial for making a "live edge" tile backsplash...

First, I had to remove the old tile. There are times when the easiest thing to do is to cut the sheetrock along the tile down to the studs and remove the whole kit-and-kaboodle! That was an option, but I decided to remove the tile and scrape the old mastic....

Since that tore up the sheetrock AND the new tile wasn't going to cover the entire section I removed, I had to do some sheetrock repair.

No biggy!

If you decide to cut the sheetrock down to the studs, here is a super simple way to "patch" the section you remove!

I didn't have to do any patching, but the basic rules apply...mud, sand, texture and paint!

Apply a coat of mud, let it dry overnight, then sand. Then another coat, let it dry and sand again. I can not stress the importance of sanding sheetrock mud smooth...FEEL IT! If you can feel it, you are going to see it when you paint it! Sand, feel, sand, feel! I used an 80 grit paper. You are better off sanding too much and having to apply more mud!

This product is one of my favorite little DIY "hacks." Sheetrock texture!

If you have properly sanded, this stuff will blend old with new! Just make sure you shake it WELL and always test spray it before you start spraying your wall. On more than one occasion I have had to wipe off the wall and start over because the texture came out to thick or too thin...so take time to test it before you start spraying it on your wall! The knob adjusts for different "textures." Follow the directions on the can.

Let the texture dry WELL before you paint!

And again, I can not stress the importance of keeping spare paint on hand. Fortunately, I just repainted my bathroom a few months ago so I had fresh paint on hand...

So, on to the fun stuff...tiling!

First, this is a "natural" stone tile (if you don't know if your tile is a "natural stone" vs. ceramic or porcelain tile, ask!) The very first thing you want to do is seal it with an "impregnator sealer." Ask...they have it at most home improvement and tile stores. Super simple to apply...brush it on...let it sit for about 5 minutes, then wipe it with a clean cloth.

I would suggest doing this before you cut it with a wet saw, but definitely before you install it and grout it!!!

Since the top edge of the backsplash is going to be the "live edge" it was important to remove any "netting" from the edge...

The net backing is what is holding all the little pebbles in place so you don't want to get carried away...just trim the netting away from the edge that will be exposed!

I used a utility knife and my little sewing scissors (and I wonder why I can't keep a decent pair of sewing scissors!)

I used a premixed tile mastic. Mastic is for small tiles...thinset for large tiles. Always use the adhesive and trowel recommended by the tile manufacturer. I coated the back of the sheet with mastic using a properly sized trowel. I used a small craft brush to apply mastic to the edge pebbles...it is okay for the mastic to "squish out" between the pebbles a tad, but you don't want it squishing out on the edge pebbles...I kept Q-tips on hand "just in case." Just make sure you get enough mastic on the back of the edge pebbles for good adhesion.

TIP! Never set a tile backsplash directly onto the countertop...always use spacers and then after you grout you will run a small bead of caulk between the backsplash and the top. In this case I wanted a very small space so I used dimes as spacers! Thank goodness we keep a change jar and I was able to fish out a few bucks worth of dimes!

Let the mastic dry over night before grouting!

Now this is where I tell you to "tune in next week" for grouting instructions. Why? Well because as I mentioned I needed 3 sheets of tile to complete this task and I only had the two I ordered as samples. So now I am waiting on the other sheet to be delivered so I can finish this little project.

I know...it's annoying to get engrossed in something only to be told "to be continued." But I promise...next week I will share how simple it is to grout, seal and caulk the new tile backsplash.

Until then, I will share something I promised last week I would share!

(The grouting tutorial is up…take a look!)