RENOVATION NATION

Well it's been about a month since I told you we bought a house.  I also told you we were going to do some major renovating.  I also told you that I was having company from England during the month, and oh yes...because life isn't crazy enough, let's throw Christmas into the mix!  
My husband is a very wise man and because he knew that things were going to get crazy, he hired a couple of awesome guys to start in the bathroom. (Merry Christmas to me!) We are not plumbers.  We are not carpenters.  We are not sheet rockers. I am no "Anne" from Design Dreams By Anne, although she is my DIY idol.  The #1 rule of renovation is to know your limitations.  Check.
So....here is what the main bathroom looked like when we bought the house.

Pretty basic.  Long ugly sink/vanity with a toilet/tub/shower behind a second door...or as some people say, water closet.
First, let me just say, this bathroom project is actually 2 projects because we are also adding a master bath on the other side of this one, which means...the walls come tumbling down and everything gets reconfigured.  Everything.
This was my vision for this bathroom....

Gorgeous, right?  Well, dreams die hard in renovation projects.  Oh yes, they do.  The first thing I lost was the window.  Turns out, because we are also making a master bath, there was going to need to be a wall right in the middle of this window.  Now you might think I could just move that window, but no.  You can see that window in this picture.  It's in that little alcove on the left side of the picture, just above the A/C unit.  The alcove was created when the two additions were added, so there is no place to move the window. 

I also lost quite a bit of space in the main bathroom to make some walls for the master bath behind it.  So, here are some ugly demo pictures, but stay tuned because at the end, I'll show you a few things I did buy so that I could still get the look I wanted.

This is where the bath/shower was and you can see that two walls are now gone.  Missing are the walls between the vanity and the tub (that whole water closet thing, really) and the wall behind the tub.  That gaping hole was the back side of a really long hall closet as well as a double wide closet in the master bedroom that were both torn out to make room for the master bath.

This is the other side of the water closet wall demo.

The long, ugly single sink vanity and massive mirror...gone.
So what is done in there now?  Well...new walls for the main bath and the master are framed out and re-plumbed.

Most exciting of all for me, my new bath tub!  Oh yes!  It's a deep one...18 1/2".  I did not want a jetted tub...I'm way too much of a germophobe for that.  However, I have been missing my deep claw-foot tub from our cabin in Montana and this tub/shower combo will make up for it.
Also, the shower base in the master bathroom has been installed...

I had to explain to Sam why women want a seat in a shower.  Duh!  You can see in this picture that the tub in the main bathroom and the shower in the master bathroom are almost back to back.  I'm definitely saving a little money by having the bathrooms configured this way and trust me...anywhere you can save money on a renovation project, you'll need to, because...the kitchen is coming up next.  So....what part of my dream bathroom did I get to keep?
Wellllllll.....I got to keep 2 separate sinks, although I had to have a little storage below them to make up for some space I lost.  (Just so you know, I am not a lover of vanity tops.) I also found a cute cabinet to put between the two sinks.  I made a collage, so you get the idea....

It's not to scale, the cabinet is actually just a little lower than the two sinks.  I also have 2 built in medicine cabinets above each sink with some lovely sconces for each.  I will have white tile in the shower and on the floors.  My fixtures are brushed nickel.  My walls will be white and my ceiling will be the beautiful blue in the picture.  Also...a new potty.  Yay!  Let's just look at that dream picture again, because although the configuration is a little different and I lost that glorious window, I didn't have to compromise too much.

The two gentlemen, Mike and Mark, who are doing all of the work in here are a little shy about having their picture made, but I'll catch them yet!  They are awesome workers and have spent a lot of time under the house redoing all of the plumbing.  I love them.  
So what is my part in all of this?  Well...it seems that my job is to run to Lowes or Home Depot as soon as it snows or an ice storm comes and pick up whatever is needed the next day.  I swear, it's true.  All those guys have to say is, "We'll need_____ tomorrow" and sure enough, we're either going to have ice or snow, but, I cannot tell a lie, shopping for these two bathrooms has been kind of fun and I haven't even gotten to the accessories yet!
Now, lest you think that I have done nothing in this reno yet, stay tuned, because in my next post, I'll be showing you the kitchen and some of my own demolition skills!
The move-in goal is still the end of February and at this point I think we'll make it.  Not that the weather is cooperating.  No, that would be way to much to ask.  I woke up to frozen water pipes this morning.  Arghhhhh.  But, I have a warm fire in the stove and hot coffee in my cup and the temps are supposed to rise above freezing today.  Ahhhhh!