Guest Bath Makeover

10 Sep

While we were renovating our new master bathroom, we decided to do the guest bathroom (our former master bathroom) at the same time. This has been mostly done since May, but we finally got around to hanging the shelves and putting the finishing touches on it.

Here’s what it looked like when we moved in:

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Shortly after moving in, we gave it a little facelift with paint, a new vanity and some shelves. The shower stopped working though, so it wasn’t even functional.

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And here it is now:

IMG_5533We did white subway tiles in the shower, and marble hex tile in the niche and on the shower floor.
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We installed beadboard wainscoting across the lower half of the wall and painted the rest of the walls Lazy Gray by Sherwin Williams. The vanity is from Home Depot, lighting from Lighting Direct, and the Starburst mirror, shelves and most accessories are from Target.

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The floor tile is a vintage-looking white octagon tile with dark gray grout.

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Here’s the other side of the room. The chrome towel hook is from Home Depot which matches the faucet, hand towel holder and toilet paper holder. The shower doors were off the shelf from Home Depot. IMG_5530

That concludes the tour. We hope our guests enjoy having their own “en suite” bathroom!

Coming up I’ll be sharing our new master bathroom/bedroom/closet and the finished rental property.

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Update on the Rental

15 Jul

There has been lots of progress on the rental property over the past three weeks and one major setback. I’ll get to that.

Starting out front, we ripped out all of the overgrown bushes, planted boxwoods and day lilies and laid mulch. The plants are still small but should grow in nicely to cover the foundation.

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The back looks totally different with the bushes ripped out. The yard almost doubled in size. We laid grass seed so it will just be all lawn back here. The neighbor is going to continue his fence so that will be nice too. The garage roof is new as well. It had huge holes in it.

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Moving inside is where our big setback occurred. It broke our hearts (and pocketbook), but we had to replace all of the hardwood floors due to pet odor/stains from the previous owner. We learned from neighbors that the previous owner had 30 cats! We had to replace all of the baseboards throughout the house as well. But it had to be done, and now no smell!

Here are the new red oak floors in the living room and dining room. Ben is finishing up the baseboards in here and then the walls and trim will get painted and floors stained.

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Here is one of the bedrooms with the new baseboards installed. We went with a chunky baseboard to keep with the style of the home.

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In the bathroom we ran the plumbing to add an overhead shower (it was only a bathtub before), installed new chrome fixtures, and tiled the shower with white subway tile, a black rope pencil tile and dark gray grout.

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Upstairs looks totally different! We added new electrical and HVAC, framing, drywall and a primer coat of paint. It’s going to be a really nice space up there.

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This week kitchen cabinets are going in and painting continues. With having to replace the floors and baseboards, our Aug 1 deadline is shot. But we’ve had more than a dozen calls and stop bys from people interested, so we shouldn’t have a problem renting regardless of the school year.

In case you missed the before tour, you can see all the before photos here.

Our New Income Property

23 Jun

We have a brand new project to share— a new fixer upper that we plan to keep and rent out long term. It’s a 1930’s bungalow with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom.
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It needs a complete renovation but has good bones and a lot of charm. It’s in a great neighborhood: terrific schools, walking distance to town and train. Another house for rent in the neighborhood received 38 applications, so we’re hoping it will be easy to find some great tenants.

Here is the grand tour of before photos and our plans to bring it back to life!

We don’t plan to do too much to the exterior for now, just clean it up and do some landscaping. We will be ripping out these overgrown bushes, replacing the front door light, mailbox and are having a new screen door made as it’s rotten.
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The side of the house just needs some landscaping. Everything is really overgrown.IMG_6940

We’re ripping out all of the overgrown bushes in the backyard and the garage needs a new roof and garage door. IMG_6941We will be putting a whole new kitchen in, with new cabinets, stainless steel appliances and granite countertops.
IMG_6942Here is the dining room which will be getting new paint and lighting. There are wood floors throughout the house which will be getting re-finished.

IMG_6954The living room will also see fresh paint and re-finished floors. The fireplace will get a cheap upgrade. We plan to paint the brick white, stain the mantel, remove the paneling and re-tile the hearth.

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IMG_6951Here’s the hallway that leads to the bedrooms and bathroom.
IMG_6956In the bathroom, we will be tiling the shower and adding a shower head since it is only a bathtub right now. We will also be adding a new vanity, medicine cabinet, lighting and toilet. We plan to salvage the vintage floor tile, it’s in pretty good condition and goes perfectly with the house.

IMG_6946The two bedrooms are pretty similar and will be getting fresh paint, ceiling fans and re-finished floors.

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Upstairs will see a big transformation with new carpet, drywall, electric outlets, lighting, paint and HVAC. This will basically double the square footage of the house and can serve as another bedroom, living space or play room.

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IMG_6955Lots of work, but it should be amazing when it is complete. We plan to get it finished and up for rent before the school year begins, so less than two months. I’ll try to share progress as we go!

Cute as a Button 1st Birthday Party

26 Feb

We celebrated Kate’s 1st birthday with a “Cute as a Button” themed party over the weekend. It turned out even better than I had hoped! Here’s a look at the decorations.

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The main feature was the streamer backdrop. At 15+ feet wide, it was a labor of love. To make it, I followed this tutorial and used about 16 rolls of streamers in peach, pink, ivory and seafoam green from PartyPro.com. The doily garland that drapes in front of the streamers is made from two different sized paper doilies that are folded over and glued onto twine. Hanging on the front of the table is a burlap bunting which we painted “one” on and added pink buttons on the side pieces.

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On the “sweets” table was two bunches of baby’s breath in light blue mason jars, a cardboard “K” decorated with glittery paper, a framed picture of Kate, some books, a candle, homemade pink chocolate-dipped marshmallows, strawberries and pretzels, plates, napkins (from Target), and grocery store bought cupcakes decorated with homemade candy buttons.

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The candy buttons I made using Wilton’s Candy Melt and this button candy mold. Everyone asked if they were real buttons.

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I made a tissue paper tassel garland for her high chair using this tutorial.

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Her smash cake I made using this tutorial. The rose decoration was surprisingly easy, you just make circles!

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I made this button garland by cutting out circles from scrapbook paper and punching out four holes in the middle. Then I strung twine through each of the holes and together.

IMG_5470We made far too many paper buttons, so I stuck them to the fridge, too.

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I also strung up her monthly photos above the fireplace using twine and clothespins.

IMG_5364For Kate’s special birthday outfit I purchased this gold glitter “one” onesie and this peachy-pink tutu and headband, all from Etsy. She looked so adorable.

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You can see the busy board that we made for her in that photo. It has all kinds of fun trinkets on it including a desk bell, a light switch, a door knocker, an LED tap light, a door stop, a door bell, a few different types of locks, and a couple other misc items. So far, the bell is the big draw. I also made her a personalized board book with photos of her family members like this one.

Here’s a closer look at the busy board.

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And lastly, here are the “Cute as a button” invitations that I ordered from Etsy.

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The party was a huge success and I am so sad it’s over. I loved planning and working on everything for my special girl. She’s not going to remember it, but I know I always will.

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