Powder Room Reno: Toilet Arrives!

There she is: My (less than) beautiful new toilet! And, while I'm not the happiest with its design, I know I will eventually come to appreciate it. However, it weighs like a million pounds and is a one-piece toilet so perhaps this appreciation may be longer in coming than one might assume. I seriously have no idea how I will maneuver around that tiny little space to finagle this thing into place. I will need many good thoughts - and perhaps a skinnier self - so please send along skinny thoughts as well.

I also went and got a sample of the tiles I want for the room from my good ol' friend, Home Depot. I think he missed me - well, my boy, I'll be in to visit frequently, I'm sure, in the coming week (weeks? sigh...). Anyway, here is the marble tile I'll use on the floor along with some dark gray grout, I believe:


This other tile is what I'll use for the wall behind the sink. I'll have to think about how to affix a mirror to the tile, however. Before it's even up, I know I will be loathe to make any holes in glass tile. Any ideas are welcome.

So, I'm off to spray paint a small patio table that has been sitting behind my house for a year waiting for said spray paint. I may then attempt to take out the old toilet; this, however, requires some emotional preparation as I'm afraid to see what will lie beneath... updates forthcoming.

Powder Room Reno: Toilet ordered

Well, I sucked up and did it: I bought the $300+ toilet that I consider ugly but is one of the few that I found that will fit in the Harry Potter bathroom and is not cheaply constructed. So, it's done. The chosen toilet: The Rialto from Kohler. Like I said, I'm not a fan of how it looks but specs are more important than appearance in this case. It's right on the 25.25" target that I need for this tiny powder room. Even better, I ordered it online so they'll deliver it to the house and I don't have to worry about renting a truck or pestering a friend to help me get it home. Hopefully it arrives right in time for my targeted start date on the 11th.

In the meantime, I also saw a nice light/fan at Lowe's that I am considering getting; however, I would like to take the old one out first to see what kind of space I'm working within. I'd hate to make the hole even bigger in what's already a small space. I think I'll go and figure out the tile for the floor and wall later this week.

So it begins...

Project 2011: Downstairs Bathroom

I know, I know. It's been forever. I'm still kickin', though. And, even better - I'm back with the home improvement project of the year: the downstairs bathroom!

As you might recall, I did update it a tad in the past, including removing the wallpaper and adding some paint as well as adding a new faucet. However, it's time for major overhaul - well, an overhaul nevertheless.

Here are a few before pictures to show you the scope of the project as well as the tiny, itsy-bitsy space in which I'll be working. Loyal readers may recall that this was originally the coat closet under the stairs but was converted to what has lovingly been renamed the Harry Potter Bathroom.

Here's the sink. The faucet was added a couple years ago and the sink is adequately petite enough to stay. The chair rail, however, will be saying farewell. I'm thinking that on this wall behind the sink I will tile with some glass tile. My friends Leslie and Paul recently installed some beautiful greenish-blue rectangular glass tile and it would be pretty to cover the wall in it. It's a tiny space, after all - what the heck.

Next is the beautiful light/exhaust fan combo. Honestly, I've looked and looked for something small and relatively similar in size so I don't need to make any new holes in the walls. However, it's been tough finding something that doesn't stand so proud from the wall. Any suggestions on a flat light/fan combo that isn't so darn fugly?

Then is the toilet. I think this has been one of the most challenging things to find. I've been looking for something pleasantly petite to replace this old thing for probably as long as I've had the house. I've found one or two options - one is terribly ugly and the other is cheap and I'm concerned about its longevity. I'll probably end up going with the ugly because it's also expensive and I think I've learned my lesson about inexpensive fixtures. You'll see below how much fun this will be to install given the room in which I will have to maneuver.

Finally, is the floor. Since this is the downstairs powder room, I think I'm leaning toward some white and black hexagonal tile to make it a little more period-like. Since it's a tiny space, I'm even considering some nice marble. I'll probably do dark gray grout just to keep it looking good. Besides that, I think I'm fairly happy with the paint color in there so I'll probably stick with it. I would like to see about some kind of shelving unit or cabinet to mount on the wall above the toilet. Currently, there isn't any storage in there and it would be nice to have a bit of room to store some things in there.

The timeline is to begin in mid-July after my class is done. I'm hoping I can do it in a week but that probably means it will take me two weeks (see, I'm learning). It's been a while since I've done anything major so I'll probably need a few days to get into the swing of it as well as to prepare myself emotionally for any surprises I may find under that ugly vinyl floor...

Custom-made toilet seats?

I'm putting out the call for help from my savvy home improvement peeps: I have a friend who is looking for a replacement toilet seat for a toilet that is no longer made. After an exhaustive web search it doesn't appear it's sold anymore. So my question is, does anyone know of a place that can make custom-made toilet seats?

The model and style is the Eljer Savannah (and, yes, I've already sent a stern message to said individual about ordering non-standard items).

I will return shortly for Home Improvement Project 2011: The downstairs powder room!

Goodbye Screen - Hello Curb Appeal!

I don't even know how to express my immense sense of gratification and satisfaction. As I shared earlier today, from Day One in this house I wanted to remove the screen on the front porch. As you see below (the shot from the realtor), the screened-in porch made the house appear very close to the street:
In this shot (taken during the holidays last year), you can see a closer view. Honestly, we don't have that many bugs in the city and it just never made sense to me to have it.



So, (drum roll, please) after several years, I present to you the front of my house sans screen. I am so excited I can hardly stand it:


Obviously, if you look too closely, you will see the desperate need for cleaning the paint on the front of the house but, like I said, I'm just ecstatic. I look forward to more curb appeal next year when I can bust out some new landscaping too.

Post Script: Front Porch Steps

I admit to my mildly obsessive-compulsive tendencies. I won't lie. After seeing my "after" picture of the stairs from the other day, I thought to myself, "Self, now look how crappy the stair risers look after you painted the treads." So, yes, I succumbed to my overly developed need for aesthetic symmetry and painted the stair risers too. So, it's done and now I can sleep better at night.

However, spending all this time on the porch the past few days has made me realize that I really hate that screened in porch. I've pretty much hated it from before I even bought the house - driving by the house several times and thinking that I wasn't interested because of that ugly screen. In my opinion, it makes it appear too close to the street. Here's a shot from the holidays last year so you can see what I'm talking about:
Yes, it has to go. So this is my project today and we'll see how far I get on my own. I'm a bit fearful of what this will entail (e.g., who-knows-how-many-years-old rusted-out screws) but I'm going to see what I can do here. Wish me luck.

Front Porch Steps

I have returned with yet another minor home improvement project! [insert superhero music here] Huzzah! Yes, that's right, this Bangor Foursquare owner will remain the proud owner of said property, so says the paperwork. Woot! To celebrate the end of seemingly interminable months of drama, I decided to find myself a three-day weekend small project: the front steps.

As you can see, they weren't in such great shape paint-wise. What they really need (along with the rest of the house) is a nice long soak in some paint remover but I do not have the time or money to afford such extravagant measures at this time - so, it was good ol' elbow grease to the rescue. After about four hours of scraping (man, I'll be feeling it tomorrow, alright), I put the first coat on these puppies this afternoon.

It's not perfect but it's certainly much improved. Just in time for the snow and salt that will remove the paint from them again, I am sure.