April 14, 2010
One more part of the master bathroom accomplished. Once I get the last two things done, lay new flooring and paint sink cabinet, I will have to post before and after pictures. It is already different, but it will be drastically different from top to bottom after everything is done.
At first I purchased a standard curtain rod, but after seeing a curved curtain rod at a friend’s house, I returned the standard one and purchased a curved curtain rod by Moen in brushed nickel. There is so much more room in the shower and the shower curtain liner actually stays in place rather than moving into the tub.
The curved curtain rod is a little harder to install, but installation went well with only a few hiccups. I had to use screws with anchors for the drywall where I didn’t find a stud and then used a wood screw where I did find stud. That is what I expect from our walls though, so that was no surprise.
Once the curtain rod was up, I was finally able to hang my new shower curtain. The curtain rod ended up a little high, but at least the curtain reached past the top of the tub.
September 8, 2009
For a while now, about 7 years, I have had the same light in the main bathroom off the 2nd floor hallway. It was originally with the light facing down, but I made a frame for the mirror and then the light didn’t fit flush against the wall anymore. I had to turn the glass shades so they faced up. This created a nice ambient light that faced up, but casted weird shadows in the bathroom. This fall, I had a list of things to change in the house and this was one of them. The light is finally changed. I just have to paint the cabinet and I think this bathroom may just be complete for now.
The original light was a brown color and the new one is a trendy brushed nickel. The original glass shades were while and then new ones are a really nice brown. They cast a beautiful light in the bathroom. I decided to go with 40W equivalent CFLs and they warm up quickly and 3 of them make the bathroom so bright.
The light was purchased at Lowes. This type of light is where the fixture and glass shades are purchased separately so you can purchase exactly what you want. The wiring is simple – 3 connections – copper ground, white wire, and black wire. Just remember to turn off the power to the outlet preferably from the power/fuse box.
Old Light/New Light
Old Bathroom/New Bathroom
May 31, 2007
The carpet in our guest room was in bad condition which used to be an office among other uses. Instead of installing new carpet, my preference was to install laminate flooring. We wanted a more durable and practical flooring option and something inexpensive too.
After some research, it was decided to go with flooring called Span from IKEA. SPAN is a locking, floating floor that needs the NIVÅ floor liner underneath for sound absorption and leveling. (Note: As of late 2009, SPAN no longer exists at Ikea. However, the equivalent flooring is now called SLÄTTEN and it’s $0.03/sq ft cheaper than SPAN used to be. Also, NIVÅ used to be a pressed wood fiber type of floor liner but is now polyethylene but says it achieves the same purpose.)
The clearing out the old carpet was a mess but cutting the carpet and padding into strips allowed me to carry it outside by myself. I geared up with safety glasses, face mask, mini-crowbar, hammer, Exacto knife, and RoboGrip pliers. It took me a whole day to clear out all of the carpet and padding. I cleaned up some spots that seeped through the carpet on the sub-flooring, swept, and then the floor was ready for new flooring. The entire clean up process took a couple of days.
Installation of the flooring wasn’t without its ups and downs. No more than 15 minutes into installation, I squished the palm of my hand between a hammer and the block used to push the wood plank into place. I am usually careful, but a little bit of my skin went over the edge right before the hammer hit. I was then out of commission and my dad and husband worked on the flooring instead. It really was a nice bonding experience for them. I did get to help out with keeping them organized and removing items they no longer needed like packaging.
The entire installation process took about 3 days including laying the floor liner, flooring, and cutting and installing trim. I was able to help out with trim. We even tackled the closet. Laying flooring in there may have been a little tricky, but it looks great. My dad made it look easy!
