Oh- one more thing!

Remember this during the Basement Bathroom Renovation from Hell?

 

Well even after slaving away to finish our beautiful bathroom, Mr. Nest started doing this:

  

Until it looked like this:

Then last weekend, he decided to "organize." So right now the other half of the basement looks like this:

Oh well. ONE day I'll have a beautiful, usable, finished basement! :)

The 6'x3' bathroom that took 19 months to renovate (Part 2)

So after a hiatus of 14 months, Birdie's first birthday party became the fire under out butts that we needed to get back on the job. If you want the long story, here it is. But I'll do a quick recap now:

What started out as a simple project of removing a vinyl 3-wall shower and quasi-glass door turned into this:

 

Then this:

 

  

A full bathroom renovation. Not the $400 shower overhaul we thought going into this. Suddenly we were talking about taking up vinyl flooring, replacing the toilet, and doing some fancy details. It was daunting, but it all came to a screeching halt. With Birdie coming in just a few short months, we had other projects that took precedent.

So that brings us to December 2009. We set the date for Birdie's birthday party and ordered the invitations. Then Mr. Nest and I looked at the guest list, then at each other, then around the Neglected Nest. 

(icanhascheezburger.com- hilarious site!)

Yup, that sums it up. We needed to get our butts in gear to get the Nest ready for the party. So Mr. Nest and my dad got back to work. They worked so fast, I didn't have a chance to get pictures. I think the "reveal" makes it worth it though! Now, keep in mind that the entire bathroom is 6'x3'. TINY! So please pardon my crappy pictures.....

  

  

  

I'm so proud of Mr. Nest! He did the tiling all by himself (well, I did 2 rows, but that's all). I love the wall color- reminds me of our trip to the Caribbean. I think I'm most impressed with the way the beadboard and capping turned out. Mr. Nest's attention to detail is poorly represented in my amateur photos here, but let me assure you that it is fantastic in person. Another project done and done well. In my humble opinion, of course. :)

Now to decorate those bare walls. It will need to be kept simple- that bathroom is too small to "junk up." Hmmm. Hope that doesn't take another 19 months!

So what do you think?

To paint, or not to paint- that is the question.

Now that the vanity in our bathroom looks fresh and updated, I'm looking around the rest of the bathroom with disgust. I got to thinkin' (which is when Mr. Nest starts chewing his nails): maybe I should paint the tile. Then the thought flew out of my head.

Until I saw this picture on AT 2 days ago:

 

Isn't it puuurdy? And all that tile is painted. Now I can't stop thinking about it.....

Hmmm, does this bathroom have hope?

 

  

Blech.

 

If it can go from that to this,

 

can it go from that to

 

this?

The jury is still out, but if you're thinking about the same thing take a look at this article from AT.

Wishin' for a Kitchen

Birdie had a rough weekend, so no new pictures or projects to post today. We did, however, cement our plans for our major kitchen renovation. This has been over 3 years in the making. To say we're excited would be the biggest understatement of the century. Well, maybe not the century. Maybe just the decade. :)

Here are some inspiration photos- I'll post current kitchen pics soon.

One of my all-time favorite kitchens

 

Decor Pad

Love the cabinets hung high and that sink is too cool!

Unknown

 

Kehaola

  

javabali.info

Oh I don't even know where to start! It's just.... perfect.

ladylunchalot.com

I love the color in this one. It's also the most "me."

 

Country Living

Are these countertops not absolutely gorgeous?! I could do without all that blue Cornish Ware though.

Country Living

White cabinets, butcher block counters, farmhouse sink, stainless steel appliances, and white subway tile backsplash. All very popular materials right now in kitchen remodels. So I am searching for ways to make it unique, but also keeping in mind that we will not be in this house much longer. Perhaps I'll find what I'm looking for when we choose the wall color?

The 6'x3' bathroom that took 19 months to renovate (Part 1)

This is the story of the one Neglected Nest project that will forever haunt us. It's a heartbreaker with a happy ending.

After trying to get pregnant for the better part of a year, we found out in June 2008 that we had finally been successful. It didn't take long for my "nesting" phase to kick in. By July 4th, my dad and Mr. Nest's dad had been called to action. Our plan was to take out the nasty shower in our basement bathroom so that it would serve as a fully functioning, usable bathroom while we completely gutted the main bathroom in the house. Our nest is about 1600 sq. ft., but the finished basement takes up a good chunk of that number. So only having a functioning bathroom on the 3rd floor is problematic.

So the boys set to work. When I left for work that morning, I was told they were just going to remove the 3 vinyl shower walls, put up the cement board, and tile.

I came home that afternoon to this:

 

  

  

  

Rot. Mold. Disgusting.

I nearly died. Then I nearly cried. Luckily, before I started freaking out, they showed me how badly the bathroom had been constructed originally. It all needed to come out. Suddenly, our simple $400 job turned into a major bathroom overhaul.

By the end of the evening, the shower looked like this:

  

By the next afternoon, it was already looking like this:

 

  

  

This is when I fell in love with Pex. It has done for the plumbing world what Jimmy Choo has done for the high heel world. It's clean, easy to use, and sturdy! It's not that expensive either- especially compared to copper. 

I think it's about as sexy as a Jimmy Choo too, no?

 

 

If I had to Choo(se) one (I'm a dork, tee hee hee), I have to say I think I'd go for the sexy Pex!

 

Anyway..... As the renovation was gaining momentum, so was the mess in the rest of the basement.

By the end of the long weekend, it was beginning to look the way I anticipated it from the start.

  

I learned A LOT from this project. And about Mr. Nest! He's always been keen on details, and you might even say he's a bit of a perfectionist. This project only magnified that 100x! My dad, who has done some construction work on and off for 20 years or so, was getting mighty frustrated with Mr. Nest. They took quite a few breaks from one another. They were like a married couple- I giggled every time they let out a deep, heavy sigh. Oh boys. But every angle is cut perfectly. Every corner is snug as a bug in a rug.

So I was thrilled with the progress of that weekend and couldn't wait to see the next stage. Unfortunately, as my belly grew, so did Mr. Nest's to-do list. He was a little nervous about tiling for the first time, too. So the project came to a screeching halt. For 14 months. 

Part 2 is next.....