Bathroom Remodel... Final

Here are the final stages of our bathroom remodel, we are so glad to have it done!

The underlayment was put down to act as crack isolation and support for the tile. The contractor made sure to fix any squeaks we had in the sub-floor before they put anything down.

Here is the tile (13x13 size) in place with grout, I chose a grout color that matched the background color of the tiles. We had the contractor center the tiles in the door way so we didn't have a grout line in the main pathway.

Then the tile base was installed around the perimeter of the room. The contractor was careful to line up the grout joints in the floor with the grout joints in tile base.

Here is the finished product, so glad to have the new tile... its easy to clean and it looks nice. We also chose to paint our cabinet a chocolate brown color. Which we did by removing the doors and drawers painting them, and the bare cabinet frame and then we put them back together. I think the brown color compliments the wall color and adds a modern and updated look to the bathroom.

Now we just need to replace those metal blinds!!

Bathroom Remodel... Demo

Home ownership teaches you new things...

We noticed a month ago a possible leak in our bathroom under the toilet because of discoloration in the vinyl floor. We made the quick decision to call the plumber and have him remove the toilet to examine the damage. When checking the flooring layers we realized there was carpet over linoleum and hardwood on the plank subfloor as well as vinyl over linoleum and hardwood in the toilet area. Our options were to replace the vinyl flooring or go ahead and tile the entire bathroom.

Here is how our process started...

Toilet was removed, and the plumber noticed the hole for the flange was cut too large so water had been leaking under the flooring and to the subfloor.

This is an close up of the area, where the water had gone through to the wood floor and subfloor below. We realized then we had to tile the floor.

Removed the carpet (Finally!) and removed all the staples.

54 year old hardwood floor... which is throughout the house, it was not able to be re-finished The crowbar and hammer were our best friends!

Down to the plank subfloor, our contractor had to replace the floor between two beams. Luckily they were in a good location. And now we have no more damaged floor-boards!

Planked subfloor cleaned and ready.

The wood floor was installed under the cabinet, so instead of replacing the cabinet, we opted to have the subcontractor cut the hardwood flush with the cabinet face so they could install the tile up to that point and use a quarter round wood trim piece along the base to hide any gaps.

This process was a quick decision but I am glad for the outcome, and very grateful for the help of our subcontractors...stay tuned for more.

Time for Flowers

I was so excited last weekend to finally start my cutting garden of flowers. I planted various seeds in locations where the sun would be sure to help them grow. Here is a list for the types of flowers I planted, some are perennials and some annuals.

Teddy Bear Sunflower, Dahlia (Kelvin Floodlight), Shasta Daisy, Painted Daisy, Powder Puff Aster, California Orange Poppy

Five Home Favorites

This is five things I love about our home, characteristics of the style and construction of a 1956 ranch-style home. The details of our home work well together to make a charming interior...and exterior.

beautiful hardwood floors...

built-ins that provide extra storage...

a cozy fireplace finished in white...

a sun room for entertaining and enjoying the warmth...

a yard full of seasonal blooms...

I would love to hear about your homes... your favorite details to feature and inspire others. Please feel free to email me pictures and descriptions of what you love about your home. Write "Five Home Favorites" in the title, and email to inspireddesigner.km@gmail.com.

Kitchen | Before and After

So over the holiday break we decided to remove the 90's themed southwest wallpaper and paint our kitchen a new color. It was a very difficult process to remove the paper, we used a spray gel to remove it and then sanded it down to paint. I decided to go with a green that I liked called Tansy Green (Sherwin Willams 6424)... and I think it goes well with our colors in the kitchen and the rest of the house. Someday I hope to remove the plastic laminate cabinets and counters and start from scratch... but this new color will do for now.

200th Post!!

Excited to say its my 200th post. Wanted to post a enlarged view of the picture on my banner. Its a picture of the tree in my front yard during the spring, which is a northwestern version of the western redbud. I will include a fall picture later today. I love the twists and turns there are in each branch, and the lovely flowers a that grow on the branches during the spring.

Thanks for reading!



Our tree today, because its also pretty in the fall!

Our Home | New Rug

So was so excited last week when I was lucky enough to win a fancy new rug. The rug is a broadloom carpet by Patcraft Designweave from Uptown Collection, pattern City Style. It looks stellar in our eclectic living room. Check out the Patcraft Designweave website for other fantastic modern patterns.

Garden | Before and After

I wanted to share some pictures of our garden, since my husband does such an excellent job putting it all together. I hope next year we can plant even more veggies and flowers to enjoy throughout the season.

Garden Before
Planted: Zinna's, Tomato, Peppers, Yellow Squash, Basil, and Arugula.

Garden After

Lots of veggies and beautiful flowers (including our neighbors sunflowers). We are having a great time making meals with our fresh vegetables.