Great wall of tile

  In the master bathroom that is.  I did manage to get the master bathroom vanity done this week.  Who knew that one little area would take so long.

Let's see now we installed the tile wall, new lights, new mirrors, new sinks and faucets, extended the height of the vanity, new counter top and I painted the cabinets.  I also added the feet underneath to make it look like a piece of furniture and painted the walls.  I still need to touch up the trim. Here is the before picture.

I feel like I stepped back into the 80's when I first saw this bathroom.  I couldn't believe that a house built in 2001 would have teal counter tops.  Goodbye old and hello new.  Here is a close up of the vanity.  I also added the decorative molding to cover the seam where we extended the vanity.

Now if we can just get the rest of the bathroom done.  We still need to tile the tub and shower area.  Right now I am probably the only person who can say that they have a tub in their living room.  We had to remove the tub in order for us to tile.  I hope this doesn't take much longer, we have to go back to the shop on Monday.  I know that it won't get done before then but it is hard to work on it in the evenings. The last time we did a master bathroom it took about a year and we sold the house not too long after we finished it.  I hope this doesn't take that long.

Linking with
Natasha in Oz,Be Different Act Normal,Funky Junk Interiors,Pieced Pastimes,Three Mango Seeds
Its Overflowing,DIY Show Off,Thoughts From Alice,Finding Silver Pennies,Life on Lakeshore Drive,Boogieboard Cottage,Dwellings The Heart of Your Home,Elizabeth Joan Designs
I Should be Mopping the Floor,Joy in Our Home,Between Naps on the Porch,Coastal Charm 
Worthington Court,A Stroll Thru Life,My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia,Cozy Little House
Creative Country Mom,Elizabeth and Co,Our Home Away From Home,DIY by Design    
Savvy Southern Style,Lavender Garden Cottage,Ivy and Elephants,Ducks 'n a Row
The Happy Housie,The Style Sisters,The Dedicated House,From My Front Porch To Yours
A Delightsome Life,Posed Perfection,Katherines Corner,Have a Daily Cup of Mrs Olson
Imparting Grace,Rooted In ThymeThe Charm of Home,Redoux Interiors,French Country Cottage
Shabby Art Boutique,Love of Family and Home,Bacon Time With The Hungry Hypo
Miss Mustard Seed,The Shabby Nest,My Romantic Home,Craftberry Bush,The 36th Avenue
DIY Vintage Chic,Just Us Four,Remodelaholic,Up To Date Interior,sCraft Dictator    
The Pin Junkie,Hymns and Verses

Deck and master bath update

We have closed the store this week and decided to spent our vacation tackling the master bathroom.  The covered deck is coming along nicely.  We should be getting the trim work done next week.  Here is progress so far. They should be doing the roofing tomorrow.

Now for the master bathroom.  We are working on getting the vanity area done by tonight.  Crossing my fingers. Instead of replacing the ugly oak cabinets we decided to raise the height and paint them instead. 

The big empty white space was a huge 4 X 8 mirror.  So glad it is gone.  We were able to save it and we are going to put it in the workout room in the basement.  We used a 1 X 4 on the front and 2 x 4's on the back and sides to elevate the cabinet.  Instead of  fixing the drywall we put subway tile on the wall. 

We got the new sinks and faucets installed yesterday and I am still working the the doors and drawers. I also painted the bathroom a new color.  It looks the same but it is a little darker color.  The new color goes much better with the tile. 

Now for the other side of the bathroom.  I warn you it's pretty scary.

I am not sure when this will get done probably not this week since Saturday is our anniversary so we are going to take a rest on Saturday and Sunday.  Luckily we have the shower in the basement that we can use.  I am so ready for all this construction to be over with.  Once we get this done all we have left is our closet. 

Progress on the covered deck (finally)

After having so many problems with getting this covered deck area done we are finally seeing some progress.  I thought for sure we would be finished with this right now but of course if anything can go wrong it does for us.

Here is what it looks like so far.

This is what we started out with a really ugly looking pergola. I had been wanting to tear it down since we moved in.

We have had a lot of rain this week so the construction has been slow going.  I hope this can get done within the next few weeks.  

French country kitchen island

After thinking about it I decided to paint the shelves dark brown.  Hey if I didn't like it I could always repaint it.  Thanks for the comments that helped me to take the plunge.  So here it is.

It actually looked pretty good with nothing on it.

 I got the grouting done on the master bathroom floor this weekend.  I can't wait to get this bathroom done. I still need to demo the tile around the tub and the shower.

The toilet and trim are being done tonight.  I am excited about getting the toilet put in.  It has been over a week now and boy am I ready to get it installed. It's funny how you take small things for granted.  We have another bathroom on this floor put it is only a powder room so we have been taking showers in the basement bathroom.

Wishing everyone a great week.

Linking with
Coastal Charm,Savvy Southern Style,DIY by Design,Ivy and Elephants
Lavender Garden Cottage,Ducks 'n a Row,The Style Sisters,Posed Perfection
The Happy Housie,The Dedicated House,Have a Daily Cup of Mrs Olson
Rooted in Thyme,Katherines Corner,From My Front Porch To Yours
Imparting Grace,A Delightsome Life,The Charm of Home,Miss Mustard Seed
Shabby Art Boutique, BaconTime With The Hungry Hypo,My Romantic Home
The Shabby Nest,Chic on a Shoestring,Redoux Interiors,French Country Cottage
Craftberry Bush,DIY Vintage Chic,The 36th Avenue,Just Us Fou,rThe Pin Junkie
Pieced Pastime,sBe Different Act Normal,Natasha in Oz,DIY Show Off
Remodelaholic,Up to Date Interiors,Craft Dictator,Finding Silver Pennies
Thoughts from Alice,Elizabeth Joan Designs,Boogieboard Cottage
Dwellings The Heart of Your Home,I Should Be Mopping the Floor
Between Naps on the Porch,The Dedicated House,Worthington Court,Joy in Our Home 
A Stroll Thru Life,My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia,Cozy Little House,Creative Country Mom 
Elizabeth and Co,Our Home Away From Home
Simple Details

Boring garage doors?

It's easy to fix boring garage doors.  I would love to have beautiful wooden doors but I don't want to spend that kind of money on my current house.  I will save them for my forever home.  So for right now we installed these.  They don't cost much and I was able to get them on sale.  You can't beat $6.46 each.  Even at the regular price of $12.88 that's a bargain.

Here is the before.

And now a close up of the after.

My hubby did the install in less than 10 minutes.  The transformation is amazing.  It's makes great curb appeal.  I also took a few shots of the front garden area.  Not all of my flowers are blooming yet. Please ignore the ADT sign.

We are finally getting the back deck cover going.  Everything has been approved by the county.  I just hope I get to enjoy my deck this summer.  Wishing everyone a happy weekend.

Linking with
Pieced Pastimes,Be Different Act Normal,Natasha in Oz,Thoughts From Alice   
Life on Lakeshore Drive,Three Mango Seeds,Finding Silver Pennies,DIY Show Off 
Dwellings The Heart of Your Home,Boogieboard Cottage,Elizabeth Joan Designs
Joy in our Home,Between Naps on the Porch,My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Coastal Charm,I Should be Mopping the Floor,Creative Country Mom,Cozy Little House
Our Home Away From Home,A Stroll Thru Life,Confessions of a Plate Addict
The Dedicated House,Elizabeth and Co,Ducks 'n a Row,Savvy Southern Style
The Style Sisters,The Happy Housie,DIY By Design,Ivy and Elephants,Posed Perfection
Green Willow Pond,From My Front Porch To Yours,Lavender Garden Cottage
Katherines Corner,A Delightsome Life,The Charm of Home,The Shabby Nest
Bacon Time With The Hungry Hypo,Love of Family and Home,Chic on a Shoestring Decorating 
Craftberry Bush,Redoux Interiors
My Romantic Home
Imparting Grace

Updated kitchen island

I got the the corbels done on the island this week.  They did dress it up a bit.  Here is how they turned out.  It is hard to get good pictures in my kitchen.  I took these this morning and the glare from the sun makes them turn out like this.

I am debating on painting the shelves the dark brown color.  Not so sure that I like it the way it is now.
Here is what the island looked like before and during the process.

Another project I have been working on is our master bathroom.  I have never shown it before as it looks horrible.  We have finally started to update it.  Here is a sneak peek.

The floors used to be 6 X 6 white tiles.  We still have two more tiles to put in before I can grout.  We are going to be replacing the white tiles in the shower and tub area, put in new sinks, faucets, lights, mirrors and new counter tops.  We are also going to be extending the height of the vanity.  Since I don't care for oak I will be painting the cabinets a dark brown.  I have been wanting to change this bathroom ever since we moved in about two years ago.

Update on the covered deck area.  It is at a stand still.  Of course something always has to go wrong.  They were going to use the existing posts from the pergola but they do not extend all the way down so now we are waiting to get this issued resolved.  I would sure like to use my deck this summer before winter comes. Here in Colorado when can get our first snow in October.  Oh well, what can I do but wait.

Linking with
The Dedicated House,Savvy Southern Style,Green Willow Pond,Ivy and Elephants
DIY by Design,The Style Sisters,Lavender Garden Cottage,The Happy Housie
Ducks 'n a Row,A Delightsome Life,Easy Life Meal and Party Planning
Imparting Grace,The Brambleberry Cottage,Rooted In Thyme,Katherines Corner
Have a Daily Cup of Mrs Olson,From My Front Porch To Yours,Posed Perfection
French Country Cottage,The Pin Junkie,Shabby Art Boutique,The Charm of Home
Bacon Time With The Hungry Hypo,Chic on a Shoe String Decorating
Miss Mustard Seed,The Shabby Nest,Just Us Four,The 36th Avenue,Craft Dictator
Remodelaholic,Up to Date Interiors,DIY Vintage Chic,My Romantic Home  
Pieced Pastimes,Be Different Act Normal,Natasha in Oz,Life on Lakeshore Drive
Thoughts From Alice,Three Mango Seeds,Finding Silver Pennies,DIY Show Off
Dwellings The Heart of Your Home
Boogieboard Cottage

Sleeping porches

My best memories of visiting Illinois when I was child was my grandmother's sleeping porch.  My older brother and I loved to sleep out there.  My grandmother didn't have air conditioning so that was the best place to sleep.  It was located on the second floor between to bedrooms at the back of the house. Of course her's didn't look like any of these that I found on Pinterest.  All that would fit on it was a double bed.

I loved my grandmother's house.  She had the old cellar door outside to go into the basement but you could also go down from inside the house too.  She had a large walk in pantry in the kitchen with a hoosier in it.  I  remember going in there, sit on the stool  and look at all her pretty dishes and knick knacks.  My favorites were her Mr and Mrs Santa creamer and sugar dish.

My grandmother died when I was 10 so only got to enjoy the visits for a short time.  One of my mother's sisters lived in the same town so we would still visit every year. 

When we get to build our dream home I am going to insist on a sleeping porch (or at least a screened in porch).