How to PHASE a bathroom reno (keep that shower as long as possible!), tons of wall tile, and painting tips: Week 3, One Room Challenge

10.16.2019

How to PHASE a bathroom reno (keep that shower as long as possible!), tons of wall tile, and painting tips: Week 3, One Room Challenge

We're in the middle of the work for our bathroom reno, and I think the middle is probably the worst place to be. The design excitement is over, you've had your house torn up for a while, you're tired of things being in weird places, it's starting to look better but you're working on it alll the time, and there are still hurdles to cross before you're close to done.

But we've made this reno as painless as possible in a few ways, and I'm sharing about those today. This bathroom hass (basically) our only shower and bathtub, so we phased demo and construction to leave the old shower in place as long as possible. We also are phasing wall tiling, as there is SO MUCH of it to do. Finally, fit in the most time-consuming parts of painting strategically.

Bonus to this post: details and pics on the terrifying shower demo I've been dreading!!

This post is part of my series of 6 posts about the 5-week One Room Challenge. You can see all my posts about this project here. Previous posts so far:

• Week 1: "Before," design, and demo!
• Week 2: How to Lay Mosaic Tile Flooring
• Week 3: You're here!

READ POST

No comments

Kitchen organization!!!

10.15.2019

Kitchen organization!!!

Working in an organized kitchen makes every minute in there easier and happier. I've been working on pantry and dish cabinet organization since we did our kitchen reno and while it's a work in progress, I did get some professional help, and am getting deep into organization principles today!


Organizing your kitchen cabinets is a small-scale DIY that can make a huge difference. Today on the Your Home Story podcast Ashley and I talk through common issues for kitchen organizing, including listener questions like hard-to-reach upper cabinets, corner cabinets, deep pantry shelves, and more.

Resources and examples:

1. My blog posts about my One Room Challenge bathroom makeover
2. The Rev-A-Shelf pull-outs Ashley bought
3. The Modern Edit organizing service and inspo
4. The plain black lunch bag I bought
5. White plastic bins in many sizes

You can find us on our blogs or connect with each of us on Instagram:
@suzannahstanley
@biggerthanthethreeofus
@yourhomestorypodcast

And you can join our Facebook group here to connect with other listeners and ask questions!

Listen here or in your podcast player!

READ POST

No comments

Unique handmade art: our Crater Lake tree ring print (and custom framing with coupon code!)

10.14.2019

Unique handmade art: our Crater Lake tree ring print (and custom framing with coupon code!)

Unique, personal art is a big goal of ours in this home. We've had a mishash of art styles over the years from all different sources, but we have decided we are done with mass-produced generic art and only want to bring in pieces that are special to us. Of course we want them to be beautiful, too!

I'd been seeing tree print woodblock prints around lately, I think most of them by one artist: Erik Linton. He cuts and prints by hand so, so many beautiful tree rings and offers them in any color and lots of sizes (depending on the size of the tree!). He reached out to me and offered one of his prints for our home, and Jason and I were so excited! We love the look, and he has prints from places that are very special to us.

We really considered his Yosemite ponderosa pine tree ring print (36"x36") and Jason's family loves Yosemite. But the 36"x36" was actually just a little too big, and we decided on this 24"x36" Crater Lake tree ring print (from a 100+ year old red fir tree). Jason and I have both been to Crater Lake, and it is one of Oregon's treasures and we love celebrating this state.

You can see lots more prints on Erik's Etsy shop here.

READ POST

No comments

How to lay mosaic tile flooring!: Week 2, One Room Challenge bathroom reno with hexagon floor

10.09.2019

How to lay mosaic tile flooring!: Week 2, One Room Challenge bathroom reno with hexagon floor

I have a love/hate relationship with tiling. I LOVE that it is a totally doable DIY and is not technically difficult. Anyone can do it, with a few tools and confidence. I HATE how long it takes (on walls) and how many steps there are, with annoying running out to the backyard to mix more mortar or grout... it's messy and hard on my back and takes longer than it should. BUT it is a great way to improve your home and if you do it yourself, it can be cheaper than hiring out installation of even the cheapest flooring products!

Good news is, I've tiled FIVE bathroom floors now and the verdict is in: mosaic tile is the easiest to install!! I'm sharing a full tutorial for how we replaced our old linoleum flooring with hexagon mosaic tile below. You can totally do this!!

This post is part of my series of 6 posts about the 5-week One Room Challenge. You can see all my posts about this project here. Previous posts:

• Week 1: "Before," design, and demo!
• Week 2: You're here!

Tiling is a great skill to learn and starting with a nice, horizontal surface like a floor is a good way to learn. This tutorial will walk you through installing mosaic tile (that means sheets of smaller tile on a mesh backing) on a floor like a bathroom.

Start by demoing your previous flooring, down to the subfloor (usually particle board or plywood). I do suggest you do some research for the right base for your tile backer board depending on your previous flooring and subfloor. Also, note how much clearance you have under your door to the existing floor... we had sheet linoleum and 1/4" or so of clearance, so after we removed our flooring but added 1/4" of backer board, mortar, and 6 mm high tiles, we did need to trim down the door.

Project-specific conditions aside... on with the tutorial that you can use as soon as you're ready for tile backer board!

READ POST

No comments

Complete powder bath renovation!

10.08.2019

Complete powder bath renovation!

You know I'm deep into our full bath renovation and overwhelmed by redoing the shower... so here's a smaller-scale project that is 100% complete to enjoy in the meantime!

Sometimes the smallest rooms can make the biggest impact--but small doesn’t always mean easy for a DIY renovation! Tune in to the Your Home Story podcast this week to hear all about Ashley’s powder bath renovation (including what it ended up costing)!

Here's a shot of this beautiful tiny bathroom, plus a "before"!

You can find links to what we talked about below.

• Ashley’s post on the Stylemaker Event
• Small Powder Bath Renovation Plan
• Sarah Sherman Samuel Bathroom Inspiration
• Wall Mount Faucet Cost
• Quirky art by Wink Wink Studio
• Powder Bathroom Full Reveal

You can find us on our blogs or connect with each of us on Instagram:
@suzannahstanley
@biggerthanthethreeofus
@yourhomestorypodcast

And you can join our Facebook group here to connect with other listeners and ask questions!

Listen here or in your fave podcast player!

READ POST

No comments

Main bathroom full gut makeover: Week 1 One Room Challenge! Before, design, and demo!

10.02.2019

Main bathroom full gut makeover: Week 1 One Room Challenge! Before, design, and demo!

Bathroom reno time!!!!!!!! Our main bathroom is a huge eyesore and mix of pieces from over the decades, including denim blue trim, multicolored reddish tile, and glass blocks on the shower. YIKES. It lacks storage and yet has bars and shelves everywhere on the walls, and the floor is cracking around the shower. It's on the main floor of the house and we is the main bathroom we use--it's also our only tub and shower right now! It will be a massive project to redo it and I will be sharing all about it with you over the next 5 weeks!!!

READ POST

No comments