November 2024

It’s all hands on deck here with the remodel/ repair job.  Sugarwings has been quite helpful with pulling up nails, hauling supplies, carrying out trash, etc.

I have been painting wood to use on one wall where the drywall was especially bad. 

This design element accidentally developed.  

My son is a carpenter, he can do dry wall work, but doesn’t like it.  We were gifted a truckload of these rough hewn boards.  Rich and I were tired of the wasted space taken up by an extra door that was rarely used.  That doorway  wall also had drywall that needed replaced, while the other walls just needed patching.

 
All of those elements pulled together to make a decision to panel over that door with our free wood.

So, I painted away the lodge/cedary-orange look.  First the wood needed major sanding.  When I said ROUGH hewn, I meant it.  Splintery rough!

 I used mostly watered down white paint, but I added some gray and brown here and there.  I’m pretty excited about how the finished project will look. And am looking forward to seeing my boy in action, working with the planks to create the siding. 

Aren’t these labradorite slices beautiful?  When the light hits them, they flash luminescent blues and golds. 


My plan is to use them randomly in these pebble 1’ x 1’ squares we are laying in our master bath. The stones are glued to the mesh backing.  I’ll peel up a few existing stones in the right sizes and replace them with my gems.

A few years ago I found a stack of this old barkcloth at a flea market and am using one set of curtain panels in my studio.  I’d like to take the rest to make curtains for the bathroom.  At first I thought maybe I shouldn’t use the same fabric in two different rooms.  But when it’s material I love as much as I do this,  it would be silly not to, right?

I’ll make French net sheers for the window with the rose fabric over it, opened in the middle, but not tied back.

The shower will get a similar treatment, with a narrow panel of cabbage rose bark cloth on each side over this ivory curtain.

There is already a rose theme going on with this tile around the tub.

While we are in demolition mode, we are covering up an unused door that leads from the bathroom to the closet.  We decided the original entryway is plenty, we don’t need a second door.  Having two entries into our walk in closet, just causes less useful space available inside.  Right now, we have to leave clearance for a door to swing open.  Without that, I can have a small cabinet in the walk-in.  

So, the wall that is losing a door, will be covered in white barn wood.  I’ll like the rustic wood, and pebble tile floor as a contrast to the mini chandelier, luxe window treatment, and roses.  I’m still debating on wall color for now.

Why are we redoing our bathroom, which pretty nice to start with? Well for at least ten years, our house has been settling.

Although in the last couple, it started to feel more unsettled than just normal settling.  Walls were cracking, tiles breaking, and we were developing a slope.

When we realized the crawlspace needed checked out, we also realized that the contractor who added this addition did not leave access to get to it.

Why?

The tile was cracking anyway, so the guys chipped it away to make a hole in the floor to get under the house.  When they squeezed through, another discovery showed there was also no ventilation which caused dry rot and structural damage.

After consulting a friend who owns a foundation company, and various other skilled tradesmen, Adam and Rich decided they could fix it, if they hired a crew of skilled workers.  

The adventure begins.