Fixer upper - The 1st floor bath

When we bought our new house, we knew there would be a lot of work involved, even before being able to move in. The previous owners had not bothered with much renovations beyond painting so a lot of rooms we still much in the same state as in 1985 when the house was built. And then the house sat empty for almost 4 years. We set priorities to having at least one functional full bathroom and a serviceable kitchen. 

  

This is what the first floor bathroom looked like when we first toured the house

First a bit of demo: 

Remove the old vanity, toilet and fixtures, peel the grimy glued on vinyl flooring 

then fix the holes

We had a good laugh when we found a patch of the original wall paper behind the toilet tank:

Space Invaders style :)

Then new floor and fresh paint,  new vanity and backsplash

Tada !!

 

We did keep the light fixture above the vanity after a good scrub of course

New bathroom for under $1000

Day 4 - Contract signed

Our house was on the market for a grand total 4 days : Friday through Tuesday. 4 days!! Yikes we figured it would take a couple of weeks.  Now we have to move out by August 3rd??!!?? PANIC! So much to do, so little time. 

We had to scramble once again for the paperwork, inspections and moving arrangements. We are taking a short and well earned vacation and will be packing as soon as we return. Altogether it's not that bad: having found a short term lease, we will be camping in a small apartment while we shop for our new house. It'll be cramped but we are now able to wait out until the right house comes along and also to move out rapidly once we have found it. 

Looks like blogging will take the back seat for a little bit longer... Sorry !

In the mean time, as promised, here are some photos of our soon to be ex-house we took for the listing:

Front of the house

Living/Dining room combo

Deck

Kitchen

Front hall and powder room

Bug's bedroom

Office

Full bath

Master bathroom

Master bedroom

Guest bedroom

Basement

Oh I will miss you my beloved studio !!!

Back patio

Back of the house

House for sale

Sorry for my sudden disappearance without explanations but something really big happened: we decided to sell our fixer upper townhouse so we could buy a house with a yard for Bug, a garage for the hubs and a nice studio for me.

The past few weeks have been all about getting the townhouse ready for its debuts on the market. After long days at work, we worked late nights and whole weekends to get everything gleaming. Finally it's a done, the "For Sale" sign will be outside by the weekend, listing photos are done. We are tired but happy.

I haven't sewn a stitch for fun in eons and I miss it but I really don't know when I'll be able to get any sewing done since we are trying to keep everything ready for showings. Hopefully the house will sell fast and we will be settling in a new place by the end of the summer... in the meantime I will show you some pictures of the house in its showroom state if you are interested.

Missed blogging too !!

What have you been up to?

DIY Mantel reveal

This is a picture of my fireplace last year just before Christmas

And this is the same fireplace today

Notice the difference ? Yes ! I have a mantel!!

Uncle John and I worked together a saturday morning and put this together while the hubby was taking care of Bug. First we measured and had to do a little bit of math, then we tacked 1x2 strips of wood to the the studs.

Added some L brackets

Then measured some more and installed the ledge

 And after more measuring and more math, the crown moulding came under the ledge.

I'm terrified of using a circular saw so Uncle John did all the cutting but I was a champ using the drill and mail gun. Then came sanding, caulking, painting. But it's finished now. And the result is way beyond what I had hoped for. I can't wait to decorate for Christmas this year. It's a bit early for it though. So I did decorate for fall and of course Thanksgiving.

I'm just happy, really happy about my new mantel.

Don't forget to check out my Shabby Apple Giveaway

To enter click HERE

 

You can win this awesome necklace !!

Ends 11/21

Deck improvements

This is the final look of our new little piece of heaven. I know a lot of people turn their nose up when it comes to shopping furniture at the big blue and yellow stores but "Yay for the Swedes!" The reclining chair are brilliant. They fold flat, can be used as dining chairs and perfect for lounging.

This outdoor graphic rug had been stowed away in a closet for a couple of years, forgotten. I'm glad I remembered about it. We decided to get the matching foot stools this past weekend and it was just the missing element to make for a perfect place to relax this summer and into the fall. 

Last but not least I took the time to add some ties to the cushions. Call it OCD but I prefer when seat cushions stay put. 

And I also added a loop to hang the cushions when they are not in used. OK I may have a little OCD side, so did the hubby who installed hooks to hangs the cushions.

Vast improvement over the previous situation
right ?