Home Improvement

At loooooooong last, here is my very much overdue blog post detailing all of the home improvements we have made over the past year!  The reason I suggest this is long overdue is that MOST of this work was done in the very early months of 2015 (a whole year ago!), but the final details were not complete until very recently (like 2 weeks ago).  I had decided to wait until it was done to post about it, but at the time I had no idea it would be this long before that would happen.  Now, it's kind of funny that it took so long!  But, in the middle of it, we felt we had to exercise quite a bit of patience and make a few sacrifices and endure a few setbacks along the way to finally reach this milestone.  But we did it.  Ha!

We began with an update to the older boys' bedroom.  This was a necessity, as the bedding they had been using since before Courtney was born was quite worn, and because the closet shelves in their room were not holding up.  In fact, Avery's clothing rod had fallen down so many times, he could no longer use it.  The project was fun because we did it all together!

This cutie helped carry the big boxes with the shelving materials down to the boys' bedroom. 

And so did their lovely sister!

This is the cutest.  The boys and dad are examining the closet and taking out the old shelves, and Trey came in to announce that he had a screwdriver they could use.  So helpful!

"Here's a screwdriver, Daddy!"

I couldn't get a picture of the whole closet unit at once because, of course, the doors are in the way.  But, on one side they have the rods to hang up clothes...

...and on the other side they have the shelving and the laundry bin.  This works SO much better than what they had before and keeps things really tidy.  Nice work, guys!

Next, we added new bedding and cleaned up the decor just a bit.

Looks good, huh?  It didn't really take much to change a little boy room into a young men room, because we kept it simple.  I like it!

And finally, Dad and Chase put together a new shelf for the downstairs bathroom.  It definitely helps with keeping things organized in there because young men with braces seem to need a few more toiletries than do little boys.  Just another evidence that these guys are growing up.  Waaaaaaah!

The next project was a big one and SO fun!  This was a mini-makeover in the kitchen that consisted of upgrading the appliances and the sink and the countertops.  The nature of these changes meant that we didn't do much of the actual "work" of installation, but it was a surprising amount of work to shop and select and hire and coordinate all the work.  But relatively speaking, it didn't take long, and it turned out great!

This is a "before" picture of our kitchen as it existed for the first 11 years.  I always loved this kitchen!  It was pretty, but just needed a little updating.

"Before" of the counter next to the pantry.

"Before" of the island, sink and dishwasher from another angle. 

"Before" of the other side of the kitchen, including the stove, oven and microwave...and our cute little buddy!

Another "before" angle of the island.

And a "before" of the side board where we keep the phones, laptop, etc.

The old microwave

The old stove and oven

The old dishwasher.

We went to several places to look for granite, but this was the one I loved the best.  Just look at that character and texture, and such pretty colors in it!

This little fella helped out by carrying around this drawer front that we had brought along with us so that we could match the colors with our existing cabinetry.  I love that funny face!

Before the work could begin, we had to go to the Home Depot to pick out new faucets.  We actually got the countertops in the bathrooms updated at the same time (because we had to get two slabs of granite and wanted to use the extra).  That meant that we replaced the sinks with undermount sinks and replaced the faucets on all of those sinks.

The big day finally came!  We had a great fabricator (Alejandro and team!).  They did all the work of tearing out the old countertops and taking out the appliances, etc.  The only thing that they didn't really do was the final plumbing and installation of the faucets in the kitchen and bathrooms.  Nate was able to handle that stuff fine on his own!

It was crazy to see the kitchen torn apart like that!

We got a new undermount sink in the kitchen as well.  This is a granite composite and the color is dark brown.  At first I thought this would look strange, but I really LOVE the way it turned out.

The island slab is my favorite!

And here it is all finished, with sink plumbing completed and new appliances!   

New microwave and stove and oven.  The best thing here is that we were able to fit a small double oven here!  We've always wanted one of those and it is SO handy!  The upper oven is small, but it does the job and makes it so much more convenient when two things need to bake at once.

New dishwasher and sink and faucet!

Another angle on the new stuff!

Oh, and we can't forget the new refrigerator...because this was where it all started!  We felt we needed a bigger refrigerator, and the old one was falling apart in some places.  So, when we decided to get a new refrigerator, we then decided it would have to be all new appliances because of course they have to match.  And why not update the countertops while we were at it?  And then, when we had to buy two full slabs of granite and didn't want to waste the extra, we decided to update the bathroom countertops and sinks as well.  But, in the Master bathroom if we were going to replace the countertops, we really wanted to update the shower and floor and cabinetry as well...phewsh!  What a huge amount of (fun!) work!  And it all started with this new refrigerator.  By the way, the refrigerator is the biggest one we could find to fill this space, and it's GREAT!

Another angle including the new appliances.

As I mentioned, this "remodel" also included some updates for the kids' bathrooms.  They look great with their new countertops!

"Before" in the bathroom that Courtney and Trey share (and which was also used for years by Chase and Avery!).

"Before" in the Jack-n-Jill upstairs. 

"Before" in the downstairs bathroom that the boys use.

"Before" of the downstairs bathroom again from a different angle.

"After" photo of the upstairs bathroom shared by Coco and Trey.

Lucky kids with such a fancy bathroom.  Ha!

"After" photo of the bathroom in the basement shared by Chase and Avery.

 

Great texture and colors in this granite.  I love it!

And now, FINALLY, the last project that we did was the Master Bathroom.  This was the biggest project and most difficult, and the one that took months and months to complete.  Actually, the greatest part of the work was done, really, within a few weeks.  And then most of the remaining major pieces of the project were done a few weeks after that.  But then...things got busy...materials got delayed...setting aside time got tricky...there were a few mistakes to correct...etc...and the last major finishing touches didn't get completed for more than six more months after that!  We managed just fine, however, with a little creativity and a lot of patience.  But now it's done!  So, I can post the pictures of the process and the beautiful results.

We didn't really think to take "before" pictures before we got started on the project.  So, this photo of the old vanity was taken after the tools were out and the boxes were being loaded with the things we kept in the cabinets and drawers.  You can also see in this picture the old tile that we had on the floor.  I always liked that tile, but since we were changing up so much in the bathroom configuration, we needed to re-do the floor.  Plus, the new tile we have now is just scrumptious, so I don't miss the old stuff too much.  Ha!  However, I'm glad we have this picture so I can remember it!  You can also see in this picture a glimpse of the old 3/4 wall that used to separate the vanity from the toilet area.  Yeah, that's completely gone now.  It opens up the space in there so nicely!

One more picture of the old vanity and sinks.  This cabinetry was really still in great shape, so we were able to give it to a family in our ward that was remodeling an old house they had bought.  Now, they have it in their master bathroom (and they also have our old kitchen sink!), which makes me so happy!  I'm so glad it has gone to another wonderful home where it can serve another sweet family for many happy years to come.  They painted it white and it looks great!

The old Hollywood lighting in the bathroom.  And Avery standing in the doorway. :)

More of the old vanity, lighting, and 3/4 wall.  You can see the old shower in the reflection of the mirror, too.

Demolition time!

Tearing out the old tile in the shower and around the tub.

Chase had fun with this part!

Part of the reason that Nate wanted to do this project on our own, despite knowing that he didn't have as much time to work on it as he needed, was to teach the older boys about home repair and remodeling.  He wanted to teach him some of the skills he has learned over the years about framing, drywall, plumbing, electrical work, tiling, etc.  Of course we could also save a lot of money by doing the work ourselves.  But it really was so valuable for them to work together and to get the experience of doing this kind of work.  And for that reason alone it was easy for me to be more patient with the mess and inconvenience.

Muscle work!

Everybody wanted to get in on the fun of the demolition project!  We got one of those big Bagsters for the driveway to throw away all the scrap, which is so handy!

Nate had to do a little bit of re-framing around the bathtub because of some water damage.  Can you believe how different it all looks in this picture?

Two little helpers stood outside the door of the bathroom awaiting their turn to be asked to help with something.  They were great!

Strange deforming panoramic picture showing the demolished shower and bathtub, and the little ones watching from the doorway.

Just look at this sweet little princess helping with the old scraps from the bathroom!

Could this kid look any more excited about being allowed to use this big hammer to hit a hole in the wall?  This was the old 3/4 wall that we completely removed.  It was a big tricky because it did have some electrical stuff in it, but Nate was able to move it all back into the wall.  I love how much space it opens in the bathroom now that the wall is gone!

Of course, I will also remember these early weeks of the remodeling project as the time when I was horribly sick with pneumonia.  I honestly would have liked to have rather been able to help with the bathroom than be laid up so miserable on the couch day after day.  I like to pretend it was an excuse to get out of working, but the truth is that it was awful!

Boy, was it exciting when this floor started going down!

Nate is standing where the toilet would later be, working on tiling the floor.  You can see the wall where we tore out the 3/4 wall and the plumbing, too.  This was such a big project to take on!

Chase helping Nate with the floor tiles.  And incidentally, the hardest part of this project for me was the MESS!  The tools and supplies and DUST that covered every square inch of my bathroom and bedroom for weeks--these were a real trial for me.  But we managed, over time, to get it cleaned up, and the result is worth it!

Tile is down!

Adding the grout.

Trey watching Daddy as he put down the grout on the new tile floor.

After the floor was done, it was time to paint!  Look at my super handsome little helpers.  Aren't they great?

I finally felt well enough to contribute some time and work to this project.  Hooray!

Painting was fun and it took no time at all because the space it pretty small.

Isn't it a pretty color?  We only painted two walls and left the other two the same builder beige that has always been in there.  Those lighter walls do keep the brightness in the room even with this gorgeous, darker color on the opposite walls.

Painting done!

Ummmm...why did I take this picture?  I can't remember.  Maybe to show that the new framed mirror was finally up?  You can see that the back walls were still unfinished around the shower and the bathtub.

Okay, this is STILL my favorite part!  I LOVE the floor, especially with the pretty contrast of the newly painted walls.  The marble hexagonal tiles were definitely a great choice!

Sweet Chase, a little worn out after helping all day, in the middle of a MESS of remodeling (and, it looks like, a mess of mom folding laundry behind him!).

And Trey wanted to show off the new toilet, even though it was sitting in my bedroom and not in the bathroom yet.  Ha!

Now, this was monumental!  It was probably 2 weeks after the demolition began before we got to this important milestone: a newly installed toilet!!!  Trust me when I say that I wasn't grateful enough for that toilet so close to my bed until I had to live without it for a few weeks!  You can see that at this point we had finished the floor, the painting, and had the new vanity and mirror up.  We didn't have countertops or sinks or floorboards or towel racks or even a toilet paper holder yet...but we had a fully functional toilet!  And it was amazing!  Yay!

Look at this lovely lady showing off the next big step in the project!  We finally got the countertops and sinks installed (and the new light fixture, too!).  This picture was taken before we added the new faucets.

I just love the combination of the colors and textures of these materials!

And here is the new vanity with the faucets installed and the accessories added.  And you can even see that we had the towel racks up by then! Isn't it so pretty?

It was time to start on the shower at last!  In this photo, you can see that they got the drywall up in the shower, and the shelving framed (and behind Nate, the plumbing for the new shower head was also completed).  It is a little hard to see from this picture, but Nate was in the middle of tiling the shower, which meant that he was using the tile cutter and dust was EVERYWHERE as a result.  Nate's hair has a lot of gray in it, but here he is simply covered in dust so that he looks ALL white!  It was all over the whole house, too.  In our bedroom, which is right next to where he was creating the dust, was the worst.  We even had to get all of our bedroom drapes dry cleaned to get all the dust out.  It was ubiquitous dust!

The tile around the bathtub finished!

Just look at the masterful work Nate did with the framing and the tile work in the shower.  This is before the grout was done, but it looks so great!

Okay, so that last picture was taken in May 2015.  And this picture was taken earlier this month, February 2016.  Nate is working on the FINAL step of this major remodeling project...the glass shower enclosure.  He had the shower tiled and completely plumbed by last June, but we haven't had a glass wall or door around the shower until just recently.  They did so much work and it was so great, but at this point it all slowed WAY down until the shower was finally completed.  And yes, that does mean that we showered in that room for almost 8 months without a door on that shower.  Ha!  We simply put towels on the floor next to the shower every single day to catch the water that sprayed out as we showered.  For 8 months.  *Sigh!*  At first, it seems crazy!  But we just got used to it, did what we had to do, and worked toward the finish line little by little.  By the time I took this picture, I was rejoicing to see the big day had finally come!

Adding silicone to the edges of the glass on the shower.  Yippee!

And finally FINISHED!  

The shower is really wonderful.  Nate did a great job designing it and completing it.  The shower fixture has a fun rain head plus a detachable head, and lots of little jets for massaging sore back muscles.  We also added a bigger shower base and pushed the glass out further so we could have a bench in there.  Although we didn't have a lot of room to vastly increase the size of the shower, it's amazing how much bigger it feels!  It's so roomy and pretty and I LOVE it!

Oh, and this is one of those funny little details that created delay after delay in this project.  Because of the "lip" on this granite slab which makes our shower bench, we measured wrong and couldn't install the glass until we re-measured, re-ordered, and got our countertop guy to come back and cut out this little notch in the granite so that the glass would be flush against the wall below.  It took him about 10 minutes to make this little notch, but it was one of those little details that had to be done before we could move forward.  No wonder it took so long!

 

And here is the picture that Nate posted on Facebook when it was finally ALL DONE!  I added this one to show each part of the bathroom in its complete and final state.  It all turned out so beautifully and I couldn't be happier.

Our house is so special to us, and I couldn't be more pleased with the fun and lovely improvements we have made over the past year.  It's been a great experience for the whole family!