This Old House Makeover

Combine a long, cold winter with an afternoon of This Old House and what do you get?

In my case, you get a field trip to the big fancy lumber yards with dreams of transforming MY old house into something from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Every year we undertake one major home improvement project. Sometimes it’s as simple as new furniture. Sometimes, like last year, it’s as involved and expensive as a new furnace and heat pump. This year, we have two projects we’ve been saving for. Well, three actually, but the third one is much higher on Hubby’s priority list than mine, so I’m digging in my heels a bit.

First up, a new bathroom. I’m insistent that this is on the top of the list with a red flag because we have mold growing in the corners around the bathtub and no amount of Lysol or Clorox will kill the darned stuff. Every time I hear a news story about toxic mold, I cringe. So, we’re gutting the bathroom, tiling the walls and replacing the bathtub and the toilet. The fixture replacement thing was an afterthought. We were only going to tile and put a new faucet in the tub. But, you know, while we’re at it we might as well…

What I’d really like is a claw foot tub. If Ty Pennington
were shouting outside my front door, I’d be asking for a claw foot tub. No doubt about it. But since we’re paying our own way, I’ll settle for something less expensive. As long as it still has a surface, it will be an improvement over the current model.

I’d never really looked at tile before. So our field trip was also a fact finding mission. What I learned is that there are a LOT of different choices.



Which one am I going with? I have no idea. I think I need to pick up some magazines. Country Living perhaps.

After we tackle the bathroom, the next big project is flooring for the entire house (including the bathroom). We’re tearing up our 25 year old carpeting and putting down laminate. Again, the choices were endless.




Decisions, decisions.

But we found a really nice high quality flooring for a great price at Lumber Liquidators. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, I was exhausted and didn’t think to snap pictures. We did bring home a sample though. It’s antique cherry. Both Hubby and I agreed on it. Amazing.

I guess the next thing I need to do is make a decision on the tile. I’ll keep you posted…

Comments

Joyce Tremel said…
Isn't it fun?

When we did our downstairs bathroom over, it took me WEEKS to pick the tile. Then there's all those different grout colors...
Sara said…
Did you see the grout with GLITTER??
I'm not saying I'd ever pick such a thing, but... Glitter!
I looked at the tile, too, and there is no way I'll ever come to a decision. Going with more laminate. Making Mark pick it out.
I glanced at the picture of Ty and said 'what kind of animal is that?'
Oh, and Mark was dying for the clawfoot tub. I had to veto. Too much money & I don't want to have to clean under & behind it.
Sara said…
OK. I probably would use glitter grout.
Because...GLITTER!!
Anonymous said…
Annette, confession time. I am so unfeminine that all those home decor choices not only baffle me, but they also make my eyes glaze over and roll back in my head. When we bought our current house and needed to update its early '70s era decor, I hired a former neighbor, who LIVED to decorate and redecorate her house, to come up with a decorating scheme and do all the shopping. I had to go with her to Lowe's when she was making major purchases like faucets, light fixtures, vanity, etc., but she knew what she wanted, and all I had to do was say, "Sure, that looks great," and whip out the plastic to pay for it. It was awesome. I hope she's still available for hire when my 16-year-old incontinent wienerdog dies and I'm ready to get new carpet and redo my living room!
Annette said…
I haven't even started looking at grout yet. I didn't realize there were so many choices! Glitter???

Sara, we're doing laminate on the floor, too. The tile is for the walls.

Glitter?

Lisa, can I borrow your neighbor? The stuff I pick out in the store never looks quite the same once I get them home. I could definitely use some help.

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