Once upon a time I wrote a book and it was an all encompassing, crazy, amazing ride that packed a year's worth of projects into a few months. My house was full of extra furniture from photo shoots and tools were strewn everywhere like chachkies.
After I made my deadline (two days early!) I thought "I should relax."
I tried that.
For two days.
It was hard.
Then I decided that I needed to put the house back together and shove some of the extra furniture I had accumulated into the basement (otherwise known as my future bedroom). I deep cleaned my poor kitchen that had functioned as a florist shop, woodworking shop, potting shed, and art studio. Then I started cleaning my bathroom.
And this happened.
I had one of those "If I have to dust this ledge one more time..." moments.
The beadboard has lived a good life. The previous owners put it up and I stained it shortly after moving in. The gel stain held up wonderfully but I was tired of cleaning all the groves and was ready for a new look.
So I ripped it carefully off. We have lathe and plaster so this is what it looked.
I would apologize for the ugly cell phone pics but who am I kidding. They would look gross even if I had used a nice camera.
I made sure all the nails and glue were removed from the walls and plastered over it.
I also ripped off the molding I added to the vanity years ago. I am going to strip it down and stain it. I am also going to strip the paint off the window molding and baseboards since there are 70+ years of paint layers and you can tell. I will repaint them after I get the inch thick old paint off of them.
After the joint compound dried, I sanded it smooth so it matched the finish on the upper walls.
I moved the bathroom stuff out first....
I was in the middle of sanding when Shane came home. He raised his eyebrows and said "Wow." And that was it. Bless him. Someone really needs to give him a medal.
If you remember the up bath saga at all you will recall that almost 3 years ago we had to rip out some tile and fix some pipes and water damage. We have not had the money to replace all the wall tile, the tub, and the floor tile, so we have not had a tub for that whole time. I had to hurry and finish the down bathroom so we could have a place to shower.
I still don't have the budget for this bathroom project but I am going to try the whole Field of Dreams thing and say "If I demo it, the funds will come."
And then I will pray while my eyes, fingers and toes are all crossed. And maybe toss a few pennies in a fountain for good luck.
For now I will finish painting the bathroom since I can afford paint. I will work out the rest later. But I have a four year old who doesn't even remember playing in the tub and that makes me feel sad. So this just got moved up the priority list.
At least until I demo something else.....
So much for relaxing!
Have you ever spontaneously demolished something? Or started a big DIY project on a whim? Please say yes. Then I will be validated and I will know we were meant to be DIY besties :) I would love to hear your stories!!!
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Marie
You never cease to amaze me :)
Julie @ Restyle Relove
You go Stacy! Can't wait to see how it looks. Amazing I'm sure. :) Julie
Carole H
Wow...that hits home and sounds so familiar. We have our bathroom door on the porch waiting to be repaired for about 3 months now. What started as a simple job replacing the handle/lock mechanism turned into an intricate operation because of the age of the door and depth. The new fangled locks do not fit so had to get a new/old fashioned one. That led to cutting out a section and putting in a solid wood section to make the old door better. Then it was putty, sanding and more putty & sanding. Still have to sand some more and stain. During this time my husband broke his ankle so that put another twist on our plan. Slowly but surely we will get it done! I feel for you to get started on one thing and it leads to another, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Great job and keep on relaxin'.
Ann Marie
Been there, done that. Actually in the middle of it right now. I decided to put base cap molding on flat topped baseboard in one bathroom, which led me to repainting, etc. Now that I've figured out how to cope and miter moldings, I'm a dangerous woman!
Virginia
Wow. That's a big job. Good for you for tackling it. The funds will come, it'll get done, and your kids will have better stories than ones about bath time. They'll be grown and talking about how fearless and amazing their mom was!
Marty@A Stroll Thru Life
I love your field of dreams attitude. I keep thinking the same thing about my floors. If I rip up the carpet, then surely the hardwoods will appear. Good luck on the bathrooms.
Carole West @ Garden Up green
Wow I can relate - we're trying to finish our house projects so we can sell our place. The bathrooms are next but I like that Field of dreams - If I demo it the funds will come. This is hope!
Carole
Susan
Been there done that. But it does look amazing. I admire your getting in there and just going for it!
Dawn S
I totally agree! I don't think I would get away without having a tub for a day, much less years, but I did it to the floor and am still trying to figure out how to get that covered front porch. Now if I can just do that to the couch...