Posts Tagged ‘remodel’
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008
I have looked at more showers in the last year than I ever have wanted to. We remodeled my upstairs bathroom and added a new shower last summer. We also added a new tub and had to tear down all the tile that was there before (good times, let me tell you). This summer we added a new bathroom to the basement downstairs. I don’t miss living in a construction zone. However, it is very nice to have two full bathrooms now. However, both of my bathrooms spaces are small, so I could not go all out like I wanted to.
In the basement, we had very little space to work with due to the configuration of my basement. We ended up putting up a shower enclosure (However, I had no idea that you could get a shower enclosures online. If I would have known that, I would not have let my husband pick it out. Somebody had to stay home with the kids, so I let him pick it out by himself. He did do a good job, but I probably would have picked something different.) However, if you only have a small space and want to add a full bath, I definitely recommend shower enclosures. They offer a lot more room than they look, and it is nice having two showers when you are trying to get ready for parties and such.
Eventually, when we add on to upstairs, I am going to check out the shower store and look into getting discount steam shower. We are going to add in a hot tub up there, so we need the shower to be seperate. What would be better than a steam shower? They look awesome and extremely relaxing. If you are lacking on space, they even offer steam showers with minitubs attached!
I personally can’t wait to remodel again, so we can spruce up our house. Even the economy is in the tank, houses still are a good value. Even though houses prices have dropped for the time being, they will bounce back. Remodeling also makes it more enjoyable for you to stay in the house you are in. By building out our basement, we can definitely stay in this house a lot longer (my upstairs only has 980 square feet, so we were a little cramped up here).
What does your bathroom look like? What kind of upgrades would you like to make?
Tags: basement, bath, bathroom, building, configuration, discount, downstairs, economy, enclosure, home, house, idea, job, kind, look, lot, online, remodel, remodeling, room, seperate, Showertime, somebody, something, space, steam, store, summer, tank, time, tub, upstairs
Posted in General | 5 Comments »
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
For those who have been to my place, you all love the size of my kitchen. I will agree; it is big. However, my kitchen is set up terribly. I wish it would be as easy as refacing my cupboards to solve the problems in there. However, it is not that easy. The first thing I hate is the color of the cabinets. They are a dark wood. We personally are an “oak” family, and it just doesn’t go with our style. My second issue is that my cabinets are tiny. By looking at them, you would never guess. However, the way they are set up, is really crazy. To put plates in the cabinet, you have to turn them sideways. Let me tell you, that is royal pain when you are trying to empy the dishwasher.
I often wondered if we would be better off installing some kitchen islands or even some kitchen island carts. My only worry with a cart is that because it is not anchored to the floor that it would become a new playtoy for my kids. However, it does have the advantage that it can be moved when the kids are playing in the kitchen. My kitchen is big enough that I do not have to worry about space in there. I wouldn’t even mind getting a butcher block kitchen island. I think with little ones the butcher block counter would probably hold up better. Plus, my hubby loves wood and has often showed me butcher block counter tops (our laminate counter top now sucks. That is about as nice as I can put it. It is white and stained and just ugly).
From the research I have done, even doing a simple remodel like this can definitely add more value to your house. With the economic climate the way it is, we need all the help we can get to add value to our homes. Let me know what cool things you have done in your kitchens!
Tags: butcher block kitchen island, cabinets, cart, cool things, cupboards, dishwasher, economic climate, hubby, kitchen islands, kitchens, laminate counter top, little ones, playtoy, remodel, worry
Posted in General | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
Today was not a good day at my house. My toilet overflowed. ALL DAY LONG. No, I didn’t know that there was a turn off switch behind the toilet till about ten minutes before Bill got home from work. Yes, this was in the bathroom that we did the bathroom remodel in. I seriously could have cried the whole time. I tried plunging for over 20 minutes to no avail. Also, for some stupid reason, our toilet kicks in all the time. I don’t know why it does it nor do I know how to make it stop. What I did not realize was that every time it kicks in that it runs water. Sooo, we were leaking water all over the bathroom before I even knew it. Yes, the water made its way downstairs too. I think I ended up wrapping the toilet in something like 20 towels throughout the afternoon. I even drained some of the water using a cup. It was crazy. Bill came home and plunged the stupid thing 4 times and fixed it. I could have screamed!
Now, we installed a new tub in this bathroom. However, we did that mainly, because Bill wanted to add a whirlpool tub. The tub that was in here before we think was the original one put in the house (which would have been in the 1920s). Before we tore it out, we looked at doing a bath tub refinishing project but really couldn’t find any companies who did it. I did like my old tub and a bath tub refinishing would have been nice. However, since we did go with the whirlpool tub, we have been told we greatly improved the value of the bathroom. Seriously, if you were looking at a house, would you want a tub that was flaking paint off or one that was brand new or one that looked nice? That is a no brainer for us, so we replaced the tub as part of the basement remodel.
Now, my mom has back issues and has a hard time getting in and out of tubs. I would love to be able to buy her one of these someday:
This is one of those walk in showers. I think she would absolutely love it. Plus, if you end up selling your home to a family with kids or a senior citizen couple, they would love it too!
What kind of tub do you have in your bathroom?
Tags: afternoon, ALL, avail, basement, bath, bathroom, brainer, brand, citizen, couple, cup, day, downstairs, family, home, house, kind, LONG, mom, paint, part, Plus, project, remodel, Seriously, something, sooo, thing, time, today, toilet, tub, value, walk, Water, way, whirlpool, work
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Saturday, July 26th, 2008
I know that my husband is just dying to put a bar in our newly remodeled basement. That was a plan he always had since we moved here. Premiere Barstools has so many choices for anyone who is looking for counter stools, extra tall stools, or kitchen bar stools. They have an excellent selection for all of those.
Like I said, I personally am looking to surprise my husband with some bar stools for the basement. Now, I cannot decide if something classic like this:
would work best or if something more pretty would be in store. I found an excellent deal on something like this:
I guess it will probably come down to what kind of bar he decides to build. With having little ones, a lot of extra things come into play. As for the first stool, I would be worried about the stool having no back. Whereas, on the second stool, I would be worried that Will (my one year old) would use this chair as a climbing challenge (Yes, for some reason he has started the climbing stage after he learned to walk!). However, the second chair is about $85 which is a great price for barstools. Plus, whenever we get around to remodeling kitchen, these would look nice there. I have a huge kitchen (I think it is 15 x 15), so at some point we are going to remodel it. We may add in an island, and those stools would look awesome there too! Decision, decisions . . .
Do you have barstools in your house? What kinds did you go with? Did where they were going make a difference to which ones you got? Do you use the barstools as extra seating when company is over? I know, lots of questions, but I have never bought these before!
Tags: anyone, bar, Barstools, basement, basements, cannot, chair, challenge, company, counter, deal, difference, house, Husband, island, kind, kitchen, lot, make, plan, play, Plus, point, Premiere, price, reason, remodel, seating, selection, something, stage, stool, store, year
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Saturday, July 26th, 2008
We have remodeled one bathroom and completed designed the one downstairs. When we did so, we were in the market for a bathroom sink vanity. There are so many choices out there from contemporary bathroom vanities to double vanities. In the upstairs, we went with a a single sink vanity with a custom made granite sink. It looks awesome. Bill is actually the one who picked it out — I would have been okay with a cheap sink. However, I know when we go to resell our home, that will definitely be a piece that is noticed. When people come to my house, they often mention how nice our sink and vanity are. Downstairs, since it is such a small bathroom, we went with a very simple contemporary vanity that is very kid friendly. However, I just came across a site called Bathroom Vanities that we should have taken a look at during these remodel projects. They offer free shipping and are pretty competitive on their pricing.
They have some really cool vanities to pick from like this one:
Granted, with two little ones, that would not work for me, but it is cool looking. Do not like that? Then they 150 different kinds of bathroom vanities and linen cabinets. Something that is a tad more kid friendly would be something like this:
Still very classy yet somewhat contemporary. Wouldn’t you like something like this in your house? I know I do (however, my bathroom is way too small for this). However, this would fit, I think:
Small, yet very pretty. It will still a talking point too for your house! The next time we are in the market for a sink vanity, I know one place we will defintely be checking out: Bathroom Vanities. How about you? Which ones do you like?
Tags: checking, cool, custom, downstairs, granite, Granted, home, house, kid, linen, look, market, piece, place, point, pricing, remodel, shipping, sink, site, something, tad, talking, time, upstairs, vanity, way
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