Is it over yet? No? Shit. People keep telling me that it seems like this is all coming together really quickly, and I’m like “really?” To me this has been lingering on and on, and there is still so many things that have to get done! I’m trying not to be all pessimistic but I reached the point of a project where you just want to see it done already. The reality is that I have over the half of the bathroom done, which is great but I feel overwhelmed by all of the little things left to do.

It makes me relieved when I realize that the really scary stuff is behind me, like installing and mounting the sink and plumbing the shower valve. The subway tile installation is nearly complete and there are barely any spots that stick out like sore thumbs, for the most part it is all flush and level and I feel really good about that.

Now I have to look forward to finishing grouting, receiving the floor tile shipment, installing the floor tile, grouting, sealing ALL of the tile, painting, installing the toilet, installing baseboard trim, and then finally tricking it out (people still say that, right?) with the finishing touches that will make it look cool and put together.

It’s been eight weeks since I ordered the floor tile from clé tile and I am expecting it to be here by week 10. That gets me right around the 21st of this month, I think it’s safe to say that we all know there will be no floor time for tiling over the holiday break, that time is ear marked for family and champagne with coffee. For the next three weeks I will keep myself busy with the tedious little stuff, like grouting and painting. I wish I could install the baseboards too, but that will have to wait until after the flooring goes in. The first week of January will be dedicated to installing that floor. I seriously hope that I am writing my final reveal by mid-Jan, seriously, I better be!

For this week I finished up tiling the shower stall minus two rows at the very top. I ran out of the bullnose tile that I had ordered from wayfair. I successfully used my tile saw to cut out a perfect circle around the shower valve. Each tile took at least three attempts and the whole thing took me well over two hours. I basically would scribe out the shape I needed with a sharpie onto the tile and then make cuts every 1/8″ of an inch following the line I scribed. Once the sawing was complete I’d take the tile nippers and nip away at the tile until I achieve the desired contour. Make sense? No? Watch this vid.

I also had a few deliveries! The brackets for the shelf and this old piece of barnwood arrived! I was able to make this shelf right above the sink which we need for functionality. With no medicine cabinet and limited storage, the shelf will eventually be used as a place for the kids to set their toothbrushes, hand towels for guests, and maybe a pretty bar of soap or two. Above the shelf I hung an antique mirror. The mirror was a find from our attic, it’s old, maybe not original to the house, but from the looks of the tag on the back of it, I would imagine probably 1940’s-ish. It seems perfect for the space, it’s exactly 36″ wide and it shows it’s age. I think it looks so good with the reclaimed wood shelf and the new-vintage Kohler sink. I’m really trying to achieve a modern version of an antique basement bathroom, I hope I’m on the right track.

And I almost forgot to mention the lights. I also received a delivery from my fav lamp parts store, grandbrass.com. I had envisioned pendants in the space since the beginning, and had the electrician install two fixture boxes in the ceiling in just the right spots. Anyways, I was able to make these look-a-likes for less than half as much as they cost new, plus making light fixtures is my new favorite hobby.