Hello my friends! I didn’t mean for my absence to be so long, but the summer just got away from me! Things have finally started to settle down and we are having some chill time. Chill time for me usually comes with some sort of project, because I like projects and they make me feel good. I call it chill time because I can have a glass of champ while I do it and I don’t have to drive kids anywhere. We’re spending the next few weeks off and on at the cabin. This is our first time actually having an extended stay here, and I’m really excited to experience what it’s like to wake up everyday with a lake out our front door. That being said, there are lots of little projects that need to be done at the cabin.

The biggest project that I’d like to take on is updating the upstairs 2-piece-bathroom and getting phase 1 completed in our main floor 4-piece-bathroom. As you can see (below) the bathrooms are needing some love. One can only live with a moose towel bar for so long.

What I Like

There are some good things though, I love our vintage sink in the upstairs 2-piece-bathroom and I want to keep it. I also have this weird crush on the medicine cabinet, it has these two fluorescent lights flanking the mirror and I’d like to figure out a way to keep at least part of this. I like the pine trim around the window and will try and keep it without painting it.

What I don’t like

I do not like the flooring and am planning on replacing it with black Vinyl Composite Tile (VCT) – the same that I used on our kitchen floor. Obviously the wallpaper, towel bars and coordinating accessories have got to go.

The Plan

I need to remove the baseboards and then re-tile the floor in the black VCT tile. Once that is complete I’ll replace the toilet (for the time-being we’ll live with the toilet that is there). I am going to paint any exposed plumbing that isn’t already chrome a flat black. The lower half of the walls will receive a board and batten treatment using standard lumber. The B&B will be painted a deep dark green – very much inspired by Ashley’s den/guest bedroom color. The upper half of the walls will be wallpapered in a large buffalo check print. The medicine chest will be updated and a new sconce will be hung over the mirror and a flush mount on the ceiling. Sounds cool right? I am chomping at the bit to get started!

As you can probably tell, my plans for the main floor bathroom are a little more time intensive. There’s a lot more that needs to be done in the way of demo and rebuilding and that’s why I’d like to do it in a few different phases.

What I Like

As you might be able to see, I’ve already finished the flooring in this bathroom. The bathroom sits right behind our kitchen, so when I was tiling the kitchen, I just continued the flooring right into the bathroom. I also like the vanity because it’s done in the same simple style as the kitchen cabinets. The cabinets are made of plywood and are original to the cabin, so I’d like to keep them but spiff them up with a new coat of paint, and vanity top. I also like the tub. The tub is a simple cast iron tub, is original to the cabin, and is perfectly good at being a tub.

What I don’t like

There’s a lot I don’t like about this bathroom. Let’s start with the wallpaper border and moose towel bars. There is also this plastic trim around the entire lower half of the room on the walls. I have no idea why it was installed, or if it’s covering up other issues, but it has to be removed. What I really hate is the faux tile surround in the bathtub area. It’s disgusting, and it still has the essence of past renters on it. Blauuuugha. I hate it and it gives me the heebeejeeeeeeebeeees.

The Plan

Phase 1. Again, I’ll start with removing the baseboard. Next up, will be tossing the plastic-lined wall in the main part of the bathroom. Just like the upstairs bathroom I will replace the plastic with board and batten and do repairs if necessary. I’ll remove the wallpaper from the upper part of the bathroom and paint the bathroom walls a crisp white. The vanity will be painted black.

Phase 2. I’ll start with subway tile in the upper section of the main part of the bathroom on all three walls. I’ll replace the vanity top with a new vanity and faucet. Replace old light fixtures.

Phase 3. Remove the shower surround, replace drywall with cement board, install new valves for showerhead. Tile the shower surround with subway tile, replace shower head, and bath tub faucet with new fixtures.