Calvin's Nightmare Shower Remodel

A few months ago I posted pictures of our, what we thought would be, weekend project of replacing the tile in the shower. After a leak in the basement ceiling, re-grouting and resealing the tile 3 times, taking many showers at my parents house, and having a baby :) I can finally say it is really finished. Calvin was really sick of this project, but he did an AMAZING job and I love it! Just look at the results.

Here is the before. Nasty pink tile, original to the house.

During part of the process


And here is how it looks now!


Calvin replaced all of the fixtures with brushed nickel and combined with the crisp white subway tile it makes for a classic look that I think goes perfect in our 1940's home!

It's Project Time, Again!

Something we have learned while being homeowners: a weekend project is never just a weekend project. This is what Calvin has been dealing with for the last week.

DIY Roman Shades

Many of you wanted to know how I made the shade, and I am thrilled! I am glad you all love it as much as I do. Here is the link to the website that I found http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2009/02/make-shades-out-of-mini-blinds.html
You can pretty much follow her basic instructions. I did a few things a little different.

First, I ironed and sewed the edges of my fabric to give it a cleaner look, and then instead of folding the fabric edges over the ends of the slats and gluing, I glued the slats on top of my sewed edges. Just make sure your fabric isn't shorter in width than your slats or the edges of your slats will stick out from behind your fabric.

The other thing I did different was I used Tacky Glue instead of fabric glue, because I didn't have fabric glue. Tacky Glue worked well. You need to make sure that when the glue dries it doesn't leave discoloration in the fabric. You will need to cut the tilt wand off, because you won't need it anymore. I also cut a hole in the fabric on the top for the cord to come through. I think she just left it behind the fabric so you have to reach behind the shade to pull it up. I don't know which is better. It might depend on exactly how your blind functions. It also helps to have someone hold the shade tight as you glue the fabric to the bottom of the blind. I didn't do this at first and the fabric wasn't flat when I held it up.

And there you have it! That is pretty much all there is to it. It is a really easy and inexpensive project. I loved the way mine turned out. Calvin even really liked it too, believe it or not. I made a few mistakes as I went, but the next one that I do will be that much better.

Bathroom Makeover

We finally finished our bathroom makeover. It took about a month to finish everything from start to finish. Here is a before picture.

And this is the scary nastiness when we started tearing everything out. Ick!

And....Drum roll please....



Here is a summary of what we did; we replaced the toilet, tiled the floor, replaced the baseboards, painted the walls, trim, and door, painted the vanity, replaced the light fixture, made a new shade, and Calvin sunk the mirror into the wall.

We replaced the old linoleum, and Calvin and my cousin Curtis laid some travertine tile. It looks so good! Thanks Curtis and Becca!

I made this roman shade for a total of $6 (one yard of fabric). I used the mini blinds that were previously hanging there. I think it turned out absolutely fabulous. I can't wait to make some for my bedroom.