Half Bath - Complete!

Our half bath ended up being quite the project.

We started with this:

Note the beautiful lights surrounding the mirror (there was always a solid 5 seconds between the time you flipped the switch and when the light actually came on). In the first photo, you can see the large cabinet that sat right inside the doorway. It was so large that the knees of J's very short legs touched the side of the cabinet. Not good.

We pulled out the large cabinet, followed by the vanity cabinet. Once those cabinets were out, we tore out all the laminate.

We followed by removing the lights and the vanity cabinet and patching the hole where it once sat.

The next morning, we uninstalled the sink and as we were trying to remove one last pipe to replace it, it ripped in half and dropped a big bomb on our plans to renovate this half bathroom in one weekend.

 The old sink.

 Hmm... no wonder it practically fell off when we tried to uninstall it. Talk about corrosion...

 After the paint job, but prior to the new light installation.

 One of J's big contributions for the half bath - painting the trim.

 Not sure if there was more paint on J's hands or on the trim.

M, with the help of a friend, fills in tile backer.

 Installing the new light fixture.

 Definitely an improvement!

Installing the bead board to cover up the textured wall after we chipped off the pink plastic tiles.

 Installing the vanity.

Getting the new toilet ready to be installed - wonder how many people laughed as they drove by and looked into our open garage!?!

 Putting together the new toilet and getting it ready to install.

And we ended with this - the finished product! It was definitely a big project, but we're glad to have a new room that is complete, clean and has a modern look.

Guts

The weekend after getting the keys to our new place, M & J, along with J's parents and brother, got to work on the house.

 

J's brother mowed the yard LAWN (we're county kids - it's a yard!) and picked up trash, large limbs and anything else that wasn't supposed to be in the yard (Can't help it...). Although the exterior was in pretty good shape, our new home needed some help to increase it's curb appeal (Yet again, a new concept to country kids. Growing up, our exterior home decor had two rules - be heavy and hearty enough to withstand Kansas winds and crazy weather. If it passed those two rules, it could be put outside. If not, be willing to kiss it goodbye - It wouldn't last a day outside the country homes in Kansas.)

 J's Brother Mowing the Lawn

M & J, with the help of J's parents, got to work on the inside of the house. J and her Mom cleaned the bathrooms and dumped lots of things in the trash while M and J's Dad began gutting the kitchen. Cabinet doors came off, then cabinets came out. Drawers were carried out, back splash tile was pulled off the walls... everything was gutted in the kitchen. I'm sure our new neighbors thought we were crazy - "You just bought the place and now you're taking everything out!" We knew we wanted a new kitchen - the one that was there was not in very good shape and had lots of dings, stains, etc. - and we planned for that when we decided what we were willing to purchase our home for.

 

J Enjoying the Gutted Kitchen

M and J's Dad Gutting the Kitchen

 

We also took down curtains, curtain rods and these B-E-A-U-TIFUL (just a hint of sarcasm) drapes in our living and dining room:

 

 

Wonder why?

 

We made lots of progress during that weekend and it really helped us feel better about what we were about to undertake.