Powder Room Basic Remodel

UGLY Powder Room with fake crystal faucet and gold two tone accents EVERYWHERE

This is the Powder Room prior to Fixing it up. Like most things in the house, there was two tone accents everywhere, which we hated. Our neighbor said that when he came to see the house before, he considered it palace-esque in the design of things... but we saw it as very dated and tacky.

We changed out anything that had gold on it and replaced it with either white (face plates) or a chrome/nickel color. We got the towel bar and toilet paper holder at Home Depot for very cheap.

Ikea CALYPSO Ceiling lamp

We couldn't decide on a new vanity light because I am so picky, so we decided to just change the overhead light that came on with the fan. We bought it at Ikea, and we love it. and it just so happens to match our new mirror, which I believe is from Home Depot but could be from Lowes.

paint in Behr Wasabi Powder

So all together we purchased : Faucet on sale at Home Depot, knobs, towel bar, toilet roll holder, face plates, paint in Behr Wasabi Powder, glass mirror, and ceiling light. 

We didn't change the cabinet, counter or sink due to price challenges plus not knowing what we want here. I was thinking of going vessel style, and maybe go with a white quartz top and same color cabinet as kitchen... but I am still unsure. One big issue is we don't have a sink in our laundry/garage area, and I don't want a new sink just so I will end up washing gross things in it. At one point we thought we had ruined the sink there, but we were able to make it look adequate again. 

I thought about installing a small sink in the garage, but that may not be feasible.

I stack my toilet paper pyramid style so that it doesn't look terrible and no guest can leave there thinking they finished off the toilet paper.

We had decided to use our old toilet shelving in this bathroom since our other bathrooms already had shelving installed. 

Up Close Shots of Kitchen Completed

 

Lately, we have been eating at our eat in Kitchen area everyday. Several times, we have sat 3 people at this little dining area. And on a couple occasions, we have sat 4 people during a few rounds of drinks. Luckily when we bought our bar stools a few years ago, we bought a set of 4, so while we only sit 2 there at a time-- we have those extras waiting to be used. But when we aren't sitting here, it's a great place for a cat to sit and spy on us-- without getting in our way. And even when an animal or person gets in your way-- in this kitchen, you can just go around the island and get to everything anyways. Because of this, during dinner parties, our kitchen is often the center of the party with drinks being poured and food being served.

 

This is our kitchen corner, where we have a pill out spice rack and lazy Susan corner cabinet. Before my husband thought this cabinet space wouldn't be used right, but we have maximized space in all these cabinets, and I found the corner cabinets both top and bottom feature plenty of space for larger items such as a wok and serving platters, as well as plenty of other odd sized items.

The crown molding really brought the kitchen to a finishing point, and while the kitchen is small by definition, it has a grand feel to it with all the lighting and white colors mixed with the dark browns.

The Limbo That is awaiting a Job Completion

Day 10

Granite has been completed.

The only thing now is the crown molding and other finishing touches.

We painted the ceiling in Kelly-Moore "Barely There" and painted the walls in Behr "Creamy Mushroom". The Base Board and Crown Molding were very inexpensive at Home Depot.

We choose to use Satin finish paint for both the ceiling and walls in the grand room. We were told by a Kelly-Moore rep that the kitchen should be at least semi-gloss and we should do a flat or at least eggshell finish in the living room and dining room. But I thought that was insane. Why would I want this room, that I just opened up, to then be separated and defined by the sheen of the paint? It's not like it's multiple rooms with varied ceiling heights or exposed beams. It's one long room that combines the living, dining and kitchen into one open space. And I honestly don't know why anyone would use a matte or flat paint when they generally don't hold up well to cleaning. In my eyes, satin works everywhere in the home, and looks great. 

Dimmable Can Lighting: LED vs CFL

LED Can Lights On High Setting

LED Can Lights On Low Setting

See that Difference? Now that is Dimmable Lighting!

Wanna see something not so great....?

CFL Can Lights On High Setting

CFL Can Lights On Low Setting

At least I think that I labeled those pictures right. My camera overcompensates, and makes the darker setting look brighter. But really, It's hard to tell that the darker setting is very different at all. It's easier on the eyes, but not at the darkness you'd expect. 

So I definitely recommend LED Dimmable Bulbs over CFLs.

Days of Renovation: Part 3

Day 7: Plumbing out Side the Kitchen

The guest bath toilet was a dud, and we bought a new one for the powder room, and moved the powder room toilet to the guest bath. That way we have the elongated toilet downstairs since it will, no doubt, be the most used toilet.

Day 8: Paint

Our installer textured and painted the ceiling, but we still haven't figured out what we want on the walls... not these....

Day 9: Trying to use our unfinished Kitchen!

If you couldn't tell, the whole job has slowed down, and we are waiting to get back on track.

So all we have is our refrigerator hooked up and our microwave hood sitting in the corner for small tasks. We've just been cleaning the floors and the sides of the cabinets a little, waiting for the cabinets to be finished and the granite to be installed.

Days of Renovation: Part 2

Day 4: Finish Laying Tile

Once again, we changed the direction of the tile to accommodate future renovations, and in this case, the powder room will really need it. These are Fantasia Tiles in Almond.

Day 5: Beginning Cabinets

Starting to install the villa cherry cabinets.

Day 6: Electrical for Lighting and Outlets

Putting in 7 Can Lights and 3 Pendant Lights.

On top of the kitchen renovations, we had to address some other issues, like how our guest room can lights don't seem properly installed. 

Days of Renovation: Part 1

Day 1: Cabinets Removed and The Wall Starts to Come down

Day 2: Wall Removed and Wiring is Moved.

~*~ 2 Day Weekend ~*~

Day 3: Tile Work Begins

13" Tiles done in a Diamond Pattern

Entry area is done in a square design due to a possible future stair renovation.

Layout of the Kitchen

Hi. I'm buying a house. This is an amazing time for me, and I have been trying to figure out how to remodel this home to suit my needs. Yes, my first instinct when buying a house is to tear out the ugly parts and make the house mine.

This house has the ugliest cabinets ever. They are cheap looking and they are in all the bathrooms and the kitchen. My first need is to take them out of my kitchen, so that I can put my dishes and food in fresh cabinets. Of course I can't just replace them-- I want to tear out the wall that separates my dining area from kitchen area. Open kitchens are the present and the future. People don't want to be alone when they are doing the dishes.

The other thing is that this kitchen is pretty small... to be fair, the whole place is kinda small, but this is my first home ever, and I'm making it work. Too bad my couch is so huge, because my dining area is going to end up being just 82" wide. yeah, Maybe I'm nuts. I love my huge couch though. I might end up getting a new dining table  to fit the space better... even considering going nook style.

 

So this is basically the kitchen I am putting in. Using dark cherry colored modular cabinets, made with plywood and hardwood... NOT particle board. And I will be using a pre fabricated white granite because it looks great with dark cabinets.
I am allowing a small space for an eat-in island. Basically the amount of space two bar patrons would expect to have. I have found that eat-in kitchens, with islands is something the majority of home owners want. What's great about this particular island is that it is two levels. The taller portion helps to hide the clutter of the kitchen and provide a more interesting look.