Who dis?! - The Main Bath

It has been too long since my last post... two years! We will blame it on technical difficulties (I couldn't log in for some reason!), but I am back and hopefully with better content than ever!

My husband and I purchased a new home in December 2017 and I have been busy tearing out cabinets, drywall, carpet, etc. and though slightly overwhelmed at times, I have loved every minute of it!

My first project that I have completed is the main hall bath. When I tell you this is the smallest full bath that I have ever laid eyes on, I am being 100% real with you! There was a huge vanity that reached from wall to wall which was nice (in theory) but when you tried to close the door you had to straddle the toilet! Absolutely ridiculous! The pic below is from the listing.... Yes... As you can see it was so small they had to stand in the hallway to take the picture! 

 Though nice for storage... That vanity was the first thing to go! A few crow bar and hammer swings later and I had significantly more space in the bathroom! 

 The flooring I selected is the Style Selection by Stainmaster these are the peel and stick vinyl tiles in the color Safari. This product is available at Lowes. I used the same flooring before in my entire upstairs at the old house and overall I like it with only 1 negative. Nearly ever review I read on the product also had issues with random tiles popping up at the corners, but when that happened I simply popped the rest of the tile up and applied some floor tile adhesive to the area and reapplied the same tile- easy peasy! $.98 per square foot cannot be beat! In a 720 square foot space I had literally 6 tiles pop up in the year plus that I had them down before we moved. Several potential buyers that came through mentioned how much they loved them.

 After tearing out the vanity and removing thewall tile I decided to add a niche, since that would help with storage and would not eat into the floor space of the restroom. I had an idea of what needed to be done, but I went on Pinterest just to work out the details. This is truly the easiest project you could take on in the home, and it makes such a statement in your space!

 If you are looking to do a home renovation I highly recommend you check out your local Habitat for Humanity or construction material salvage yard. Though over an hour away the ones in Raleigh, NC are absolutely wonderful with fantastic prices. I was able to purchase this pedestal sink for $35! I am still amazed at how much of a difference alittle demo, new flooring, a new vanity and some paint can make!

The Power of Paint: Chalk Paint- Take 2

I am dying to revamp my bedroom. I want a luxurious space all my own (well...I guess I will let my husband come in!). I wanted to throw out everythang and start from scratch. But after shopping around I realized that many of the pieces were not nearly as sturdy as my current dressers. After doing some research (aka surfing Pinterest) I came to the conclusion that once again, sometimes all you need is a little paint to reincarnate an old piece. 

I decided to utilize chalk paint. I have been knocking out little projects here and there, and I am slowly being converted into a chalk paint fanatic. Yes, I admit it! The ease of the application despite the higher price tag makes it sooooo worth it. Gasp, clutch my pearls! Is that the Queen of the Land o'Cheapskate speaking?! Yaassss! I love that stuff. 

As before, I used the Folk Art Chalk Paint which is a more cost effective chalk paint (latex is still cheaper, though). I know that Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is supposed to be the absolute best, but that price tag is like a stab to a sista's heart and I just can't do it! Folk Art's paint has been working juuuust fine!

After thoroughly cleaning the piece and applying two coats of chalk paint, I changed up things this time and applied a water-based poly over the chalk paint rather than the wax. Poly is MUCH more durable for high-traffic areas, and you don't have to reapply it every couple months as you would have to do with wax.

 One of the final touches was the addition of stencil designs to the drawer fronts (check out my blog post on how I made the stencils!). I am still undecided as to whether or not I will add drawer pulls or additional stencils, but for now.... Chalk paint project 2- DONE!

Dollar Store Stencils

I wanted to add some stencil design to some dressers that I was attempting to revamp. If you have ever shopped for stencils, you know that they can get quite expensive. Well as the Queen of the Land o' Cheapskate I must say... "ain't nobody got time for that!" With that said, I decided to see what I could come up with as a stencil on my own. 

My first stop is nearly always the Dollar Tree... aka mi casa #2. You will be surprised how many odds and ends you can find there. Even when you go in to purchase one item you will nearly always end up walking out with 7 bags jammed with goodies. It happens to me ALL the time! Well once again, this trip to the Dollar Tree did not disappoint. I found exactly what I needed to create a great stencil design.

The pics I took pretty much map out the process, so I won't go into any extensive details. Look around at your local dollar store and see what unconventional items you can use for your next project!

The Power of Paint: Painted Subfloor

 My room and hallway had carpet... A dreadful, pepto-bismal pink carpet... The previous owner obviously thought it was cute because she put it throughout the second floor of the home. After looking at the dreaded carpet for a little over a year, I decided that it was time for it to go. My only issue was that I didn't have the funds to install new carpet right away, so I began researching my options. 

Painting the subfloor seemed the most feasible. I found various blogs that offered different methods and I even tried some of them (sanding the floors, putting wood filler on the seams and then sanding), but in the end I was not completely satisfied with the look these methods gave. 

I finally found that the easiest method gave me the best look. The process was simple...Pull up the carpet/padding, remove all staples, sweep the floor really well, go over the floor with a vacuum, and then paint! 

The finishing touch will be to add an area rug.