Home reno/redecorating support group

purple skates

Shadow Dancing
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22,427
So, we have two vanities to either replace or paint. My original thought was to paint both white. They are solid wood, but dated style wise. Our contractor said the newer vanities are more functional. My husband wants to paint the main bath vanity and get a new vanity for the ensuite. Reasoning that we don't use the main bath vanity for very much. I agree, but wonder if I will regret replacing the main bath if it still looks dated when it is painted. Thoughts?

We just decided to buy new instead of paint in our never ending bathroom remodel project. Mainly because the current one doesn't have drawers. We are going to move that one to the half bath (someday :shuffle:).

@Debbie S Agree about the vanity fitting solidly on the floor. I wonder if people regret buying that other style of vanity.

Yes. The one we are going to move looks great, but it's a pita to vacuum under, especially with an always shedding German shepherd in the house.
 

algonquin

Well-Known Member
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4,952
Our contractor has accounts at some locally owned stores. I went to one this morning to look at flooring and shower tiles. I was overwhelmed by the selection. I setup a Pinterest page for white bathrooms, so I will take my iPad with me the next time that I go. Also, I found a vanity for our main bath at Home Depot and it is very reasonably priced.
 

KCC

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,757
Algonquin, the whole selection process for our master bath remodel has been a huge project, but especially tiles and countertops, so I feel for you. There are way too many choices, and because of a need to coordinate colors, we are always carrying lots of samples back & forth. Good luck.

I just ordered our lights today: http://www.destinationlighting.com/...-wall-light-white-glass-chrome-finish/P738406

We got steep discounts (the contractors' prices) off of the list prices everywhere we went. I'm not complaining, of course, but it makes me wonder about who, if anyone, pays full price.
 

algonquin

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4,952
@KCC Thank you nice to know that it isn't just me. I setup an appointment with our contractor to go over design ideas.

The sconces are gorgeous.
 

algonquin

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4,952
We met with our contractor last night and went over design ideas. I have clear ideas to take the showroom now.

Our ensuite vanity is an odd size and it will be hard to replace. So, our options are custom build, two 32 inch vanities part together or paint it out. We are opting for the latter. The vanity is oak and my contractor said that another option is cleaning up the oak, but I find the colour very heavy for a small bathroom. I'd prefer it to be white and with a new counter top, it should look fine. We will be buying a new vanity for the main bathroom.
 

algonquin

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Messages
4,952
Oh I forgot to mention that our contractor suggested putting in niche in both showers for shampoo, etc. He explained how he waterproofs them. My husband immediately dismissed the idea. It was kinda weird. When we went over the other alternatives for storing shampoo, my husband came around to the idea of a niche. He redeemed himself later with a good design idea.
 

JoannaLouise

Official Toaster Oven Monitor
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5,781
Does anyone else have a backyard gazebo like this one? If you do, how on earth do you manage to take the cover on and off? Our neighbour saw us struggling, brought over an extra ladder (so we would have 2) and stayed to help. And it still took almost an hour. (Leaving it up is not an option - apparently the previous owners managed to collapse the entire structure by leaving the cover up one winter - the weight of the snow was too much for it.)

The only other redecorating we've done recently is to buy BF a new dresser. His old Ikea one was falling apart, so we pitched it and we've just been keeping his clothes in the old drawers, piled in the closet. We found an antique dresser (late 19th century) in St Jacobs that is very similar to my dresser - so now they kind of match. (My dresser / new dresser)
 

quartz

scratching at the light
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19,932
@JoannaLouise - Either one of your dressers would work in our bedroom too. My husbands stuff is all in baskets while we search for just the right antique dresser for him. :D
 

KCC

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2,757
Demolition on our master bath will finally start 8/14. The last thing I need to pick out is the drawer pulls & door knobs. I thought that would be the fun part, but I'm so tired of making decisions that it is not fun anymore. Regarding the budget, individual line items changed a lot, but the final cost stayed about right. Funny how that works.
 

algonquin

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4,952
So, I picked out the tile and flooring for our bathrooms this morning. The designer was very helpful because there were a number of little things that I didn't think of. Both bathrooms will have white subway tiles in a matt finish. The designer said that a matt finish is better for hard water. The main bath will have shades of grey glass tiles for an accent and the niche. Shades of off-white and beige glass tiles will be in the ensuite. I decided to go with quality vinyl as opposed to ceramic for the floors. We had ceramic in our old home and I didn't love it.

I also found some vanities in a Home Hardware Bulidiing Centre. (Anyone see the article in the Globe about how they are starting to beat the big box stores?).

We are scheduled to start renovations on Tuesday.
 

algonquin

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4,952
The bathroom renovation start has been pushed back to next week. My contractor emailed last night and said that a good friend of his passed away suddenly. My contractor said that he is shock and would like to spend the week with his friend's family. I agreed.
 

Andrushka

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Messages
3,251
I've been working on my living room,bought new pillow covers from Ikea,working on a blanket for the back of the couch to tie in all the colors in a wave pattern (I crochet and knit) and now painting all my current bookcases white to simulate the ones I would rather have at Ikea. And sometime this next week,going to get my preteens to help me build picture ledges to stop the pictures on the walls going crooked every time the train goes through town. The only thing I haven't worked out as of yet is I'd like a round coffee table,preferably white and I haven't found one I like. My living room is ocean colors,so blue,turquoise,shades of green.
 

vesperholly

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12,826
I've been working on my living room,bought new pillow covers from Ikea,working on a blanket for the back of the couch to tie in all the colors in a wave pattern (I crochet and knit) and now painting all my current bookcases white to simulate the ones I would rather have at Ikea. And sometime this next week,going to get my preteens to help me build picture ledges to stop the pictures on the walls going crooked every time the train goes through town. The only thing I haven't worked out as of yet is I'd like a round coffee table,preferably white and I haven't found one I like. My living room is ocean colors,so blue,turquoise,shades of green.
A little blue-tac on the corners of your photos should stop them going crooked.

I got my TV stand from Wayfair and it's really nice - heavy and solid. Maybe try there for a coffee table?
 

quartz

scratching at the light
Messages
19,932
I've been working on my living room,bought new pillow covers from Ikea,working on a blanket for the back of the couch to tie in all the colors in a wave pattern (I crochet and knit) and now painting all my current bookcases white to simulate the ones I would rather have at Ikea. And sometime this next week,going to get my preteens to help me build picture ledges to stop the pictures on the walls going crooked every time the train goes through town. The only thing I haven't worked out as of yet is I'd like a round coffee table,preferably white and I haven't found one I like. My living room is ocean colors,so blue,turquoise,shades of green.
Blues greens and turquoises are my favorite. And periwinkle. :)
 

Andrushka

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3,251
I like those colors too,they are very soothing. I use those colors throughout my whole house.
 

Andrushka

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,251
A little blue-tac on the corners of your photos should stop them going crooked.

I got my TV stand from Wayfair and it's really nice - heavy and solid. Maybe try there for a coffee table?

I tried using that to stop them moving,sadly it didn't work. I'll check Wayfair. Ikea has a round one I really like but entirely the wrong color. I'm trying to go for more of a Gulf Coast,light and airy vibe.
 

JoannaLouise

Official Toaster Oven Monitor
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5,781
We still haven't done anything major in our house. I have lots of ideas and wishes for our eventual attic renovation, but I'm sure they're all going to turn out to be $$$. We really should get started on that, though...

In the meantime, we bought a reproduction of an 1853 map of the "Town of Berlin" from the local historical society. Our street is on it, but with no houses yet. (Some of the surrounding streets do have house plots marked off.) We picked it up from the framers today.

One of my co-workers also gave me an old stained glass window - she said she thought it would go with my house, because my house is old too. :) Now we just need to find the perfect place to hang both the map and the window - they're both just kind of sitting in the corner at the moment.

There was an Etsy market at city hall today, and I picked up an adorable little potted plant. The "pot" is made of marble, and is only about the size of the palm of my hand. The plant is supposedly low-maintenance, which is exactly my style when it comes to plants. :shuffle:

I've also picked up a few more old books for my tiny built-in bookshelf: a biography of Shakespeare (printed in 1907), The Odyssey (printed in 1913), and The Edinburgh Review/Critical Journal for April-July 1809.
 

millyskate

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16,732
Resurrecting this thread... is anyone still decorating?
I'm planning to buy a place later this year and have been collecting things.

Today I splurged on a coffee table I'd wanted for a long time and was on sale.
Still rather expensive for a coffee table but hey :shuffle:
 

Japanfan

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25,532
Does anyone here have open shelving instead of upper cabinets in their kitchen? I really like the look, but am skeptical that they may require more cleaning than I am willing to spend keeping them presentable. Pros? cons?

I don't, and am not a homeowner, although we (well, Mr. Japanfan) do our own renovations and maintenance in the house we rent (in exchange for cheap rent).

A friend has a condo kitchen with open shelving, and I don't think it looks good. Why does anyone want to see what you've got in your cupboards?

And how does it create more space?
 

GarrAargHrumph

I can kill you with my brain
Messages
19,434
Does anyone else have a backyard gazebo like this one? If you do, how on earth do you manage to take the cover on and off? Our neighbour saw us struggling, brought over an extra ladder (so we would have 2) and stayed to help. And it still took almost an hour. (Leaving it up is not an option - apparently the previous owners managed to collapse the entire structure by leaving the cover up one winter - the weight of the snow was too much for it.)

Did you ever figure things out for the gazebo? Do you know what brand it is? Most brands have "how to" videos online, and you can also usually get a copy of the "how to" pamphlet that came with it from the manufacturer. There's usually a trick to this. For example, the poles might slide in toward the center, shortening everything up so you can more easily slip each corner of the fabric over the corner poles. But it varies by manufacturer and model.
 

JoannaLouise

Official Toaster Oven Monitor
Messages
5,781
Did you ever figure things out for the gazebo? Do you know what brand it is? Most brands have "how to" videos online, and you can also usually get a copy of the "how to" pamphlet that came with it from the manufacturer. There's usually a trick to this. For example, the poles might slide in toward the center, shortening everything up so you can more easily slip each corner of the fabric over the corner poles. But it varies by manufacturer and model.
We did somehow figure out the manufacturer, because we had to buy the new cover from them (the old one was wrecked by the previous owners in the Great Gazebo Collapse, long before we bought the house).
It came with a one-page sheet of "instructions" that didn't turn out to be very useful, but we didn't think of checking for videos - thanks for the suggestion! :)
 

BaileyCatts

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9,333
On the open shelving in the kitchen thing....I used to know someone who had that in their kitchen. It looks really nice on like HGTV when its all staged and pretty, but unless you are willing to commit to keeping it that way, it ain't gonna look that nice once you do your daily living. :D She put those in because he liked the look from watching HGTV shows, but her shelves were a mess all the time because they just kind threw stuff up on the shelves, didn't keep it all neat and tidy and straight, and it just made the kitchen look messy. Plus its get dusty just like your furniture in your living room does, so the glasses would get dusty since there was like a complete set, but they just kept using the ones in the front all the time. If you have really pretty dishes you want to display (like the staged look on the home shows), they do look nice, but if you don't work to keep it looking that nice .... uhm, it won't. :D
 

quartz

scratching at the light
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19,932
Yeah, I just like the look of open shelves, but I think I only considered it for a very short time! WHEN ( :shuffle: ) we redo the kitchen, it will be closed door cabinets, right up to the ceiling. We did get a new fridge a few months ago....that's progress, right??
 

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