April 27, 2008
Spring Cleaning? Nesting? A Disease?
Well I learned some things.
Clean the exhaust fan a few times a year in the bathrooms. For those who asked, he said, fans, not ductwork. They told me if the fans get too full of dust, they won’t pull the moisture out.
No wallpaper in bathrooms. (We’re NOT big wallpaper people anyway, but that bathroom just needed something.) No wallpaper on any north walls according to Joan, which, the only wall paper in the house happened to be on… a north wall! Gah!
And fixing this bathroom has set off some sort of decorating bug in me, which is odd since I’m the Anti-Martha Stewart. Things I’ve hated about this house for 13 years are going to be changed.
Not all of them… some of them.
One of the things I’ve hated most about it is the lighting in the bathrooms. We got the builder’s grade lighting. Y’all may have it in your home as it’s very popular as it’s so cheap to put in. (I priced it at our local lighting store and it literally costs 10% of what nice lighting costs… and that’s not builder costs. I figure it cost the builder five bucks to put in, per vanity.) I call it, “Stripper Dressing Room” lighting. Y’all have seen it, long silver strip of round lights all in a row. They put off some serious heat.
I can’t stand them.
(Sidenote: I call it that because I’ve seen movies with Vaudeville actors dressing in front of mirrors with all those round lights. We don’t have Vaudeville anymore, so I decided strippers must use the same type set up. I could be wrong… never having been backstage of a strip joint, but the name stays.)
So we went to the lighting stores and picked out new lighting. We’re redoing the master now, but the extra bath is next. The boys’ bath may never get redone… who knows?
We’ve settled on a new color paint. We tend to decorate old world colors, very traditional, lots of jewel tones with browns and beiges.
So after the drywall gets replaced, this will be our new project, updating the bathroom in our home, changing paint, getting rid of the stripper lights, installing new towel racks, changing the mirrors (we took them down and are having them framed). When I’ve saved up enough money, I’ll reface the cabinetry, but replacing the drywall has pretty much eaten up any extra funds we had.
Y’all may very well get the final pictures, but I think it’ll be a couple weeks. That daggum dry wall guy needs to call us! I can’t do ANYTHING until that drywall is replaced!
Drywall does really make the decor.
We had a terrible mold problem in our air conditioner evaporator coil (indoor unit). I gutted the entire system and switched the bedroom clothes closet with the indoor HVAC closet. Made a terrible mess. Drywall repair just takes time - Joyce was so patient. As a reward for her being so good about all this, I even repainted the bedroom that hideous pink color she so loved.
Posted by: Bob at April 27, 2008 10:21 PMI HATE docorating! I too have stripper lighting!
Enjoy it, let you DH have one final spin before removing it!
I am the beigest, taupest, cream decorator around...
hate it.
I am almost dreading moving, because well it probably means painting AGAIN.
but crap to decorate an entire new home....
headache.
I told DH I think I will hire a decorator this time.
seriously....
Posted by: awtm at April 28, 2008 07:44 AMHoly crap! What are you doing taking pictures of my master bathroom and posting them on the internet?
Posted by: Denny at April 28, 2008 10:40 PMWould love to see the after pics! We have a bathroom that is sorely in need of a makeover. Fixtures from the early 60's in a very unnatural shade of yellow - slightly dayglo, definitely quease-inducing and difficult to color-match. The worst is the fact that this is the boys' bathroom, and the heater vent is right near the toilet! Yeah ... whoever thought THAT was a good idea? The previous homeowners also decided to do flooring on the cheap, and they put peel-and-stick vinyl tiles on the floor. This is not a smart thing in a moisture-prone area! Also, the vinyl is kind of a caramel colored fake-marble swirl that just doesn't manage to coordinate with the yellow (with its nuance of sickly green). Did I mention the geometric yellow and gold floral print formica on the countertop, or the fact that the cold water tap leaks (we have replaced washers that work briefly but soon cease to ... and now we are tired of replacing them and just want a new damned sink!) Ah, but the STIMULUS check is going to pay property taxes ... AGGGHHHHHH!!!!!
Posted by: Peggy U at April 29, 2008 01:07 AMYep, It's stripper lighting!!
I remember back when I was stripping with the Chips-A-Hoy dance group, that was the lighting we used to stretch into our spandex..
PT
Bathroom renovations - UGH! We too need to do both of our bathrooms - original to the 1977 build date. The colors are "TOO" 70s, but close. The Hubby just is very resistant to getting thru that kind of project. Someday...
I love decorating actually. Chosing new paint, coordinating curtains, adding new details and touches - it's just so rewarding. Just finished re-doing our guest room, turning it into a private sanctuary for MOI! Simple and elegant - I had such a blast doing that room.
Posted by: Kris, in New England at April 29, 2008 08:59 AM