Catch up post - FLOORS! with the Schlinders.

With Rory only a few weeks away from arrival, we were in high-gear trying to get some of the big items done. #1 item was the flooring and it was going to have to be a quick go because a house without a floor just isn't a home!
We had picked Home Legend Strand Woven Toast Bamboo in an engineered click-lock flooring (because our house is slab-on-grade - we need an engineered product with a vapor barrier below - Image courtesy of HomeDepot.com).

As a side note - when you order flooring: JUST PAY FOR DELIVERY. You have no idea how much the cases of this stuff weigh. I went to to our Depot with our Rav 4, because it had space for most of the product. It did not, however, have the suspension for it. I opted for a delivery fee instead of a new axle, shocks, tires - whatever would have given first.

Luckily - my Brother-in-Law Bryan took some pity on us and with promises of free food and beverage and "that this experience was going to be fun" we were able to persuade him and Tiffany's sister Amber to come down. How hard could it be afterall? 31 cases of flooring stacked on our hearth...let's go.

Before and After Photos

As I was showing a co-worker our blog the other day, I realized that we don't have before and after pictures side by side in many (if any) of our projects. One reason for the lack of before and after photos is that we thought we did not have many before shots. Lo and behold Ben was rummaging through his laptop  last week and came across the photos that we shot when we first bought the house. It is a treasure trove of bad design! I was so excited to see how far we have come, as we tend to get fixated on the next project.

Let's start with the best before and after pictures - the bathroom. In the before shots, please note the following:

• Floor to ceiling wall paper (hiding layers of paint that could not be painted over - see prev. post)
• A vanity that lacks both style and functionality
• A storage cabinet that dominates the space 
• A plastic, wavy, and ribbed light fixture (don't the adjectives just sound wrong??)
• Fabric covering the natural light
• Stick-down laminate tile floor pieces (hiding three additional layers of flooring - luan plywood, faux wood vinyl flooring, and cream vinyl flooring)
• Old bath fixtures (in shower and on the sink)
• A euchalyptis swag over the window (why? I'm not sure.)

Bath - Before Renovation (cabinet/toilet area)

After Renovation - (cabinet/toilet area)

Before Renovation (Vanity/Shower)

After Renovation (Vanity/Shower)

A picture is worth a thousand words, isn't it? (esp. when the photos are taken by professional photographers).

Catch-up post: Photos of our Bathroom?

That's right folks! Our Bathroom was shot for the upcoming catalog and style sampler for Aristokraft (in the picture is a lighting tent outside of our bathroom glass-block wall - to get that magic evening lighting all day long). That means that we ACTUALLY FINISHED it as well. Tops in place, some custom open shelving (sanding the solid maple for the shelves in image #2) and towel bars. Once the catalog ships, I'll probably be able to share the formal photos too.