Slowly ever so slowly we’re a makin’ progress on that hall bathroom!  Last week I stained the wood countertops we routed with an ogee edge a couple of weeks ago.  The vessel sink and faucet arrived last week so Matt and I got to work taking the next steps to install the countertops and the sink/faucet combo. 

We left off deciding whether to go gray or dark with the wood countertops and opted for the dark instead of the gray.  We tried both on some scraps of leftover countertop wood and ended up choosing the walnut stain for two reasons – first, the gray stain made this hard butcher block wood look more like cement from afar and less like wood and second, the staircase railing runs next to the bathroom and since it’s dark wood, the walnut made more sense for our home.  I think the gray would look really amazing on a softer wood but we opted for the dark for this project.

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We’ve finally turned our attention back to the hallway bathroom remodel that we started last spring with the vanity upgrade.  We’ve lived without a sink and just a plywood top in here for 9 months while I went on the hunt for the right countertop and as a result the bathroom remodel came to a halt.    

The main reason for the delay came down to choosing the right countertops and I needed two, one for the sink vanity (seen with plywood above) and another for the cabinet on the opposite wall.  I had my heart set on solid surface marble or Caesarstone for a long time but all the estimates were extremely pricey ($1,400 and up!)

It came down to the decision to save up a lot of cash for marble or Caesarstone or just get ‘er done with wood countertops topped with a vessel sink for this hall guest bathroom .  We chose wood, but I wanted a more polished edge beyond the the standard square edge that comes with slab wood countertops. 

I did some research and learned that I could get a fancy ogee edge with a great power tool – a plunge router coupled with a specialty bit, so I ordered this router and this ogee bit online from True Value. 

It arrived a week later (free shipping!) and I picked it up at my local True Value hardware store for this project. 

Matt picked up two wood countertops at IKEA over the weekend and we got to work! 

The bit has a self guiding part (a mini wheel attachment) that slides along the edge of the wood while the sharp edge of the bit cuts the detail on the wood.  As long as you follow the instructions provided for the tool, it’s easy to give your wood countertop a carved edge with this power tool + bit combo.

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My sister and I shared a room when we were young girls and I wanted pale blue paint and she wanted lavender on the walls so my mom painted the walls a compromise hue she often called “lavender blue”.  I can’t imagine how many paint samples she went through to settle the argument but our walls really were a lavender blue and we tease each other to this day about whether they were actually more blue or more lavender.  Typical sister stuff.

Now all these years later, my 8 year old daughter decided on both lavender and blue for her room (me thinks it’s a common favorite palette among the 8-12 group).  I decided a pale gray paint was better in the long term for the walls, but we will certainly bring in some lavender and blue accents.  I started by repainting her walls in a shade of pale gray (‘Jade Frost’ by Glidden), then adding a whimsical and fun update to her existing tree mural, and a new framed printable on the wall.

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There’s been an ongoing debate in our house over the past few months around the wall map that used to sit in the kids’ playroom which we’re converting to a study.  It was a giant 8’ x 10’ wall map in earth tones from National Geographic and a definite conversation piece in our home, it took up the entire wall, and it was very cool.  The debate was about whether it should stay or go. 

Then I got to the point where I loved the idea of a map but wanted to have more of a gallery wall instead to display a collection of special prints and drawings, so we recently changed the world and opted for a smaller map surrounded by family artwork.

I actually bought second map from National Geographic (this one) and framed it in a Ribba frame from IKEA to save money.  You can see the old wall map here.  To frame the new smaller one, I had to trim the mat but that was easy, all it requires is a ruler, a box cutter or X-acto knife, patience, and precision!

Since the mat covered some of the countries on the new NG map, I subtracted as many inches as were necessary to reveal the “new world”, marked it with a pencil and carefully trimmed the mat with a X-acto knife on top of a cutting board.

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