Well at last at last at last we’ve finally finished up the backsplash in the hall bathroom.  This remodel has been in progress for over a year, we procrastinated, but now we’re on the way to a nearly complete bathroom remodel. Here’s a look at the vanity wall where we installed a new backsplash, added new sconces, and also a brushed silver finish mirror.

Here’s what it looked like a year ago. It had an old fashioned overhead light, a huge builder mirror, honey wood cabinetry, and cultured marble countertops. Not my favorite.

The sink vanity wall looks much different today!

I call this the “lucky backsplash” for two reasons. First, I ended up skipping the blue brick pattern glass tile I mentioned awhile back because when I did the math it turned out to be way over my budget at $20+ a square foot and to tile up to the ceiling I needed 36 square feet. I was leaning toward something more neutral anyway. 

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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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Hello everyone, I’m excited to announce we’ve completed another space remodel as part of our Alma Project!  I hinted a few months ago that we’ve adopted a second house in partnership with our local COTS (Committee on the Shelterless) and a team of volunteers has been working on this home to prepare it for the families that will be moving in shortly. 

This home serves the purpose of helping families that are in immediate danger of separation because the parents don’t have a place to live, often they’re sleeping in cars.  This house helps keep homeless families intact so that CPS does not separate the children from the parents.  It’s a place for families to reside temporarily while our local COTS helps them obtain more permanent housing.  We couldn’t be prouder of this hall bathroom remodel!

This could not have happened without the support of some very generous sponsors and a team of volunteers.  Just like with the kitchen remodel earlier this year, Home Depot was a very generous donor, supplying us with the new vanity, toilet and faucet, and we are extremely grateful for their support!  Glidden provided the paint, and with some money raised from our Alma Project fund, we were able to add the extras.  

When we started, this shared community bathroom was a complete disaster, and in desperate need of upgrades.  Here’s a peek at the space two months ago before the remodel began.   The tub and flooring were dingy, discolored, and in very sad shape.   The vanity and toilet were really bad too, so we removed everything in the space except the tub and started over. 

Here’s how it looks two months later!

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Slowly we’re making progress on the hall bathroom remodel and last week’s job was patching the tile floor.  Since we did some demolition a few weeks ago and later reworked the vanity adding a new base with furniture feet, it was necessary to patch the tile on the floor underneath.  Thankfully I had a few pieces leftover from the original tile installation four years ago – finally my home improvement "we might need that later” hoarding paid off. 

We learned after the demo that the vanity was sitting on the subfloor so the first step was adding ½” backer board to ensure the tile installation was even.  Exciting shot, isn’t it?  One of my best! 

The process for patching the tile floor was basically the same as when we installed the tile kitchen backsplash last year. 

1) Spread tile adhesive with notched edge of trowel and install tiles in a grid pattern on top, using spacers to preserve even spacing between tiles. 2) Cut any pieces with a tile saw to fit edges to cover floor. 3) Allow adhesive to dry for a day, then mix sanded grout and fill in between tiles with smooth edge of trowel. 4) Sponge away excess grout and allow it to cure until solid (1-2 days).

And here is our floor a few days later – all patched and ready for the vanity’s return.

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