Master Bathroom/Cowgirl Spa!

Also known as "the Spa," this room is a source of pride for us. Number One and I chose the tiles, I designed the layout, and I also cut many, many of the tiles and laid them alongside the contractor (and sometimes alone) and helped grout the whole place. I learned so much, and I think I would be confident enough to take on a tiling project on my own!


The master bath is directly off the master bedroom, as you may have guessed, and is adjacent to my closet and Number One's closet. That's right, we each have our own closet! The door to my closet is in the bedroom, Number One's door is off the bathroom, you'll see that in a minute.

entrance door

The entrance door to the bathroom is not quite finished. We purchased it new, and just haven't taken the time to peel the protective vinyl covering off the glass yet. That's fine, because it's across from the only window in the master bedroom a person can actually see in through, which doesn't yet have curtains. So I'm okay with the vinyl helping to obscure the view of people getting in and out of the tub! We actually have a different vinyl to apply to the center window of the door, that will make it look like textured glass. (because doors with real textured glass are pricey!) One of these days, that will get finished!

We put so much thought into this house. It is the result of years of ideas and inspiration, coming together into what we both wanted out of a house. While the space itself turned out great, and it's technically not our "dream house" since we didn't get to start from scratch, all the details were carefully planned out based on things we had seen or thought about, that would make sense where we were starting, adding on to the existing house. whew, that makes me tired just to recall!


The design of the bath/closet area was inspired by Number One's dad's closet, which has a skylight in a hallway and lower dividing walls to allow light from the skylight into the closet. I thought that was genius! So we have a large, lovely, low-E skylight centered in the bath/closet area, and low walls dividing the bathroom from the two closets, and also giving the toilet a bit of its own privacy. (the ceilings in the addition are 9 feet; the low walls here are 7 feet)

low walls; that wall is NOT green!

the toilet "nook"

One trick we used throughout the house, especially on the low, existing ceilings, was to paint them the palest sky blue. This was my idea, inspired by the porch on The Grand Hotel (where I lived and worked for two years before moving out West), the ceiling of which is painted blue to echo and reflect the color of the lake. My idea was that it would fool our eyes into thinking the ceilings were higher, sort of like the sky. I don't know if it works that way, but I love how it turned out. Our ceilings are actually so pale it is only noticeable in certain light, but around the skylight it is most obvious.

skylight; the low walls of Number One's closet and my closet;
can you believe the ceiling is the same color as the skylight surround??

It's so interesting the way different colors appear in different light--the skylight surround is the exact same color as the ceiling, and the wall next to the toilet (the one that looks green) is the exact same color as the rest of the bathroom walls (sort of a sand color).

The vanity was a score at Home Depot, I can't remember if I've told the story here so I'll just tell it again. We had been pricing vanities, which at HD are basically any variation of the cabinetry they sell for kitchen and bath. That means they are custom-built and expensive, and no way we sliced it was one of those fitting in our budget. We were getting discouraged, until we noticed this cherry vanity up high on a shelf. It had a Will Call tag on it, but it also had a price tag on it. Mystified, we asked about it.


The staff said that it had been a special order but no one had ever picked it up. This doesn't make a lot of sense, because special orders have to be paid for up front (at least partially), so we didn't understand why/how someone could have backed out of the deal without losing a substantial amount of money. Regardless, we asked, "so it's up for grabs?" And they said yes!

We had them get it down, measured it to be sure, and then I asked if the price on the tag (which was already a bargain compared to ordering a custom piece) was the best they could do. They went off to discuss it, then came back and said they'd be willing to knock another 10% off the price! SOLD!


With the discount on top of a discount, it fit in our budget AND we were able to order a custom solid-surface vanity top with two sinks and very cool faucets as well!


I made the mirrors a few years ago; the one on the right was made from wood I salvaged when we tore down an old tack shed up at the mountain cabin. Both were in storage until I decided to use them here, and they're perfect!

And, Aunt G. already teased me about the "hollywood" light fixture, but they are bright and cheap and darn it, I like them! Plus they fit into our budget!

The bathtub was another score. We had such a limited budget for bathtub/faucets/rough-in materials (yes, our budget was broken down quite specifically) that we were worried we wouldn't be able to get a big tub like we wanted. All the tub that were bigger were also too expensive--we couldn't afford a tub AND faucets! We just didn't want to settle for a tub that a person couldn't stretch out in. Our old tub is so short you can't even get your whole body in the water, so it's not very pleasant at all.


So anyway, we were walking around Home Depot with our mile-long list when we noticed a tub on display. It looked nice, it was jetted, at 5 1/2 feet it wasn't quite as long as we'd hoped. But. It was on CLEARANCE. For just HALF of our total tub budget! A virtually unheard of bargain! When we found our HD guy, he said it was the last one and they could hold it for us until we could get back to pick it up. Awesome! At that price, we were able to get a lovely faucet, a rainfall shower head and matching handle, a really sweet drain, and all the rough-in parts, and we only had to borrow a few dollars from another budget category.


So the contractor built a tub surround based on our specifications (notice the extra 12" of space at the end of the tub, above), and then we tiled it. We haven't decided what to do about a shower curtain or something like that...I've debated having one of my three metal working artist friends design a shower rod, or then I've thought about a partial glass wall, but really I'm just not ready to mess with the lines in the bathroom with a shower curtain. With the nice tub we don't take many showers anyway, and if we do it really doesn't splash that badly, plus it's all tile! So that's another thing that can wait a bit.

The door to Number One's closet is one of the doors I salvaged from the bunkhouse basement, it was actually an interior door in one of the old houses here. I just sanded and painted it. I am not at liberty to show you the inside of Number One's closet right now, let me just say when it's clean, it's impressive. Ahem.

Number One's closet door

We're not quite finished in the bathroom, you notice the mirror on the floor I haven't decided where to put, but I really needed a hook for the robes. The one drawback about pocket doors is that you can't hang anything on the back of them--that's where we used to hang our robes. Other than that, they are perfect!

That's about all that I can think of right now for the bathroom. If you have any questions, just leave a comment!

Stay tuned for more rooms!

Housewarming Extravaganza...the photos.

*Exactly how long can a post languish in "draft" status before it's published? Way too long, apparently! Here's a short post I started MONTHS ago and I suppose I got distracted or something.

Anyway, our party was fabulous, we have amazing friends and family who were there to support us and celebrate our new home, and it goes without saying the food was out of this world. Thank you to everyone!*

It's been three weeks since our fantastic housewarming party, and I realized I hadn't even written about it!

We had such a great turnout, lots of family and good friends showed up to celebrate with us. Everyone loved the house, the food was fabulous and it was just so much fun.

I'll share some pictures, but honestly we were having too much fun at the party to take very many pictures. If you'd like to see the menu and the recipes and pictures of the food, please visit The Bad Girl's Kitchen.

I will still take you on a virtual tour of the house, don't you worry! We're getting the rest of our living room furniture on November 18th, and after that the tour will begin.

Here are some of our guests, and you can see some of the house too...

Dust

On Friday, Number One and the Irrigator sanded the dining room and kitchen floors all day long. When the boys and I got home from school, they were still at it. We couldn't go in those rooms at all. The boys and I retreated to the master suite, and I occasionally went around the outside to retrieve apples from the kitchen for H-Bomb while Sawed Off continued his nap.


Nearly everything in the kitchen had been covered with tarps, and Number One turned off the refrigerator for the day. Now I know why we haven't moved many of our dishes and utensils and appliances back yet.

This morning, despite much shop-vac-ing by Number One, everything, and I mean Ev.Ry.Thing, was covered in dust. I wish I had bought more plastic tarps. I wish we had been able to finish the floors before the entire kitchen went it. Even though I know that wouldn't have been the best solution, given the months of builder/plumber/electrician comings-and-goings that followed the kitchen installation. Still.


The few cookbooks we brought over, which incidentally were under a tarp, were covered in dust. This clean up is going to be huge.


I pulled the coffee maker out of its pantry retreat, and cleaned the dust off of it. Yes, dust infiltrated the pantry. Thank goodness I hadn't moved very much in there yet! I wiped a spot of the counter top free of dust, just big enough for the coffee maker and a couple of mugs.

I didn't clean off the entire counter, because today is another sanding day. Hopefully we'll get a coat or two of varnish on the floors today too.

Number One and I stood there, admiring the floors. He says they shine when the sun hits them. I'm so proud. What a multi-talented cowboy I have!


And as you can see, someone has been having fun with this dusty situation. I guess it's not all bad! Those footprints look H-Bomb-sized to me.

Today's Projects

I thought I would take a break to show you some of things I've been working on today.

Our dear friend Margaret, with me as her assistant, returned this morning to finish installing the dining room chandelier. Isn't it lovely? It came in about 5 million pieces, with two small, vague pictures for "instructions." We had to figure it out ourselves, but we did it. Margaret is awesome!


I love how the chandelier centers the room, creating a nice, warm focal point, and how it contrasts with the red, and matches the windows. It will also eventually match the dining room chairs, when we get some.


Now I just need to get some light bulbs...and chairs for our new table. I promise I will post more pictures with lightbulbs and chairs! Someday!



I've also been working on installing the drawer/door pulls in the kitchen. The door knobs were simple, I actually put all twelve of those on the hickory cabinets and the island a few weeks ago.


The drawer pulls, I think technically they might be called "bin pulls," those are quite another story. We have a total of 25 drawer/bin pulls to install. The other day I put on three, then had to buy longer screws because our cabinets are apparently built so well. Today I put on six more, so far. See?


The gorgeous hickory cabinets fronts did NOT come pre-drilled, not that I expected them to, but I just thought I would point that out. It's not as simple as putting some screws through existing holes and tightening them. Noooooo.

First, you have to determine where EXACTLY you want the pull. You have to measure for the center, both horizontally and vertically, but you can't only measure for the center, because you have to take into account the height of the pull. So that's a bit tricky. I made a mark on a wooden yard stick, so I can put the pull on the yard stick, line it up and mark the horizontal center directly on the front of the pull.

Then, I use a little trick that Catherine taught me. She learned it from her father-in-law, John, and it is really great. I chalk up the screw holes on the pull itself, you know, so the holes in the pull where the screws will go have chalk on them. I line up the center of the pull on the horizontal, holding a small level under the pull, make sure it's level and then press the pull onto the drawer front. Just to be sure, in case the chalk doesn't touch the drawer front for some reason, I also mark around the screw hole thingies with a little pencil. If I'm lucky, I'll have a chalk mark and a pencil mark, which is reassuring to me.

Then I get my drill. I carefully drill the holes through from the front, countersink from the back just to clean things up a bit, then install the pulls. It is getting a bit easier with each pull I install, but I will be very happy when this project is done!

Did you ever think this cowgirl was so handy? Number One is a lucky guy. And I'm lucky too: while I was working, Number One grilled some delicious burgers made out of venison and pork, with tomatoes and onions inside. A toasted bun = perfection!

Oh, and I almost forgot! In Pantry News, Number One finished his gorgeous shelves the other day!




The shelves were inspired by this Swedish Shelving from Williams-Sonoma (below), but the price of their corner unit alone is $199.00. (not including tax & shipping)


We were sure we could make shelves for less than that, and we were right! We paid just over $200 for all the materials it took to make ALL our shelves that run the length and width of the pantry, with two corners included! There's no telling how much Williams-Sonoma cash that would have cost us, maybe someday I'll do the math.

I drew up the plans and figured out how much wood we would need in a couple hours, and then Number One built the shelves. I think they turned out much nicer than the inspiration, and they are sturdy--both boys were perched on the upper shelves the other day, "helping" their dad!

I'll post more pantry pictures when it is fully stocked and organized too.

Another Sneak Peek!

UPS dropped off something for the house today...

any guesses?

Island Day!

a bit blurry, but a lovely Heirloom Black finish

That's right, folks, today is the day our splendid kitchen island is being installed! It is sooooo close! And outrageously beautiful. I don't recall if I told you about my inspiration, but it's Miss Jenny's sister Lori's kitchen island, also a distressed black. I fell in love from the moment I set foot in her gorgeous Arizona home. And now it's becoming a reality!!! I can't believe this will actually be my kitchen! Every time I walk in, I am picturing where I will put the silverware, etc. So much fun!

don't worry, that end will have a matching black finish!

The rest of the kitchen cabinets are in, except for the one cabinet that was damaged. Its replacement will arrive sometime in the next two weeks. Other than a few other pieces and parts, it was the only damaged cabinet in the lot.

it will be gorgeous!

We desperately need to make another run to Home Depot, and are trying hard to fit that trip into our schedule. Between the last week of school coming up, the spring work on the ranch and now both boys with miserable colds (WHY??), it is difficult.

We need to pick up our vanity top for the bathroom, order a couple light fixtures, attempt to procure the few sheets of beaded board to back our cabinets that are left up North, pick up some more tile, and a few other things. The list continues.

We also need one more piece of "skin" for the end of our cabinets (why we ordered only one when we have two ends showing, I'll never know), and we've decided that we do need a tilt-out tray below the bar sink as well as the main kitchen sink. Any little place to store things out of sight is a huge plus. (and now you most likely know where to find the vegetable peeler the next time you visit). We also decided we would like another cutlery insert on the end of the wrap-around bar, closest to the dining room. But we need to find out how much that costs before we know if we can fit it in the budget. I hope we can, otherwise we just might have to donate that to ABEG.

So now, the counter top guy will come down next week and measure. After that darn broken cabinet replacement gets here, the counter top guy will return to install our Silestone countertops!

Meanwhile, the contractor's son will continue his thoughtful installation job, and install the toe kick panels around the perimeter of the kitchen and the island, and whatever other important things of which I am not aware.

All these little details need consideration. I believe a well-thought-out kitchen will be a great time/sanity saver in our new house. I spent the better part of three days thinking about the toe kick around the kitchen island, which is comprised of both base cabinets and wall cabinets, as well as a bookshelf on one end. I think the end result will be just perfect.

Wait & see!

Cabinets--It's a Start!

Installing cabinets is much more labor-intensive than this cowgirl thought. Especially when your brand-new floor has a bit of a saggy, slopey quality that no one noticed until now. I jokingly asked Contractor, sheesh, who built this place anyway?? He laughed and said "Really!" At least he has a sense of humor most days.


So anyway, there is a lot of leveling, a lot of shimming, etc. It's quite slow. But I am impressed by both the quality of our American Woodmark cabinets and by the attention our crew is paying to install these cabinets right.


For my part, I made sure the opposing lazy-susan's doors were in the correct orientation, and chose the direction of wood grain for the filler pieces. I got each cabinet in line to be installed, removing straps and boxes and little plastic feet and other packing material. I think I was actually helpful. It was a good day, and I'm excited about how nice the cabinets look.


And H-Bomb got a boatload of cardboard to build his house. It's a work in progress.



We'll be back at it tomorrow. Here's another picture to tide you over: