Has it really been more than a year since my first post about this bathroom? Even before we demolished this room, we had 6 months of searching for a contractor under our belts. Believe me, it has been a process!

When I gave my last update in December of 2013, I thought we were 5-6 weeks away from completion.

{heh-heh-heh...}

After giving up on our search for professional assistance, we resorted to DIY. My husband has learned soooo much during this process (I've learned not to ask questions about timing). I'm simply astounded by the transformation!

You've seen it a few times, but it's worth sharing the "before" pics again...

And... after!

This was the only vanity in the massive space. Pretty special, huh? Oh, and remember that door to the outside?

Check it out now!

We now have beautiful his and hers vanities, featuring antique glazed cabinetry and granite... touches of brushed nickel everywhere...

We found these great mirrors at Ikea and couldn't believe how perfect they were for the room.

We built in a water closet where the outside door used to exit. It's nice to have a little privacy in your bathroom...

...especially considering where the toilet used to be. The tiny shower has also been replaced.

Because we were doing the work ourselves, we kept the tilework simple. My only real design wish was to incorporate river rock, which turned out to be just the right touch!

The final special touches include shelving we purchased from a local Amish furniture store and gorgeous photography by my friend, Leah, of Uprooted Magnolia.

If I had to define a theme for this space, it would be "Found Things." I think that accurately describes the finishes, decorative items, and the overall process itself.

It is so nice to have full use of this bathroom again. It's been a long year!

This project actually ties up all of our major home renovation projects. We have a number of smaller projects on the list, but none that involve major construction (at this point, anyway).

We're starting on a basement update this week. I look forward to sharing that work as it begins.

I honestly don't know what we'll do if we ever finish this house.

Start over?

It's been a LOOOOONNNGGGGGG time! If you've read many of my past posts, you know I place high importance on life balance. Between home and work, I've been a bit overwhelmed this year and decided the blog had to fall off the "to-do list." Just for an extended time out...

Work has continued on the house and the kitchen has been complete for a few months now. While the space configuration wasn't that bad, overall, the room was plain, very boring.

Our first priorities were paint, flooring, and new appliances.

We liked the bar area, but found it too low to be useful. We had three options: 1. buy new stools; 2. cut the legs down on our existing stools; or, 3. raise the bar height.

After much deliberation, we opted for raising the bar. My industrious husband configured the solution.

The next step was granite. To be honest, we were not pleased with our selection: Giallo Ornamental. We selected it from a granite warehouse - as we've done with our previous homes - however, it seemed too brown upon installation. We thought we'd selected something with a whiter, brighter background.

But, it's installed and it's going to stay!

Jesse's first attempt with tiling a backsplash was a huge success. And once it was installed, the granite seemed to brighten up a bit. We went with a tumbled travertine subway tile.

For a final finishing touch, Jesse installed a couple of pendants over the bar area.

What is especially genius about this project is the base that he created to hang the pendants. We've had a hard time matching the ceiling textures in this house. He knew he would have to patch a few holes with the install of this lighting. Rather than go through the trouble for results that wouldn't be perfect, he fashioned this base.

I was worried that it would look odd, but it turned out nicely.

The final item to highlight is this faucet. We installed a Delta Touch2O faucet and it is awesome! Touch it anywhere and it turns on. One of those weird things you never knew you needed...

The only problem is that I now have the same expectation for all faucets I encounter. I touch them over and over, yet they don't respond!

You'll notice that we painted the window box above the sink white. It really brightened the entire room and convinced us to continue the white trim throughout the house - the entire house...

Hazel says, "Really?! You guys are gluttons for punishment."

Why, yes. Yes, we are.

Wanna see something really gross?

Any ideas why this is so gross?

How about now?

This is what cigarette tar build-up looks like on your walls! And here's what it looks like when you start to clean it.

The previous owners of our home used one of the upstairs bathrooms as a smoking room... apparently for a LOOONNNNNGGGGGG time. This room was so saturated with smoke, we had to gut the whole thing.

But, we weren't giving up much, considering this is what it looked like.

Seriously dated cabinets, more peel-and-stick tile, and a PINK shower. Whew! What a mess!

But it sets the stage for a pretty remarkable transformation.

First, we scrubbed down the walls, grout and ceiling, painted and laid new flooring...

Next, the shower was professionally refinished as a clean, beautiful white...

It was finished off with new cabinets, lighting and fixtures, granite countertops and a few fun accents.

We have a little bit of trim work left to complete, but, all-in-all, we're counting this project as done!

It's perfect for a little boy to enjoy... or swap out the art and accessories and it's perfect for the grandparents!

{Hint-hint, Mom and Dad...}

This has been my favorite transformation to date. The hubby is finishing up a new tile backsplash in the kitchen this week and we're on the downside of our master bathroom renovation. I can't wait for that to be done! It's been a BIG job.

It was a rickety, dated-looking, nasty carpet-covered mess.

Of all of the projects we've tackled in this home, the entry-way staircase has really been a challenge to complete.

It was in such bad shape that we simply cut out the bottom post to get some of our furniture upstairs when we moved in.

{We won't contemplate any plan of action for moving furniture out right now, okay?}

I really wanted to open the wall to expose the treads and update the overall look with wrought iron.

We decided that this was too big of a task to handle on our own. We wanted it done right so we started interviewing contractors in March of last year. I repeat, March of last year.

We had four different contractors come out to look at the job and no one called us back to give us a quote! When the fifth contractor came, I made him promise (out loud and with a pinky swear) to call us back.

Nothing.

Same story with the sixth contractor.

The seventh contractor called us back, but presented us with an astronomically high number.  Like, I'm-sending-you-a-passive-aggressive-message high number. Thousands more than we budgeted.

I get it, I suppose. It's a small job. No one wants to tie up their time on a small job. But extend the courtesy of telling us that, rather than disappearing all together. I've never been so frustrated with a home renovation project.

But that's quite enough whining from me!!!

Just when I thought we'd never get this job done, we met Mr. Snyder. Not found via the internet or phone book, he came highly recommended through a local hardware store. He was truly a God-send.

He worked alone for the better part of two weeks and accomplished what we thought was going to be impossible.

Take a look...

The quality and craftsmanship is really astounding. 

We count this project as a major victory, especially considering how hard it was to get it going.

We're wrapping up the master bathroom this month. I can't wait to share photos of that renovation!

Okay, ladies. I know that each of you can imagine how hard it might be to manage your wardrobe - including shoes and a husband - with a closet like this.

Did I just hear a collective gasp?

That's right! For the past year, I've been stuffing my clothes into half of this closet (can you guess which half?) and storing the rest in various locations around the house.

Piles on the floor count as storing, right?

So, I'm extremely excited to reveal our solution to this problem!

It all started with drawings on napkins and ended like this.

We added opaque film to the glass panes to conceal the clothing. I think it adds a bit of interest to a wall of closet doors.

I sketched the inspiration, but my husband did 100% of the labor—framing, wiring, sheetrock, painting... He's a genius.

Well, I did install the shelves in my...

New...

Shoe closet!!!!!!!!!!

We ordered this cabinet from Kemper Cabinets. If you're inspired to install the same solution, this is actually considered a "pantry" unit. I originally saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it was genius!

The only thing left to add is hardware. We're going to add the "jewelry" when we order the pulls for our master bathroom.

I'm perfectly happy with the way it is now, especially considering what we had before, and I couldn't wait to share the renovation.

Need any details? I'm happy to share my resources!