Sunday, January 29, 2012

why I've been MIA...




Whew! What a CRAZY couple of weeks!

I have been working an absolutely insane amount of hours on the little house the hubs and I gave CPR to and put up for sale. (I decided I dislike the term "flipping a house") I think in the last 11 days, I worked a minimum of 13 hours each day at this house.  That would be my excuse for not getting a blog post up for...well...forever. For some reason I decided this house needed to go up for sale this week, so there was this huge push to get it done. My hubs was working all week, so it was kinda all up to me. What was I thinking? I can tell you what I am thinking now...Calgon, take me away! (someone please tell me they remember that commercial!)

Here is a "progress" photo. My hubs thought he was helping me out with the "staging' today. I walked in the bathroom, and he had hung the shower curtain and a couple towels. He is so cute...but he better not quit his day job. I had to kinda change it up, but lets not tell him, ok? I don't want to hurt his feelings. You know how guys are, they do one little thing and want a round of applause for it. {hee...hee...} Although I did think it was cute when I saw he had folded the toilet paper end like they do in hotels. 

I will try to get a photo of the {correctly} staged bathroom this week if I have time. I didn't plan on showing you these photos, I took these just as a reference for us to use on the next house, but then I decided what the heck! I will throw a little reality at you tonight and you can see it in the "during" stage. 




Here is what we had to start with. 

Yikes. 



It hurts my eyes to even look at it! I had forgotten how bad it was until I uploaded these photos tonight. Wow. What was I thinking when I signed on for this project?

Who ever decided "flesh" was a good shade for toilets, sinks and tubs?

And you just have to loooove that space-age vanity cabinet. All metal, baby!




This is a tiny little starter home...only about 1000 square feet. This is only one bathroom in the house. I have learned from experience that when I reno houses like this, it is best to keep things clean and simple. It is not how I would decorate my own home, but it does seem to be what buyers in this price point, and in my area, are looking for.


The flooring is a new product put out by Allure. They have a standard planked-strip vinyl, and a new one which I used, call Allure Ultra. It clicks together much like Pergo, but is 100% vinyl so can be used in wet spaces like bathrooms and basements. I {LOVE} the look, it has a hand-scraped rustic look to it. 



 I always use the same beadboard painted white, the same white vanity and tan Corian top. Buyers always seem to love it, so I just keep using it. I think its so funny that there are multiple houses in my city that all have the same exact bathroom. I'm sure some paint the walls their own color, but I use white because it gives them a blank slate to work with once they move in. And it makes a space look so crisp and clean!




The tub was in incredible condition, other than the mildew and awful color. Oh, and the stick-on daisy appliqués in the bottom of the tub. I decided rather than tear it out, I would have it professionally reglazed. For $500 it was the best solution for this house. I know 2 people personally that had their tubs glazed by this same man. One lasted 15 years, the other 17 before they had to be redone. I thought that was a pretty good track record, so I gave it a try. 




I am happy to have life back to normal again. It was not an easy week. I was feeling achy and old every night when I got home! I lost 4 pounds in the process, so that made me a little happy! But now I have to get back to reality with mounds of laundry waiting for me...dishes piled up by the sink and tumbleweeds of dog hair floating through my hallway. 

{sigh...}

I am off to find that Calgon. If you don't hear from me for a few days, I really did take me away.