Some of you may remember a DIY post Aileen Fish and I did in May. We both finished those bathrooms. And I was content. Really.
Then somehow a few weeks later, Mr. Curtis and I found ourselves redoing our hall bathroom. Like any man (not that I'm stereotyping, but you ladies know what I'm talking about), Mr. Curtis believed this water-soiled linoleum to be a perfectly acceptable representation of us to our guests.
- DIY Note: If your linoleum is discoloring, chances are there's a water leak somewhere - toilet, faucet, wall. Act quickly to avoid something as large as this. I thought the kids were messy!
And so, we ripped up the linoleum (an activity conducted during our puppy's naptime - she protested by insisting she be in my lap). That's me scraping off the glue from the concrete slab. For those of you more versed in home improvement than I, you might note I left the guest towels up on the towel rack - LOL!
Lo and behold, before we'd laid tile one I decided the vanity needed updating and Mr. Curtis decreed it time to replace the toilet with the tallest, most powerful (and yet water saving) toilet on record. I promised the paint would look good and the hardware knobs modern. He promised the toilet would fit under the "banjo countertop" - an extension of the vanity counter over the toilet (great storage). Tiling went well (thank you to Costco for some great looking tile). Painting the cabinets a chocolate brown went well (despite me painting cabinet doors and drawers in a 100+ degree heat wave in our garage).
Enter the fail...
Turns out back in 1988 when this house was built, they built our vanity out of high quality, thick wood, not plywood. They don't make hinges like that anymore (certainly not in brushed nickel). And the drawer handles require extra long screws. It took some figuring out, but Mr. Curtis came up with a solution - our drawers/doors have great looking handles. You won't see the 1.5" gaping hole unless you open the cabinet door. I wonder what they would have done on Bath Crashers?
The toilet Mr. Curtis picked out is the one from the TV ad where the kid flushes a bowlful of golf balls. Water efficient and utility rebate (yay!). Since Mr. Curtis is 6'5" and neither of us are spring chickens, we were excited to have a toilet seat that is chair height (17.5"). Installation was easy. And then we went to put the lid on...fail. Big Fail. HUGE #DIYFAIL. When Mr. Curtis measured and assured me the toilet would fit beneath the banjo countertop, he didn't take into account the extra height mastic (tile glue) and tile would add. I tweeted to American Standard (maker of this beauty) requesting a special lid - no such luck. The toilet must either come out or a new countertop must be installed - one that doesn't have a banjo extension. Which means we'll have to take out or cut the wall mirror above it. And while we're at it, why don't we take out that outdated lighting, too? Mr. Curtis was unwilling to give up the toilet.
We are now in spousal negotiations about the kind of NEW countertop I'm going to get in the hall bathroom and what to do with the bathroom mirror and lighting fixtures. Next weekend, my daughter is coming home from college with her boyfriend of 18 months (who has never been to our house before). Somehow, I don't think our guest will be seeing a finished bathroom. He'll be seeing this (no baseboard, no toilet lid). Tune in next month for an update on our progress!
When not exploring the DIY/Home Improvement field, Melinda Curtis writes the Harmony Valley series of sweet
romances for the Harlequin Heartwarming line. Brenda Novak says:
“Season of Change has found a place on my
keeper shelf”. Melinda also writes hotter romances as Mel Curtis. Jayne Ann Krentz says
of Blue Rules:
“Sharp,
sassy, modern version of a screwball comedy from Hollywood's Golden Age except
a lot hotter.” Her
latest releases are Gemma Rules, book 3.5 in The Hollywood Rules series, and
Season of Change, book 3 in the Harmony Valley series.
I have to say that I've tried to remove the wallpaper strip around the top of the bathroom. I remember putting up that strip when we first moved in nearly 25 years ago. I told Mr. Curtis I was gluing it down "right" so it would never steam off while the kids were showering. How "right" I was! I've been banned from the chore of stripping the wallpaper from the walls and here's why: I took the texture off the wall with it. As for the second item on the to-do list, Mr. Curtis is the drywall/texture specialist in the household. This skill does not fall in my wheelhouse (and I did not make that big hole).
Those paying attention in the previous paragraph might note that items #1 & #2 must be done by Mr. Curtis...I can paint like nobody's business, but am not allowed to paint over wallpaper or untextured/unpatched walls. So #3 is a waiting game.
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