This bathroom renovation is beginning to bore me.  Don't tell Mike I said that!  It's just besides helping carry drywall up the stairs and holding things in place while Mike screws/marks/cuts, I'm not a big help during this behind the wall stuff.  (Although, I'm going to get very involved soon, because we have drywall up!  I'll be back later this week to share pictures of that!).

That's why when the last piece of drywall was moved upstairs on Monday and we had our porch back (which has been Mike's storage space and cutting area, Mike and I wasted no time cleaning it up and getting the cushions out of the attic in the garage.
 
I shared the furniture acquisition story here, and a couple weeks ago I picked up a sisal rug and planters from Ikea.  So, after a good sweep and putting all the furniture in place here's what we're working with now:

       
While I've already gotten a couple mosquito bites from enjoying the seating, the space is a little tan-tastic for my taste.  But don't worry, I've got plans.

I got a little bored and decided to do a little virtual makeover of our porch to share my plans.  Not only is it fun to see an after picture without breaking a sweat, (or the wallet), I've learned this is a good tool for Mike as well and helps plead my case for when Mike tells me a (insert any sort of decorative item) won't look good there.

Here's what I came up with:


Big difference, eh?  The bones were there, it just needed some color.

Obviously the big show stopper is the rug.  I've had the idea to paint a sisal rug in my mind for ages.  I've seen tons of tutorials online and fell in love with this modern chevron design, which I pinned here, originally from Joss & Main.


Since we already have a red door, I didn't think this coral color would work, and decided to go with a more navy blue color.  I'm loving the way it looks and hope that Mike feels the same way!

The other big change is a lighter cushion color.  This one is the change I'm the most skeptical about.  I've got some skills on the sewing machine, but I've never made slip covers before and I'd be afraid that they might come out all wonky.  Just for kicks I hide this layer in Photoshop to see what it would look like if I chickened out, and I have to say it's not bad:

 
Either the tan fades into the siding, or the white into the railing, so either way I think it's fine.

The other additions are a lot easier and include adding some plants in the planters (what a novel idea, I know!), some colorful pillows, and some accessories on the table like a lantern to hold some citronella candles and a small lemon thyme plant, (which also repels mosquitoes, obviously the itching bites from hanging out last night had some consideration in these choices).

So, in between painting, tiling, and styling the bathroom, it looks like some rug painting and accessory buying is in my near future.

What do you guys think?  Should I attempt some slipcovers or leave them for now?  And, who doesn't care, but just wants to come over for some margaritas? 

Awhile back I pinned a quick and easy DIY air freshener idea using baking soda and essential oils (see the pin here).  I thought it was a great idea, but found the idea of having a couple open containers of baking soda around the house a little scary, especially with our little furry (and very curious) roommate. 

Usually Benelli is really good about keeping out of things, but we never know when something will pique his interest.  Like the bowl of corks which have moved from the living room to the dining room table.  He'll go months without touching them, and then one day we'll come home to 15 or so of them scattered around the room.

So, with this in mind, I've been on the lookout for someway to keep the baking soda contained in case of an errant paw tap.  My quest was over when I found some cheap (99¢ baby!) salt and pepper shakers at Target.  Since they weren't the most attractive thing and I didn't want people asking why we randomly had salt shakers around the house, I found these cute metal lanterns (I think they were $3.49) in the outdoor section, that I could "hide" my little shakers in.

That was a really long explanation for a really simple project, so let's get to it.  I gathered my supplies: baking soda, salt shakers, lanterns, and essential oils, (I bought vanilla and lavender).


I used a makeshift paper funnel to pour the baking soda in the shakers and added about 10 drops of oil.  The lavender is a lot stronger than the vanilla so I used maybe 3-4 drops of that.  I was going for a vanilla/lavender scent, but the lavender was overpowering the vanilla so, I just did that for one and vanilla for the other.

I placed the shakers in the lanterns, and although you can still see the tops, they definitely don't scream, "I'm a salt shaker!" anymore.


I placed them around the house, one in the living room, our bedroom, and a pink one (not pictured) in the guest room.

   
Really simple, but pretty effective and cheap little air freshener!

We've finally made some more progress on the world's slowest renovation.  It's hard for Mike to want to work on it when the weather has been so nice and things like beer brewing and motercycling riding sound so much more enticing.

The last time we checked in on the progress Mike had updated all of the plumbing.  Since then, Mike has added the subfloor (definitely a welcomed addition so that we can stop walking along the floor joists), and the necessary framing for the shower wall.


As you can see the shower wall is still pretty prominent when you walk in, but there's nothing we could do about it, (unless we completely reworked the layout which would involve some pretty extensive, not to mention expensive, plumbing).  We were able to reduce the wall length about 6 inches and by switching the handing on the shower, we moved it in farther into the room about 12-14".  So, although the pictures show it right in your face, it's much more comfortable in person.
 

See how the door is more than a foot away from the wall?  In the old bathroom is was closer to a couple inches.  Which made the area behind the door pretty much wasted space, (we stored our laundry hamper and trash can back there).

Standing in the room and looking back at the vanity area, Mike added some framing to build the wall out, (the old vanity back was beefed up to accommodate the difference on this part of the wall compared to the area that the toilet sits against, due to the toilet stack).  


After this work, we pretty much left it sit like this for a couple weeks, but due to the magic of the internet I already have pictures of the next phase, ceilings and insulation.  Not to mention the tub is in!  Mike and our friend Kyle, hauled that bad boy up and Mike shimmied that baby into place.  It's a little tight, and Mike has to make some minor adjustments, but it's in there. 

We also added the drywall to the ceiling and insulation and vapor barrier to the exterior walls.  The room before didn't have any insulation, so we were very excited to add some and hope to notice the difference in the colder weather.


It's finally starting to look like a room.  Here's a better shot of the tub:


Even though it's an interior wall next to the tub, (the other side is the back of the guest room closet), we still chose to add insulation to keep heat in the shower and tub.  Here's looking back at the wall with the plumbing all ready for the shower head and controls.


When I turn to the right from here and look at the vanity, you can see Mike added the boxes for the outlets and vanity lights.  He also insulated around the plumbing for the sinks, (the pvc pipe behind the vapor barrier with the rag in it).


Mike's got a couple more little things to get the room ready for drywall, but I'm really exicted for that step because the room will really start looking like a bathroom again, not to mention we'll be ready for tiling - something that I'm really excited to learn how to do!