Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Condo Revamp - The beginning.

Well I'm 2 weeks out from the beginning of the batch pad revamp. Being a homeowner has been the most fun adventure of my adult life. Trust me when I say I wouldn't trade it, it's been amazing. It's insane to think it's been 2.5 years since I signed those papers and gained a home of my very own! I can barely wrap my head around it.

So now, 2.5 years later I'm starting a few upgrades I've been thinking on, preparing for, and saving up the funds to complete. Those dreams start to become a reality May 1st of this year. From May 1st-May 15th my house may be in a bit of chaos but I'm so thrilled for the end result. If you follow me on pinterest you may have seen a new board pop up last week - this board will highlight all the upgrades and give you an idea of what will be happening, what I'm purchasing, etc.

Also I will be taking pictures along the way and giving you before and afters! I know this will excite some of you more than others. But for my fellow homeowners, my soon-to-be-homeowners, and my someday in the distance furture homeowners this may give you some ideas of how to do similar projects.


After quotes and measurements galore it was time to get down to business. I finally bought the new faucets which will be installed when they get rid of my boring while bathroom countertops and replace them with granite. It was an ORDEAL to get the ones I fell in love with online and then found out were an 'online special' which was also out of stock and back ordered! Ack! I spent weeks tracking them down and pricing them out. When I had almost given up because the least expensive price I could find them was $177 a PIECE plus $30 in shipping....Home depot came through for me:



Not only were they by far the best price but I was able to pick them up in person and I had a giftcard that helped cover the cost. I never would have imagined that plain old sink faucets were over 100 bucks a pop but like I've learned with many home projects, the differance between a $100 you can live with and a $134 faucet you love isn't so great in the grand scheme of things. I splurged for the ones I loved.


If you're looking for faucets you should try to only fall in love with ones that are available, though. That's my tip of the day.


So here is your very first 'before' picture of the bathroom. This is the master bath (aka my bathroom). This shows you the very basic white countertops as well as the very basic/very shiney silver faucet that is currently at home in my vanity. In less than a month there will be beautiful granite and a modern meets retro facet in 'brushed nickel'.


One more project I'm working on in advance of the 2 weeks of painting which will commence on May 1st as well, is what I'm going to do with my walls. One of the projects I want to start is a canvas print to represent the big cities I'm visiting. I determined last year to start visiting one big city a year. Last year was New York City and so I bought my first canvas (and began the project) with a groupon for this:


This year, after May, I will have to start searching for a DC canvas to represent my 2012 trip of the year. I've been to MANY places over the years including quite a few of the big cities but in my young adult like I determined I wanted to do some of them again. Still thinking through my 2013 destination so I can start saving and planning soon. Suggestions welcomed. Potentially a West Coast trip is in order.


Thanks for sharing in my excitement about the revamp - updates to come!


Love,
B



7 comments:

SEL said...

The Husband has made me realize that it's better to splurge a little and get exactly what you want, than to get something cheaper and always regret it.

I can't wait to see the renovations!

Nichole @ casadecrews.com said...

I love the canvas print and think that is a really fun way to to decorate! Can't wait to see it all complete!

Darby Hawley said...

This is so exciting and I can't wait to watch this transformation!

Unknown said...

If you can afford it, I think you should definitely splurge on house things - you'll enjoy it more and increase the value! Can't wait to see the finished products :)

Amber said...

I am so ridiculously excited to see the changes! :) I so wish I had a place of my own to do this. Sucks being in a boring old white apt ;)

lil desiqua said...

That granite counter is going to look awesome- can't wait to see pics!

I've always wanted to go to New Orleans and San Francisco. Not sure if you've been to those, but I hear great things about them! Lots to see and do!

Molly @ Blonde Out Loud said...

Love the canvas sign! Can't wait to see what you come up with.