Master Bathroom

Hey there,

We've had our master bathroom done for a few months now, but up in some final touches this weekend.  It was a great reminder to take some pictures and post them to continue documenting our home-reno journey.  

We've obviously slowed down with home projects with Charlotte around and the soon-expected arrival of Baby Anderson #2.  Nevertheless, we are still loving working on the house and have busy this weekend with some final touches.

We're trying to get a lot of small things done around the house before the baby comes, plus we are going to refinance our mortgage with the interest rates continuing to decline.

Here are some pics of the master bathroom.  Art work is still on the list of things to purchase, but you can see where the room stands today...

But first, here are a few before pictures of our asian-themed master bath (with carpet):

It may be hard to notice, but the old shower was smaller than a dorm room shower.  

 Here are some AFTER pictures after we ripped out the dry wall and started from scratch:

RH mirror and sconces...all from the outlet in WI.

Vanity and marble piece that we later added drawer pulls to.  We had both pieces custom made for our space, which saved us half the cost.

Restoration Hardware faucet that I bought on ebay.

Added this little shelf today :)

More than doubled the size of the shower...

We recently bought bath mats, towels, and a little storage area for the towels, but I haven't gotten to setting them up.  Once everything is finished, I'll post pics again :)

Have a great day!

The Anderson Family

Bookcase

Hi Friends~

My previous post showed the beginning stage of our master bedroom's built-in bookcase.  We had been contemplating different options for this space for a year now, and finally decided on a custom book case and tv piece after being inspired by this photo from Houzz.com:

I was originally thinking we could install a fireplace with a flat screen mounted on top but

1) It's WAY more expensive, and

2) You have to worry about the heat of the fireplace rising and damaging the TV.

#couldwouldashoulda?

I know it's not 100% finished, but I couldn't help but sharing the progress...!  Thanks to our handyman Paul for bringing our vision to life.

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Ta Da...Stage 4!

Mantle is actually a shelf from Pottery Barn we purchased for $60 (verse $300+ for an actual mantle)

Hidden drawer for the DirectTV box and all of the cords

It got Charlotte's approval too :) 

Did you notice the CARPET finally came up too??

Alright, enough pictures for one night.  It's just so fun to make progress.  I'll post more pictures once we paint the unit and move furniture into our room.

Tomorrow is also a big day at our house...can't wait to share "before" and "after" pics tomorrow night!

Courtney

Master, Master...

This week has been huge at the Anderson household.

To begin, Charlotte started standing herself up on furniture, clapping, and eating table food in a matter of three days.  Her favorite big people foods are eggs, cheerio's, and salmon currently.  And whenever she sees the camera, she smiles.  Who knew someone could love the camera at such a young age?

(When it's your kid, the details are so exciting...)

Also, we've done a ton of stuff on the house.  For me, this has been the first time I've worked on the house since before I was pregnant, so it's been a fun to work along side Eric in getting things done.

Here are a few before pics of the master bedroom...to give you a reference point for how far the space has come.  Master Bedroom Post.

And here are some in progress pictures...room is drywalled and primed.

Room now has paint (loving the color, White Sand by Benjamin Moore) and decorative boxes on back wall.  The chandelier is also hung but has a garbage bag over it to prevent it from getting dusty.

Tape is up and the crown molding is painted too!  Small details take the longest to complete...

Can you see a glimpse into the bathroom?  We're making progress there too!

New windows are scheduled to be installed THIS month!!  I'm soooo sooo excited to have screens and to be able to open our windows.

Our built in TV unit is also started.

See how much we've been up to?  I get excited to think that after two and a half years here, we'll actually be in our master bedroom soon.

Here is a close up of the TV unit in progress...

Do you remember what this awkward space used to be taken up by? An oversized mirror and vanity of course...they said Mrs. Kass was glamorous.

Wow, we've come so far!

More pictures to come....

Courtney

Wallpaper!

Picked out wallpaper from JC Licht's!  They are ordering it from London, so we should get it in a few weeks.

It's faux Grass cloth wallpaper....pictures to come.  I think wallpaper is making a big comeback this year (especially in small spaces).

Here is the book we picked it from- awesome selection of neutral prints.  PT Prestigious Wall coverings.

On another master bedroom note, I have thought of an idea for the mirror above the vanity.  Rather than spending hundreds of dollars on a beautiful mirror, why not take one of the old mirrors that used to cover the walls of our house and have a glass company cut and frame it?

I'm also thinking to include the sconces in the mirror rather than have them sit outside of the mirror.

Example....

Oh, and I had a dream last night that I opened my own design shop downtown Western Springs.  Wouldn't that be fun?!

Have a great weekend,

Courtney

The first shall be last...

We intended to renovate our master bedroom and bathroom first thing when we moved in two and a half years ago. Ends up it's going to be one of our lasts.  

The good news is that we've begun work on it and it should be done in a month or two!  Oh how I've waited for this project to begin.

Here are some before pictures for your reference:

Bathroom shots-

mirrored closet, asian themed bathroom, and carpet...

dorm-like shower, i actually don't think Eric even fit in it...

mirrors again...blue shower, sink, toilet...

 Master bedroom pics:

our lovely walk in closet (yikes, this wallpaper still scares me)

original decor

I have to give it to the previous owners, they were glam for their day!!!

We have our work cut out for us, but I have some fun ideas that will hopefully liven up this room and transform this room into a relaxing retreat for us.

Happy Independence Day!!

Courtney

Hello Friends!  After a hiatus from blogging, I thought I'd begin to get back into posting!  We've taken a break from house work in the past few months in preparation of the arrival of Little Miss Charlotte.  And with Charlotte finally here, it's been hard to find time to focus on our house project again.

The last 8 weeks with Charlotte have been so wonderful!  I can't express how thankful to God I am to have such a healthy, happy family.

As moms do, let me show you how sweet she is:

Today is such a fun day in our house, as we are watching the NCAA tournament play out.  We looooove college basketball and have enjoyed watching multiple games over the last few days.  Having some downtime allowed me to think about some of the upcoming projects we'd like to complete on the house.

Yesterday I went on Craigslist and found a steal - a Cal King Head board and foot board for our master bedroom (something we've been in search of for awhile).

Restoration Hardware sells it new for $2200.  We paid...$320 (85% off).  Granted we spent some money renting a truck to pick up the bed, but still a deal in our book.

Our 2012 agenda has some big projects on the list.  Here's to kicking off the master bedroom design!

Courtney

This Week

Happy Tuesday!  Baby Anderson is coming in 8 weeks, therefore we've been busy preparing the house for his or her arrival!

Check out the progress on our master bedroom this week:

Also, it was an exciting day in our house last night because we now have a WORKING door bell.  Who would have thought the small things would make me so happy?!

With the master bedroom almost ready to paint, I just have to pick a paint color.  Hmmmmm.

Master Construction

As we quickly approach the holidays (Thanksgiving is next week!?), we're spending a lot of our time working on the master bedroom.

We hired some outside help on this project because this is Eric's busy season at work, and Baby Anderson is coming in 9 weeks (hopefully not longer).

Each day when I come home, I love seeing the progress that was made.  It gets me excited to know that this room won't be storage for much longer!

Before

Beginning of the gut job

New framing! The bathroom is extended 5" and the shower will be larger now

Insulation done today!

We put electric boxes in the master bath for sconces :)

A bit of our wood floors now showing. So looking forward to getting rid of this carpet.