Demolition Day!!

It finally happened....our first big demolition day!!! We have been working away on some smaller tasks that aren't really picture-worthy - such as painting closets (which, of course, requires emptying out the closet, gasping at the amount of stuff that was in the closet, trying to quickly reduce the contents, and then consolidating what remained after our first go-through), researching the best methods for doing some small repairs, attempting to complete said repairs, and sitting around stressing about how much we still have to do (oh wait, that's just me...)

But - Monday! Jeff was off work and after a couple of quick "we need some advice" conversations, we had two experts volunteering to come help tackle a few major projects. My dad drove in to assist with ripping things off walls and floors, and our brother-in-law, Chuck, offered to "swing by" from Kalamazoo (2 hours away!) to do a little electrical work. Within an hour or two, the bathroom went from this:

To this!

 

Our general plan goes like this: The tub and tiling is pretty standard but in good shape, so we're going to keep it. It needs a little re-caulking, but that's minor and will save a tremendous amount of money. Same with the toilet - needs a new seat but it's basically what we would buy again if we were to replace it (aka - unnecessary expense). What we WILL do is paint the vanity white to match the trim, replace the hardware, and get a new sink/counter. Same with the medicine cabinet on the wall - lighten it up and change the hardware. The mirror and lighting will get switched out.We actually like the pattern on the floor (it fits the style of the house), but it's linoleum. Ripping that up and tiling the floor will be one of the biggest projects in the room. (We're even thinking of installing a heated floor - oh la la!!!) And, of course, all the wall damage will be repaired and the whole thing will get a nice coat of paint (or several coats, as we have been discovering...). The last big project will be repairing the ceiling. Chuck and Jeff replaced the exhaust fan with the QUIETEST fan on the market. It's pretty incredible. It also left a big hole in the ceiling, so we'll need to fill that in, and then deal with the peeling paint issue from the previous post. I'm learning that the ceiling fix shouldn't be too bad - but I'm not looking forward to all the overhead sanding and plastering that will be going on in the next couple of weeks.

You might remember that the Villa has just one bathroom - and you just saw its current state. So...how will we *ahem* use the facilities while we're over there working?

Welcome to the basement, where the random toilet (on a concrete slab up two steps) resides. This lady is NOT too thrilled about it, but such is life. We're hoping to enclose this into a half bath sometime down the line. For now, we'll maybe rig up a little shower curtain around it and get good at yelling "Don't come down here!!!!"