NewlyWoodwards

an unconventional home

Renovation progress report – week 27

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My buddy FC asked for a weekly belly shot of the renovation. (If you are confused, check out last week’s post comparing house renovating to popping out a kid. I’m nothing if not PC.)

Well, friends, today is your lucky day. A belly shot is nothing if not a progress photograph. And since I have taken over 1,000 photos of our future home (so far), I can do progress.

The bathroom is Ryan’s baby right now. He’s working hard to get it into working order.

Here’s the belly/progress shots of the bathroom over the first 27 weeks:

The tub is in and the main walls are complete. (The walls around the shower need cement board and tile, but that will come later.)

Ryan rebuilt the right wall for a cleaner line by the shower. It’s not ideal to have the ceiling slope in the shower. But it will still turn out well, I think.

Ryan’s also got the dining room ready to paint.

So now I have a lots of rooms to wipe down and paint. I’m way behind in the painting department. But, I hope to make some progress soon – I hope the dining room, kitchen, bathroom and upstairs hall by the end of the month.

In other renovation/marriage news… Ryan has this really annoying interesting habit of telling me that he’ll need something for the house THE DAY BEFORE HE NEEDS IT. Usually, they are things of which I know exactly what I want. So it’s not that it is hard to decide what I want. But, even though I try to ask what important items he’ll need next, he usually doesn’t actually tell me to get something until he needs it THE NEXT DAY.

Examples – light fixtures, faucets, siding color… and TILE! Which is totally fine except sometimes the items need to be ordered. And special orders can take weeks.

I love my husband – he’s wonderful and hard-working and smart. But he really doesn’t think about how horribly annoying interesting this is. Even though I try to make it clear. But this time – with the tile – I nearly lost it.

You and I both know that I’ve been very clear about what kind of tile we’ll be going with. Black and white hex tile.

Moline bath by newlywoodwards on Polyvore.com

Ryan knew this and really loves the hex tile, too. Then he mentioned on Wednesday night that he would like to tile this weekend (YAY!), so could I please go pick up the tile asap.
It’s unfortunate that hex tile is not carried in stock anywhere in our area. I’m kicking myself for not just ordering it when I picked it out. (Although that would have been too easy. And ordering everything for the house at once would be darn expensive.)
So, I’m quickly trying to find a local source that may carry hex tile in stock. Otherwise, these are my choices.
(The far left is the special-order tile that will take 2 weeks.) Honestly, neither of the others are speaking to me. (Imagine me stomping my right foot and letting out a very exasperated ‘pfffff’ in the Lowe’s aisle.)
And, while we could certainly wait, Ryan will soon be traveling for work and getting the floors done would allow us to get more of the bathroom completed while he’s traveling, including installing the toilet. So, we’d really like to do it now.
Needless to say, I’ve learned my lesson. I’m just going to order things when we decide on them. They can be stored until Ryan’s ready. So, then when he asks for me to pick something up THE NEXT DAY, I can say, “It’s already in the garage, darling.”
The key to a happy and healthy marriage and renovation –
Call him darling.

What do you think?

Comments

  6. I was about to say that you should definitely wait for the tiles you love because no one wants to walk on second choice tiles. But, now, I say Woo hoo!! I’m so glad you found them! I can’t wait to see how they look once Ryan figures out how to install them!

  7. Kim, I am just amazed at all the work ya’ll are doing. I think you should wait to tile and maybe Ryan can do another project? If you tile in something that you don’t love you are going to want to change it … and who wants to rip up tile and retile? Plus … you’ve worked this hard, follow your heart.

  8. Wait…or you’ll regret (hate) the second choice tile by next year. I’m sure there are many other things to do while you await delivery. And I agree …the other choices just aren’t as nice.

  9. Good news, friends. I found a local distributor that got us black and white unglazed hex tiles by the end of the day. They were a little more than I wanted to spend, but I’m loving them. Now hubby is just trying to figure out how in the world to install them. No time like the present. 😉

  10. gosh this is a tough one! You have known what tile you want so it’d be sad to see you settle for something else…. that being said, the middle one is very nice too, it gives you the colors that you liked, the the one on the right gives you your shape… tough one girl! Good luck with your choice!

  12. So which tile did you pick? Cause I still like the hex tile best. The middle is fab, but looks a bit like a “before” tile. More retro, less classy vintage. The right is totally wrong for your vision.

  13. ugh, I hate special orders! And all the stuff I seem to pick out is special order…..I just don’t have the patience to wait! I tend to want our projects to be over quick and buy things way before we need it. Maybe I can help Ryan out.

  14. You’re not alone. My friend Karla has the same problem with her hubs. I have yet to experience this, as our renovation progesses at a snail’s pace.
    I like the tile on the left, but I think you should wait for the one you love. Tile is forever. Basically.

  15. you are right – the other two tile options are not as great as the first. 🙁 but doable if needed.

    my husband doesn’t have that kind of mind either. he usually buys me a birthday present on my birthday, anniversary present on our anniversary, etc. 🙂 of course, things always work out – i have no complaints about any of it! 🙂

  17. Kim! Your belly is wwaaaayyy cuter than mine. Trust me. 🙂 Looking good.

    Do you have a Tile Mart near you? That’s where we picked up our black & white hex tiles — we picked full sheets of white & just pieced in the black where we wanted them. I think they were something like $7/2 square feet? Good luck!

  19. Unfortunately, I think that whole “I need it tomorrow” thing is just a part of renovation – or at least we encountered the same issue. That stinks, though! I’m with the others, wait for the tile you love even though it might throw a kink in the plans. But whatever you decide to do, it will look fabulous! P.S. Are you doing a shower curtain for the shower? I’m excited to see how you’ll make that work with the slope!

  21. Oh dear. I definitely understand the timeline implications. And I know this isn’t your “forever” house, but you still want to make sure you get something you love. Or at least that you can learn to love. Good luck with the decision. And I’m totally sure it’ll be gorgeous no matter what you decide to do.