Random Things: Will this ever end??

Light fixture above medicine cabinet in bathroom from Lowe's

Drawer pulls in kitchen. Also from Lowe's.

Counter-height stool from Room & Board, Soho.  Dark Brown Leathaaaa.

Custom Made Shower Curtains

Forget about custom clothing, what everyone needs is a custom shower curtain...I am getting it shortened another 2.5 inches, but what a stately piece!  Thanks to Colette who hand makes shower curtains for those difficult-to-fit old tyme tubs/showers:

Colette Ringmeier

Pond Lily Shower Curtains

www.pondlilyshowercurtains.com

(920) 299-1620

Soapdish Ow! Soapdish Wow!

Soapdish 2

 

Hidden prize in kitchen



Towelie Bar

What is normally not an exciting thing becomes one when it's extra wide and was hand made out of mahogany!  I (or actually my contractor) present to you: The Towel Bar. 

Stay tuned for soap and shampoo dishes next...oooooo...ahhhhh.

One Giant Leap for Bathroom Kind

Marble-topped sink, all the way from...SECAUCUS, NJ!

Elvis' Chair

Bathtub / Shower Faucet

Holy shit I'm moving on Tuesday into half a construction site.  Good news is I have running water in the bathroom!

Bathroom: Coming Together, Over Me

Floor: Spaceship w/Lt. Gray Center

Shower/Bathtub Wall w/Pinstripe, pre-grout

TP Holder: In Wall

Humpty Dancin' Over the Bathroom

All in All: Black pinstripe tile is making my day

The last black T.P. holder at Nemo tile in the Flatiron

I may not use any other rooms in this apartment if the bathroom gets any better looking...

A Giant Leap for Floor Kind

The Spaceships Have Landed

A single grey tile will dot the inside of each spaceship.  And yes the one flung off to the back is on purpose.

Bathroom Flo': The Beginning

I think this is pretty self-explanatory: Black 4" border, white middle, black florettes.  And it looks like the tiles all fit (I wish I could say the same for the dark brown florettes in the kitchen tile floor, which now have to be recut down to size, ergo...4 week delay!).



Progress...Kind of Looks Like a Set from Silence of the Lambs...

The cement bathroom, followed by the living room du boxes.  Both rooms have been called "ahead of their time" by some.  But I think some are drunk. 

No, that's not the middle of Broadway...

...it's MY BATHROOM FLOOR

Renovation: The Awkward Period

Sconce #1: The Buried Treasure

The unveiling of the kitchen cabinets!

Shower Heed - higher and apparently through to the Living Room :O

Medusa on the Kitchen wall

So after removing all the old tile, part of the wall in the bathroom collapsed due to shoddy work back in XX decade.  There's a hole through the bathroom shower wall into the living room, and the living room is going to have to be respackled and painted.  There is shit in every room and it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  However the light at the beginning of the sconce lends hope.  None of these things were expected, but I'm not panicking. Maybe because the cabinets are HOT! 

My Bathroom? Or...

THE GATEWAY TO HELL!!!???

Apartment Reno: STAGE II

Hi y'all.  Yes, the process toward making the apartment a magical palace with a nod to the 1920's is taking longer than one would expect.  Except I was told to expect that.  So I guess it's expectedly unexpected.  So here are the likely candidates for tile, paint, countertops and cabinets...Can you guess which cabinet and countertop I am leaning toward?

Check 'em out:

Kitchen cabinet contenders: all cherry woods

Kitchen countertop contenders: Ceasarstone

Kitchen floor tile.  White tile from Nemo. Brown accent tile from American Restoration Tile.

Paint colors: Harmonious by BEHR for kitchen door; Antique Pearl for bedroom and Marilyn's Dress for bathroom by Benjamin Moore.

Black & white subway tile for bathroom all from Nemo.

AND SO IT BEGINS...1920s Restoration / Renovation Project Take 1

Before: Bathroom

And so it begins...this little effort is why my other shopping exploits have all but evaporated.  Here are a few photos recently taken of the apartment I am now officially allowed to rebuild, and make better than before.  Like the Six Million Dollar Man.  The goal is to save as much as possible...and do as little as possible...to bring this gem into the 21st Century, while maintaining its 1920's glow.  Interesting things such as NO ELECTRICAL OUTLETS IN THE BATHROOM make this a logistical challenge, but a quaint one at that.  Right now we are still in the waiting to exhale stage, but once we get our plans finalized and approved, the real work shall begin.  And so it goes.  

BEFORE: Bedroom, when still on market.

BEFORE: Front hall closet

BEFORE: Bathroom floor, after I cleaned it yesteray.  I think I'm going to try to save it!

BEFORE: Kitchen.  Scary stove - out.  Quaint cabinets, but they don't close so they got to go...

BEFORE: French door (love) heading into kitchen

BEFORE: Giant gas meter.  Giant refrigerator.  And look, another front door!

BEFORE: ...and...the Kitchen Sink.  Love.  Am restoring, keeping, and doing a jig around.

BEFORE: Living room windows. 

Martha Stewart is in My Bathroom

Now that I have moved back into my rent stabilized palace, I needed someone special to take care of my most damaged room: The Bathroom. So I called my friend Martha and she selflessly directed me to her Martha Stewart Everyday from Kmart line. Yes, I made fun of anyone who shopped at Kmart when I was a kid too, but discount and retail has come along way from the old days.

For Christmas, madre guerilla bought me Martha's shower curtain, liner, assorted towels and washcloths, matching wastebasket and bathroom rugs. This stuff is really quite nice and good quality too.

As you can see from the comparison photos above - those that are reminiscent of London WWII and those that Martha has most recently touched - I am well on my way to achieving bathroom zen.