Well, I don’t know if a week has ever gone so quickly, but here we are, at week 2. I want to first start by giving you all a progress update, and then talk about what our plans are for the coming weeks. I started to get pretty stressed out this week with all of the things I need to do swirling around in my head, so decided it was time to make a list, and get everything down on paper. That always seems to make things feel more manageable.
In terms of progress, we had some major advances. The tile went down *mostly* without incident. There was a minor setback when the grout we selected (which was actually the one used in the sample tile board at the store) turned out way darker than we were expecting. All you could see was the grid pattern the grout created, and it completely drew your eye away from the actual tile itself. Rookie mistake, I didn’t get a great photo of the bad grout because I was so offended by it–I had to take it out as quickly as possible;). But the photo below actually provides a pretty good visual. If you just imagine the un-grouted space in the foreground is the dark grout, you can really see the contrast with how much better the tile in the background looks without all the grout lines showing. So after a quick run with the grout blade of a multi-tool, we got the dark grey up, put the light grey down, and it was able to set while we built our cabinets in the main basement area, next to the laundry room.
One of the interesting quirks of this project is that we wanted the cabinets on the fridge wall to line up with the bulkhead above, so we had to build out the back wall slightly with 2x4s. Then we drilled the wood pieces into studs, and secured the cabinets directly to that.
Making some good head way, we now have a space for our giant packages of paper towels, and our kids immediately claimed several of those pull out drawers for their toys and games. Which we happily obliged to, since they aren’t typically ones to put away anything they play with.
Cabinets going up on the sink and laundry side of the room. And yes, we did forget to add the Bodbyn panel to the side of the tall cabinet (insert head smack emoji), so we will be remedying that this week.
The beautiful Rejuvenation light fixture was installed by our electrician, so that is the one decor piece that has gone in, and it is giving me hope that the rest of the space may indeed one day live up to its full potential.
And believe it or not, we were able to get a couple of cabinet doors up on the fridge side of the room.We still need to trim them out and add hardware, but just adding the doors made a pretty big difference to the room.
So while it feels like we got a heck of a lot accomplished, there is still so. much. to do. So the plan for the next four weeks is to complete the remaining items on this list. I am feeling pretty hopeful that it is going to be manageable but ask me again in two weeks if I’m still feeling as confident, haha!!
Install tile and groutBuild and hang cabinetsAdd doorsand drawer frontsHang light fixture- Add trim pieces, and paint them to match the Ikea Bodbyn color
- Install hardware
- Build/trim/paint a plywood frame to go around the washer and dryer
- Cut the butcher block countertops to size, and make an opening for the sink
- Install the sink and facuet
- Hang wallpaper
- Tile a backsplash above the sink countertop
- Hang planters from the ceiling above the sink countertop
- frame out the windows
- Install hanging bar for clothes to dry on
- Paint duct work to match wall color
- Purchase a stool or chair for the “work” area
- Hang pocket door and install door jamb/trim
- Install baseboards
- Roll out the rug and admire the finished space;)
And as usual, don’t forget to check out the other guest participants over at the One Room Challenge Blog, and below are all of the featured designers.
At Home With Ashley | Casey Keasler | Dorsey Designs | The Farmhouse Project | Home Made by Carmona | House of Funk | House of Jade Interiors | House Seven Design | House That Lars Built | Inspired by Charm | Jana Bek | Jessica Brigham | Kelly Golightly | Murphy Deesign | The Pink Pagoda | Sarah Gunn | Sherry Hart Designs | Sugar & Cloth | Veronica Solomon | Vintage Revivals | Media BH&G | TM by ORC
