A Nip and a Tuck

We bought a nice house in the suburbs with plenty of room to spare, but when my dad came for a visit this weekend we stuffed him under the sink. True story.

Maybe I should start from the beginning.

There are several big projects to be done in our 80s master bath, but we still haven’t found the money tree in our backyard so a facelift was in order instead. Mike and I have limited plumbing and electrical experience, so we recruited my dad to help us out.

What we thought would be a relatively easy “swap this for that” with some minor electrical work instead turned into a full weekend project complete with six trips to Home Depot.

Thank goodness for my handyman dad! He really did spend most of the weekend under the sink. I appointed myself his able assistant – and in the process learned a lot about plumbing. Another DIY skill to add to my arsenal!

Let’s check out the before:

• Ugly countertops that once caused L.J. to ask why there were muddy streaks on the counter. (Another true story!)
• Mike’s sink was cracked and falling apart
• Mirror precariously hung on the wall and chipping at the bottom
• Ineffective Ikea light with a max output of 50 watts (?!?)
• Dated sink fixtures well past their prime

And the after:

• New white countertop sourced from the Habitat for Humanity Restore. Quite a find at only $40 and brand-new!
• New faucets
• New light fixture with a max output of 180 watts
• Mirror we already had

What a difference!! The counter brightens the whole bathroom and makes it look so clean and fresh. I can also now see to put on my makeup.

Our longer-term projects include new flooring, new tub, paint and trim work and repairing and centering the vanity. But I’m so happy with our facelift that I now don’t mind if the bigger projects have to wait awhile.

Before we go, let’s take a moment to look at some of the finer features our bathroom has (or once had) to offer:

Isn’t this wallpaper a beauty? Can you imagine having that throughout your entire bathroom, complete with forest green carpet?

Apparently 80s burgundy lost its charm and was replaced with an even more awesome 90s pale blue stripe:

Not pictured but obvious, the carpet. Who in their right mind would ever put carpet in a bathroom???

And for our grand finale, the bathtub. Also installed in the 90s by someone still deluded by the 80s preoccupation with size. You could legitimately bathe a pony in this thing. I can’t wait to take a sledgehammer to it.