Renovation Weekend

By Kate Riley October 13, 2014

We’re on day three of four of work on the Las Vegas fixer on this long weekend. I’m moving from finishing up one space to demoing another. My back and arms ache from hours of lifting and pulling but those efforts mean that changes are happening, it’s thrilling and so worth it. 

One huge change we made on this most recent visit was the replacement of all the old aluminum windows with energy efficient glass and vinyl windows. Matt was the one who insisted it was the right thing to do to invest in new windows, and he was right! I’ll share more pictures and details on why we made that decision next week.

replacement windows

As I mentioned last week, we have plans to upgrade the master vanity zone so with some help, we pulled out everything but the vanity that we intend to salvage. Plan A is to build a taller base to repurpose the old one and raise it up to a more comfortable height and then add a new countertop, fixtures, and faucets. Plan B is to purchase a new vanity but I do hope to reuse the old one.

 master bath reno

I agonized about the backsplash because I fell in love with several expensive alternatives but when I went to Lowe’s in search of window treatments my little heart skipped a beat when I walked down the tile aisle and discovered a marble mosaic in a geometric pattern that was so much lower in price than the patterns I was eyeballing. 

lowes mosaic tile

I had to go to two different stores and separate sheets of tile out of 12 different boxes for consistency because I wanted the ones with more contrast (on the right) compared to the whiter versions (on the left) and each sheet was so very different but I think this will work nicely for what I have in mind for this 72" wide vanity space.

In the kitchen, we left the old oak cabinets in place for a few months and my "let’s salvage what we can" mind contemplated repurposing them but after much thought decided against it and instead we chose to gut the kitchen and start fresh.

old oak kitchen cabinets

The cabinets were 25 years old and not pretty on the inside and they crumbled as they came out piece by piece so after witnessing that we have no regrets pulling them out. 

Removing the cabinets revealed the speckled countertop and backsplash that was layered over the old wallpaper and ceramic tile countertop, and underneath it was a toxic adhesive glue mess so we replaced the sheetrock on that section in preparation for the new tile backsplash.

kitchen demo

The space is (almost) the perfect blank canvas, the only things that need to go are the florescent light and raised pony wall on the peninsula to allow for a counter height solid surface countertop.

We also need to patch the floor tile first before installing the new cabinets. I’ve already picked them out, the cabinets will be ordered next week and will arrive in November. As soon as I find the perfect backsplash I’ll share the design plans for this kitchen, it’s going to be so gorgeous when complete!

kitchen demo

 

I also wallpapered the upper portion of the downstairs bathroom above the new board and batten and hung the new gold chinoiserie mirror. It’s a fab combo, here’s a sneak peek, can’t wait to share the space !

gold mirror and wallpaper

We also installed a few new light fixtures and I finished painting a hand me down dresser we will be using in the master. I’ll be back soon with more updates !

21 comments

  1. Would you please post a floor plan of this house? I’m having a hard time getting my bearings straight.
    Thanks

  2. Good to know I am not the only person who went to two Lowes, and dug through a dozen or more boxes of tile to find 15 sq ft, of stone mosaic tile for a shower floor. Even though the “charm” of the stone is to have holes or broken edges, I didnt want them and was also looking for consistent color. I think it was well worth the effort!…and the validation that I’m not crazy (or at least the ONLY crazy person who does that!)

  3. Ooh, so much getting done in here! Can’t wait to see the kitchen plans. I think that tile from Lowe’s is beautiful, it has caught my eye while perusing down the tile aisle before.

  4. You guys are fast and really have such good taste. This house is going to be beautiful.

  5. Love the mosaic graphic pattern. Perfect scale for the vanity backsplash. You will have to tell us where the gorgeous gold chinoiserie mirror is from!

  6. This is so exciting! I can’t wait to see all the updates! As always, your taste is impeccable and I love the Lowe’s options in the marble mosaic.

    ~ Maria

  7. Wow, I’m tired just reading all that you did over the weekend! It’s taken me almost two weeks to paint a hutch – boy, do I feel like a slug. ;)

    Your rental house is going to be just beautiful!

  8. I’m soooo excited to see what you do with that bathroom (especially the vanity)! It’s very similar to the bathroom I plan on updating in a few months.

  9. Love the wallpaper from the bathroom. Can you share the pattern and where you purchased it/price?

  10. Hey, so regarding the vanity: I know you mentioned earlier that you like floating vanities, and the one you removed from this bathroom looks like it could be edited to BE a floating vanity. Have you considered doing that?

  11. Love the tile from Lowe’s. The minute I saw it, I thought of the Talya Dolomite Skyline that was my favorite – reverse colors and different pattern but so much of that same rich luminesce – it should be beautiful!

    I was kind of surprised to hear about the poor quality of the kitchen cabinets because they looked nice and paintable – was thinking about our home in Arizona built in 1994 but so similar – however, our home was in Sun City West, a planned retirement community built by Del Webb, and even though they were whitewashed oak/pinky beige, they were solid wood all the way through and at 10 to 15 years old, in great shape. You weren’t so lucky so you did the very right thing to enjoy the house now and sell easily in a few years.

    Eager to see more.l

  12. We are going to install new windows, was wondering what brand you used, if you can say?

    Really like all the things you are doing!

    • Hi Sharon, we used Simonton through Home Depot, I’ll share more about the process next week!
      Kate

Leave a comment!

Keep the conversation going! Your email address will not be published.*

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Lately on Instagram (@centsationalstyle)