Out With The Laminate

(Post Disclaimer:  My intention was to have this post posted last Saturday...I thought I did but it turns out it wasn't...was it me?  our crazy computer?  the wacky world wide web?  who knows...but, better late than never, eh?)

A few weeks ago at the end of this post I had y'all guessing about our next project.  Well, I'm here to tell you that it's going to be our master bathroom and that we officially started on it last weekend.  :)  Here's the plan:

~ Short-Term ~

-rip out the icky laminate tile and put in new, ceramic tile

-paint the walls Valspar's Smoked Oyster

-paint the cabinets white

-install new cabinet hardware

~ Long-Term ~

-add a little Hollywood glamour by adding a semi-homemade chandelier  :)

-replace the countertops (concrete?)

-stencil either the cabinet wall or all walls?

Last weekend we started by ripping out the laminate tile.  First, we had to remove all of the quarter round molding to be able to remove the laminate that was installed underneath it. 

Anthony started by sliding a razor blade along the top of the quarter round, where it meets the baseboard, to cut through the paint.  Then he wedged the end of a pry bar in between the baseboard and the quarter round and carefully pryed the quarter round loose.  These we set aside to be re-installed over the new tile.

Next up, ripping up the laminate tiles.  This is where it got a little sticky...quite literally.  Lucky for us though, all we had to do was get a hold of a corner of each tile and lift, causing each one to come right up.  We hadn't ripped out but a few tiles when we realized that whoever installed this tile installed it right over another layer of laminate flooring. 

Great.  More junk to rip up.

At this point we realized it would probably just be easier to get underneath the second layer of laminate and rip it up, with the top tile layer coming out right along with it.  So, we started at a corner of the room and began tugging when lo and behold...

...another layer of laminate!  That makes three layers for those of you counting!  :)  See?

For whatever reason, whoever installed the laminate layers was lazy found it too much work unneccesary to remove existing flooring before installing new. 

To make matters worse, the third layer of laminate was a pain to get up.  Anthony removed all he could by just lifting and pulling before he had to get back to studying so in I came with some music, the crowbar, a hammer, and my super woman strength to hammer, pry, lift, and pull.  Let me explain.  First, I had to find an edge, place the crowbar at said edge, and hammer the end of the crowbar until I was under the laminte piece I intended to remove.  (Side note:  using a scraper with a handle attached would make this job much easier, but we worked with what we had on hand.)

Then I stuffed the crowbar underneath the laminate, slowly prying and disconnecting it from the concrete floor. 

It came off in pieces so the cycle continued - find an edge, hammer, pry, lift, and remove - for about an hour until every scrap was out of sight and our bathroom looked like this:

It still looks like there are laminate remnants on the concrete but it's really just some glue residue which we can tile right over.  We hope to get the tile in within the next week.  We still have to pick up some mastic adhesive to attach the tiles to the floor and matching grout and then, unfortuntely, we're going to also have to remove the toilet to install the tile underneath it.  But, we've banked the experience of doing this before in our first home's basement bathroom so we can do it again.  :)

.           .           .

Between the loveseat and the master bathroom, we've got lots going on in this house and lots of updates to keep you posted!  For today, we're going to try to start tiling while wishing we were really at World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain with some beloved friends (not to mention Pope Benedict XVI!), taking in the beauty and enormity of the Church here on earth and relishing in Her truth. 

 Lord, bless all of those there and
set their hearts on fire with Your love
and incredible mercy, that they may
ignite the rest of a world
that is in desperate need of You. 

Setback City

I had fun in our backyard last weekend:

Subtract the plywood and sheet on the ground and you'd think I was rocking a vintage photo shoot.  :)  What I was really doing though was getting my white spray paint on.  Three thin and even coats and our beloved loveseat was ready to come back in.  In she came and at her we stared.  Something was wrong...dare I even say it...she was too white.  Never did I ever think I'd be one to say that but Anthony pointed it out and after trying to convince myself that it was okay, I finally agreed.  We wanted it white, but not stark white...blindingly white...and it's just not all white (that's for you Lauren).  But we didn't want it off-white or ivory either.  Oh the dilemmas of being a DIYer...

So, off to Wal-Mart I went to find a "creamy white".  I had already convinced myself that they only made white and ivory and I was going to end up having to hand paint the loveseat with some custom color when I found it!  Dove White for plastic...metal, wood, wicker, and more!  If you can tell the difference on a computer screen (they lie about color...keep reading), here's the original, stark white on the right and the new, dove white on the left:

So, from setback to happy ending, we're good in the paint department.  Now for our next setback...fabric.  I ordered fabric last week and it arrived this week.  You can see what I ordered by clicking here. I couldn't decide what I wanted so I ordered seven yards each of Crawford and Chuck (haha...that sounds funny) and a swatch of Bass.  It's free shipping here and back so I had nothing to lose.  :)  So, they arrived, I ripped open the box, and...wop, wop...they were too light (and to add to my disappointment, they sent me the wrong swatch).

The description on fabric.com said "natural" and the color on my screen looked like a taupe color but, like I learned, never trust your computer screen to give you an accurate color.

You can see just how light the fabric is in this picture:

Even though I love the pattern of the cut on the left, I can't use something this light.  I don't think the loveseat will ever be able to stand another reupholstering since it's been through several so I need the fabric I put on it to last through kids and grandkids...a.k.a. able to hide whatever life throws it's way without looking dingy after 10 years.  Is that an unreasonable request?  I hope not.

So anyway, those are our two loveseat setbacks...one happily solved and the other still lurking.  I'll let you know how it pans out.  For now, that's not all I've got for you on this beautiful Saturday.  Check back later today for another post about an "in progress" project we started last weekend.  :)

All White Then

 One tedious, get-in-all-the-cracks-curves-and-crevices coat...

and a second layer of the same, painstaking, priming labor...

gets us this beauty:

Isn't it just so fresh and lovely?!  After tomorrow, it'll be even more so as I take on the task of spray painting the actual top coat of white paint on.  :)

The best part is that none of the cracks are noticeable anymore!  They totally blend in and either disappear or just add a little teeny tiny character.  For example, remember this scary one?



Well, we reattached it by putting lots of Liquid Nails into the dowel holes and reinserting the dowels.  After that, we were left with some pretty large cracks still but after filling them in with wood filler (not to be confused, like I initially was, with wood putty, which doesn't dry to a hard finish),

 

allowing the filler to dry completely, sanding it down to a smooth finish, and priming over it, we got this:

Does the "Oh, oh it's magic, ya kno-o-ow" song pop into anyone's head like it does mine upon seeing the result?  Yes...no?  Well, all white then.  :)

Half 'N Half

Sorry to be a late poster...I try to post Saturday mornings but this Saturday got away from me.  :)  But, I do have loveseat progress to show you and it's worth the late wait!

Here's what I started with yesterday morning:

And here's what she looked like last night:

Yep!  I broke out the PRIMER!  Finally, the light at the end of the tunnel is visible!  I'm waiting on some wood filler to dry and then be sanded to a smooth finish before I prime the upper part of the loveseat so I only primed the bottom half but by the end of this week we should have an entirely white frame! 

I used oil-based primer to keep any stains from seeping through and also painted on two coats for more protection and, since I'm going to use spray paint as a top coat, to get a better, more even coat.  Plus, I'll use less spray paint over two layers of primer than I would with just one.  Like so...    

This is after one layer of primer:

And this is after a second layer:

Also, because of the intricate details in the wood, I used a little craft paint brush to prime.  

I didn't want any dripping that might've occurred had I used a larger paint brush.  It took a little more time but it was worth it for the smooth, even coverage. 

So, that's all I have time for today.  Last week I had a blast at a craft party with friends involving lots of fabric, scissors, crayons, and a hair dryer and I'll be sure to write about that hopefully sometime this week so check back!  Of course I'll be back next Saturday again for sure to document more loveseat progress.  :)

Have a great weekend!   

Calling In Reinforements

We're a few steps closer to having a cute, little, antique loveseat adorning our living room space!  Mind you, they're little steps that only took about 30 minutes to complete but it's progress.  Here's where we started:

As mentioned in a recent post, we decided to attached some burlap straps to the back of the loveseat for extra reinforcement.  It's probably not necessary since the loveseat's already pretty sturdy, especially since we brought in some Liquid Nails and added some strategically placed staples (which I'll get to in a minute), but it adds more peace to our minds.  So, back to the burlap straps, all we did was measure out three lengths of burlap strapping and attached each piece with staples to the back of the loveseat.

The bottom strap was the most important since it went all the way from the front of one arm rest to the other.

I know the middle strap looks a little wonky but it had to be that way...we realized that the straps wouldn't lay perfectly straight across because the back of the loveseat is so curved.  So to keep the middle strap flush with that curvature (?) and keep it tight, we had to raise it in the middle.  So, wa-lah, that's that, easy peasy.  Onto the tougher, more dirty...or should I say sticky...work that went on. 

If you read this post a few weeks ago, you know we had some unsightly cracks going on throughout the loveseat.  Well, after squeezing about half a tube of Liquid Nails into each crack and putting in some staples for extra hold, we're ready to move ahead!  Here's what I'm talking about (granted, it looks a little messy, but after we get wood filler in, sand it a teensy bit, and get paint on, you won't even notice):

  (Sorry the picture's a little blurry.)

While the glue was drying, I finally got to put my fabric ideas in motion and went out to a couple of good fabric stores around here to search for "the one".  I came home with two swatches and a little bit of frustration, but that's okay because I know that patience is needed when a budget is being followed and I will find fabric eventually.  :)  Here are the two swatches I came home with anyway:

A plain, taupe, upholstery fabric that cost just under $10 a yard and...

a fun, geometric, upholstery fabric that I love (cue the wop-wop), but that's $30 a yard!  :(  It's a no-can-do but I had to grab a swatch anyway so I could dream about it...and look for it online for cheaper...much, much cheaper.  I've already prepared myself for the fact that I probably won't find it but I'm thinking that it might make for a good ottoman fabric when we get around to building one for our sectional and by then, the (possible) decreased price paired with the fact that an ottoman doesn't take much fabric might just work.  :)  

So, with all of that said, I'm planning on breaking out the wood filler this week and quite possibly primer!  I can't believe we've come this far...even thought it's taken so long!  If you've missed any parts of this ludicrous project, you can read about them in order here, here, here, here, and here.

Now, before I sign off for the day, I can't help but clue you in to our next project...that's right, our next project.  They're always coming one-after-another in this house.  :)  Here's your clue:

Any guesses as to what we might be working on next?  It's going to involve a little sewing, lots of painting, a little bit of stenciling, and possibly, some metal...  It won't begin until after the loveseat's finished of course but it's going to be a good one!  Stay tuned!