Bathroom Remodel

There comes a point in time when you realize that you’ve done it—you’ve accomplished your goal. Hot on the heals of my recent kitchen remodel, I put the finishing touches on the remodeling project of my bathroom and just like that, I reached the conclusion of a decade’s worth of home improvement projects on my condo.

In the midst of my kitchen project, I coordinated my efforts with the upgrade vision I had for the bathroom. The vanity was a tired, 30 year-old contractor special that was accompanied by a Boy Scout-built pine box vanity light. The floor had been upgraded to Pergo shortly before I bought the condo, but I was never much of a fan of the wood tone. On the plus side, the toilet, tub, and shower all functioned beautifully and looked just fine to me in their timeless white ceramic color. So while I was ordering the kitchen cabinets, I tacked on a matching vanity with a comfortable 36” height that would no longer make me feel like I was at a sink in a kindergarten bathroom. And with a granite countertop order underway, it was trivial to add matching granite to the vanity, and I decided to add a little modern flare and extra handwashing space with a rectangular undermount sink. In keeping with the contemporary brushed nickel motif throughout the condo, I added a beautiful 8 inch widespread faucet and new vanity light fixture. The demolition of the old vanity happened back in the middle of December which also resulted in the destruction of the old wall-mounted mirror. So when I installed the new vanity, I mounted a new wall mirror and cut a large hole in the drywall and studs for a flush-mount medicine cabinet. The combination of the new fixtures in the vanity space has really transformed the little place where I brush my teeth twice a day and has certainly added value to the condo.

After two disruptive months of construction, I stepped away from my home improvement projects and spent some quality time skiing in the Colorado high country and staying true to my goal of having friends over for dinners in the new kitchen. Still, I knew that I was not quite at the finish line. The Pergo floor still irked me, and I longed for a heated tile floor to complement the one I installed in the kitchen 6 years ago. But I also remembered the challenges I faced when installing the kitchen tile. Rather than procrastinating any more on an inevitable project or getting in over my head, I practiced some humility and maturity by asking for help from my friend and contractor, Matt. Two weeks ago, he showed up early in the morning and within 5 hours, I had a beautifully laid tile floor with thermostatically controlled heating. With each glance at the level, evenly spaced tiles, I remember over and over again that I made the right choice by asking for Matt’s help. After another week of occasional effort, I had grouted and sealed the tile and installed the new baseboard and brushed nickel towel racks. And that’s when it dawned on me, my condo renovation projects were complete!

It has been simultaneously frustrating and rewarding to remodel my condo, but more than anything, it is simply something that I have done. I didn’t just talk about doing a whole bunch of work, I did it. It is so very easy to consider things and talk about things, but to actually do something, that is what I think really counts.

Now that this massive condo renovation project is complete, I realize that I have a great new opportunity to pursue other goals that were lower priority but more interesting. After I finish writing this, I am planning to begin a significant long-term migration and improvement of my website to the web-standard Wordpress platform. That will be an ongoing effort, so I will also get back to achieving autonomous aerial flight with my quadcopter, and if that weren’t geeky enough, I absolutely can’t wait to see how I can incorporate Arduino microcontrollers to completely tech-out my Westfalia van!

Below are a sampling of Before and After photos from the remodeling project. I apologize if it is difficult to see the improvements I made to the bathroom; it’s very difficult to take photos of such a small, cramped space.

Click here to open the Before and After photo album in its own window

Kitchen Remodel

The thoughts we carry in our minds can be a blessing or a curse. When we cage them, our lives are filled with disappointment and an overwhelming sense of what could be. The thoughts must be set free and this can only be done by making them real.

In October of 2002, I toured a condo with a realtor and knew that it would be the first home I would own. During that tour, I viewed an opening between the kitchen and the dining room and was immediately filled with a vision. I saw the possibility of letting even more light pass between the rooms with new cabinetry and glass doors. I saw an extended countertop that would invite guests to sidle up with a glass of wine while the chef prepared dinner. And I saw my first and most ambitious remodeling project.

Years passed, and although I built an impressive wood working shop in my garage, the kitchen remodel remained a dream locked within the confines of my mind. Then in the winter of 2006 while recovering from knee surgery, I set about the ambitious task of designing and building my first kitchen cabinets. The project took several months of dedicated effort, but I had finally completed the goal I set 4 years earlier. Well, almost. The new cabinetry was a significant personal accomplishment and improvement over the original wall cabinets, but it only represented a fraction of the complete kitchen remodeling project. I told myself that I needed some time to rest and then I would get back to building the rest of the cabinets. And in the meantime, I decided that I wanted to build a whole new bank of cabinets for one of the kitchen walls. Months passed and my saws sat idle in the garage. The day after Thanksgiving, I tore into the kitchen. Actually, I tore up the floor and set about installing a heated tile floor to replace the Pergo. It may not have been cabinetry, but it was at least some sort of progress.

More years passed. Whitewater kayaking took a prominent role in my life. I bought a motorcycle. I sold the motorcyle and bought a VW Thing. I sold the VW Thing and bought a VW campervan. I installed a Ford Focus engine in the VW van. I installed a turbo charger on the Ford Focus engine in the VW van. And I kayaked—a lot. So it’s not that I was sitting around doing nothing, but all the while, my kitchen remained as it had been in 2006. And worst of all, the thoughts—the dreams—pinballed through my mind every time I stepped foot within the kitchen. Finally, finally, in October of 2012, the notion of the kitchen remodel re-entered the forefront of my thoughts. I spent hours at Home Depot with the kitchen consultant and came away with a very large estimate. And that estimate was just for materials and they weren’t even high-end materials. The cost seemed prohibitive and I debated whether the money would be better invested in my current condo or in savings for a future house. But ultimately, it became about something much greater than a financial investment. It became about the thoughts—the goals—the dreams that I had set for myself a decade earlier. I knew that I had to do it. I had to be true to myself and set the thoughts free. I had to make the goal into reality.

So on October 10th, I set the wheels in motion by ordering the rest of the kitchen cabinets from Home Depot. I had learned just how difficult and time consuming it is to build quality cabinetry and also realized that the difference in cost for build-to-spec cabinets was not that much greater than doing it myself. I also sprung for new stainless steel appliances and the luxury ticket item—granite countertops. I attempted to schedule the project to minimize the disruption in my life, but alas, both the cabinet delivery and countertop installation were delayed beyond the initial estimates. So for 2 months, I’ve been living in a state of semi-chaos. I washed dishes in my bathtub for 6 weeks. I ate microwavable dinners and fast food on a daily basis with almost no fresh vegetables. I worked almost every weekend and weeknight on the project. And now I can honestly, proudly say that my kitchen remodeling project is complete! The thoughts have been freed from my mind and they now live in solid form within my condo as my new kitchen. And with that, the curse has been transformed into a blessing.

Below are a sampling of Before and After photos from the remodeling project. I hope you enjoy perusing them and that I can have you over for dinner!

Click here to open the Before and After photo album in its own window

Also, if you are curious, I’ve posted some photos of the project while it was under construction.

Click here to open the Construction photo album in its own window

New Front Porch

Autumn seems to be drawing to a close in Colorado, and I am happy to have completely wrapped up the reconstruction of my front porch. This was yet another of my many New Year’s Resolutions for 2011 that I’m proud to have finished. As you see in the photo album, I replaced the worn out decking with beautiful redwood and opted for the heartwood which is all red for a very clean look. I finished it with a teak colored stain that blends well with the brown building colors, and I fastened the boards from below which results in a smooth top surface and extra protection against rot, since water doesn’t pool in each of the screw holes on the decking. The railings were also rotted, so I replaced them with durable redwood which was painted brown to conform with the condominium colors. As always, the project required much more energy and time than I expected, but I love the finished product.