we bought a house – Page 4 – emerald city diaries

old turned new {an update to our bathroom vanity}.

to start out, i want to give a HUGE shout-out to aaron, my dad, & our friend rhett for making this project work. it wouldn’t have come together so well without all of them, so thank you, thank you, thank you!

as most of you know, we have been itching to get a vanity of some kind into our bathroom since day one. the sink hanging from the wall was just not cutting it as it gave us approximately 2 inches of “counter space” on either side of the sink. given the age of our house, it felt wrong to just buy a brand-new vanity so we i decided we should find an antique piece to convert.

{my favorite bathroom pin via pinterest}

it took a few weeks to scour craigslist in search of the perfect antique piece. at first i searched for dressers, but then switched to sideboards when i decided i would rather have doors than drawers for storage. we were obviously limited in the space we had which was a bit of a challenge when searching for a sideboard, but i also wanted a good wood color as i planned on leaving the wood {& not painting}.

this isn’t really a diy post {even though it was diy’d} as the project was done based specifically on this antique piece & there wasn’t step-by-step photography taken. however, i can give you the general idea of what was done.

supplies:

antique hutch/sideboard/dresser – we found ours on craigslist
countertop with undermount sink {or sink to mount on top} – we found ours at lowe’s* {i can’t find it online, but the brand was allen+roth}
faucet – we found ours on overstock.com {it looks identical to this one from pottery barn}
wood glue, drill, scrap wood pieces, plumbing {p-trap, etc.}

*when we went shopping for countertops to fit over our 19 w x 47 l x 36 h sideboard we immediately assumed that in order to get a top that would have a one inch overhang on all three sides, we would have to custom order something. so we spent a lot of time with the good folks at both home depot & lowe’s pricing out different options for a countertop in everything from marble to granite to hi-mac {which is LG’s new composite product}. we were ready to pull the trigger & spend $700 on a custom white quartz countertop from lowe’s. we went over to price out/buy an undermount sink when we discovered a pre-made quartz countertop with an undermount sink that was one inch bigger than what we were looking for. it wasn’t pure white, but it was only $230! one guess on which one we chose…

before i get into pictures of the process, let’s take a look at the bathroom when we first bought the house.

a few months later, we added a few updates as seen here. the light fixture update here. and then we did the paint update on the bead board & walls.

we also did a fixture update, so here are the original fixtures in the bathroom. none of them were really awful but we didn’t really like any of them & took the opportunity to give them an update as well.

{double towel bar & tp holder // hand towel hooks & glass holder}

aaron started by un-attaching the plumbing & taking the sink off the wall {it was mounted by two all brackets}. then aaron & my dad moved the sideboard up into the space. originally we all thought there would need to be a hole cut to accommodate the undermount sink, but they found out that the top piece was easily removed.

next they placed the countertop onto to sideboard to determine how best to anchor the countertop to the sideboard & the sideboard to the wall, as well as how to stabilize the sideboard in the back.

once the sideboard & countertop were completed {which took an entire weekend!} it was time to re-work the front drawers to accommodate the undermount sink. aaron & my dad took apart one-half of the drawer & rebuilt the inside edge to basically go around the sink. we ended up losing only one-third of the drawer space! {sidenote: we don’t have pictures of the drawers & will update soon!}

& the reveal of our new bathroom vanity! the other bathroom fixtures {tp holder, towel hooks, hand towel ring} are all from the pottery barn mercer collection.

isn’t it lovely? i am still amazed that they were able to take the basic idea of converting an antique piece & coming up with this!

it is big, well huge considering what we started with, & for some may seem too big. it is also tall standing at 37 inches. {we could have done shorter by chopping off the legs, but we wanted to be able to clean under the piece, & perhaps add storage baskets. also, my mom & dad’s house has tall counters in all of the bathrooms so that is what i grew up with.} despite the large contrast in size from before to after, we are really happy with the piece, the counterspace, & the storage. it is exactly what we wanted.

we are loving the color of the piece & are so glad we didn’t/don’t have to paint it. the richness of the wood is great in contrast to the bright white of the counter & bead board as well as the dark wall color – don’t you think? it just needs a little oil, some storage organizers underneath & we are good to go. {sidenote: we plan on also updating the toilet & bath to be white, but are still saving up! also we plan on taking out the old medicine cabinet & replacing it with a big mirror. we are undecided on the glass shelves.}

what do you think about converting antiques into bathroom vanities {or kitchen islands or entertainment centers}?

my weekend in pictures.

{my building’s cafeteria closed but there is always a food truck around. i got to enjoy a yummy meal while enjoying the sunshine!}

{hung out in post alley at pike place market on friday to celebrate my friend miriam’s birthday.}

{we saw an improv comedy show the pretty wonderful club. it was based on the john hughes 80’s high school movies. so fun!}

{yes, that is a gum wall behind me. post alley is filled with gum. it is a disgusting tradition, but you pretty much have to participate if you are there.}

{sadie & i patiently waited outside for aaron to get us lattes on saturday morning.}

{when it is sunny outside, which it was ALL weekend!, everyone in seattle washes their car. including us.}

{we went “car shopping” this weekend just to look & ended up buying a new car. this is the final picture of us with jez, our old jetta. bye bye jez, it was a great 9 years!}

{bluetooth in cars is awesome!}

{got a new coffee table book by the one & only kate spade, my fav. can’t wait to flip thru it for some inspiration!}

{happy easter sadie! yes, that dog toy has bunny ears.}

{good morning new jetta sportswagen! i haven’t had it long enough to give it an official name – any suggestions? we are thinking something german perhaps. what, you don’t name your cars?}

{making sure the new bathroom hardware is level.}

{had to paint a few touchup spots on the bathroom walls where old hardware came down. i think our latest bathroom project is nearly finished & i am hoping to be able to share it later in the week!}

we had a wonderfully sunny weekend, busy but fun. our weather was spectacular, especially for seattle in the early spring, & we were even wearing shorts to work around the house & in the yard this afternoon. we often get a burst of very early spring weather that gets everyone a little hopeful (& nervous for a very hot summer) but inevitably we will be back to normal cool spring weather. also, we accidently bought a car this weekend. i say accidently because we were really just going to look at cars on saturday. it was our first day out looking & there were a few types & models that were in the running, but next thing you know, we were buying a new jetta. we opted for the sportswagen because, you know, we could use the space for the constant lowe’s & home depot runs/sadie/future babes/etc. but the real reason why we bought the sportswagen was because of the full sunroof which is amazing! we had a great easter weekend – how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{on the second day of spring we got snow after not getting snow the entire winter. #crazyseattlespringweather}

{aaron, my dad, & our friend rhett were working on a house project. it may or may not have been something in the bathroom.}

{my mom helped with some tending to the yard including planting these beauts around our front tree!}

{happy birthday mom!}

{there is nothing like fresh eggs. even for $7 a dozen. chicken ownership, here we come!}

{my mom & i went to the best of the northwest art show at pier 91. she bought the cutest mouse sculpture that i failed to get a picture of. #badblogger}

{i finally pulled the trigger on some fabric for an upcoming diy project.}

{obviously} my mom & dad were in town this weekend. they were gracious enough to help us out with some work & projects around the house. we started with snow on friday, but saturday, sunday, & even today are beautiful sunny days {though not to be confused with warm!}. how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{my grandmother insists on dessert after dinner!}

{deep into our family favorite card game spite & malice.}

{love that we can turn on our heat on our way home. #nest}

{yep, when the bridges go up, traffic stops. even if you are in a hurry.}

{we did a little shopping on sunday afternoon. even though he won’t ever see this blog a huge shoutout to the nice man at ann taylor who was gushing over today’s ensemble – it so made my month. #bestfeelingever #ootd}

{ballots for the oscars!}

{we watched the pre-show – my fav! – the awards & the start of the after-show. #toomuchoscars #gladtheawardseasonisover #worstoscarsever}

my mom is visiting this weekend so there wasn’t much in the way of house projects done, but we did have a lot of fun! even without a visitor in town the weekends seem so jam-packed. by the time i get to everything i have been waiting to do on the weekends, it is sunday night, late, & i am so exhausted. i guess that is the fun part, right? how was your weekend?

we bought an island {kitchen update}.

our kitchen has an “L” shaped{ish} counter so when we moved in last spring with two kitchen tables, one went in the dining room & one went in the kitchen. it was nice to have two big surfaces in the house as one typically acted as our eating area while the other acted as a crafting/project space. but, it did seem weird to have two kitchen tables in our small, little house, so we i have been on the hunt for a kitchen island for the past few months.

{the kitchen right after it was updated.}

i was randomly searching on craigslist a few weeks ago when i found a simple kitchen island that seemed to fit ~~our~~ my wishlist: butcher block top, counter height, and allows for stools. we called the seller to ask if it was still available & we were confident enough in it to borrow a friend’s truck {thanks colin!} & drive almost an hour north to look at it.

well, needless to say we ended up buying it & hauling it home. once aaron tightened up the legs, it was ready to go! we are really happy with the piece & while it is not perfect {yet} it is really nice to have extra counter space.

we are content with the island for now, but do have plans to remove the shelf {it is right at sadie-height so not much can be stored there}, sand the glossy finish off the top, paint the legs, & add stools. it shouldn’t be too big of a project after tackling all of the kitchen cabinets last spring, but i think we will wait until it is warm enough to just move it out to the deck to do the work – rather than move it down to the basement – so basically anytime after july 4th! {for those of you not familiar with the quirky seattle weather, we basically don’t get summer weather – read: hot – until after the 4th of july.}

do you have an island or an eating area in your kitchen or both?

valentine’s day diy: xo wreath.

less than a week until the big day! this second project {see my diy heart elbow patches here} is super festive & even if i don’t get to see it inside the house, it is fun to be greeted with when we get home from work.

{original pinterest link – valentine’s day decor}

there wasn’t a tutorial for this pinterest project as the original link leads back to an etsy shop. at first i considered just buying this wreath {like i ended up doing with this year’s christmas wreath} but for a $90 price tag, i figured i could give it a try myself.

supplies:

round wreath – i used a grapevine wreath
two straight bundles– i used a grapevine wreath {these are in the same section as wreaths at michael’s}
wide ribbon – i used white wired ribbon
faux berries – i found 6 foot garlands of pink & white {if you wanted red berries, you may want to get some right after christmas on sale}
hot glue gun & glue sticks
garden hand clippers & hedge lopper {for the bigger branches}
scissors

i didn’t need to do anything with the “o” wreath to prep it, so i just set it aside to work on the “x” wreath. the two long bundles were already bound together in the middle, so i just placed them in an x & secured it with very thin wire. once the x was made, i set it on top of the o to determine how much i would have to cut the ends down.

i started trimming the thin pieces with hand garden clippers, but had to break out the hedge loppers to get the big pieces cut. i tried to make the ends pretty even, but didn’t want them to be perfectly straight.

to attach the x & o together {so the x would hang above the o}, i used invisible cord that we have to hang pictures from the picture rail. we strung cord on the backside of the x thru the wire used to hold the x together & looped it to thru a small metal ring on the o wreath that was used to attach the price tag {sorry the picture below is so bad, the camera had trouble focusing on the cord}. we left just enough space between the wreaths for them to hang without hitting each other.

adding the berries was a bit more messy & different that i had anticipated, but in the end it worked out. because i couldn’t find branches that already had berries attached, i had to buy the branches & add the berries myself. i was able to find 6 foot garlands of berries with ivy at michael’s on sale for 60% off {honestly, if these were full price, i wouldn’t have likely used them}. though both of these garlands had a main color – pink & white – they also had green berries sprinkled in which added a bit of spring-y-ness to them. {also, these are foam berries which probably aren’t supposed to be used outside, but our front door is pretty protected from moisture.}

i basically dismantled these garlands, ripping off the floral tape that was holding the berry bunches & ivy leaves together. once i had just the berry bunch i wanted, i trimmed the wire end down & stuck it into the wreath. once i had arranged the bunches on the wreath {all facing the same way even around the o wreath}, i hot glued them down. i did the x in pink & then the o in white.

to add the hanging ribbon, i looped the ribbon thru the wire holding the x together {you can see the invisible cord attaching the wreaths together there} & then tied the ends in a bow at the top.

do you have any outdoor valentine’s day decorations like a front-door wreath?

diy campaign dressers.

it probably isn’t a surprise that when aaron asked me what i wanted for christmas that i asked for supplies for a diy project. seems like diys & stuff for the house tops the wish list these days. while there are a few lots of things that i am eyeing or wanting to do for the house, i decided that i needed to upgrade my dresser.

if you don’t recall, this was my dresser.

there wasn’t anything particularly wrong with it & it functioned well. however, i don’t find it very aesthetically pleasing & it was way too tall for me {i had to jump to see my jewelry!}. so, when deciding what i wanted to replace the dresser, i focused on maintaining functionality & height {or lack thereof}.

naturally, i found a diy on pinterest a few months back that immediately caught my attention.

{original pinterest link – DIY: Campaign Chest}

i basically followed this tutorial, but changed the dresser base & the handles {more about that in a bit}.

supplies {for one dresser}:

ikea tarva dresser
three Campaign hardware drawer pulls {6197}
three sets of Brass corners
primer – i used Valspar Bonding Primer
paint – i used Valspar Almost Charcoal in High Gloss
Polycrylic finish – optional
drill
paint brush & smooth roller
Dremel with routing attachment

{sidenote: when we went to ikea to buy the dressers for this project, i was sure we were going to buy the rast dresser that was used in the tutorial. however, when we got to the dresser section of the store, we realized that the rast dresser is tiny {see how it compares to sadie} & could be used as maybe a nightstand or kid’s dresser. so, on the spot we had to punt & decided that the tarva dresser, which was also raw pine wood, would be a good alternative. it didn’t have quite the same lines as a “traditional” campaign dresser would with its top & legs, but we just went with it.}

i started by assembling the dresser & priming it.

i assembled the drawers. then aaron sketched out the back of the drawer hinge & hand-routed the drawer fronts {thank you husband!} so that the drawer pulls would lie flat. {sidenote: the tutorial uses campaign-style handles that lie flat against the drawer without routing. i couldn’t find these anywhere!}

i primed the drawer fronts & their edges, & then painted the dresser & drawers. i ended up painting three coats {mostly with roller but brush where the roller wouldn’t fit}. i really wanted these to be high, high gloss, but since i wasn’t willing to use oil-based paint i didn’t get the high, high gloss. we decided that since these dressers would get so much use & also to help boost the glossiness we should put on a coat of polycrylic. we were able to get a polycrylic {see the link above} in a gloss that was pretty low VOC. i followed the instructions & put on three thin coats.

after drying for just over 24 hours, we attached the hardware. this was a lot of work, but so worth it to see ikea dressers turn into pseudo-campaign dressers.

after the brass corners were placed & the handles were set, we were able to move them to their new home! {sidenote: there is a pretty big difference in color between the pictures above & the pictures below. i tried my best with my very limited knowledge of how to use the camera’s ISO & f-stop, but the grey color in the pictures above are the best representation of the color of the dressers.}

while these are pretty non-traditional looking campaign dressers, i am really happy with the result. now i just need to find the right mirror/art/jewelry hanging combination for the wall above the dressers – any suggestions?

what are you storing your clothes in – dresser, armoire, closet?

my weekend in pictures.

{after the electrician was here we had lots of fun unwrapping every. individual. piece of our new dining room light.}

{better late than never: 2013 let’s do this! i think this might be this year’s motto, at least to begin with.}

{sadie could be found here pretty much the entire weekend as we finally had some sun! #sunbather}

{nope, that’s not snow, it’s frost. it was so chilly that frost has been covering everything the last couple of days.}

{shopping for pipe wrenches. there were a lot of trips to the hardware store this weekend to fix our bathroom sink.}

{we had a quick date night at chipotle {in our finest cocktail attire} on saturday night.}

{happy engagement party dave & mary alice! we celebrated the engagement of good friends. we will both be in the wedding party for their fall wedding.}

{after a few setbacks aaron fixed our sink – hooray!}

i am just over a week into the flu & finally feeling better. week one had me down, but i am determined not to let week 2 keep me from being a person again. how was your weekend?

instagram @mishacslower // twitter @mishacslower // pinterest @mishacslower

the day we traded three lights for one.

i haven’t really kept it a secret that the light pendants in our dining room are not my favorite thing in the house {see here}. but, for what they were {a light source for one entire side of our large living space} we kept them without too much complaint.

however, when you are a house owner {or a grown-up or both} & santa asks you what you want for christmas, you immediately start listing domestic things: vacuum cleaner, towels, dish towels, etc. this year i asked santa {very nicely} for a new dining room light!

so i got it & its AMAZING! {there are pictures below, i promise – thanks santa!} we would have hung it right away, but since our current light fixtures were in a really funky place {in the center of the room, yep, the center!} we had to call our handy dandy electrician to come in & move some electrical for us.

after he was done you can see that there were three really nice holes left in our ceiling. it has been suggested that we install a few disco balls {via our dog walker} but i think we will attempt our first plaster patching. yep, that’s right, our ceilings are plaster – bless old homes & their lath & plaster. {thankfully all of our walls have been updated to dry wall, yes!} the good news though, we were told that plaster is easier to patch than dry wall – huzzah!

okay, enough with the rambling, here is our new dining room light. prepare yourself because she is a beaut!

gorgeous, no? it didn’t take me long to find this lovely light as i frequently peruse west elm {mostly online, but the store is lovely!} to see what home goodies i can’t live without. i have had this guy on my wishlist for months, waiting for the day when it would finally grace our dining room!

so there it is, the newest addition to our house. now, is anyone interested in three lovely pendants? i can get you a very good price!

have you updated any lights in your house recently?

instagram @mishacslower // twitter @mishacslower // pinterest @mishacslower

this is not a sponsored post. all opinions expressed are my own.

highlights of 2012.

{via}

happy 2013!

i love reading yearly highlights on other blogs & even though i try to keep up on the updates via this blog, there are hopefully a few fun things to share that you haven’t heard before. here’s the rundown of 2012:

january: i donated blood for the first {& last} time. we dined at emmer & rye in queen anne with my friend beth ann who was in town visiting. we survived snopocolypse 2012. the repairs on the jetta were finally completed from my rear-ending in november. sadie had surgery to get a small lump removed & have her teeth cleaned.

february: we took a trip to new england & managed to visit all six new england states. we spent a long weekend in boston. i celebrated my 27 {yikes!} birthday & valentine’s day with my love in manchester, new hampshire. we celebrated thanksgiving in february with my law school friends {this is a reoccurring event in which my friend miriam cooks up a big thanksgiving dinner at various times of the year}. we celebrated leap year!

march: my mom visited for a long weekend. i oversaw work to the townhouse {new venting for the dryer}. we house-hunted on the weekends with our realtor padraic. i started & completed all three books in the hunger games series. we saw the hunger games at the IMAX. we saw {& were disappointed by} king tut at the pacific science center {no tut, just his stuff}. aaron took a work trip to vegas. we made our first {& only} offer on a house. our offer was accepted!

april: we took a post-offer tour of our new house. we celebrated easter dinner with my grandmother. we showed the townhouse to potential new tenants. i co-hosted a baby shower for amanda. we packed up all of our belongings for the big move. we closed on our house after signing lots of paperwork & handing over a very large check. we moved.

may: we were rear-ended {this better not become an annual event}. my mom & dad visited for a long weekend & helped with some house projects. we celebrated my grandmother’s 90th birthday! we celebrated aaron’s 29th birthday! i took on my first pro bono case with VAIJ. we hosted a small dinner party with old idaho friends kami, travis, & their adorable daughter olive. we spent a night on the town in bellevue at aaron’s organization’s ship party with lots of aaron’s co-workers.

june: we saw dia frampton in concert at chop suey. we hosted a small dinner party with my law school friend marcus, his then-fiancée katy, & their beagle maggie. padraic & his partner justin threw us an awesome housewarming party! we ventured down to alabama for andy & hailey’s wedding. i had lots of phone interviews.

july: we attended herschel’s first birthday party {the son of one of my law school friends}. we celebrated the fourth of july! i started going to fitness classes with my neighbor leanne at community fitness. we hosted a small dinner party with andy & hailey, just back from their honeymoon! we attended thanksgiving in july at miriam’s. sadie & i drove down to idaho. i got my haircut & had drinks with my CBC {high school} girlfriends. we loaded up the car & took a roadtrip {sadie included} to stevenson, wa for marcus & katy’s wedding. we saw the dark knight rises at the IMAX.

august: we celebrated our second wedding anniversary with a picnic dinner at greenlake! we attended our first neighborhood potluck & met lots of our neighbors. we joined a summer bocce ball league with ben & sarah. i did yoga in the park with our neighbors – the friends – & tens of other people. i shopped & noshed with my friend ashley who was in town on a work trip. we attended the pratt’s housewarming party {a couple i met & befriend while i was in americorps}. we attended padraic’s wig birthday party. i met my pro bono client. i was offered a position doing media license management & started working. my bff carlie came into town – our first house guest! we attended a moroccan dinner feast at ben & sarah’s house. aaron’s parents visited seattle for a week.

september: we attended a final farewell summer bbq. we visited indiana to see family & surprise meg at her baby shower. we attended a colts game with our friends colt & erin. we celebrated sadie’s eighth birthday!

october: we visited peru & got to hike around one of the new seven wonders of the world machu picchu. my mom & sister anya visited for a long weekend. my friend meg was in town to visit! aaron made an unexpected trip back to indiana to attend his late grandmother’s service. we attended ghouls near greenlake, ben & sarah’s annual halloween bash, as a somecard. we celebrated halloween with our very first trick-or-treaters!

november: aaron attended a week-long conference for work & stayed downtown. i watched the election results while painting the bathroom trim & texting aaron updates. we hosted our first {vegetarian} thanksgiving. we spent the long holiday weekend working on the house.

december: we attended a housewarming party for amanda, george, & madeleine. we brunched with our neighbors – the friends – at the 5 spot in queen anne. my mom visited for a long weekend. i brought back a pinterest christmas & recruited some friends to join in on the fun. we celebrated the holiday season with six holiday parties with friends & co-workers. i won rookie of the year at work. we enjoyed a double-date night in bellevue with some newly engaged friends. we loaded up the car with presents & made the trek to idaho for the week of christmas. we celebrated christmas! we made it safely back to seattle only one day delayed. we plan to ring in the new year with friends & watch the space needle firework show.

reflecting back on this year, i am reminded how blessed we are & also how different this year has been than the year previous. it has been such a wonderful year & ringing in a new one is a bit bittersweet.

how was your 2012 – was it a year to remember or are you itching to start 2013 already?

see highlights of 2011 here.