Tiny Nursery, Part 1

About a month ago, Ma MJ came to town to help turn the former tiny office into a tiny nursery (Baby MJ is supposed to arrive just before Thanksgiving).  We painted, hung curtains, put together a crib, and generally got things in order.  It was a warm end to September here, so all our windows were open, our back porch was in use for relaxing, and lots of work got done.

Before Ma MJ arrived, we had to choose a paint color to replace the vivid coral (I loved this coral, and hope to use it again, but I didn't think it was restful enough for a bedroom).  We decided to use Benjamin Moore Natura, a VOC-free paint.  We narrowed our color choices to a couple of medium-dark blue-grays.  We chose the color on the right, Pike's Peak Gray, because of the way in complemented both the trim paint and ceiling/upper wall paint that was already present.

Once Ma MJ was here, we taped off the coral area, and then we primed.  Next, we primed some more.

After several coats of primer, we got to the new color.  The BM paint is lovely, goes on well, covers well, no smell, and is worth the $$.  Really nice to work with.  After two coats of Natura, here is our new Pike's Peak Gray room (upper wall and ceiling are still Behr Linen White).

The tiny nursery's tiny closet.  More on this space later.

I created some potato print curtains for the room (stay tuned for separate post), which we planned to hang along the length of the back wall.  This seemed to me to be the best way to deal with the variety of surfaces and openings here.  We used the Ikea Dignitet tension wire hardware to span the space.

Mr MJ making it look easy.  In reality, he was drilling into brick; the whole process took far longer than anticipated.

Two + hours later: not simple or easy, as it turned out, but worth it!

The next afternoon, Mr & Ma MJ assembled the crib (the ubiquitous Ikea Gulliver).  I minded the tools, sorted the hardware, and occasionally provided a 5th or 6th hand.

With the addition of a refurbished chest of drawers from Craig's List and a rag rug we already had, plus our week of work, we had a functional room!  It was still in need of finishing touches, one or two cute doodads, and maybe some artwork, but we knew if Baby MJ arrived early he would have a place to land.  Thanks Mom! (again)

Bathroom Boogaloo: Days 17 & 18, Eureka!

Monday and Tuesday of this week were Day 17 and 18, on which the professionals finished their work (nearly...they were back yesterday for trash collection).  And behold!  We have a working second bathroom:

Outside of the new room. To the left you can see the door to the small storage closet.
The lighted doorway leads into the bathroom itself.

Beautiful new toilet, sink, and light, now in their proper places.  The toilet is like the one in our existing bath.
How about that sink?

Laundry area, with sconces, new window, and vents for dryer and exhaust fan.

Shower stall, with open door.

Another view of the sink, light, and exhaust fan.

If you looked carefully at the photos, you may have noticed that the bathroom doesn't exactly look ready to use.  The basement around it is still a mess (floor needs to be cleaned and repainted, studio things moved back in). There are no towels or soap.  There's no mirror over the sink.  And there's nowhere to put anything.  All items that are on the agenda, starting right this minute!

Bathroom Boogaloo: Day 16

Day 16 has been a bit unusual, in that it is a Saturday.  The crew was here for a few hours to finish the tiling, install baseboards, and a few other things.

Finished tile, including marble shelf and threshold, in the shower stall (will be grouted on Monday).

Finished tile backsplash behind toilet and sink spots.

Washer and dryer in place!! And just in time, because our laundry is piling up.

The new bathroom from outside, looking towards the back door.  Baseboards have been installed.
 Looks like it was meant to be there, doesn't it?

Bathroom Boogaloo: Day 15

Day 15 was a kind of step forward, step back kind of day.  The main components—sink, P-trap, toilet, faucet, shower head, etc.—finally showed up, but they caused quite a bit of rethinking and redoing to happen.  The sink and P-trap were more adjustable in height than we had originally understood.  That's a good thing, because the sink (really meant to be a low-slung mop sink) can be placed at a more standard height on the wall.  However, this adjustment requires some other shifts elsewhere, namely in the tile on the wall.  Two more rows will be added.

Our big, beautiful utility sink.

The sink's special supportive P-trap, which has caused us much thinking and consternation at different points.

Some tile has to come off before more can go on.

Sconces above the laundry area are in; they match the 3-bulb vanity light.

Since the professionals are so close to being done, they plan to work a few hours tomorrow (Saturday) so that they will (fingers crossed) finish up on Monday.

Bathroom Boogaloo: Day 14

Day 14 was another day of waiting for some important components (sink, toilet, etc.) to show up.  Even though these things themselves don't take much time to install, they are important for figuring out spacing, finishing one wall in the shower, etc.  So, some odds and ends, painting, and more tiling, happened on this day.

Smart looking tile.  We went with an oversized subway tile; I think it's about 4"x8".

The tile chair rail ends here because the washer & dryer will go into this corner.  Seemed like overkill to take the tile behind them, never to be seen again.

On the morning of Day 15, the components arrived!  Having these items present, particularly the sink, has caused a few changes (wall tile needs to go up another couple of rows).  But, as the pictures above show, it's coming together.

Bathroom Boogaloo: Days 12 & 13

Full days of work have continued this week, despite some items being on the slow delivery boat.  However, the progress has been a bit hard to photograph, because of its nature (painting things white) and the current lack of light.  But here's a summary anyway.

Outside walls painted, tiling of shower stall and chair rail begun.

Subway tile in shower and on wall.

Wall around window and vents complete.

Painting done and shelving installed in storage closet (this closet opens into the rest of the basement and will replace the cruddy, left-behind armoire we were using for tool storage.  I'm looking forward to doing some super organizing in here!).

Bathroom Boogaloo: Day 11

Tiling began yesterday.  Now the bathroom proper and the shower stall (not pictured, but it has 2"x2" gray tile on its floor) both have a floor.  I couldn't walk on it last night, so pictures are limited.  These tiles are a medium gray and have a slightly rough surface texture, so they won't be slick or slippery.

We've also got a new, small window (that opens!) and the beginnings of proper, non-makeshift venting for our clothes dryer and future exhaust fan.

Tiling is continuing today. Rumor has it that that bathroom will be complete by the end of the week.  Time will tell!

Bathroom Boogaloo: Day 10

This past Friday was Day 10, and we got walls!

New bathroom from the outside -- a neat little box!

The shower, sorry about the fuzziness.

As you can see, the drywall-ing is nearly complete.  Tiling may begin as early as tomorrow (Day 11)!

Bathroom Boogaloo: Days 8 & 9

Hello readers, sorry for the lag time between posts!  While I've been not-posting, progress continues nonetheless.  And oh, plumbing inspection passed!

On Day 8, the hole got filled in, new electrical wires were run, and some framing was done.

The former hole!

Second, smaller hole for washer drainage. Now not a hole.

Electrical stuff.

More electrical stuff.

On Day 9, the shower stall and closet got framed out, and some drywall preparations were made.

Looking into the new room from outside.  The shower stall is right in front.

Inside looking out.  The white bucket marks the toilet's spot.  The two rods jutting out of the green wall are the supply lines for the sink.

The exterior wall got insulated.

I am writing this from Day 10.  I believe drywall is going up as I type.  I'm excited to see it this evening!

Bathroom Boogaloo: Days 6 & 7

On Day 6, the waste plumbing was completed and the space was framed out.  The new, rerouted supply lines were partially in place too.  On Day 7, after most of a day with the water turned off, the supply lines were in place and hooked up.  It was really nice to see the first indications of our future room taking shape.

Outside the new bathroom.

Inside the new bathroom, looking towards where the washer and dryer will go.

New water supply lines routed outside the space.

New connecting to old.

New washer hookups.

Now we wait for the plumbing inspection, coming up in a couple of days.

Bathroom Boogaloo, Day 5

Yesterday, Day 5, I was out of the house.  I came home to find more refined waste plumbing.  Drains for the sink and washer had been added.  The big pile of dirt had been moved too.

Overview

Big pile of dirt, now more neatly piled.

Detail of waste plumbing.  The line shooting up to the upper right corner of the picture is for the sink.  In the lower left, capped in blue, is the shower drain. The toilet is in the middle.

Waste line for washer.