So this just happened....

Once upon a time I wrote a book and it was an all encompassing, crazy, amazing ride that packed a year's worth of projects into a few months. My house was full of extra furniture from photo shoots and tools were strewn everywhere like chachkies.

After I made my deadline (two days early!) I thought "I should relax."

I tried that.

For two days.

It was hard.

Then I decided that I needed to put the house back together and shove some of the extra furniture I had accumulated into the basement (otherwise known as my future bedroom). I deep cleaned my poor kitchen that had functioned as a florist shop, woodworking shop, potting shed, and art studio. Then I started cleaning my bathroom.

And this happened.

 

I had one of those "If I have to dust this ledge one more time..." moments.

The beadboard has lived a good life. The previous owners put it up and I stained it shortly after moving in. The gel stain held up wonderfully but I was tired of cleaning all the groves and was ready for a new look.

So I ripped it carefully off. We have lathe and plaster so this is what it looked.

 

I would apologize for the ugly cell phone pics but who am I kidding. They would look gross even if I had used a nice camera.

I made sure all the nails and glue were removed from the walls and plastered over it.

I also ripped off the molding I added to the vanity years ago. I am going to strip it down and stain it. I am also going to strip the paint off the window molding and baseboards since there are 70+ years of paint layers and you can tell. I will repaint them after I get the inch thick old paint off of them.

After the joint compound dried, I sanded it smooth so it matched the finish on the upper walls.

I moved the bathroom stuff out first....

I was in the middle of sanding when Shane came home. He raised his eyebrows and said "Wow." And that was it. Bless him. Someone really needs to give him a medal.

If you remember the up bath saga at all you will recall that almost 3 years ago we had to rip out some tile and fix some pipes and water damage. We have not had the money to replace all the wall tile, the tub, and the floor tile, so we have not had a tub for that whole time. I had to hurry and finish the down bathroom so we could have a place to shower.

 

I still don't have the budget for this bathroom project but I am going to try the whole Field of Dreams thing and say "If I demo it, the funds will come."

And then I will pray while my eyes, fingers and toes are all crossed. And maybe toss a few pennies in a fountain for good luck.

For now I will finish painting the bathroom since I can afford paint. I will work out the rest later. But I have a four year old who doesn't even remember playing in the tub and that makes me feel sad. So this just got moved up the priority list.

At least until I demo something else.....

So much for relaxing!

Have you ever spontaneously demolished something? Or started a big DIY project on a whim? Please say yes. Then I will be validated and I will know we were meant to be DIY besties :) I would love to hear your stories!!!