Transformation Tuesday #43

Happy Transformation Tuesday! I have really been in the mood lately to clean and organize for some reason. I also really want to build some stuff in the garage! So hopefully I'll have some transformations of my own to post soon. I love seeing the transformations on Tuesdays--lots of inspiration :)

I have been trying to post fewer submissions each week so that I have something to post every Tuesday; rather than put all of the submissions in one post, I'm spacing them out. So if you sent me one and you don't see it yet, I will share it soon!

That said, I only have a couple transformations left in my inbox to use for next week, so please submit something to share--just send a before photo and an after photo to me at:  katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com. Include your name and a description of your transformation. I look forward to seeing some before and after photos!

Here are a few for this week...

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This isn’t terribly exciting but here is a before and after of my son’s toy room. He doesn’t actually play in there very often. Rather, he drags all of his toys out to the living room to play and when he’s done we just throw them back in there without necessarily putting them in their proper place. The other day he wanted to clean (don’t know where that came from!) so he and I spent about 30 minutes cleaning and organizing the space. Now it makes me so much happier each time I walk by!

- Beth, Minnesota

Beth, even though putting away clutter doesn't seem exciting, I know exactly what you mean about feeling happier when you walk by the room! It's amazing how much something that simple can affect our moods, isn't it?  -Katie

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I sewed by hand this cabin fabric 17 years ago when we bought a Mississippi river island cabin. I made these heron curtains to replace them. But I see I still need to make them wider. I was only concentrating on the length. We have so many herons on the slough so close to our cabin and this is perfect for our bedroom curtains.

- Karen

Karen, it looks so nice! I especially love how the daylight comes through enough to make the heron really stand out. They look perfect for a cabin on the river.  -Katie

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I FINALLY have a submission for Transformation Tuesday. I never thought this would be finished; it was so much harder than I expected. Whatever could go wrong, DID go wrong.

I had to paint the entire room 3 times before I got the color close to right. I just can't seem to be able to picture the color from the little card on the walls correctly. The cabinet is hand-built in place and VERY OLD so that was a shit show to redo.

Then of course the new towel bars had screws that were not the same distance apart as the ones that were there so after painting the walls I then had to rip out old anchors and patch a thousand holes. The counter and windowsill are marble so I had to use an appliance epoxy to refinish those, that actually was just time consuming but easy.

The tiles were pretty easy to do (except around the toilet and the cabinet that is unmovable) but the pattern wouldn’t line up perfectly even though they are all from the same company (even in the same box they didn’t match). The floor is also not exactly level so there is some issue there. I siliconed all seams but that didn't work as expected so then I had to remove it all.

All-in-all I am happy with the result but my inexpensive "long weekend project" became much more expensive and much longer. My ADHD did not help either: for example, I did the countertop but forgot the windowsill so it took 4 full days and not 2 due to the curing time, how many coats it needed, forgetting the wall under the unmovable cabinet, etc...

I can't say I will EVER do this again, I am very good at hiring people and should probably stick to that! That said, I am happy with how it came out.

- Gigi

Gigi, I am super impressed that you took this project on yourself! And I totally empathize with the "inexpensive long-weekend project" turning into, well, what feels like a nightmare at the time (ahem, epoxy). But you did an amazing job and now look how fresh and new your bathroom looks--and you did it yourself. (I love the tiles, by the way!)  -Katie

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Thanks so much for sharing your transformations! Please keep them coming :)