home makeover part 1

I'm leaving for Ireland in five days.
Holy crap! I'm leaving for Ireland in five days!

I've done a fairly good job of keeping on track and not freaking out about everything that needs done. And getting plenty of sleep. I actually stayed in last night. Yep, a Friday night and I watched television and read blogs.

That said, I'm still running on a pretty tight schedule. I have a NUVO piece and two Broad Ripple Gazette columns to write. I'm working every day (including the day I fly out) before I go.

So, what did I decide to throw in to the mix? A bathroom make-over. It occurred to me that the ten days I'll be gone will be the perfect time to rip up the floor.

This is the lovely linoleum I've lived with for the last twelve years. It really didn't bother me that much - or I would have done something about it. I just covered it with rugs and only had parties in candlelight.

The lovely floor covering was never installed properly around the bathtub and has decades of bathroom ick around the edges.

The walls have this wallpaper and grey paint.

As you can see the wallpaper is not in good shape either.

The room is really small. Only 40 square feet (not including the tub). There is not a closet or any shelves, so it has been a really easy room to ignore.

There was a leak behind the toilet that was undiscovered for ages. The water dripped between the lovely linoleum and the floor boards, so I didn't realize it until the floor started to buckle.

If the ugly linoleum didn't swing me in to action, the thought of crashing through the floor when I was going potty did.

My house is a "double," there is the exact same floor plan mirrored on the other side. That bathroom is in much better shape and has the original tiles from when the house was built in the 1930s. I wanted to do my bathroom floor in patterned tile, but also considered fixing the floor boards and throwing down linoleum or cheap tiles.

The timing is not great, throwing a fancy party, trip to Ireland and oh, the mortgage. I can swing it, but I've done such a good job of not having any credit card debt that I was weighing the options.

I convinced my self to do it the way I wanted, plus I know myself. I'd lived with the other floor for twelve years, so I was not likely to change whatever I decided any time soon.

I did some research about tile patterns from that era and looked at the floor on the other side. The honey comb pattern, white with black was classic for the 1930s. Then I started pricing them- yikkes.

I send Valentine's Day invitations out like Christmas cards. I mailed out 150. In the card to my New Jersey landlord (1989-1995) I tucked in a note telling Joan that I was now a homeowner and landlord. I loved living in that apartment, above their house and I hoped would be as kind to my tenant as she was to me.

A wondrous gift appeared in my mail box last week. Joan sent me a very generous check! The card said she wanted to buy me a house warming gift. Isn't that just amazing? I'm getting all teary thinking about it.

Since I don't need much (40 square feet) I was able to purchase this great tile. I laid a few of the sheets on the floor and I've been standing on it and giggling for the last two days.

I'll pick out paint tomorrow. How fun will that be to come home to a shiny new bathroom?