The next project

The next project we're going to tackle is the half bath/main floor bath. Mike would love to replace the vanity, counter top and sink, but we may need to pace ourselves here. I'm not a big fan of the counter top myself and it would be nice if the counter was taller, but we do have a limited budget.

Mike used the logic that we should do a small slab of soapstone in here to see how we truly like it before investing in kitchen counter tops. Which makes sense, but my wallet has felt bruised lately. We'll see. If we can find a good deal on a remnant piece, I think I'm game. But then we'll probably want to replace the sink ...

So, for now, we'll do a phase one update:

• Remove wallpaper
• Prime and paint
• Update hardware
• Paint cabinet?

The wallpaper portion has been done in stages, the main event during our Super Bowl party.

Mike's been periodically removing the adhesive backing and plans to finish it by the end of the week, so we can prime this weekend and pic out some paint swatches. We've got a hardware set of brushed nickel from CostCo that we'll split between the half bath and upstairs bath (it's a 6 piece set, how many towel rods do you need?), and we can spray paint the cabinet pulls and light fixture until we decide whether or not to replace the entire vanity.

As a hold over, we have some options. Paint the vanity (white, gray, chocolate?) or gel stain it (as seen below).

I keep feeling green for the half bath, though we'll try some different swatches. I think something soft, like in the picture below, would be nice and play well against the hardwood. And there was green in the wallpaper before we ripped it off and it worked. The question is: Do we paint the trim or let it be? Decisions, decisions.