How we found, destroyed(!) & rebuilt our first home

OMG WE HAVE A SHOWER

HELLO PEOPLE. Fall is nearly here (i hope) and I couldn’t be happier watching my shoddy curtains whirl about at night from the wind. Are you loving it, too?

Do you want to know why I am ESPECIALLY LURVIN IT? Because I don’t have to shower outside anymore! Yes, can you believe this? I still can’t. Just over two months of showering outback with frigid hose water has never made me appreciate a warm shower more. And just in time for the changing weather, too, as we officially took our first INDOOR shower September 4th. It’s been smooth sailing since. 

I’m holding out on pics, but bear with me. My hair is shining will delight (OK, it’s still pretty messy but whatev) and my legs are once again smooth (seriously, I wish shaving hadn’t been so difficult all damn summer long AKA leg showing season!).

We left the bathroom off like this:

(BACK)

(FRONT)

And let’s not forget our glorious outdoor shower:

And a sneak peak inside:

The day I came home from work and saw what Drew did with all our scrap wood, I was over the moon. This shower exceeded any expectations I had. I mean, it even smelled all dreamy from all the cedar. But like, a month in, it lost its sweet smell, started clogging the outdoor drain (which it was placed over), had spiderwebs hanging in all corners (probably one nestled snuggly within my bath sponge), and slugs just slurping around the floor, which I tried not to step on or even ever touch.

There is one weird thing about the shower. It somehow, SOMETIMES, was warm! Not like the warm shower YOU probably took today, but warm for outdoor-hose-water shower. I was stupified over and thought it was someone looking down and smiling on us. Drew thought it was perhaps from the water being warm underground from the thick city summer heat. Who knows. But it was these days I was able to wash my hair- AND CONDITION! Shaving still was pretty unbearable and mostly took place here-

Drew started to do the shower himself, a bundle of nerves and after extreme research. We planned to tile it all around, including the floor. It would have been a lot easier to just use a shower insert or shower pan (for the floor), but after being so meticulous about all the details leading up to this, we just couldn’t bear the shortcut (even though it would have been pretty smart- and much faster!). 

He did several pre-tile layers in the shower, never feeling quite confident about any of it. He also began refinishing the wood floors at the same time, also feeling unsure. And stressed. And pressured. 

We’ve been pretty pleased with everything we’ve accomplished in the house, but this just wasn’t panning out. The floor was MEH at best. The tar stunk like rotten cheese. And the shower lingered like this for about two weeks, as we worried over what to do next.

AND THEN WE WAVED THE WHITE FLAG. 

We bought this house in December. This happened in the beginning of August, EIGHT months later. Tiresome is a word that comes to mind. Patience had dwindled and we started to feel like some of these mega-projects (shower, flooring) would never get done. And so, we called/begged/screamed for help. Enter Schlichter.

This is a tile & marble company from Bucks County that does PHENOMENAL work. We were really lucky they were able to squeeze us in between doing million dollar tile jobs. Drew’s known them since childhood, and man, it’s good to have friends.

(I just want to note, this wasn’t a favor. We paid to have the work done. But it was a HUGE favor the way they started work immediately for us!)

The first day they came to scope out the bathroom, they ripped all the hours of Drew’s nail-biting preliminary shower work in a mere 5 minutes or so. GULP.

Really, this was great, as they’re the real pros and started from scratch. DIY is great and all, but I’m a firm believer that sometimes things really are just left best to the pros. People that hone their craft and create work that is more resembling of art. Could we have finished the shower? Maybe (probably). Would it have eventually leaked/cracked/etc? Who knows. Probably a fair chance. But what we would have done would not have even BEGUN to compare to what these guys did. 

For starts, they sealed the crap out of the shower (GOODBYE STINKY TAR PAPER) and made it look all smooth and green using a thick rubber type material that gets painted on and promises to keep ALL WATER where it belongs- within the shower and safe from your walls/studs-

But I know, enough of all this PRE stuff, right? Let’s get onto the goods..

This was the tile all neatly piled up outside the bathroom, which I oogled over and petted fondly for the week it sat there, just waiting to be tiled in- 

We opted for the majority of the shower to be a clean, white marble called “Iceburg”, a green marble for a decorative border, and a multi-colored river rock floor. I was over the top for the floor, which I pretended would feel like a small foot massage each time I showered. I admit, it doesn’t quite, but it still feels pretty nifty beneath or toes. And I love how ANTI-SLIPPERY it is, so I’d highly recommend it.

This is a picture from when the tile was just beginning to be laid. The floor was in, but not yet grouted.

AND they surprised us with an AH-MAY-ZING deep-green marble cut for the bench-

I was super excited it was a single piece (much easier cleaning!) and the veins zigging across it were beauts! They also hooked us up with a matching shampoo bar-

For fun, a few ‘in-progress’ photos (because they make me all giggly even still to look at!)

Note the grouted floor-

They also put in some awesome marble trim where the future door will go and window above-

It’s kind of hard to get finished photos due to the shape of the space, so I guess you’re just gonna have to come over and visit to see it for real ;]

But here’s my best attempt at said fotos-

We are literally tickled pink over how it’s turned out. Although, now that it’s said and done, we have to admit, it’s pretty damn cavernous. Our ceilings in the house are extra high, and the shower’s no different, so it feels especially big. SO, we’re planning to accessorize. We’re on the hunt for an in-shower towel rack and any other showeresque stuff. Any ideas? I would LOVE to hear/see them, so please, share!

All the tile was finished mid-August, but we still weren’t showering in it. Womp womp. The water lines were roughed in, but we didn’t have an actual showerhead/handle/RUNNING WATER.

Then I went to the beach for a week and chilled with my family, gloriously taking extra long, extra hot showers the whole time and did rad stuff like go on teeny spinning teacups with my baby niece-

and mischievous stuff like bury baby jojo in the sand (he didn’t lub it)-

and just gazed at the ocean whilst marveling its wonder-

When I got home from the beach, I just couldn’t bear to go out back and shower. I had been spoilt. And so, TWO DAYS LATER (I know, don’t judge!), we caved and decided screw the plumbers, we were tackling this last bit on our own. So we carted ourselves off to Lowe’s and came home with everything we needed to hook our shower up ONCE AND FOR ALL.

Sidenote: we were really disappointed with the in-store offerings at Lowe’s and Home Depot. If you find yourself in the market and have some time to spare, I’d recommend sorting through their for-order catalogues and score yourself a really groovy piece. While glad to be able to buy one on the spot, we don’t LURVE it (my dad taught me you should really love anything you buy [this even allows you to ignore price, sorta, I mean, if it’s TRUE LOVE]), so we’ll probably return it at some point. We’re hoping to find a showerhead with an extended arm (so the water pours down in the center of the shower with a rainwater head. Right now, the bench doesn’t even get wet (I told you this shower is big!). 

BUT HEY, it works!

And as for our outdoor shower? It took Drew a whooping 3 minutes to go from turning on the upstairs shower, to knocking this biznatch over-

It then got chopped into lots of teeny pieces and put out in our front yard until trash day, whence we paid the trash men a lil somethingsomething to haul off all the wood.

BY THE WAY, if you ever go to the beach with my family, be warned. They will trick you into taking home all the boogie boards (that no one even used the entire trip, except my brother Kenny Powers, Dan). Just kidding (except obv not really), loveyou mom& dad, kiss kiss.

Last but not least, I’ve been busy over at XOJANE retelling our lil house story. Here’s links to the most recent stories if you’re interested:

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