One of our readers, Jen Murray, sent us a couple of photos and a brief description of one of her home improvements. Here’s an excerpt of her notes describing the thrifty DIY bathroom renovation by her husband, Erick, who retiled the dated shower and tub surround.
I’m just going to take a moment and tell you that I found your blog through Facebook, I believe, on the site of Company C. I read your post about that wonderful pillow you made from Company C fabric. I enjoyed it so much—I had just ordered 2 yards of Maine Cottage fabric (the inexpensive way to have a little of their amazing design and color in my house!). Maine Cottage and Company C are two of my favorite destinations. I live in Maine within an hour of both stores. So with that one post, I was hooked on your blog, and have appreciated your wonderful tips ever since.
We moved into a cozy little bungalow last year and are knocking away on projects, which I hope to post about soon myself. I found some pictures to “prove” our start of renovations. Although my original bathroom pictures are buried in the depths of my computer, I DID come across one of the “in-between” photos that my 5-year-old took. Ha! The decades-old wallboard was actually flaking and peeling; taking a shower was quite the experience. My husband just finished tiling the shower this week; I think he has done a fantastic job!
We LOVE our old house dearly, but my husband is a schoolteacher and I’m a stay-at-home mom, which means that renovations go at a very slow pace around here. 🙂 We’d also welcome people following along on our journey; it will give us the motivation
to get things finished! I’ve kept up relatively well with names of products, prices, etc., as well. We’ve tried to be as thrifty as possible while keeping to quality items…our first house was a top-to-bottom remodel in under two years, so everything had to be done as efficiently and inexpensively as possible (i.e. stock cabinets, eBay flooring, you name it!). This time around, since we plan to be here as long as possible, we are taking it slow and saving up for *exactly* what we want (while still trying to save money and get it done before our kids are out of the house!)
Anyone interested in tracking Jen’s progress, can check out her own charming blog called The Finest Kind.
