Before/After Vacation Photos

I have already gone on far too long about my holiday reno and repair projects. So I shall let the pictures do the talking for me as I sit back and stare at that-which-is-fixed-up around here this morning. On my last day of holidays ...

Dog run area - before (weeds, lumpy, grade sloping towards house)

Dog run area - after (need I say more?)

Dog area - before (lumpy lawn, dug up areas beside the house, cement blocks are stacked up by the house in an attempt to have a bit of a slope away from the house and fill the void between the dirt and the deck area to keep small pets and other wildlife from moving in under our deck).

Dog area - after (it will look ever-so-much better when the new grass starts growing)

My dream for this area is patio stones, a gazebo and to convert the "dog area" into relaxing sitting area. Oh well. Dreams are good. Reality I can afford is better.

Area by swinging gate - before (a rut in the grass that you can't see, from swinging the gate during the spring/muddy season + dirt and grass that won't grow beside the sidewalk)

Area by swinging gate - after (I feel giddy every time I walk by this now, with patio stones "paving the way" for the swinging gate and alleviating the dirt by the sidewalk)

Bathroom - before (picture does the bathroom justice - the floor/counter tiles are painted an almond color and are terribly chipped and damaged; the cupboards are painted white with a lot of chips in the paint)

Bathroom - after (paint is grey; tiles are white; and cupboards match the mirror frame perfectly! Things you can't see - the paint I scraped off the door hinges from our last messy painting job)

Jet - before (take note of the perfectly black left ear)

Jet - after ("I always wanted to be a black and white cat!")

The final dollar amount spent is still pending. 

I bought new bathroom faucets and I need to hire a plumber to install them. I bought a new door knob which doesn't fit, so unless I find one that fits the existing door knob opening I may have a "credit" to add to the final dollar amount spent. Not to mention the frustration levels that peaked, over a missing screw for a cupboard door handle. 

I feel like this bathroom project has been a bit of a scavenger hunt as I buy and return and buy and return and buy and return some more. I think Home Depot may have an undercover surveillance cop monitor my purchases and returns the next time I walk in the door to return the door knob. And the mirror ... because the beautiful framed mirror you see in the picture above? It seems to have some minor damage and it should be returned as well...

I can't stop staring at our new bathroom. It is a sight to behold. It is amazing what four days of manual labor and $1,186.47 ($525.00 of that total is what I paid for labor and it was worth EVERY penny!) can do for a room.

Now if only this was not what you see the moment you look outside of the bathroom:

Hallway - before (chipped/scratched paint on door frame/baseboards; chips in the wall; broken cold register vent ... and that is only the beginning).

To be continued ...

(I hope)