My husband and I adore Upstate NY. With the mountains and lakes and fresh air….the region gives us deep relaxation and is only a few hours away from the hustle and bustle of our daily city life.
Because of our love of the region, we decided to purchase a vacation home so that our family and friends can join us in our pursuit of living more joyfully.
We were able to buy an inexpensive townhome in a placid location that is just minutes from all of the great things the city center has to offer as well as being nearby to the more bucolic sights and sounds we enjoy.
Of course, in real estate, inexpensive translates to “needs work”. This townhome had one owner over the last twenty years, who was elderly and did not/could not keep up with the maintenance. So–once we closed on this little project, we began to dig in.
As our intent was sharing the space and having friends and family stay with us, we wanted a kitschy feel to give those vacation vibes. We also knew we would have to beg for help for some of the more major projects and needed the space to be inviting. So we set about setting up bedrooms and bathrooms first. Extra bonus, I feel better when things look pretty.
Here is one of the guest baths before the makeover.
Looks nice enough, but the water damage, non flushing toilet and sink that wouldn’t allow water to flow needed to be fixed as well as some other cosmetics. Thankfully, in this bath, the shower did work! (we cannot say that of all bathrooms in the house and still can’t to this day…sigh…patience, I know…)
Here is the Makeover…(we still have to replace that water damaged baseboard but need my sister in law and her handy wood working for that trick!)
While I dislike the corner sink, we are working on a tight budget for this house and a new vanity for this bathroom was just not happening, unless Hubs couldn’t get it to work. We earmarked $250 for this bathroom–and with paint ($55), towels ($60), new mirror (on clearance for $50!) and the new towel rack ($75) we were doing great. Special thanks to our friend Ari, who gave us the wall hangings. The hand towel holder and little stool were from our former home. And finally, my favorite piece, the toilet paper holder, was made from rope, magnets and macrame holders from Hobby Lobby for a total of $7! Hubby had some tools so he was able to fix the toilet and the sink so all in, we refreshed this bath for $247–woot woot, three bucks saved!
And now the journey continues…next time, the guest bedroom that goes along with this little bath. It’s JUST about done!