Master Bathroom Cabinet Progress + A Look Back
I’ve been working steadily on the cabinet for the master bathroom. I’ve gotten through most of the tedious stuff — building, veneer edge banding, sanding, and installing all of the drawer boxes, plus building and sanding all of the drawer front frames. I think I’ve gotten far enough to where I can reasonably expect to finish this cabinet this weekend.
I still need to finish the drawer fronts (but the part left is the easy part) and attach them, use my router on that bottom board to make a pretty trim piece, and then make a countertop. I would LOVE to be able to finish building this cabinet, and then get the Rubio Monocoat finish on it this weekend. What an accomplishment that would be!
As far as the vanities go, I still need to make the drawer boxes and drawer fronts for this one…
And then I need to do just a little bit of tweaking to this one to bring the drawers forward just a bit so that they won’t be set back so far under the countertop…
The middle cabinet is all sanded and ready for its Rubio Monocoat finish, but the vanities still need to be sanded to a 120-grit finish before they’ll be ready. But there’s not a whole lot of surface area on those, so that should be a pretty quick process.
So it’s getting there! I was beginning to think I’d never get those drawer boxes finished for the center cabinet. They took way longer than I anticipated, and I was so relieved to get that last one finished and installed so that I could move on to the drawer fronts.
This bathroom project is winding down, and it’s about time. I use Google Photos to store all of my photos, and it has a handy feature that shows you what photos you took one year ago, two years ago, etc.
Well, look at what showed up in my “one year ago this week” folder for this week…
It was one year ago this week that my contractor’s guys finished up their part of this bathroom project, and handed the bathroom over to me to finish. This is what it looked like, one year ago this week, when this bathroom officially became my project — concrete board on the shower walls, unprimed drywall on the walls and ceiling, and concrete board on the floor.
It was a complete blank slate, and a very intimidating one at that. It was so daunting that I didn’t start on it right away. At the time, I was still working on turning the breakfast room into a sitting room (which I finished in early September), and I was getting the pictures shelves finished and filled.
I didn’t actually didn’t start working on this bathroom until September 10th, and I began by priming the drywall. So that means if I can get this bathroom done in 15 days, it will have been a yearlong project. I really hope it doesn’t take longer than that, but I can’t guarantee anything. I’m sure I can get all of the big stuff done by then, but all of the little finishing projects (like figuring out window treatments and such) may take longer.
I have to admit that when I saw those pictures pop up in my “one year ago this week” folder, and I realized that I’ve been working on this room for nearly a year, I was frustrated and embarrassed for about five seconds.
But when I looked through the pictures and realized just how huge this project was, and everything that went into getting this room finished, and the fact that I’ve done everything from that point to where it is now by myself (with the exception of installing the bathtub and toilet), I realized that I have nothing to be embarrassed about. It was a huge, daunting task, and I’ve taken some extended breaks from the room here and there. And while I certainly could have finished it faster, I’m actually quite proud of the progress I’ve made, and I’m not bothered by the fact that it has taken me a year. The time has gone by fairly quickly.
The moral of the story? If you have a huge, overwhelming task before you, just start. Just do a little bit today, or this weekend. And then work on it steadily, a little here and there, and don’t stop. Don’t give up. Just continue that forward momentum and don’t worry or feel bad about the pace at which you’re working, or how long it’s taking you. Just keep moving forward, bit by bit. And before you know it, you’ll be right there at the finish line.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
OH my gosh…it is a VERY big project, and happily in the middle you and Matt found a life outside of the home besides. Every minute taken away for work-work-work, was SO worth it. A year of doing so much work by yourself…even with delays in supplies, and tedious finishing work is WONDERFUL! It is SO close to the finish line now, it is totally exciting…even if it takes longer. I am so impressed and happy for you.
Don’t forget, you took some time off when you got your van that allowed you and Matt to get out and about!
How is that going? Are you guys still going out and exploring, or has it been too hot?
It stayed consistently too hot (100+ temps) for several weeks, so he only wanted to get out on Sundays to go to church. But it looks like it’s starting to cool off now, so he’ll start wanting to get out more. If it can get and stay in the low 90’s or lower, he’ll be fine. But those 100+ temps were just too much for him.
Oh man we beat you on on-going never ending baths. We started a demo February 2017. We demod a non structural wall, removed tiling and drywall to the studs around a tub, removed all fixtures except the tub, and wallpaper removal. The bulk was the removal demo. You did much more and we are still finishing but using the space now for the kiddo.
What amazes me is that you are doing all of the trades yourself…plastering, painting, tiling, finish carpentry, cabinet building (that alone is so awesome). I’m sure I left something out, it’s incredible! I’m always telling my husband, you won’t believe what that lady in Texas has done or built now! It has ONLY taken a year to finish the bathroom. Plus, your responsibilities with taking care of Matt! Whew!!! Just awesome, hope you guys can do some fun things when it cools off.
I’m glad you stopped beating yourself up over the fact that this project has taken a year! My husband and I are currently at the two and a half year mark for a basement project that we are mostly doing ourselves. (We did hire out the replacement of the basement steps). We lost six months that we couldn’t get product during 2020. And then once we got product we lost momentum. But we finished up one major project (which is covering the walls – which are concrete – with wood planks) and hired out the other major project so now we can move to the next project which is to rip out the ugly ceiling tiles! So cheers to both of us!
I really love reading your posts and hearing about your decisions and progress on making your home such a beautiful place. You are a daily inspiration to me! You are simply an amazing person that I feel privileged to “know”, even if it’s just through your blog!
Well said!
You’ve created an amazing space, Kristi!
Wow I can’t believe it’s been a year, it doesn’t seem like it. Enjoyed the pics of Doggie from a year ago.
I’ve been following you steadily for the last 3+ Years. Your real life timelines for projects help me to give myself grace over half finished projects I just don’t have the time to complete as quickly as I want. Plus seeing you figure it out is so helpful. Just after you did the floor tiles in the bathroom my kids bathroom tiles decided to shatter, so I had to completely redo the floor, did it all by myself and used your posts as a guide. Impressed the heck outta my husband and friends.
A year is just a blip in the timeline of life, and you have had to do a major construction 99% by yourself in that year! It is going to be phenomenal! A masterpiece! All because of your attention to the details.
Inspiring to see the progress…. And this old gal just keeps playing with that new feature on the before and after shots… toooo cool!!!! Hope Matt is able to spend a delightful Fall and enjoy many adventures with you… do you get lots of color in fall? I love the color… just don’t much care for the raking that comes at the end 😂😂
Kristi, you should be so proud of everything you have accomplished! Along with getting the van allowing you and Matt to get out of the house, you also worked on other projects here and there! But even if it took 2 years or 3 years, it is your house and you can do what you want when you want! And everything you touch turn golden! xo
Your bathroom is like someone else’s pregnancy. It goes by fast for you, and slow for them. Lol Everything is so beautiful!