Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge ~ Week 1

Hey guys! So a new adventure begins this week and it’s going to be my biggest project to date! I was recently invited to participate in the 2019 Fall Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge. The challenge is to renovate a space over the next six weeks. That’s right I said six weeks! Each week will be judged by a panel of Jeffrey Court judges. You will even get the chance to be involved and get to help vote for your favorite designer 😉 The winner of the contest will win a $5,000 dream vacation. This will sound super cheesy, but I feel like I already won…I get to transform a space using amazing tile by Jeffrey Court. I am all in!!!

So let’s get to it and talk project. For my renovation, I chose to do my Master Bathroom. Now this room is a total gamble. Have I ever renovated a bathroom? Nope…Well, I did do a Powder Room, but this is on a whole other level. I am no professional and never claim to be, but for this renovation, I am going to try my hardest to do all the work myself. So you will get to follow along and see if I can accomplish the enormous task. Keep those fingers crossed! I see a lot of sweat, tears and coffee in my future. My Master Bathroom was not on the renovation plan for this year, which means I did not budget for it either, but when Jeffrey Court asked if I could start a renovations in just a few weeks my answer was and always will be YES!

Now this bathroom is literally our dirty little secret in our home. I hide it from everyone, always!!! When we actually bought this house almost two years ago, I was still living in Germany and my hubby was in charge of house-hunting all on his own in the states. PS…that will never happen again! When I found our home on-line there were no pictures of the bathrooms…I knew something had to be wrong. My poor hubby said they weren’t that bad. We obviously have completely different definitions of BAD! By the time I arrived in the states with all the kiddos the deed had been done and this house would be our very first home that we owned. I saw the bathroom and cried in horror. Seriously, I couldn’t stop crying! I was so upset and horrified. Ha…well they say everything happens for a reason. If we wouldn’t have moved into a home that need so much work, I would have never found my passion for DIY and renovation.

Okay, so here is my plan for this room! The bathroom is still in its original condition from the 1970’s. Which means blue vanity counter tops and a blue shower. I know you love the blue…you can’t imagine the bathroom without it. The space is also really small, especially for a Master Bathroom. I only have one sink and the shower is so tight and small, I’m pretty sure I haven’t been able to shave my legs in two years! The floor is a vinyl tile. The ceiling is chipping along with the moulding. You may ask why I haven’t fixed any of the little issues? I just knew if I got in there and started anything I would just completely start ripping it apart.

Well, that’s what I am going to do now. I am removing every single thing from this room, all the way to the studs. I am even taking it to another level. Behind the shower was about 3 feet of wall space. I opened the wall up to find out it was one of my daughters’ bedroom closets. Can you guess who is downsizing closet space? Let’s just say she isn’t too happy about this but, 3 feet in this tiny space makes a huge impact and I couldn’t pass up on extending the bathroom.

Week one is all about the Demo!!! I have been working non-stop on gutting the bathroom. I actually thought it would move quicker then it is. Demolition is hard work guys. Don’t let those HGTV shows mislead you…Demo-Day is fun to get out your aggression for a day, but after a few days everything starts to hurt. Literally everything…I’m convinced that even my hair is in pain! 😉

I promise to always share the good, the bad and the ugly with you guys over the next 6 weeks. The ugly this week has to be when I stepped straight down off my ladder onto two giant rusty nails that were in the floor framing…Safety first guys! If you are going to do big renovations wear all the right stuff, face mask, eye protection, gloves and WORK BOOTS. You would never believe how quickly those nails went through my sneakers…Yikes! Let’s just say I am now up to date on my Tetanus Shot. Don’t worry it’s going to take way more then a few nails going through my foot to take me down… lol!

I’d love to say I am completely done with demolition this week, but I am totally not. So close though…I hope! Demolition looks like it will continue into the first part of week 2. It always has to look worse before it gets better..Right??? I just keep telling myself that. Keep following along to see all the progress and check out the other designers participating in The Jeffrey Court Challenge.

Jessie