Andrew and I got back to some projecting of our own, and it felt SO GOOD. It’s been years since I’ve gotten my hands dirty (other than landscaping), and it was great. My body, on the other hand, does not feel SO GOOD, but the soreness will go away, right?!
I decided I’d try my hand at taking out the tile at the back door this weekend, and it came up pretty easily. It’s not in the scope of this project (somewhere along the way we cut it out as a cost-savings measure), and it’s been cracking over the years and just seemed in the way now that the other wood floor was up.
While I wish we could have the contractors do this, especially since the back door is going to become our main entrance, re-doing the tile would involve updating our half bath (not pictured here but adjacent to the back entry) and we just can’t swing that right now. I’m telling myself it will make a great winter project, and trust me when I also tell you that I know that’s ambitious.
While the tile came up easy-peasy, the rest of it DID NOT. Thankfully, we know a guy who does floors, so we borrowed his floor demo bar and I set to work.
OH. MY. GOODNESS. That was hard. It took three two-hour sessions (at least!) to get the plywood, old linoleum and backerboard up. I about died. By the wee hours of Sunday night, I could barely stand up straight. But, I’m nothing if not determined, so my bulging disc be damned.
It already looks better, and it’s progress. I’m super excited to DIY this back entry (we’re getting a new door in the project, THANK GOODNESS) and can’t wait to make a plan and execute it. We’re thinking tile (maybe marble, either basketweave or hexagon), a built-in bench storage system, and revamping the half bath with fun wall tile and wallpaper. I can’t wait…but I can, since there are so many other DIY projects ahead of this in the queue.
Meanwhile, Andrew was busy up in our closet tearing out some trim that framed this little section. He’s always hated it and wanted to redesign that nook to be more useful, and with drywall going up this week, it’s now or never.
Next up: our downstairs is an open floor plan!
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