ex(PR)essed

What’s a couple of crazy, rather newly married kids to do with a long weekend? Why cosmetically upgrade their master bathroom, of course! For more than a year, Jeff and I have talked about turning our boring master bathroom into a room with some pizzazz — cozy and colorful was the goal. So, we committed to spending our long weekend making improvements such as replacing the light fixture, swapping out the mirror, adding a new sink faucet, and painting. And, for all you naive, ambitious folks out there, here are a few lessons learned by the Lorows.

1. Lowe’s is 5.26 miles from our house. We made nearly a dozen trips there over a period of four days. (Jamie: We could never live in Damascus. We just couldn’t.)

2. Even when wrapped completely in duct tape and wailed on with a hammer, some mirrors don’t break. They are, however, easily pryed off with a putty knife. Go figure.

3. You can’t replace fixtures in your tub unless you have an access panel. We have a hallway, and, therefore, the same fixtures we had when we started.

4. Paint comes off the floor, sink, and tub, but it does not come off the ceiling.

5. After spending 3.5 days in a rather small bathroom and being rather frustrated by any number of surprises, the Lorows can get a bit testy with each other. But, upon viewing the finished product, they realize that their love can conquer all…even plumbing issues.

We will tackle future projects with adjusted expectations. But, for now, we love the bathroom –the color is “woven flax” and it makes the room seem warmer and cozier. The shower curtain is fabulous — an $80 shower curtain purchased for $17.99 at Kohls. The fixtures look great — I find myself polishing the sink faucet after every use. And, the mirror; well, it really adds an element of class, in my opinion.

And, for those of you tracking my “War and Peace” progress, I’m on page 64. Jeff is just a few pages behind me. So far all peace with only talk of war.