Bathroom Accessory: Towel Bar

Not so long ago, I showed off our finished bathroom. One of the challenges with such a small bathroom is how to store the things we use every day. The medicine cabinet holds toothbrushes, lotion, perfume/cologne, hair product and eye care. The sink cabinet houses my hairbrush and dryer, toilet paper, and not much else! We installed a little shelf above the toilet so that we have a place for cotton balls and swabs. We probably could have fit those in the cabinet, but the little shelf also gives us a place for the hand towel. Where would it have gone otherwise? We originally considered a light that would go over the mirror and a hand towel bar that would go on the wall to the left. When we decided to do this shelf, it meant that we had room for the more desirable sconce lighting. Yay!

Sconce light.	Shelf with hand towel bar.

Towel storage was a real challenge. There really wasn't any wall room left for a towel bar. Plus, there are two of us using this bathroom, so we wanted to accommodate at least TWO towels. And what will we do when we have guests? We first installed this double towel hook on the wall behind the door. It's suitable because 1) it can be reached from the shower, 2) it is small and fits on the wall behind the door, and 3) it can accommodate two towels. We knew this wouldn't be our final solution because towels don't dry as well on a hook. We thought the perfect solution would be a hotel rack that we'd install in the shower alcove. However, we couldn't find one that would accommodate two towels.

Double towel hook (at right in photo).	Double towel bar (at left).

In the end, we went with this double towel bar that comes from the same line as the sconce lights and the double towel hook. I love it! It's working out really nicely and the towels are drying quickly. This leaves the hook on the wall free for guests.

Patio: A Place to Relax

Fall came quickly after we finished the deck. We began dreaming of our patio before realizing that there just wasn’t time. Although September in Seattle is typically a mild month in terms of weather, the days get noticeably shorter and the evening air starts to bite. We were tired, anyway. So, the next year we set our eyes on the patio! We had a good idea of the materials we liked and where to get the best price, so it only took a quick refresh of our memory to finalize our purchase. Unfortunately, it was a several week delay for the granite we wanted. Not to worry! The amount of excavating and back-filling with gravel took every bit of the three week delay.

Excavating.	Screeding sand for pavers.

The materials were delivered in pallets by a big truck with a fancy machine attached to the back. Our good friends offered to help us carry the materials from the driveway to the back yard. We were so grateful for their help, especially on the big granite pieces!

Weird machine.	Materials.

Laying the paver patio was relatively easy. You’ll notice that we dug holes and poured concrete footings for our future pergola. The hard part was laying out the big granite pieces and fitting them together just right. We didn’t want to cut the stone, preferring a more natural look. That said, we still wanted to minimize the gaps between stones. We lifted, turned, flipped, lifted, moved, turned, and lifted. I am famous at our house for ending a weekend by saying, “I’m so tired. I’ve never been this tired before.” On this day, when I laid down for a short rest on the work site and feel asleep, it might actually have been true.

Figuring...requires lots of staring.	Will this work?
Man kills wife in epic patio project.	A miracle!

I never could have imagined that we’d be able to put the puzzle together, but Nick figured it out! I love the way the patio curves at the left. We just happened to have all the right pieces and a guy who could see how it would go together.

Falling in Love

Well, we are almost at real-time with the house projects, which means there’s less to write about. However, I have some ideas for smaller projects/topics to share with you, so stay tuned for those.

Perhaps you’ve wondered what happened to me these past couple of months. In addition to starting a new job, which brings a new routine, I’ve been falling in love. My new love and I are in that place where we find each other endlessly interesting. As soon as I get home from work, we spend every minute together until it’s time for sleep. He watches me garden, follows me up and down the stairs while I do laundry, gazes at me while I cook. Perhaps more than anything else we take walks together. Rain or shine, we go out and explore the neighborhood. The fresh air is so good for our health!

Meet Primo.

And here we are together:

Pucker up!

Nick loves him, too.

Good boys.

We’re a family.

The family.

If you know me, you know that I’ve always loved dogs. It took a long time to feel like we could give a dog a good life. We spent more years than planned in a small apartment and then once we bought the house we were always destructing, creating dust, and then painting. At first it was jarring to have to climb out of bed and go for a walk in the cold, dark, early morning. This little soul was bossing me around! Then love took hold and I stopped minding the time together. If he doesn’t rise as soon as my bedroom door opens, I creep down the hall in the dark and listen for the thump of his tail on his pillow. Awake…and so happy to see me!