operation knock-down drag-out: week 4.

this week was another week of more prepwork in the bathroom. mark said that this is his least favorite part of the project, and i can see why. it takes a long time, and it doesnt really have a satisfying endpoint or even show a dramatic difference between before and after. these are also the reasons why i am finding this phase of the project to be spectacularly un-photo-worthy. seriously. two photos. all week. thats it.

even a shirtless subject couldnt entice me to take more process pics. 

so its come to this: mudding the joints in the shower. i learned something this week: drywall joints get mudded with paper tape and joint compound, aka spackle. BUT cement board joints get mudded with mesh tape and thinset. two very different* things, both called mud. real life homographs up in here. homophones too. its all very homonymy. (which is a real word i just learned on wikipedia, the #1 source of all things true and reliable!) so there's your little informational tidbit of the week, just in case you are actually reading this blog under the assumption that i have any idea what i am talking about or hoping to find practical help for your own bathroom reno.

as far as physical progress is concerned, at first glance the bathroom is still looking pretty much the same as it did at the end of last week. but we're still moving forward, and making progress. so of course i can't help thinking WAY ahead to the finishing touches. most recently, i have been thinking about the shower curtain.

since i first mentioned it, i have pretty much decided that i would like a white, ruffly shower curtain. but i dont want to spend a zillion dollars to buy one, or spend a zillion hours trying to DIY one. right now, i have basically two options: the first is a white eyelet shower curtain with three little ruffles along the top for $35. the other is a full top-to-bottom ruffle shower curtain for $20, which is maybe a quarter of the price of most other ruffled shower curtains.

the background is the wall color.

i think maybe the all-ruffled one will take up too much visual space and make the room feel smaller, but i worry that the eyelet pattern will be too much in the same room as a beadboard ceiling. (oh, have i not mentioned that we're planning on having a beadboard ceiling? bad blogger.) tell me your thoughts. please?

another detail i'm looking forward to are the hooks i plan to make for hanging towels, instead of trying to find a towel bar that will fit in the skinny space between the door and the tub. i have a feeling they are going to look a little something like this:

source

and i have it on good authority that a variety of vintage cast iron faucet handles may or may not have been ordered off etsy yesterday afternoon! getting ahead of myself? maybe. staying excited about this project? definitely.

trips to Home Depot: this week - 0.** total - 8.
trips to Ace: this week - 0. total - 2.
trips to Lowes: this week - 0. total - 2.

times Amanda has cried over this project: this week - 0. total - 1.
times Amanda has cried in Home Depot: this week - 0. total - 0.

days until Thanksgiving: 65.

*i honestly have no idea what the difference is between joint compound and thinset.
**mark did make 2 trips to the depot this week, AND one trip to Lowes, but somewhat surprisingly none of them were for reasons pertaining to this bathroom. so i'm not going to count those.