March 29, 2024

Column: New Year’s Eve remodel

Like a lot of couples, my husband and I celebrated New Year’s Eve by going out in Des Moines for a bite to eat and to ring in the new year. Unlike a lot of couples, we spent the first couple of hours driving from home store to home store to collect materials needed to remodel our upstairs bathroom.

Moving from our last house, we gained two bathrooms for a total of three in the house. Before we moved in, remodeling the bathroom was top priority because, while it housed the only bathtub, the tub did not come with a shower.

We do have a shower in the basement, but when I saw my first worm on the shower curtain, I quickly moved back upstairs.

The project soon took a back seat to the living room remodel, new flooring and the many surprises that come up in everyday life. With no other clear project in our path, we finally buckled down to make concrete plans for the bathroom.

We did pay it a little attention not long after we moved in. While there was room for a large double sink, it only had a single basin with a cold water spigot that didn’t want to turn. The vanity lacked storage space and was a beautiful shade of the 1980s.

We replaced the aging unit with a new double basin sink, vanity with a dozen drawers and functional faucets. The colors we selected were gray and white, about a neutral as it comes.

Before we could get any work done, my husband needed to purchase new power tools. He spent a great deal of time researching and reviewing different models before selecting a kind that is only available at the one store we hardly ever frequent.

That is where our New Year’s Eve evening came into play. My parents were kind enough to watch our girls, so we set out with a list in place to begin our remodel process.

After a pit stop to get my husband new work boots, we were off to get the tools. What seemed like an easy task became an ordeal after purchasing the wrong, not as good tools, returning them and then buying the, better, more expensive tools.

When that was complete, we stopped for a bite to eat because our dinner reservations weren’t until 9:30 p.m., the earliest I could get.

From there we went to our favorite store, Menards, to pick up tile and a shower head. I already knew what I wanted to get after many trips to Menards to see what they had and what would work in our house. I also wanted to get something I thought would be easy enough for my husband, who has never done tile work before.

We loaded seven packages of tiles in the carts, selected a shower head that is both like rain but can be used when the girls take baths, and we were done. I know it is only part of what we need with plumbing, paint and flooring coming before it is done, but I am so excited to finally have pieces of my new bathroom at home ready to go.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson
at jpierson@newtondailynews.com