Avoiding the "Big Box" stores

We've been VERY pleased, so far, that we have avoided getting much from the local "Big Box" stores and have spent our money at the local shops. Yesterday afternoon I found some beautiful wallpaper at Holmlund's that is perfect for our bathroom. This paint and wallpaper shop is located at the corner of First and Main which some family members will remember is the former location of The Ancestral Tailoring Business. Maybe it has good karma for us, whatever that means. Anyway, the folks there know their stuff and are very helpful and I found just what I wanted.

These shots are of the persistant tile mastic. The tiles around the bathtub came down like a house of cards taking their mastic with them but the walls around the sink and especially behind the door were actually in such good shape that they might have held for another 45 years, if we would have let them. We intend to remove the mastic and simply patch and sand the existing walls in these areas.



I used a paint scraper to get a great deal of it off.



Then WH figured out a way to use a power tool to whack that stuff into submission. He loves power tools. I just got out of the way, did some laundry, prepared lunch.



Here is that perfect paper I was telling you about. I absolutely love it. It pleases me on so many levels. It has a "handpainted" look, it is simple, it has the green of the existing, rather new bath towels, it has the golden color of the wood and hallway, it has the deep rose we have in various places throughout the house. It has vertical stripes which I had a hankering for. It is a York vinyl so it should be very compliant. It is a somewhat simple pattern, which is nice for a small room. It was IN STOCK which is dandy since I want to slap some up the day WH pulls and replaces the toilet. And, the best part is that it is all those things plus CLOSE OUT! It was $6.99 for a double roll. I bought extra.


Yesterday the new tub was delivered! It looks very inviting. Sadly, though, when WH opened the box I spotted a crack right away. ARRRRUGH! WH called the shop and they are coming to take it away today.


Sigh. Look closely at the triangular area of indentation along the rim. That is where it is cracked and I don't think it shows here.

About posting comments

Most of our friends and family have emailed me directly with comments but go ahead and post them here. I will see them either when I post updates or in my email as they are sent there automatically. We would love to hear your thoughts on the old pink bathroom. Were you terribly fond of it? Can you believe we still had it after all these years? I think I recall that it had turquoise paint in addition to the pink tiles and fixtures, then it all turned very pink in the 1980's or maybe 1990's. We papered it in 1999 just to try to make the best of what we had to work with (more time than money, that is).