While there is one thing left to complete, the bathroom is close enough to finished that perhaps tomorrow, we will start using it. The last thing to do is connect up the lighter mirror and since that is the only thing for the electrician at this point, we don't know when we will bring them in - as it is an expensive visit just for that and they will be back for much more soon enough. While it needs a thorough clean.
It is looking pretty good and my wife and I bought some needed accessories to add a final touch. A little Marimekko plate repurposed as a soap dish and some Finlayson towels that we managed to get at 70% off. Don't worry if you have no idea what I am talking about, these are Finnish brands.
Considering that this was a storage room not that long ago, it has scrubbed up into quite a pretty and well appointed bathroom. It is spacious despite the narrow and long dimensions and feels clean and well-thought-out. I hope it performs well too, as a lot of thought and effort did go into it and it has come together much like I imagines it would.
For those of you who have been following along from home, this was my plan:
And it is pretty much spot on. That's a change :D
I am really happy with the choice of doors we made as they add a boldness to what could otherwise be considered quite boring by many. The shower space is almost one third of the room, as we wanted to avoid any feeling of claustrophobia in there and have it feel a little luxurious. This room was very expensive for us to build from a structural perspective, so spending a little more to add detail value was an easy decision. When our evaluation comes up in January, we want the bathroom to stand out - rather than just look like any other bathroom in Finland. We have made trimmed in other areas to accommodate this.
The mirror light (when connected) and the shower shelf are on a separate switch and the main lights are dimmable, so there can be some "mood lighting" as if that is needed in a bathroom.
We have had some trouble with the taps, which are Finnish sources and while we bought two, we have had 5 go through our hands as all of them had defects in the paint. I have a feeling that we will end up having to replace them sooner, rather than later - but that is the way it goes sometimes and they will be okay for a while yet - it is just frustrating.
While the bathroom is nearly complete and looking decent, just outside the door is far more renovation disaster and there is a mountain of work to do. Part of my thinking for adding some accessories now is that while we live in a wreck, this one room will be an oasis and a reminder of what we are slowly working toward. The other rooms to come are going to take far longer to complete because we are doing them piece by piece and no one room is likely to be "done" too soon.
I know from renovating our last apartment by myself (while my wife was doing her masters) how draining it can be to work day after day in a mess and feel like nothing is getting done - until one day, it is. It can be wearing and I think that my wife isn't completely ready for the coming part of it. However, she has made some shifts already where even she has noted that dealing with the mess and things being out of place has been easier to deal with than she expected - since she is a little bit OCD at times.
Today we cleaned up some off the mess from opening up the attics so far and tomorrow, I will continue on and make that mess all over again. I think this is also something that can be hard to deal with, as it feels like constantly cleaning up what has just been cleaned up recently - all of the demolition material looks the same and it feels like an exercise in futility. So far, I have been tearing down and cleaning up, but now that we are both on holiday, I have a renovation maid to help - which is nice.
My wife is now sick and went to bed early, so I was going to clean the bathroom and get everything ready so we could use it tomorrow, but I got sidetracked.
I am not much of an ornithologist, but I have been getting a little more interested recently and was yesterday questioning the species of bird (my wife told me they are swallows) and I suspected that we don't have swallows in the eaves of the roof, we have swifts. I got a very close look at one to confirm this.
As I mentioned, I made a whole in a ceiling the other day and discovered a birds nest and patched it, but obviously not well enough as tonight, I discovered a bird trapped and trying to escape through a window. I am really glad I went up to organize the bathroom as this poor fella was stuck looking out the window and not in the best of spirits. By the looks of the room, it had been there a few hours at least, struggling to find a way back out.
It was scared but calm enough for me to take a couple shots with my phone and I think it was very tired. As you might note, you can't really see the legs as it sits there because swifts don't spend time standing if they can help it and they are known to fly for ten months straight without landing - which is insane. They can also fly up to 31 metres a second, or 110km (70mi) an hour. Not bad.
To open the window requires a key, which meant I had to first unlock it and then so I didn't injure the bird, I gently took it in my hands. I was expecting it to struggle, but it didn't and seemed quite content to wait quietly in my hands until the window was open and I released it. It hesitated a moment looking at me and then, a second later - it was 31 metres away.
I haven't held a bird since I was a little kid with chickens and I am really glad that I could help this one out and that it could fly once released. The new window ledge needs a bit of a clean, but I think my renovation maid can do that tomorrow ;D
One of the things that I have liked about living in this house so far is that there are lots of little surprises along the way that I have enjoyed, many of them challenging and expensive, but also things like the swift in the house. Despite all that is going on, I feel calmer here and I take that as a sign that I am home, even if it's far from finished.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
