Measuring Your Bathroom for Subway Tile

If you are like me, you may have been poring over Pinterest and Houzz for months in preparation for your next home renovation project, but when the time comes to actually place the orders for all the fixtures and supplies, you find yourself scrambling.

When it came time for me to order our bathroom tile, I had some measuring to do.  

Repairing Pet Damage to Hardwood Floors

What can you do about hardwood floors that have been destroyed by "pet damage" — in this case, dog urine? You can steel yourself for a sharp blow to the budget, my friend. This is no easy DIY.

Final Bathroom Design

My Inspiration Board!

After many hours spent poring over Houzz and Pinterest, shopping tile stores in Chelsea, and comparing samples, I've decided that the bathroom in our 1940s mid-century apartment is going to be a modern take on the classic subway tile bathrooms of the era. 

Here's the plan.

The Timeless Appeal of the Black and White Bathroom

DecorPad

There is something classic, classy and timelessly appealing about a black and white bathroom. 

I have a few decisions to make. Help me, if you will, by sharing your opinion in comments.

Linden Court Fixer Upper

I received a Zillow alert this week on a 2-BR fixer upper in Jackson Heights for an unbelievable $219k.

 3759 84th St APT 32, Jackson Heights NY 11372

Photo: Zillow

Unbelievable, because when I track the address in Streeteasy, it turns out this apartment is located in the lovely Linden Court. Linden Court is one of my favorite prewar co-ops in all of Jackson Heights for it's gorgeous oversize windows. It's credited with being the first co-op built in the neighborhood in 1921, when both light and air flow were considered essential to good health and architects paid attention to such things.

Photo: Zillow

The unit does need a substantial amount of work, judging by the photos (the tile laid over the hard wood floors is in my opinion, criminal). But at $219 per sq ft and with that amazing wall of windows in the livingroom, this apartment has big Renov8or appeal.

1940s Bathroom: In Praise of Subway Tile

We are closing in on our purchase of our new home in Jackson Heights! On Friday I received the mortgage commitment, so the next step will be our interview with the co-op board.

Today I am sitting at the computer assembling all the financial information that the co-op board has requested. Well, that's what I'm supposed to be doing. What I am really doing is flipping through bathroom photos on Pinterest and Houzz.

What Can Go Wrong at a Real Estate Closing on a Co-op

We're closed!

But we almost weren't. New York real estate closings are highly charged events. Just getting all the lawyers in one room is a challenge. You've got the lawyer for the seller (me) and the lawyer for the buyer and the lawyer for the buyer's lender and a closer for the seller's lender as well as the co-op board's managing agent.

Each person sitting at the table has a checklist. So, there's always a chance that something will turn up missing from someone's checklist. Guess what was missing from mine?


Last Friday I had to race out of work at 4:00pm and rush from Manhattan to Brooklyn to pick up the stock certificate for my apartment.  Over the weekend I had to make the rounds and collect the signatures of two of my co-op board members - the board president and the board secretary.  Luckily I have served on my board and I am friendly with these two people, so I was able to catch them over the weekend and complete my mission.

Is this the job of the seller? No.

Is this the responsibility of the seller? No.

But is there anyone who cares more than the seller that the closing happen forthwith? No.

So I stepped up. Sometimes you just have to break through to get things moving.

At today's closing, the stock certificate was all in order. However, the show stopper became the Aztec Agreement, also referred to as the Recognition Agreement. It is the document that the bank draws up to give its lien the first priority over the co-op's lien in case the shareholder defaults and it must be signed by the buyer, the buyer's lender, and members of the co-op board. It's a document that the mortgage bank sends to the buyer very early in the process, and it is subsequently one that often gets lost.

Note to self: Hang on to the recognition agreements for your purchase. When you have to turn them over to the board, know who has them, and track them.

Mad for Midcentury

Our new home was built in the 1940s, so I am getting inspired by this midcentury decor. I want the walls to be a warm oaky yellow. With red and coral accents. 

I fall asleep at night not reading books for my book club but searching Pinterest for mid-century inspiration.

Yes, You Can Sell Your Own Home FSBO!

I am closing on my sale in a week!

We've met all the major milestones for me to be able to say with confidence that my FSBO has been a complete success. Here is what I did to get the best price for my home. You can do it too.

Real Estate Closings Are Taking Longer Than Ever!

It's been a while since my last post. For once I had a summer without projects. That's right, we spent the summer biking, BBQing, and beach sitting. And it was lovely!

Truth be told, our little cottage could use a new roof, and come next spring it will get one. But what's really keeping me in thrall these days are my Carroll Gardens sale and my Jackson Heights purchase.

The sale is in the home stretch. (Ba-dump-bump.)

The buyer has been approved by the board. The bank has all they need. The subletters are moving out when their lease ends at the end of the month. I wish I could tell you that we have a closing date locked in, but we do not.

The buyer has been trying his best to wrangle all the lawyers since his board approval August 28th. Yes - almost a full month of lawyers comparing calendars and shrugging.

What gives?

And my purchase is going even slower. It took two months from my offer date to get all the due diligence documents in. I still don't know what the hold up was. Was it possible it was all due to August vacations?

Then I went into my lawyers office to sign the contract, check in hand, only to find that the seller's lawyer had never sent it!

So I'm heading back tomorrow a second time on my lunch hour -- hoping this is it.

At this rate I am estimating we won't be in the new place until December -- make that January if we run into holidays.

Bah humbug!

Another Steal in Jackson Heights - 2BR+2BA Asks $259k!

If I hadn't just found our new home, I'd have to go have a look at this one that just listed a 10% reduction off what was already an astonishingly low price for an 1100 sq ft corner apartment with three exposures!

If you can look past the terrible listing photos (seller, clean up that clutter; agent, get a decent camera!), this apartment has great potential.

This price-reduced apartment certainly needs some work. Rip up those carpets to expose hardwood floors. Paint and plaster. Update the kitchen (not pictured, so it must need work).

But with a list price of $259k now, you've earned your renovation budget.

The only negatives: Some might balk at the first floor or at the rather high maintenance at $1100.

Moving From "Hip" Carroll Gardens to Jackson Heights

Credit: Streeteasy.com

Our offer on an apartment today was accepted! It's a 2 BR in Jackson Heights, where I think Ross and I will be very happy. For half the price, no, one-third the price of a Carroll Gardens 2 BR we're getting 1100 square feet in a full-service building, with a live-in super and porters and a doorman and — yes! — a parking garage!

It's a fixer upper, of course. This photo above is actually the same apartment two floors down, already renovated. But it gives you an idea of how lovely ours will be when I'm through with it. The one we're buying sadly looks like this right now:

My Carroll Gardens FSBO Got Multiple Bids

When I decided to sell my home, I did a FSBO. Unemployed at the time, I had been subletting since I'd moved in with Mr. Renov8or. My experience as a landlord was mostly positive. My tenants paid the rent on time and in exchange, when something was wrong I jumped to fix it. That's the social contract, right?

Paint Tip: Freeze Brushes Between Coats

I painted quite a bit when I was a kid. My dad always had a home renovation project going on, and we kids were his assistants. One of the jobs I really disliked was cleaning paint brushes. No matter how much water I ran through the brushes, there was always paint coming through and it seemed like hours before the water ran clear. And don't even get me started on the oil-based paints! (Turpentine, yuk!)

I used to say that when I became a grownup I would throw away my used brushes and start with a fresh one when I resumed painting. For years as a young adult, I actually did do that. And I'm not talking cheapo paint brushes. These were Purdy's at $10 a pop. That's how much I dislike cleaning brushes.

Now that I'm a homeowner - and a better money manager - I can't bring myself to spend hundreds of dollars on brushes every time I get the urge to change a room's color (which is often). So here's what I do.

Farmhouse Table from White Flower Farmhouse in Peconic

The cottage is really shaping up, thanks in no small part to the design eye of proprietor Lori at White Flower Farmhouse, a little home store in Peconic on the North Fork of Long Island with very affordable and beautiful things. Every time we finish a room and begin to look for furnishings, her lovely little shop is our first stop. Invariably we find just the right thing.

Old Orchard Cottage Kitchen Reveal

Cottage Kitchen After Photo

The kitchen at our beach cottage had last been remodeled sometime in the mid to late '80s, judging from the style of the cabinetry and the canister track lighting. I lived in a New York City apartment in the '90s that had those exact same beige slab doors with natural wood trim. It wasn't just the outdated look that bothered me about this kitchen. Where do I begin?

Flor Tiles Make a Mod Runner

Robin's Egg Blue with Brown Stripe, by Flor

When we walled off the old front room of the cottage to add a bedroom, it created a long, narrow hallway that needed a runner. We looked at a lot of rugs but the patterns tended to be heavy and traditional, many of them Persian style that wouldn't suit this little beach cottage. 

I found these tiles from FLOR and we connected eight of them to create a long runner for under $100.

Cushions on a Budget

Sunbrella cushions -  Restoration Hardware sale

Once I realized the custom cushions were out of my budget, I started to scour the web for a better deal. It turns out it's a good time of the year to buy outdoor furniture -- all those end of summer clearance sales.

I found what I am looking for at Restoration Hardware's clearance sale. Each sectional's worth of cushions is marked down to just $446. So two sets will be $892 -- that's $3,000 less than the custom cushions I priced. And the sunbrella fabric and white piping are no extra cost.

I took the dimension of the cushions to Dan and asked if he could build the sectional seating to fit the cushions rather than the other way around. He said it's a bit like putting the cart before the horse, but he was game to try. To figure out the height we tried sitting on different outdoor chairs to see which was the most comfortable.

Best of all? Under the seats will be hidden storage for things like boogie boards, umbrellas, sea shoes -- all that beach clutter we seem to be tripping over all the time. (I'm claiming the other storage bench for paint cans. It's so much easier than lugging them up and down from the attic every time I have a project.)

Custom Cushions Blow Budget

Custom cushions were out of my price range - but this cute little tote was not!

The first place I went to price custom cushions for the front porch sectionals was a local shop: Wm. J. Mills, renown for its pristine boating upholstery. I've always been attracted to this little shop, with its navy awnings and white piping -- so nautical.

The sales staff was very helpful, but I soon realized I was going to be totally priced out. Given the dimensions, the seat cushions would run about $150 a piece and the smaller, back cushions about $100.

I quickly did the math.

The two L-shaped sectionals Dan was building for us were almost identical, except the corner of the lefthand sectional was going to be a built-in table -- to better fill out that side of the porch, which was about 24" longer than the right side. All told we'd need 23 cusions, 11 seats and 12 backs. That's $2,850. And the sunbrella fabric and piping I wanted would be extra. Mill's gave me a quote of about $4,000 for everything (and the sales woman explained how oil prices drive up the cost of foam batting).

So Mill's was out, sadly. But I bought myself a cute little tote while I was there. ;)

Cottage Paint Color: Ice Blue

Choosing paint color for the beach cottage hallway was challenging. The porch and hallway are where visitors form their first impressions, so we knew we wanted it to be a light color that reflects the colors in nature surrounding the cottage - colors of the sky and sea.