Recession...

One of the "simple" and "early" tasks on our update list included minor updates to the upstairs bathroom. We wanted to remove the somewhat dated and misplaced recessed medicine cabinet and replace the system with a more "house appropriate" style recessed cabinet and new vanity light. We happened to find one that we felt was good match at Restoration Hardware. It was also on sale at the time of purchase, which is a bonus! I was pretty sure that my measurements were close enough for the switch, yet after removing the existing cabinet I realized two things.
A. The existing cabinet was sung TIGHT between to studs, leaving no room for play on either side.
B. The light above the old cabinet is ACTUALLY part of the cabinet, not a separate unit, thus making the height of the system and resulting hole on in the wall larger than I expected.



SO... a bit of extra work was needed. difference in width was approximately 1/4 of an inch... it was a bit too much to try to sand down, and not near enough to justify moving the studs. The only remaining option that I could think of ( this being my first time dealing with recessed cabinets) was to create a small notch in the stud to receive the new cabinet. With a new hand saw being the only cutting tool in my possession, I began the tedious and painful process of trying to cut a 1/4 inch notch in a stud. it didn't take too long to realize that better tool was needed. Luckily enough, a good friend and colleague offered me his Sawzall, which reduced my work time from hours to minutes.


Once the notch was sufficient, I placed the new cabinet in, added a new cross stud, and patched the excess opening with a small piece of sheet rock.

The wall paper MUST go, and soon after some patching and sanding, we should be ready for prime and paint. The color we are going with is a slate blue. The finished product pictures should be coming along soon.

NEW PICTURES....

primed...

and painted



Must admit.. the color is a bit more " green" than we initially anticipated in certain lighting.. but all in all, a great improvement!

NEXT - the downstairs bath room / laundry room!!!