Did We Survive Hurricane Katrina or Not?

The trim guy - let's call him "Bob"-- came back ultra-early this morning to work on whatever he could get his hands on today... At least that's what he told me his instructions were. "Slim" came along to do the same. Little by little - stuff seems to be going back into place.

There are now random baseboards and plinth blocks throughout the downstairs.

Closet shelves in the process of being repaired... I just realized that they may not have known that there is actually a shelf missing here that needs to be replaced.... Must notify Dean!

We had a minor crisis early on when we couldn't find our rosettes. Rosettes are the little trim blocks that go at the corners of our doors and windows. Unfortunately - they don't seem to make our particular style rosette anymore -- so we must guard the ones that are removed with our lives.... I fell into a full-scale panic when "Bob" told me he was missing about four rosettes this morning. Eventually we found them hidden in odd places and no one was injured.

Yvonne's room has a closet door! And the closet has baseboards!

As a matter of fact -- Yvonne's room is totally trimmed out (even down to the window aprons!) and ready for caulk and paint.

So with all sorts of trimwork being completed downstairs... I have to turn my attention to plans for the fireplace and the master bathroom. Chalk it up to some leftover Katrina nervous disorder.. but I've been losing sleep over this. It's one thing to try to put everything back exactly the way it was before... and hard enough considering we've forgotten what it used to look like after all these months... But, like the kitchen, the fireplace and the master bath are getting a bit of a facelift. Unlike with the kitchen, however, I have absolutely no real vision for either of these projects. I knew what I wanted the kitchen to look like... And I planned accordingly... But I just can't wrap my head around these two things.

The fireplace has seen better days.

We have already chosen and ordered the new insert. (The insert is the clunky metal part where you actually burn stuff in case these things are unknown to you). It looks like this:

I know that we're leaving the mantle white and relatively untouched... What is driving me batty is trying to decide on the surround (the 'backdrop' for the insert) and the hearth there on the floor. Light tile? Dark tile? Stone? Creative drywall? Brick? Augh! What colors? What textures? What pattern? Is there grout involved? I fear grout. Save me.

The place where the jacuzzi rests. Pictured is the dead jacuzzi.

And speaking of grout.. Then there's the master bath and the place where the jacuzzi I think we have finally decided on purchasing will rest. They call such places 'tub surrounds'. Traditionally, these places are either molded acrylic, stone, wood, or tile. Yes. Tile. With grout. There it is again.

A closer view of the tub box (aka 'surround' - probably cause it sounds better)and the dead jacuzzi.

The big problem with this master bathtub is that there are original errors that really should be corrected while we have the chance. For one thing - the tub itself sits too low in the frame - making it really, really hard to get into the tub. Also - the lack of seat space at the front makes it additionally hard to get into the tub. Ideally - the thing needs some sort of step to make access easier.... But... That would require a lot of planning since this is an existing space... We can't hinder access to the water closet on the left... and we don't want it to look like we were trying not to hinder access to the water closet on the left. And then! If we DO decide to brave tile on the surround - then we'll have to deal with what to do when new tile meets old tile on the bathroom floor... Then there is the funky 30 degree wall... and the privacy wall between shower and bath... Those make everything a little more difficult. OH! And there's this tiny little thing called a budget to consider....

I love this fixture... Can we live with the saltwater damage?

What it comes down to is this: I'm not an interior designer. I know what I like - but sometimes what I like doesn't exactly work. Sometimes it clashes.. sometimes it's just tacky... most of the time it's just too darned expensive.

I'm tempted to say I want one of those people from HGTV to walk in and tell me what would work... But then I remember that I never like what those people from HGTV do to places in the end. There's all this pressure though -- and there are no cameras (uh other than my own) rolling. It's just that all eyes are on me ... I have all these men saying things like, "Just tell me what tile you want and I'll go pick it up" - or, "What color grout do you want? What size grout line?" - or, "I can put it up however you want me to.. just draw a sketch...." *flop*

Well.. I'm gonna go plop down on the sofa with my two sickest children and watch HGTV for inspiration now. I figure a few hours of watching the pros make royal messes will make me feel a little better about myself.