Turning my apartment green - DIY project, part 1. the bathroom

Long time, no see... Yeah, yeah. I keep on disappearing on you and coming back to say how things will change and how it won't happen again. Well, I know better now then to make promises I can not keep. The thing is, me disappearing will happen a few more times until I get my life in order and back on the right track again but until I finally get myself organized again and able to post regularly, I have decided to post a series about a huge DIY project I am working on. It is about a complete renovation of my apartment, one room at a time.

Yup, I have been away and it would be a lie to say how DIY projects around the house were the only things I was up to. I made a huge change in my life and with that one huge change, everything else started changing too. Life does that if you allow it and I allowed it. I opened myself up to new experience, ideas, projects, work, people and so far so good. I had far less sleep than I needed to but that too will soon change. With two workouts a day (gym in the morning and fitness in the evening), working for FutureShock projects Fundition and Drugwars, renovating the apartment and having a busy social life with friends who are worried about me and want to see me every day, there is not much time left for sleep and not for posting here either. But... Digressing from the matter at hand here a bit so allow me to circle back to it; I TURNED MY BATHROOM GREEN PEOPLE!

I never liked how the bathroom looked like. It was done by my late grandparents more than 30 years ago. The tiles were hideous and falling apart, the toilet seat was broken and so was the flusher. The mirror had rust on it. It was definitely time for a makeover. The thing is, makeovers can get pretty expensive, at least that is what some people have been telling me but you know what? I redecorated my bathroom, kitchen, and living room under a tight budget and managed to get all 3 rooms done for 405 euros (around $500) and I consider that a huge accomplishment. The best part about it is that I will be paying in monthly installments so the big conclusion here? 3 rooms completely redecorated for 16 euros a month ($20) for the next 24 months. Not so bad, not bat at all...

I decided I will not change the tiles because that was way more than I could afford and it would mean more time and more people doing it. After searching and reading about painting over the tiles, I decided I would do just that. It did take some time but much less than the changing them would take and it cost waaaaaaaaay less money. First I needed to scrub everything crystal clean so the primer chemical could stick properly and after spending an entire day scrubbing, the first coating of primer could finally be applied.

The primer does not smell as bad as you would think. A bunch of chemicals but nothing too serious. I had a mask on my face so I hardly even noticed it. The image to the left is how it looked like when I started applying it. Yup, not workers, the bathroom was done completely by me and one friend. She painted the walls and after a couple of days, I started with the tiles. The primer chemical takes 6 hours to dry and then you need to put another coating and let that one dry again before applying the actual color. I went for green, obviously. I picked a specific one and paid to have it mixed professionally at the store because there was no way I could mix it and get that exact shade myself. It was not even expensive. The cost was somewhere around 5% more that way than it would have been if I had mixed it myself.

So... The first day was about scrubbing everything and removing the old flusher, old mirror, and the toilet seat. Pain in my back was killing me in the evening but a nice Martini fixed that up in no time. Fine... Two Martinis. (maybe three). The second day was about applying the primer on tiles. I did those on the walls and those on the floor too. Here is how everything looked when the primer was on...

It already looked way better just with the primer. These are the images from the first coating. It was even whiter with the second layer on. I almost left it white lol but I really wanted my green and I am glad I went for it. It turned out amazing.

The plan was to go as minimalistic as possible in the entire apartment and to use only green and white as colors. This means that now my living room, bathroom, and kitchen have only those colors and they are absolutely gorgeous and very pleasant to be in. Here is how the bathroom turned out:

Green, white, and zen. That is the feeling you get when you walk in. I bought some new thingies for it too like the shower curtain and a new clothes bag that is hilarious, check it out:

The thing I like the most about it is that I have mostly done it myself and that is always an incredible feeling, to see what you have done. My friend painted the walls, and my father helped with setting up the new flusher and the toilet seat but I did the paint job on the tiles and the heating copper pipes. Yup, I painted those too and the radiator as well. You need a different kind of paint for that, one that is specifically for metal but it still costs less than it would to buy a new radiator and the pipes.

There were three of us, all women, and we changed my entire apartment. If we could do it, so can you. It took us 3 days for the bathroom, 3 days for the living room, and 3 days for the kitchen. Yes, we did everything in just 9 days. It was pretty awesome to see us with wrenches, paint brushes, tools, hammers, sandpaper etc. You will see in the next posts. The bathroom was the easiest. Walls started falling off in the living room and we had to use plaster to cover the holes. At one point, I was freaking out because there were 3 gigantic holes in the walls but you know... Martinis help and so do friends. We fixed everything. I was joking back then that I was living and functioning solely on coffee, alcohol and the love of the Universe. Sleep was just a lovely idea. That is what you need to do when you experience a huge emotional shift in your life, get up and do some work. If I did nothing and stayed in my bed, I would probably have lost my mind. This way, I had no time to cry and no time to feel sorry for myself, I had a huge project to finish. Oh and, did I mention that all that time I was doing all that, I was also working and started exercising two times a day? Yup. Sleep? What is sleep? :D

For all you who insist on checking up on me (and you know who you are), thank you. Your concern for me is lovely and very much appreciated. Your advice, support, and encouragement have been bright bursts of light on rainy days. To change your life completely, from top to bottom, emotionally, physically, mentally and in all other ways imaginable is not easy but it is rewarding and for all you ladies out there who are wondering if you have what it takes... You do. You have everything you need and do not let anything or anyone stand in your way. Spread your wings and fly. Life is too short and sometimes you need to say f@ck it, and live the way you want to live.

After six months of working for Fundition as their Editorial director, I got an offer to start working on the Drugwars project as well. The only problem was, when I was supposed to start, my life fell apart and turned upside down. I did manage to continue my work for Fundition while I was picking myself up and redecorating the inside and outside of my life but Drugwars had to wait. I was in no condition to take on so much at that time and am grateful for their understanding. They did more than that actually. They waited for me. @hightouch did not hire someone else, he waited. Worked until he almost dropped off his feet but still waited patiently for a month and for that my dear (and the best boss in the world) I say thank you. I know what you have been through and I know it was hard. The only thing that I can say is that you have me now and that I promise I will do everything in my power to justify your trust.

Working on a huge project like Drugwars is not only a lot of work and responsibility but it does take a lot of your time. Luckily, Mimee, Goyard and the rest of the team are amazing and easy to communicate too. My boss? Hmmm... Easy is not the word I would use to describe him. It is a huge understatement. A genius? Sure. A visionary? Oh yes. A freak of nature? Most definitely. You guys have no idea how that man functions and just by being able to work with him, I consider myself privileged. You know how most apps, projects, and blockchain things have a team of developers? It is only this one guy for entire Fundition and Drugwars. He did it all and you will rarely see him brag about it. On the contrary, he will almost never mention that he did the code for many other DApps before he started focusing on FutureShock. He is the main developer, CEO, CTO, Lord Architect and the brain behind everything. Do you know what my first job for Drugwars was? It was to convince him that sleeping and eating are things that humans usually do and he should give them a try. Once we fixed that, the rest was easy :)

FutureShock is more than just a project. It is a vision of a different world and with projects like Fundition and Drugwars they are... Scratch that, we are creating that world. I need to get used to saying we instead of they, it will come to me in time lol. Drugwars is an amazing game and if you have not tried it yet, you should. The community is amazing, supporting and very lovely. Since I started the position, I have met some incredible players and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for such a warm welcome. I will try my best to give you my best and together with the rest of the team, create for you, us, and everybody, the best thing that the world of gaming has ever seen. So... How did my post about redecorating my bathroom end up on Drugwars? Well, I suppose that will happen from now on, everything starts and ends with Drugwars. I have already introduced myself to the players so you all know what I will do and in what way, with a smile on my face and a Martini in my hand. Marty has a truck full of aspirins anyway so bring it on. See you at Drugwars!