Demo and more demo
July 22, 2019

Things are moving along, albeit slowly, on the Mexico reno front. Months have been spent just chipping away at the bumpy stucco but it’s almost done. When my sister and I visited the job site in June, it was hard to stay positive as it felt like things would never be complete. But we managed to stay positive.

Here’s a snapshot of where things were at that point.

We created a number of openings in the courtyard walls to make room for French doors with balconies. (Have I mentioned how mad I am about balconies?! (Thank you Egoiste By Chanel for inspiring the love affair.) Once the new doors are in, you’ll be able to walk down the hall and look out into the courtyard. The guest bedroom, where I was standing when I took the shot on the left, will also have its own set of doors as well as from the middle bedroom. And remember, the walls won’t be yellow for long.

This is what I am talking about. Muy romántico!

One positive note is the new plaster walls. They are coming out nicely. Picture them painted in a fresh coat of white paint. We’re also experimenting with polished concrete samples (for the vanities and tubs) and have been sampling colours like mad…still not quite there yet.

We ended up having to rip out a lot of the kitchen to make room for new appliances and cupboards. This gives you an idea as to how the electrical works behind the walls – loads of orange plastic tubing buried inside the interior brickwork. You don’t want to make too many changes once it’s done.

The new bathtub enclosure in the guest room was inspired by this shot that I found in Casa San Miguel, a wonderful book about some of the beautiful local homes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve flipped through this book in search of inspiration. The clean blue and white tiles paired with the Moorish shape of the plasterwork around the tub stopped me in my tracks. I really like how protected the enclosure feels just by bringing the walls in a bit. And I was super excited to find the exact same blue and white tile in nearby Dolores Hidalgo.

Here is how ours is coming out so far. We added a small plaster flourish to make it a bit more in keeping with the level of detail in the rest of the house.