Something for the Road

Project: Bathroom Re-Do

I took a small break from sewing while the kids were home this Christmas Break, so of course that meant I was itching to do a home project, and we’ve been living with the guest-bath partially done for quite a few months.

Here is our guest bathroom before.  Not super hip on the wallpaper or the oak cabinets although it has a nice faucet and countertop.  So, I’ve known for a while that I needed to make some changes.

Close-up of the cutesy wallpaper with the modern tile and countertop.  I’ve already scored the wallpaper.

 

I now know why that wallpaper was still there – it was impossible to remove. It took probably close to 15 hours for the girls and I to get it to the stage where it needed Mike for wall-patching.  They were pretty good at this since they had been picking at it for the last two years.  Tip:  If you insist on using wallpaper, don’t put the seam near the toilet.

The finished product.  Walls are Benjamin Moore, Woodlawn Blue, of course.

I used Rustoleum Furniture Transformation to update the cabinets.  I love this product.  It comes in a kit with everything you need.  It took several days of applying coats and waiting, but it was worth it.

The hardware really helps modernize the cabinets, too.  3-inch Bar Pulls from Home Depot.

Christmas at Home: Juli’s

This is my friend Juli – the picture is blurry because she wouldn’t hold still and this is how she wanted to be remembered.  Her home is Christmas.  She un-decorates her home shortly after Thanksgiving and replaces everything and more with Christmas she has collected over the years.  She likes to turn on Christmas music, drink hot chocolate, and flit around the house making the changes while her family sleeps.  It’s usually a 3-day process.

This is the storage room that houses 26 bins of Christmas.  Mike is in wonderment.

These pictures are poor quality and don’t come close showing how amazing it is.  So fun to hang out there.  We had homemade toffee, caramel corn, played bingo, won prizes, and laughed.  My kids looked forward to it all week.

So, Mike, do you really think I have too many decorations?

Christmas and Traditions

We are always excited to decorate for Christmas.  Our decorations are not too extravagant, as those of you who know me know that I’m a pretty simple girl.  But, they make me happy.  I have this idea, that I’ll like to feature a couple of my friends’ homes and how they decorate in the next couple of weeks.  But, I’ll start with mine.

The tree.  I put up the lights and tree.  The kids decorate.  Mike supervises.

New decorations this year that I bought at last year’s post Christmas sales.

My favorite Nativity.

Jess and I rarely do projects together (only because of conflicting schedules), but this burlap banner was fun and simple.

I made these stockings for our little cottage in Sandpoint, patterned after Hable Construction stockings at Garnet Hill

 

Every year I collect a new Santa.  I kind of tend toward the folksy kind.  The “Believe” sign is from a dear friend.

Santa Pillow that goes with my already-Christmas-colored room.

Grandma’s crocheted snowflakes hung on tension rods with fishing line.

Nativity Advent that my mom made when I was a little kid.  Malerie just made an updated version.

Scram!

After receiving so many great ideas about my front bed, I decided to go out to Mom’s one day and take some of her Hostas and transplant them in my yard.  I was so proud of myself and it was so nice to finally have something there.

Here is what the bed looked like two days later.  Dang Deer!  They must have thought them very tasty because they ate every other one the first night and the remaining the second night – not to mention all of the wonderful raisins left all over the walk and the yard.  Now that they have eaten the tasty leaves, they are working on my mums.

Our solutions is to use this.  Be gone deer!  I have enough problems with my landscaping without your help.  I’ll let you know how it goes, and if my Hostas come back next year.  Everyone keeps asking me what I planted in my front bed – they’ve never seen anything like that plant.  It’s quite embarrassing.

Project: My Desk

This is how my work area looks on any given day . . . a lot of “extras” on the floor.  It was starting to bug me.

I found this beast on CraigsList.  I loved the shape.  The wood laminate particle board, not so much.
But, it has potential, don’t you think?

After studying painting methods at this site, I started the long process of transforming it.
The desk is painted in the same color of my living room – Benjamin Moore’s Winds Breath, but in a synthetic alkyd.
It is topped with a water-based polycrylic by Minwax in Gloss.

Drawer Pulls were bought on eBay.  Exactly what I was looking for – I love the size of them.

The legs are wood, but were painted in Rustoleum’s Oil-Rubbed Bronze Metallic spray paint.

I’m really pleased with it – tons of space on top and even more in the drawers – good-bye extra containers.

Bathroom Hooks

When I pass the bathroom upstairs, this is usually what I see  . . . with towels on the floor of course.

Not my favorite towel bar or my favorite color paint – mint.

 

It just had to go . . . no matter what the scarring.

This cupboard door, lovingly dug out of the “wood shed” by my dad, will do.

Paint in Benjamin Moore Mascarpone and new hooks from World Market.

In fact, paint the wall in Benjamin Moore Winds Breath and add a new shower rod and shower curtain and I might be able to live with the tile, flooring, and vanity lighting just a bit longer.

Just a bit better . . . until I get antsy again.

And, look what I found on our little outing when I visited 1900.

I Like It: 3-Tier Storage

I have been coveting this epergne for a few months now.  It would work very well for my produce which sits behind my corner sink.  I love that it’s imperfect and the natural colors of food brighten up my kitchen.

In the meantime, I’m pleased with my alternative.  The reason I don’t own many serving pieces is because I’m a very practical person.  But, I loved this 3-tiered dessert stand I got for my birthday last year and I’m liking this new way to store fruits and vegetables.  It’s something that makes me happy.  Strange but true. 

Do you have any pieces stored in the back of your cupboards that could have another use?  I bet you’d be surprised.

My Favorite Find

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big fan of the Farm Chicks Show, even though I haven’t been able to go the past couple of years.  I also follow Serena’s blog and find many treasures.  A few months ago, she launched a new website called, My Favorite Find.  I love it.  You can find little treasures, fun shoppes, and farm and vintage junk shows which I love to visit when I have time and money.  I even posted my favorite little shop.

 

Here’s my most recent favorite find.  Found it at Orphaned Décor on Hamilton.

The size and scale is perfect in my room.

The detail is perfect and the white is a fun “pop” against my charcoal walls.  I’m quite in love with my favorite find.

Choosing a Paint Color

I just painted my hallway and part of my entry in this great Smokey Taupe by Benjamin Moore.  I love how clean my walls are when the paint goes on, and I love how much “richer” everything seems.

 

I love how warm it is on the walls – perfect mix of grays and beige.  I chose this color because it was 2 chips deeper than the Winds Breath by Benjamin Moore that I put in the living room.  You can see the line I left on the wall and the difference.  Mike and I have a date to paint our 2-story entry and that line will go away soon.  That’s going to be a fun date.

I always kind of know how I want my house to look, but it seems like when it comes to picking a color, it is tough to find just the right shade of whatever color I’ve decided on.  The best way to choose a color, in my opinion, is to see it in person in a room – a recommendation from someone with similar taste.  This is how Woodlawn Blue came to be in several of our houses.  Jenni recommended it – hopefully she’s not sorry.  The second best way to choose a color is to see it in a room in a magazine or book or even sometimes online.  I love the Pottery Barn catalog for this reason.  I have chosen many of my colors because of how they looked in the pages of their catalog.

So, even when you pick a color, how do you decide whether or not it is right for your room?  I like to paint large swatches all over my walls – then I’m really committed.  Some are not so brave (or crazy) as me, and for them here is what I suggest.

Jessica was trying to decide on a color, but didn’t want different swatches all over her wall – just in case she didn’t paint right away.  We had it narrowed down to 2 colors, so we took a piece of drywall and painted one side in one color and the other side (even though it was brown paper) in the other color.  She was able to try both colors in her room,  in different areas with different light, without the huge commitment.  In her case, it helped her choose and really get excited about a color.  We are actually going to paint it this week.

Did I tell you how much I love to paint?  The main floor half-bath is next.  The remaining wallpaper is going away tomorrow.  Hooray.

What to Plant

As has been mentioned before, I am not a great gardener.  I do not love to be in the yard, although I may have short bursts of energy toward improving it.  But, I do like my yard to look nice.  So, when the boxwoods in front of my living room window died last year, I decided it was time to start over.  But, what to plant?

My friend who is a fabulous gardener/landscaper came across an idea to photograph the bed in question several times during the day so you could figure out what best would thrive there, by analyzing the amount of sun the bed received.

  
                       9:30am                                                10:30am                                               11:30am

  
                      12:30pm                                              1:30pm                                                   2:30pm

 
                        3:30pm                                              4:30pm                                                   6:00pm

Very Interesting.  I thought I had a lot of afternoon sun.  Granted it is May, so it may be different in August, but what I noticed is that this bed is all shade until about 3:30pm.  All of my sun is basically in the evening.  This changes everything.  So, I’m looking for a bush or shrub (must be attractive) that is in Zone 6 and thrives in mostly shade.

Some of you are probably wondering who has time to go out and take photos every hour.  I know.  These were my same thoughts for the past 2 years.  It just so happened that I was alone for an entire day and stayed home to paint my hallways and entry.  I just set a little timer on Due for every hour, and it was pretty easy.

I think I’ll go to my local nursery and give them my “analysis” to see what they suggest.  In the meantime, any ideas, my plant-loving friends?