Getting Fresh in the Bathroom

Remember when I started telling about my bathroom make-over way back when?  Well, I've finally worked out some final details and am ready to show you the reveal!  I know, you can hardly contain your excitement, right?? First, let me remind you of where it started.

It was nothing special at all.

Kind of a snooze actually.

Even the burnt orange walls didn't add interest.

Drum roll please.....

Now the bathroom has a whole new personality!

Step 1- Paint!  I splurged on Sherwin Williams Duration paint and it was money well spent.  The bathroom walls used to look like they were dripping even when no one had taken a shower.  It was delightful, really.  Well, the bleeding walls are no more!  I stenciled the ceiling, then painted the walls a darker shade of the same gray.  Let me tell you- stenciling a ceiling is not for perfectionists.  Gravity is trying to foil you at every turn.  It is NOT easy!!  I still have to take my little detail brush and touch up pretty much the entire ceiling.  At least I can say the effort was worth it- I love the way it looks!

Step 2 (and the catalyst for this whole project)- medicine cabinet!  She's a sexy beast, no?

Step 3- Accessorize!!!

I would like to draw your attention to the painting- my personal version of Van Gogh's Lilies.

You wouldn't know it by looking at it, but I am NOT a painter.  I'm a DIYer.  I think painting and DIY use different parts of the brain.  The brilliant idea that is the Paint Bar, however drew out my inner painter.  My birthday was a few weeks ago (one more b-day before the big one) and I really wanted to try a lesson at the Paint Bar.  Best. Idea. Ever.  Myself and 5 of my closest friends (in addition to about 20 or more strangers) were lead, step by step, into creating awesome pieces of art (facilitated by good wine and an awesome playlist).

And now for a few more indulgent pictures of my finished bathroom.

Pending ceiling and trim touch-up, the bathroom will be officially the first room 'done'* in this house!

*of course when I say done, I really mean "not in need of any immediate projects, but will still be constantly evolving"

Bathroom Love

I'm really itching to have enough free time to tackle one of my large home projects (like the dining room that I mentioned here), but woe is me, that's not happening as soon as I'd like.  Instead of whining about it (any more), I'm taking other action: the Bathroom!!!  It's a tiny little thing and it's our only bathroom (unless you count the lone toilet in the basement). Here's what it looks like today:

The only things I added were the off-centered shelf (its centered above the toilet but still looks weird) a shower curtain, and baskets to organize our linen shelves.  After living with it this way for over a year, it needs a little bit of love.  Not a lot of love, just a little bit.  Naturally, the first place I go to for ideas is Pinterest.

Our current medicine cabinet is a cheap warehouse store basic and it has a mind of its own.  Seriously.  It will spontaneously spit the shelves out and cause an avalanche without notice.  If I actually liked the look of it, I would permanently affix the shelves, but now it gives me a good excuse reason why we need to replace it.  I love the look of wall-mounted mirrors sans medicine cabinet, but in this house, we need all the storage we can get.  Opening up the 112 year old wall to try and recess a cabinet would undoubtedly open a can of worms that I don't feeling like dealing with, so surface mounted it is! Here are the contenders.

The next order of business is paint.  The current color doesn't bother me and it matches our shower curtain (but then again, almost any color does).  There are 2 major issues I have with the paint:

• #1- we have no way to touch up the holes and blemishes left by the previous homeowner.  That's actually why I haven't bothered to fix the shelf placement- I can't touch up the wall behind it, so for now, it will cover up the issues.
• Problem #2 is the paint itself.  Not the color, but the actual paint.  Now, I know that bathrooms get steamy and condensation will inevitably run down the walls.  I get that.  This seems to be an extreme case.  Even when the walls are dry, it looks like we're in a horror movie with blood dripping down the walls (the burnt orange color just enhances this effect).  Pleasant picture, right?  I tried to photograph it, but there's not enough natural light in there for a good pic with my crappy camera and the flash didn't show the dripping- trust me, though, it's there, its visible, and it bugs me to no end.  The only way to clean it is to attack the walls with a magic eraser, but then the drips are right back after the first shower.  It's a losing battle.  I plan to get quality bathroom paint so this doesn't happen again.

….and of course I'm changing the color.  I'm thinking a dramatic dark silvery-gray-graphite.

After I repaint and hang a new medicine cabinet, like every other room in our house, it needs some serious styling.

My plan is to bang this project out in a weekend and with a budget of $200.  Instant gratification room make-over- my favorite kind.  My other planned make-overs won't be nearly as quick and easy, so I should savor this one.

images via: pinterest; wayfair 1, 2;

Ick Factor

I have a relatively high tolerance for "ick," but I totally discovered my limit last night.  In a surprising bout of after-work motivation, I decided to get started on my basement organization project (that I embarrassingly shared with you here). I was an organizing ninja....

until...

...under a pile of wrapping paper, I discovered a dead mouse.  But, like I said, I have a high tolerance for "ick," so that barely phased me.  We've found one other dead mouse in the house, and a few dead ones outside, but no live ones thankfully.  I think our 2 killer kittens would promptly make them sorry.  What really icked me out, though, was when I tried to dispose of said mouse.  I covered my hand with an inside out plastic bag and several sheets of paper towel and picked up the not so dearly departed.  Well, he left me a gift... of his fur stuck to the concrete floor.  ICK ICK ICK ICK ICK.  I know, not the image you want, so I'm sorry, but I had to vent.  Bleach to the rescue thankfully, but I may be scarred for life.  And I may be a wee bit melodramatic, but at the very least, I was scarred for the rest of the night.

It was a traumatic house evening all around.  When I emerged from the depths of the basement to announce our 'furry' friend to Hubby, the smoke alarm started going off.  On Chopped, they always make the error of not heating up the grill pan enough, so Hubby overcompensated.  Our steak dinner that Hubby was cooking got a little too seared on one side.  In his defense, the inside was cooked to perfection, but it took a while for the smoke to clear.

The last semi-traumatic event involved my jewelry.  Somehow the Hubs walked into the small chest in the bedroom where my throngs of jewelry live while they eagerly await pretty frames to live in.  Well, the jewelry and the dishes and holders and a leaning frame acted like dominoes and all went a-toppling.  Must be a sign- I guess I need to get moving on those frames.

To cleanse your mind of any unpleasant images I may have caused, I'll leave you with a few images of organizational prowess.

via 1,2,3