Stitch Witch

So, in Mexico, Ryan and Jamie's place didn't have much storage in the bathroom.  There was a large, wide open space underneath the sinks.  Ryan built some custom shelves to give them space they needed to store toiletries.  They had hoped to conceal the contents of the shelves, so I hoped to help while we were there.  I bought some fabric...hoping it would go with their new duvet from West Elm.  They didn't have a sewing machine, but they did already have the rod to hang the fabric from, so I purchased....

--fabric
--drapery rings with clips
--stitch witchery - heavy duty

I had thought I would make a panel or two, just create a hem around the four edges, and then hang it from the clips.  Unfortunately, the clips hung down too low, so you could see the contents of the top shelf.  Just didn't really serve the purpose we were hoping for.

After I botched the first attempt with 'Stitch Witch' (I will spare you the embarrassing details), I finally figured out how much I love that stuff.  I am sure it wouldn't be great for many jobs, but for this, it was perfect. 

In the end, I ditched the curtain rod clips, cut two panels, made a large hem on the top of the panels (to allow enough room to slide the rod through the top hem), and hemmed the other three sides.

Before:

After:

The indecisive mirror.

We received this stunning mirror from my aunt for Christmas....

The mirror was bigger than I had thought it was, and I wanted to find the perfect spot for it in the house.  First, I thought I was not going to use this in our downstairs bath, so I went ahead and painted three other inexpensive mirrors to arrange on that wall.  But then, I decided that maybe it would be good in the bathroom.  So, I painted the black mirror white, and my patient husband hung it for me. After all that, I wasn't convinced it was in the right spot.

In the meantime, I finally moved the fiddle leaf fig tree from the middle of the room where it served as our Christmas tree, and I realized that the mirror might be a perfect fit for that wall.  HOWEVER, the now white mirror doesn't stand out enough against our gray owl walls. 

SOOOO...I am contemplating gold leafing the mirror.  Have you ever gold leafed?  I silver leafed once when I made this for my brother, and I made quite a mess.  I guess I am in the mood for gold - I am brainstorming another gold project.

I will update you as the craziness continues.

The mirror in the guest bath.  Two mirrors that I adore, but they compete against each other.

In the living room.  I like the location...now I have to figure out the right color for the mirror so that it pops.

Who is truly the indecisive one?  The mirror, or me? :)

This just makes me realize that I sometimes just need to slow down and think through more options before trying to rush to a conclusion.

Better...

We went from this...(pre moving in...notice the standard mirror - can you see how they placed two nice big screws in the middle of the top and bottom of the wood frame?  Genius design move.)

To this...(horrible paint color choice, meghan!)

To this...

Now I just need to work on the side wall!  I am still hoping for a collection of unique mirrors painted white...

Got one!

Finally, eBay and I can be friends again.  I got a mirror for the gray bathroom.

This girl is in the process of becoming glossy white as we speak.

I only wish that the mirror was a little bit longer.  When you have a house full of tall people, I always worry that mirrors/art/etc. will be too high for those shorter than us :)

In Progress - Half Bath

So, I was hoping to have all these blog posts about all the 'finished' rooms in our house and be happy with everything that I posted.  However, a few things...

1.  Our rooms are NEVER totally done...something can always be tweaked.
2.  I was starting to feel like I wasn't being very authentic if I waited for everything to be picture ready...
3.  I would never have ANY posts if I waited for things to be perfect or until I had the budget to buy everything I wanted :)

So, I figured I might as well post about progress and mishaps...trying to 'keep it real'.

So, our half bath...first, it was painted yellow.  It was a very last second color choice that I was never very happy with/sure about.  Again, trying to find something to go with the oak accents felt challenging to me.  After seeing the yellow on the walls, I knew it had to go. 

(Please notice how the towel rack was hung so close to the toilet paper that you almost can't find the toilet paper!  That has since been fixed.)

 The white accessories don't pop at all...

So, the yellow went.  Welcome, gray.  (By the way, I think it is so funny how I have been so anti-gray for so many years, and now I can't seem to get enough of it.  Just one more reminder why I have to remain open minded.)

My Goodwill elephant and some of my milk glass finds...

I love the color...I matched it to the Ikea floor mat.  I decided it might be fun to find some cheap mirrors to paint glossy white and hang on the wall.  This is the most 'petite' bathroom I have ever been in, so maybe the addition of mirrors may make it feel a *little* bigger??

I have been SEARCHING, and SEARCHING on eBay.  I feel like I don't know the right search words to use...do you ever feel like that?  I, of course, don't want to spend much, and thought I wouldn't have any issues after getting such a steal on my federal mirror!  Well, that hasn't turned out to be true...I have lost several last second eBay auctions...it is killing me!!  I would share a picture of the mirror that I am bidding on, but OH.  I was just outbid.

I will keep you posted if I make any progress...

Guest Bath

Most of the colors I selected for our house are pretty neutral, so I really wanted to go bold with at least one room.  I have been wanting a really dark room for a while, so I decided to go for navy (Behr Peaceful Night).  I am so thrilled with how it turned out...it definitely makes me want to try a larger dark room next time.
I had won a Syroco Federal mirror on eBay, and I wasn't sure where I was going to put it yet.  While I was chatting with Sommer, she said, you know, a gold sunburst mirror would look really cool against the navy.  BINGO!  Perfect place for my eBay find...thanks, Sommer!

It is a long and narrow bathroom...hard to get good pics...

I also spent way too much time seeking out perfect shower curtains.  I wanted something for this bathroom that was just sort of fun/whimsical for Paddy, and not too themed.  I bought a $10 white curtain from Target, tiny bits of fabric from WalMart, and I made this one...

In between the towel rods, I needed something for the wall.  I stumbled across these 2 pages of scrapbook paper that I had purchased a while back, and I threw them into some Ikea frames.

Finally, oak cabinets are a theme in all the rooms, so I have just stuck with using white accessories in all locations...

Basement Bathroom

We are very lucky to have an basement in our new house.  It is unfinished, but is painted and clean, so it will get a lot of good use.  There is a bathroom in the basement with a clawfoot tub, which I adore.  I wonder if it wants a clawfoot tub friend?  ...That is, since we still have that one from the cottage...which, by the way, makes me even more thankful for the garage (a.k.a. storage) that we will have. 

Anyways, this is my dream bathroom...Kate Spade can do no wrong!  Love the colors, the clawfoot tub, the bold wallpaper, and the shower curtain.  Of course, I was hoping to make my Ikea Hemmes curtains turn into a shower curtain like this one, if I can sew some straight black lines of fabric on the  bottom of them...

 

Image via The Peak of Chic

I was wondering if I could loosely recreate a similar look if we were to convert the tub into a shower with one of these 'kits'.  We would only buy one of these if we can find a very cheap one like these on eBay.  Problem is, I am not really sure of all the plumbing details I need to be paying attention to when purchasing one of these...yikes.  That's a disaster waiting to happen.

And, since I love my Ikea Hemmes curtains, maybe I could use some of those and add some black fabric to create the stripes myself?  Add some kelly green accents, and I would be good to go.

The only problem now is that a kelly green is the only color that I am gravitating towards for our other two bathrooms because of all the oak cabinetry...I am having a creativity block about other colors that would play nicely with the stain.  Any other suggestions??