Painting the Master Bath

I'm continuing to keep busy and making decorating improvements around the house seems to be something that can keep my mind occupied pretty well.  Last week, I tackled the master bath.  The walls needed painting and I went with a wonderful green.

The cutting in process was a nightmare.  This room will probably never be painted by me again!  Or maybe it's like childbirth... I'll eventually forget the pain and do it again.

I also made new curtains from a chenille bedspread.  They look better in person - the texture is fun.

Rudy made the bench a couple of years ago.  I'd like to paint it white, but can't bring myself to change it.  That's probably stupid since I'm the one who painted it in the first place.

There are some funny memories associated with this bench.  I wanted a simple, vintage-style, rickety-looking bench, but that wasn't up to Rudy's standards.  When he built something, it was generally strong enough to withstand a tornado.  This bench has all sorts of extra reinforcement.  He actually made it for me to sell in my booth, but I'm glad I still have it.

Grateful My Home is My Hobby

It feels a bit shallow and a bit inappropriate right now, but I think I'm finding something that brings me a little joy.  I'm sprucing up my house and re-doing some things that haven't felt right.  No one would question that of an ordinary woman, but since I'm a new widow, NOTHING seems right.  I have lost my goals.  I've lost my plans.  I've lost control of what I thought was my life.  Very little makes sense anymore.  Having anything at all that feels good to do is a gift and I'm grabbing hold of it and running.

I love quotes.  I find tons of inspiration from reading.  First, I came across a bit that I have always believed.

Once is a happenstance.  

A second time is a coincidence.  

A third time is a significance.  

That quote was fresh on my mind when I had a few encounters which seemed particularly meaningful right now.

I didn't give the first encounter much notice. I read a little something about finding a hobby or some little something to do as a way to get past trauma.

Next, I read an article about a woman who had 3 sad events in three years - a divorce, a death in the family and a fiance who  dumped her.  She felt she had lost control of her life (that got my attention).  She had threw herself into decorating a house and found that he healed as she fixed up her house.   She wrote a book about it - Bee Cottage. You can read more about it HERE.

My third encounter was as good as a note from above giving me permission to play.  I bought a used copy of Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach at Goodwill.  I'd read that book (all about gratitude) when it first came out in 1995, but decided it might be worth reading again.  I'm using anything I can to keep me from sinking into dark places.  The book is written calendar style. There's a short chapter each day.  I started on the appropriate date.

The July 29th chapter was The Home as a Hobby.  She quotes a 1929 magazine article. The quote is long and I'm too lazy to write the whole thing, but my favorite part was this -

A home which is not a fair expression of us at our best, a home which lacks what it might have, a home which is in any part more ugly or in any part more uncomfortable than it absolutely need be... a home which cannot be run without waste, a home which by any detail gets on the nerves of its inhabitants and so impairs the harmony of their existence - something ought to be done about such a home.  Why not make the perfecting of the home a hobby?

To me that quote isn't about following the latest style trends or creating spots in your house that would make perfect Pinterest photos.  It's about creating a home that promotes comfort and happiness and life.

I've already been trying to do improve things in my house a little, but now maybe I'll put a little more effort into it.  I don't work fast.  You can't when you prefer to buy used.  The hunt is half the fun.  Well, today's treasure hunting went a little better than expected.  It went so well that I'll need to put off additional treasure hunting for awhile.

First, I bought this extra large stool.  No need to paint or recover - the colors work well as is.  And I got it for a song.  It's in the guest room.

I had moved the bench that was there to my bathroom.  This wood bench was made by my hubby a year or two ago, before he got sick.  When he made it, I wasn't crazy about it.  It's a little too high and the seat area seems too hefty.  Rudy built things as if they were going to be tested in a tornado.  He made the bench for us to sell, but for some reason we kept it.  I'm really glad now.  I like the idea of having it placed where I'll see it more often.  Plus, it's really functional in it's new place.  Also, check out the curtains in this photo.  That's actually a chenille bedspread.  I'm thinking of making it into a curtain and before cutting it up decided to hang it from cafe rings to try it out.  I'm liking it.  One more thing - the walls will be painted white as soon as I get in the mood to paint. Who knows when that'll be.

I've had these three framed greenery pictures in the master bath for a while now. Just yesterday, I thought about how pretty green towels would look in this mostly white room.  I was fairly specific when envisioning the color - celery green.

This photo just shows 2 of the ones I found.  Everything else has been put out.

Guess what I found at an antique mall today?  A towel set of celery green towels.  Two huge bath towels, two hand towels, two washcloths and a fabulous bath mat.  All in pristine condition.  All the tags still intact - they are from Restoration Hardware.  Lush as all getout.  I know antique malls.  I can tell you all about most of the ones in the area.  Towels are not something I recall ever seeing at any of my favorite stores.  To find a set like this was a huge surprise.  I washed the whole set the minute I got home and everything is in place now.  They are fabulous!

I also found these cool vintage metal chairs.  They are finished in a funky bohemian style which really caught my eye.  There are 4, but the vendor came in while I was browsing and it turns out I know her. She's such a sweet lady.  She told me she has two more at home and she's going to bring them in for me sometime next week.  Please don't judge the crowded arrangement and un-put-together look in this photo.  The balmy weather here is horrendous right now.  It's comparable to a Turkish steam bath.  August is usually worse, which is hard to imagine. I may not work on this porch til Fall.

So... my hobby may not be noble, but by golly it's giving me something to be interested in, other than to just get through another day.  And Sarah Ban Breathnach would agree that is something to be grateful for!

Doorknob Towel Rack

My dear, sweet, wonderful husband made a towel rack for me.  I have been looking for a towel rack with character ever since we moved in (3 years ago).  Little did I know we had everything we needed right in the barn.

He attached 3 very old glass doorknobs, which came from my grandmother, to a piece of very old, weathered, wood that came from his Uncle Clyne's barn.  I love the distressed condition of the wood - great character!

He drilled recessed hole in back so the knobs would hold firmly, yet sit flat against the wall. 

I had a painting that I've been trying to find the right spot for.  It's in a barnwood frame my sister-in-law gave me.  It's goes perfectly with the towel rack.

Unfortunately, my lousy photo doesn't do either justice, but trust me - they look wonderful! 

Southern Living Idea House - Master Suite

This is the third post in a series about my tour of the Abercorn Place 2010 Southern Living Idea House in my hometown, Senoia, Georgia.


Here are ALL the Posts in this series -
House and Town details plus the Kitchen
The Top Floor - entertainment room and craft room
The Master Suite
The Main Floor - mostly the living room & dining room
Laundry and Children's Bedrooms
Family Room and More



I took tons of photos and have plenty more to share.  Today I am posting about the master suite, which is on the third floor.  Click here to see the floor plan.


The master suite picks up the colors used throughout the house - robin's egg blue and earth tones. 

I always like to see beside tables.  You can see if a person is more interested in creating a look or if their main thought is to keep what they need close by. In this case, since it's a staged house, it's not quite as much fun.  But I still found it interesting that the picture was propped, instead of hung.  If this were my house, I know that sometime in the night, the picture would be knocked over by me or one of the cats.  The lamp would go flying and my husband would wake up cussing.  Decorating is not easy at my house!  :-)

There's a sitting area opposite the bed.  I liked that the basket table pulled in another natural texture.  Everyone seemed to like the dog pillow.  You picture the owners of the house having a little four legged baby that they adore. It makes the decor less serious, which appeals to me.  I am not in love with this room.  I have tried to figure out why.  It's a nice room. I certainly don't dislike it.  At first I thought maybe I was wishing to see a few pops of a vibrant color.  But I love the bathroom, which you'll see in a bit and it uses these same colors.  I finally decided that this room is too serious and grown up for me.  I'm 54.  I should like a grown up room, right?  I guess I'm immature.  I like fun and whimsy.  I would like more whimsical touches - like the dog pillow.  I want to see a little more personality. 

The closet area is nice.  On one side of the hallway leading to the bath is a bank of built in storage.  Very nice.  Everything is tucked behind closed doors or drawers, so even if you make a mess in a last minute search for something, no one but you will know.

The walk in closet area is opposite.  The whole closet has this great organized closet look. 

Now, my favorite part of the master suite - the bathroom.  The tub is lovely.  Shut the door, fill the tug, Calgon take me away.

I fell completely in love with the burlap-textured curtains and bronze rod.  So much so that I think that's the look I'm going to go for in my master bath.  I have some make-do curtains there now.  I still haven't committed to a look for that room.  Now, I have a good starting point.  A while back I bought a set of the large grommets in this style of curtain.  I wanted to try them out and see if I could make it work and look nice.  I've never been pleased when trying to do smaller grommets in the past, but I keep hoping I can master them.

I like the over-sized ledge next to the tub.  The glass containers are pretty, but again I picture a catastrophe waiting to happen.  Wet hands, slippery glass...  big mess.  If I were more mature, I'm sure everything would be fine.  I would scoop out what I need before getting in the tub... before my hands were wet.

I've seen this idea before, and I love it.  The bathroom chair is covered in soft terrycloth.  My fanny would be very happy here.  However, I would have preferred to have a chair with a removable cushion, slipcovered in terrycloth.  My fanny would like that slipcover to be washed often!

His and her sinks like this were on opposite sides of the room.  The cabinets are nice and they work well in the room.

I didn't take photos of the shower and toilet area.  I think someone was in there looking around.  I should have waited.  I think I glanced in and decided there wasn't anything spectacular and I wanted to move on.  Anyway, I was still in the thrill zone from the curtains.

Want more while you wait?  Check these links -
Southern Living 2010 Official Developer Site
2010 Georgia Idea House - Southern Living's site
The Historic Senoia Project
Senoia View of Good Life - AJC article on the Idea House

I have linked this post to the following parties:

Making the World Cuter Monday at Making the World Cuter  

Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple 

Show off Your Cottage Monday at The House in Roses 

Blue Monday at Smiling Sally

Skip to the Loo

The bathroom in the loft was not a room I was in a rush to decorate, so of course I keep finding things that work perfectly there. A few key items have made this room downright cheerful! It still needs some extra touches, but I no longer have the urge to leave the door shut.

First, my good friend, Judy, made this fabulous rug out of sheets. It's so soft and cozy under bare feet. Judy is truly a pro knitter and she's always making the most creative things. I'll treasure this rug forever. The colors are wonderful. One day I took the rug upstairs and realized that the colors are perfect in the loft. Now, when I wash my hands, I almost always take off my shoes just to fully appreciate the rug.

Here's a closer look at the rug. It's nice and thick AND it's washable!

Next, I found two black wrought iron racks with hooks at a consignment shop. I had hoped to use one of them in the downstairs bath, but alas, it was too long. It was the perfect size for the loft loo. A few coats of paint later and I finally have a place to hang towels. The geranium picture is not staying there. It's just there for me to think about using it somewhere in the room. I haven't made up my mind yet. Eventually, I'll place a shelf over the hooks. It's hard to tell from this photo, but the area there will hold a 4 inch deep shelf. Also, I'm pretty sure I'll eventually get new towels - not white. The white just doesn't look right.

Then, this past weekend, I found this Pottery Barn shower curtain at a thrift store. I love the colors. They are perfect for the loft. The colors pick up colors in the papasan slipcovers I made last weekend without being too match-y.

Speaking of colors, I've become obsessed with the color red. I feel a strong urge to have some red in every single room. I've been looking at decorating photos for ages trying to figure out how I want to decorate our home. I've noticed that rooms with no red (or colors near red on the color wheel) seem to look a little lifeless. They may be very pretty, but they are a bit dull. I love that the loft now has touches of red here and there. Red brings out creativity and energy and passion. I could use more of all those!

Mirror, Mirror On the Wall!

Apparently, Dr. Doolittle & I are quite vain. We have been without bathroom mirrors for a couple of months and it was more irksome than we anticipated.

I hung a hand mirror for a little while so I could at least peak at myself while brushing my teeth.

Finally, we hung mirrors over the sinks. Here are the two in the master bathroom. These are our transitional mirrors. One day, I want medicine cabinets with mirrors. And I want Dr. Doolittle to make them, because the ones I've seen in the stores so far have not thrilled me.

Even though the mirrors are not very big, it was amazing how they made the room instantly look larger.

There are a number of details in the room that still need addressing. I do not like the globes on the lights AT ALL. They have an odd way of attaching - the don't look like standard globes, so I need to go to a lighting store to see what I can do. It may be that a standard shaped globe would still work. I really haven't had time to check into it. Hopefully, I can get replacements soon - something plain - white & a bit old fashioned.

I hope to find nicer containers for the things I'll keep on the shelf. I like things I use daily to be easy to get to, but they need to look nice.

The desk in the middle is a freebie. It was a job perk. I was hired just as some remodeling was taking place and the desk had to go. It looked to me like something I could redo. In fact, it's something I have been hoping to come across. I need a vanity in the bathroom - a place to vainly gaze at myself while I work diligently in an attempt to look gorgeous.

I put the desk in the bathroom to try it out for a bit and make sure it will do before starting any sort of makeover.

I think I can paint it and attach a mirror and end up with something that will serve me nicely until I find the absolute perfect piece. I can't decide what color to paint it. White comes to mind first, but will there be too much white in the bathroom? Green? Robin's egg blue? Too frou-frou? A rich chocolate brown to pick up the browns in the floor? Too much brown? I can't paint it til I have an inspiring vision of how it will look.

Here are a few examples of interesting vanities.

This one is from Restoration Hardware -
This one from Thomasville is interesting, but doesn't have the drawer space I want -
Here's an interesting vanity mirror from thefurniture.com -
I have already have a mirror I'm going to try to make do with, but the one above sure would look nice. Hmmm... I wonder if I could find some scrolls to attach to the sides of my mirror...

Organizing the Bathroom Closet

First - The beautiful print I won from Mary at Little Red House came today! It's beautiful! So serene and peaceful - exactly what I need right now! Winning that print was such a gift in so many ways.

Moving to a new house is quite an ordeal. We were at our last house for a little over 22 years. We have most of our things "home" now, but they are necessarily where they should be. Organizing is something I both want and need to do. I love organizing - so you'll hear no complaining! I'm going to carve out time for that as often as I can.

My latest accomplishment was making sense of our bathroom things. We have less storage space in our bathroom in this house right now, which means my first task was to pare down. That was easy enough. I was surprised at the number of old things I still had on hand - for instance, sunscreen that had to have been way beyond its expiration date. Then I grouped all the things I needed to store in the closet. Most everything was pretty well grouped already so that didn't take too long. Next I gathered bins and baskets that would fit the space in the tiny closet. I had plenty to choose from. Next I decided which items were best suited for each bin. and put them there. The final step, my personal favorite - label! You can see the results of my efforts below.

I still consider this a work in progress. I would prefer that everything match a little better. I may have a touch of OCD. Don't get me wrong, I am happy with the organization so far, but there is just something really nice about opening up a closet that's not only well organized, but pretty, too!

If you love organizing and are a bit of a neat freak, you'll LOVE this blog from Sweden - Chez Larsson. In fact, if you just wish you were neater, Benita's blog will inspire you. Be sure to go through lots of her old posts!