The Powder Room Redecoration

Hi, Friends,

How are you? I hope you are well.

Surprise! Two days in a row! 

In order to get this house in tip top shape and ready to sell in a few years, we had a couple of things that needed to be done. 

The bathroom downstairs was one of those spaces. 

It wasn't terrible but it wasn't great either. 

When we bought the house, the tile in the tub surround was country blue. We closed on the house in 1993 and the house was built in 1990.  I think that color had already started to faze out of popularity by the time the house was built. I tried for years to make it work with my style. I think I was pretty successful with that. 

However, most of the time the shower curtain remained closed to hide the blue. 

I finally painted the tile with tub and tile paint about 7.5 years ago. 

It actually held up really well in that time. 

There were a few little chips but these could have easily been touched up. 

When we did the floors in 2019, the powder bath got a new floor and a new vanity. 

This was a DIY floor and I wasn't happy with how it turned out. 

I was so concerned about the area around the toilet being level, that I leaned on one of the tiles near the door and didn't notice that it got a little wonky. Nobody else would notice but I noticed and it drove me nuts. I wasn't really wild about the matte floor tile either. 

So when we decided to redo this bathroom, a new floor was included in the plans since this was less than $100.00 for me to DIY. 

Our plan included tearing out the bathtub and putting in a walk in shower. 

We talk about moving to East Texas when Bill retires but we've been back and forth on that idea more than Boomers at a pickle ball tournament. 

Our bedroom is upstairs. If one of us were to get injured or have surgery to the extent that we can't get upstairs, we decided that it would be a good idea to have a walk in shower downstairs instead of a tub. 

This bathroom is next to the office/guest room so it would be a good place to recuperate if need be. 

Our tile contractor made the point that this is the first bathroom seen when the house is listed. If it looks good, then it makes an initial impression concerning the house. 

We went with a black and white basket weave for the floor. The shower surround got a classic subway tile. There is a silver trim all around the edge of the shower. 

At the end of the first day, the space was cleared out. 

They rebuilt for the new shower pan and niche. 

At the end of two weeks it was retiled. 

We just needed the glass shower doors. 

We did exactly the same thing in our shower ten years ago. 

I love the chrome. 

We used the old toilet, light fixtures and vanity because they weren't that old. 

I love the black accents. The walls are Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams. It's a perfect muted green. 

The art came from Walmart.com. They contract through Art.com if I remember correctly. The frames were from Joanns. The shelf is Hobby Lobby. 

 This bathroom fits in so well that I'd do it again out in East Texas. It looks like it's always been here. I almost forget that it's new. 

I love it so much. 

That's all for now. 

Katie 

 

My Valentine's Day Mantel

Hi all, 

How are you?  We are out at the lake trying to relax a little. 

I wanted to get some photos of our Valentine's Day mantel up. 

I also have a little video to share with you. 

 Valentine's Day Mantel 

I do not really watch T.V. anymore. Instead I watch YouTube. I control the content that goes into my mind. "Be careful little eyes what you see." comes to mind. I just can't do regular T.V.

I've been watching a lot of home decor YouTube channels. I've decided to give it a try. I'm not giving up my blog but I thought this would be in addition to it. 

Click on the link to get to my channel. If you watch YouTube, I'd love it if you would subscribe. 

Trust me. It's not going to be anything fancy but I thought you'd like to see a little more than a blog post can show you. 

I showed you the LOVE shutter in my Ten on the 10th post. 

The banner was made from scrapbook paper. The preschool cutting skills came in handy for that one. 

My red truck got some shredded tissue, a pip berry heart and a quilted heart. The I'm sure the pip berries were from a candle ring. It's super easy to shape a few berries into a heart. 

The quilted heart came from one of my favorite antique stores in Sulpher Springs, Texas. 

It usually stays out until fall. 

I've been slow to the tiny fairy light game. I bought a string a few years ago and they didn't work so I guess I was put off by them. These work great and they are on a timer so they'll turn on each evening. 

The clock was a $5.00 Goodwill find. The pitcher has been around a long time. I found it at an estate sale when we lived in Lubbock - long before white ironstone was in style. 

It got knock off of the mantel last night during the evening dog toy toss. Fortunately, it wasn't damaged. I'm not sure how, though. It's a good 5 foot drop from the mantel to the floor. 

The coffee pot came from an antique shop in Clifton, Texas. 

The gold frame is a recent estate sale find for $1.50.

The crock is a family piece but had been in the yard. 

The white candlesticks were collected. I've put battery operated candles in them. They're also on a timer. 

If you haven't been with me a while, you may not realize that I made the fireplace surround. 

The existing floating mantel was orange oak. In a fluke moment Bill told me I could paint it. I painted it the next morning before he changed his mind. 

This was before I painted nearly everything that couldn't run away. 

Now he is used to it. More importantly, he is okay with it. 

The white floating mantel didn't look right on the brick and it needed more. I went out into the garage, grabbed some scrap wood and stuck them vertically in between the hearth and the mantel. 

These are wedged in. They are not screwed to the brick but are screwed to each other. 

The area between the bottom of the mantel and the opening was filled in with more scrap lumber.  

Fluted molding dresses up the vertical pieces of wood. 

Two years later, I decided to add something to the top too. 

I went back out to the garage and foraged for scraps. Beadboard, 2x2s and fluted molding were thrown together and wedged inbetween the top of the mantel and the ceiling. Nothing has been drilled into the brick here either. It can all be removed but who would want to? 

I love our fireplace now. 

Here are the blog posts about the two fireplace makeovers. 

Transforming a 90's Fireplace 

Faux Planking On The Fireplace

I'm a little surprised I did all that. 

Am I still that adventurous? 

There you have it. I hope you have a good weekend. I guess some of you are expecting snow.

Thanks for stopping by. 

Katie 

Here is video I shot at Christmas. 

A Stroll Thru LIfe

The Piano Corner/ Christmas 2018

 The piano corner was the last spot to receive some Christmas decor.  

This corner is weird. The house plans had it as an optional wet bar.

The people that built the house weren't drinkers. We didn't even have wine until our children were grown. 

I haven't been into a house in the neighborhood that opted for the wet bar. 

We would have had no use for it and it was already a dated element by the time this house was built in 1990. Wet bars seem like a 70's design element. We would have ripped it out.

Initially we had a little desk on this wall. It wasn't right but I'd been on the look out for a secretary desk. It would have been perfect. The closet kept games, puzzles and toddler toys. 

The piano was passed down to us two years after we bought the house.

I know pianos are supposed to be on an inside wall but we had no inside wall that would work for a piano. 

The previous owner had their T.V. tucked in front of this corner. They had a huge sectional that floated in the room facing the T.V. It was hard to visual this space and in fact, I didn't want this house. Bill did. This living room is a hard room for furniture placement.

I can play the piano but I rarely do. 

It sat in the corner like a big orange brown eyesore until I painted it.

I so scared that I'd get in trouble with the family for painting it but nobody even noticed. I have had zero regret about painting this piece. 

It sits not getting used except as a spot for my camera so it's always handy. 

I moved the ceiling tile art piece and had two options for the wall. 

The cute, green chalkboard won the day for me. 

Bill said, "Meah, It doesn't do anything for me." 

Oh well. I was so proud of it too. 

An old screen or an old window were the only other options. I love the pop of blueish, green for Christmas. 

I always need a reminder to have joy so the message was kept very simple.

Normally, the top doesn't get much attention.  

I stuck my cloche collection on it during the summer, thinking that I'd be packing them away for for a while but I loved them in this spot and pondered what to put in them.

An old Victoria Magazine popped into my head when I was moving the little silver cup out of my craft closet. I plucked a tree inside and stuck it under a cloche from IKEA. 

IKEA has a couple of great cloches if you are in the market for one.

 Some vintage books rest under the largest cloche.

 A German daily devotional with the same tones as the chalkboard rests under another one. That one used to be a domed clock. I bought it with the intention of ripping the clock out of it. I threw the clock guts away.  It was cheap, fake brass. 

One of my painted cottages was placed under the remaining cloche. 

I love this vignette so much. 

 I always think I can throw a quick blog post up. It never happens that way. 

Last night I went to a dinner at a friend's house. She has the cutest house. I hope I got some good pictures of that to share tomorrow. 

Have a wonderful day. 

Katie