Tuesday, December 31, 2013

a fresh color palette

The last few days have been pretty productive for me in the home to do lists, including finishing my half bath.  I honestly can't believe it's done especially since I've really been dreading re-painting the walls, but it was inevitable with all the holes that needed patching from changing out the towel bars and hooks and then a few weeks ago my cats decided to climb the curtains and yep it all came crashing down.  

Such happiness seeing  my IKEA print shining brighter against crisp white walls.   

The desire to change my walls from Behrs Peanut Butter to Martha Stewart's Vapor came about when I was inspired by the color scheme in this red, white and teal laundry makeover.  My favorite part of the design was the red knobs.  After scowering her post I found out where she had bought them, but after getting to the check out I stopped when the shipping for a pair of $3 knobs was going to be $10.  This meant I was going to DIY my own red knobs.  It was actually pretty practical since I already had the primer and red spray paint on hand and my cabinet already had the same shape knob only it was a pink flower ceramic knob.  It took several layers of primer even after lightly sanding it down for it to stick and then a few coats of red before I was happy with them. I do still need to add a layer of a clear sealer so they are more shiny than rough. 

I also had high hopes of using the sew now, sew wow fabric by Alexander Henry that Anna used for the ironing board cover, but outside of a toilet set cover I couldn't think of anything in the room that I could practically use it for and I didn't want to just frame it.  So you can image my happiness when I came across this $10 dove poster art on one of my trips to IKEA


I've yet to hang up a towel rail or hook, because after sealing seeing the bathroom so clean and crisp I didn't like how my IKEA ENNUDEN towel rack looked.  Plus, I really love the ceramic hook that Anna had in her laundry room, so until I can find one similar I'll continue to drape the towel over the cabinet door.

I used command strips to hang the mirror and IKEA RIBBA frame so I didn't add more holes.  I really should buy stock in them, because most of my frames and art are hung up by command stripes.  They really do save me from having so many holes in the wall from the countless times I've changed my mind.  I just used the Velcro stripes for the IKEA frame.  I always cut the Velcro in half vertically and use 1 strip for each side.  this way I get more use out of each strip, especially with the back edging being so thin.  However, for the mirror I opted to use another version, one that the wire could hang from.  
  
I also think that I will opt to using bar soap rather than a dispenser.  I really hate dispensers, especially if I decide to change out the soap.  Plus, I think it will keep it simple.


I'm quite happy with using my vintage telephone / record stand since it's not been very useful in the living room.  It's far to light and my cats like to catapult from it, which usually results in it falling down and anything on it.  This way they can't knock it down and it holds all my extra towels instead of them being on the back of the toilet tank.  I've also added the air fresher on top since taking the photo. 


The MYRVIKEN hand towels and PERSBY area rug are both from IKEA..  I tried looking on their site, but it looks as if they are no longer available.  I did just purchase sometime after summer and the hand towels were a new design then so they may still be available in stores. 


I didn't take out the anchors for my IKEA ENUDDEN toilet roll holder as I new I wanted it back and love that it holds to rolls so we don't have to change it out as often.  I also like that it has a "top shelf" which allows you to utilize the space.  At one point I had the air fresher there, but I really like my ceramic dogs so for now I have them resting there.

I do love how the whole look came out and it's far more refreshing and open and better liking to my Scandinavian design tastes compared to how it looked prior with the Behr Paint as you can see before with my last photographed update in May.

May 4th update

Below you can see my priming progress.  It was definitely a challenge painting this small and cramped space, but after two coats of primer and a coat of Vapor I'm sooo glad I did it.


I decided to just paint the bath walls white, but the only white I had was a matte finish, so I thought this could be a good way to veer from the Picket Fence by Martha Stewart that I painted the dining room, because it was stark white so I decided to go with my original white Vapor which has a slight gray tint to it.


I'm also glad that I  figured out how to paint behind the light fixture without having to disconnect the wires. It wasn't fun, but I'm glad for it.   


It feels good to finally have the walls painted.  I only needed one coat of Vapor, which I was very thankful for and after adding all the hardware and accessories I'm very happy with how it looks.

Friday, December 13, 2013

tucked in a bin, a little organization

Most of my nights lately have been parked in front of the TV watching holiday movies, however tonight I'm proud to say that I headed straight up to my creative space and organized my built in dresser drawers.  I sadly don't have any before photos, but I can tell you that everything was just thrown in the drawers and nothing really had any particular order.   It was really getting at my type A personality and I'm so glad to see some order to them. 

My hygiene drawer was the first drawer I tackled and it looks a ton better.  This was becoming a hug junk drawer and I'm glad to be able to find what I need and now know that I'm good with razors and deodorant, but need to order some bar soaps.   Since going back to short hair last year I've not used my flat iron, but I love it so I keep it tucked in the back of the drawer.  I do need to adjust my feminine items since some of them I've had a while and really don't plan on using.  I only have them because my mom bought them.


My purses are pretty easy, I just sorted my totes (far right), actual purses and then hiking bags (far left).  In the striped shoe box I added my wallets and the black bin I have what few tights and dressier items that I own just in case I might decide to wear a dress and my travel pillow over top.  


I think my towels are by far my favorite organized drawer tonight I think mainly due to having sufficient tubs to hold them in. After a few rounds this drawer usually ends up looking like a hodge podge so I hope this will help to keep it somewhat tidy.  

I didn't realize how many hair towels I had until I started sorting them tonight.  Though most of them were given to me by my grandmother, all brown & extras she wasn't using.  They work when I travel or when I'm out of the 3 white one's I prefer to use, but for now I see no reason to part with them.   I have parted with a few hand towels since a month+ ago I purchased some new one's for the kitchen and bathroom downstairs.

I also used clothespins for labels, but I don't think I'm going to keep them as they're really not that practical for this drawer.


My sheets I think shortly will need to be included in a drawer organizer, but I have to find one around the house or I'm thinking I might grab my last stitch fix box that I haven't thrown out yet.  

My hand towels fit nicely in the back and in front of them are a few wash cloths, though I rarely use them.  Then to the left of the wash cloths are my pillow cases.  I'm thinking I should purchase a few more of them, maybe red, blue and yellow to match my pattern cases I love.
  
It's nothing fancy, but it's all about small steps that move you toward your end result. Sometimes done is good enough for some areas.

What are some steps you have taken in order to create order in your home?

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Cork Board Bills

I find that I am forgetful of things that are out of sight and my bills are no different so I've been reading up to find solutions that will help me stay focused on when my non auto pay bills have been paid.  

One post I found that was this one from Lovely Little Things It inspired me enough to actually create my own index cards that I added to my dining room cork board. Now my roommate and I will brake to keep track of when to pay our shared bills without having our account details out in the open.


I simply gather a blue med point sharpie and a few index cards and noted the bill name on top, added a few dots for visual and then listed each month so I can check off each month as they are paid.  then I added 2014 at the bottom.  The large page on the bottom right is our last goodwill log.  I wanted it somewhere that it wouldn't get lost until we were able to drop off our donation. 


Well start this in the new year so hopefully all will go well with our financial goals.