Bathroom Tour

A little tour of a little room....

I have featured my 

chalkboard wall on my blog 

before and a little bit 

about this space, 

but thought I'd give

 you more of a tour....

The lighting is a little off...

but I painted the walls 

a medium toned green...mistake paint...

my favorite kind of paint

$8 a gallon

from a thrift store.

I have a plain shower curtain to use 

because this bathroom has 

already been 

7 colors in 5 years...

The window treatment

is a vintage tablecloth

folded and hanging over a

drapery rod. 

The greens are clippings from a 

tree in my yard...

great way to 

feel like you have fresh flowers

but at no cost!

A vintage painting and 

thrift store frame

add the view this 

bathroom is missing....

hung on the chalkboard wall.

You can also see the 

original wall tile

and towel holders.

They were sprayed and recoated 

in white by the

previous owners. 

 Love yellow and green together 

so the window treatment and the 

towels bring in the yellow

 to go with the green 

on the wall.

A vintage wall lamp...

there is an overhead light, 

but I love soft 

lighting options in every room.

Carrera marble for the vanity top 

ties in the marble floors I 

added 5 years ago.

The mirror is decoupaged 

in newspaper. 

The soap dispenser is an old Avon 

lotion dispenser.

The black box stores toothbrushes.

The vintage table has 

the perfect opening for 

towel storage

and a drawer for 

other essentials...

It a tight bathroom so I 

have to use all space in a 

functioning and decorative way...

always my goal in any space.

 My daughter's step stool adds

a little touch of green 

and tucks away 

perfectly under the window.

I changed the knobs on the 

vanity to colored glass

to disguise the Home depot

look it had before.

The wall color shows up a 

little better in this photo.

 A sisal rug is a nice 

earthy touch for the room...

wanted something less 

predictable for the rug. 

Overall...I wanted to make this space feel original... yet updated.

  

I tried to accomplish this by

adding vintage furniture and accessories

 to marry with the look 

of the original tile,

adding small tile which is 

the size it would have been originally,

and blending old with new all

the way through.

  

My Kitchen

 Yesterday was a big day...my home was 

featured on a house walk in 

our town of Riverside IL...still recuperating 

from all the cleaning, painting, rearranging, etc....

My children were allowed back home after the 

event and were asking 

if they could sit on the couch again....poor things!

I thought I would share some photos of my kitchen....

This kitchen was a turn off when I bought my 

home because it was 

so closed off from the dining and living room.   

As you can see in 

the photo below, I opened up the wall and 

added counter stools on the 

dining room side and 

was able to eliminate that issue. 

I added a drum shade fixture that would not
compete with the dining chandelier.

I purchased this antique bread box...

I think new kitchens need old things.

I used a contemporary vase with some artificial

flowers, vintage platters and potted parsley.

The window treatment is an embroidered linen panel 

that I gathered in the center using 

 flower hair accessory.

I glued buttons to this little lamp shade for a touch of whimsy.

The greens in the tall vase are 

from a tree in my yard and 

added some 

lavender and a fern in 

vintage pottery.

I selected custom cherry shaker style cabinets in walnut stain

because I am not too crazy about the red that shows up in wood.

   

I thought off adding white cabinets to keep it as open as 

possible being a galley kitchen, 

but wanted to keep true to a brick bungalow style kitchen.

I base a lot of the way I decorate my home

to fit within the style of the home....

want it to feel original, yet updated.

Sometimes this is hard...I love every style...really!

....but I keep asking...

does this fit with a bungalow look?

I also had to think about how the cabinets would look 

visually with my wood dining set...

not at all into matching, 

but like things to flow.

Sometimes it is nice to ground your design 

with the main elements 

(Example here: cabinets and dining set)

being similar

and then mix it up with how you accessorize. 

   

 I chose these granite counters...giallo ornamental 

to keep the space bright and neutral.

I have an antique wire basket

 for all my potatoes and such...

the open space keeps things from rotting 

and I love the look. 

I get tired of things fast, so I added a 

classic cream crackle

subway tile backsplash

...also true to bungalow decor.

I accented the tile with a travertine

mini subway tile

inset over the stovetop,

It also connects with the floor tile.

Under cabinet puck lighting highlights 

the tile and granite

and is great task lighting.

Then I created a little breakfast nook...

great to have benches for squeezing 

more people in

and I love it with kids.

 I found these plastic vintage flower plaques at a thrift store.

The window treatments are napkins clipped in a row.

I got the bench fabric for $6 a yard...

 just keep recovering and washing

fabric for these foam cushions.

I just wrap them like a present

and use big safety pins.

I added rug grips underneath

the cushions.

I also added vintage doilies under the glass. 

 Found these cool dishes at a thrift store...love the mix of retro with the doilies.

 I stripped the one wall I have to pull the 

colors of the granite and tile.

I placed the stripes over the 

fingerprints of my children

and a mark made where I killed a fly.

...so they are not evenly spaced.

I was too lazy to paint over the top

of the cabinets so 

 this seemed like a good solution. 

 I put the 18x18 floor tile on an 

angle to get away from a runway look.

I also selected a light and bright tile

to keep it as bright as possible and

connect to the colors in granite. 

I wanted a busy

 pattern to keep from having 

to wash the floors too much.

I added some vintage plates in a random way 

to bring your eye up.

 I feel very fortunate to have this kitchen!

I hope you enjoyed the tour!

Opening the Screened In Porch

  This morning I brewed a pot 

of coffee and got to work on 

cleaning and arranging 

my screened in porch.

This is a bonus to my home, 

and I did not even realize 

it when we purchased

our home 5 years ago.

Although it is small, it gets a 

ton of use and functions very well.

I love decorating small 

spaces and packing in

all types of functions 

 into the space.

I decorated the space with 

thrift store furniture 

and a rug remnant.

I added lamps, accessories, 

and art trying to

give the feel 

of an interior space. 

 The couch fabric is a little crazy, 

but for $50 and having the 

same colors of the brick

and the small dimensions needed, 

it was a must have for the space.

Of course the day I found it, 

I had all three kids and 

had to get it home

with them in tow.

I could have gone back for 

it the next day, 

but I have no patience! 

 I added this thrift store 

chair that has 

little pineapples and 

painted a desk with 

polka dots for my 

4 year old to use.

You can see the brick colors here.

The polka dots were created with a stencil.

This end of the porch 

is a spot to sit 

and remove your shoes

or set things down.

...Kind of works like 

my mud room too.

 Across from the TV, 

I added this TV/VCR

bought at a garage sale

...yes VCR

Now I watch all 

my 80's flicks 

on video that I 

purchase at thrift stores.

The TV stand is also a bench, 

so I put the TV away if we 

are having company and 

add a little cushion

and then it becomes an extra seat.

I also found this amazing 

vintage fan. 

 The little chair is great to 

put your feet up.

On the ledge, I added

plants and a metal bicycle. 

 The couch and chair also 

create a nice

conversation area. 

The windows have bamboo blinds 

that help keep it 

from getting too sunny.   

I added this light fixture 

from Menards and a 

twig as a window treatment.

The walls, spindles,

 and ceiling were 

originally cedar colored and white.

My hubby and I painted it

all the colors I asked which

 were inspired by the 

color in the bricks.

I made sure to add lots

of colors on this side

with pillows and 

accessories to

compliment and balance

with the other side

of the porch.  

 This is truly my favorite 

place to spend time...

so glad to have it ready 

for the spring and summer season. 

Gallery Wall

I am a bit frantic 

preparing my home 

to look it's best for 

an upcoming housewalk event.

Good side...It's like having a party

...things get done that have 

been on my list, 

and so that is what is going on 

in my house now.  

Also reminds me of my college days...

sitting up all night 

writing the paper that was

due the following morning 

when it was assigned weeks before.

Anyway...here is the wall I 

decided to tackle on my list...

This is a game table area

 in my living room.

So I took my 4 year old to IKEA, 

 played house in ALL 

the room settings, 

then 2 hours later(for real), 

I got to play with the frames. 

 I like to lay things out on the 

floor to plan my layout.

I actually had no idea 

what I was going to frame, 

but thought I would 

rummage through the house.

Besides, if I was going to 

buy the frames, I was not going 

to spend any more money.

Then I started to dig 

through things and... 

I came up with this pile...

a watercolor form a local artist,

old wallpaper,

scrap book paper, and 

a sketch/painting by a local artist

 I was looking to bring in some 

blue since I have 

so many autumn colors.

The watercolor leaves painting

was the item to connect the 

dots with my colors

since it has the blue I wanted 

and the room's colors.

I started building my gallery wall 

and assessing as I went along.

I started with this 

sweet wallpaper print.

It came from a book 

of discontinued papers.

 ...taped it to the matting and framed it

 Then came this sketch that 

reminds me of coral.

 Put the first two framed items

 next to each other

to assess and was 

happy so I kept going.

 Then my watercolor that I knew 

would look better with a mat so was 

eager to see it done.

 ...loved it so much more framed

 Then I layered two pieces 

of scrapbook paper.

One felt too plain.

 Lastly, I had this piece 

of discontinued wallpaper...

 but had to play with what part 

of the pattern I liked best.

Then it was time for 

the moment of truth...

hammer and nails....

and here is what I ended up with....