BEFORE & AFTER: a bathroom

a couple months ago, my husband and i had the pleasure of doing our very own "extreme home makeover" on a small, small scale. my mother-in-law called me months ago and asked if i would be up for re-decorating (in her words, "sprucing up") her bathroom. i OF COURSE said YES! how can i pass up an opportunity to design and decorate, while spending someone else's money?! i can't.

the plan was to get the bathroom done in ONE day, but it didn't quite happen like that. i am proud to say though, that we started the shopping and measuring on a sunday, and the bathroom was complete by thursday! we went with a light brown (taupe), champagne, and white color palette. take a look...

BEFORE:
AFTER:

(new light fixture!!!)

by just changing the light fixture in this room reallly helped out, but my husband's brilliant idea to add a frame to the mirror really took it to that next level. that project was his little baby... he thought it up, designed it, shopped for it, and built it; and i think it turned out lovely! that piece alone really updates the bathroom.

some new hardware to update the space.

the ginkgo sconces were a great find, because my mother-in-law loves ginkgo trees. i was thrilled when i found these on CLEARANCE for $6! they were both an iron black, so i spray-painted them white to match the space.

because this makeover was on a smaller scale, we mainly did decorative fixes. we couldn't afford to change the flooring or the yellow-tiled counters, so we needed something a bit dramatic to alter the space. i was so excited when i found this big shabby chic etagere from target because it really transformed the little space. plus, it created storage space and many more places for me to decorate. :) here is a look inside...

(new light fixture!!)

i had so much fun shopping around for old glass vessels to decorate with. i ended up buying about 7 pieces, mainly clear, but wanted some more color; so, i added water and blue dye to the decanter below. i really love the contrast it creates between the blue water and the taupe walls.

i love this old brown pharmacy bottle

i scored this miniature milk-glass trifle for $6 at the local antique store! i filled it with cotton-scented wicker balls, which not only look cute but bring a nice scent to the bathroom.

i bought this little white dish with the idea that my MIL could place her jewelry in it at the end of the day, without the fear of forgetting where she last left it.

i just love the clear bottle below. it is actually a beaker from an old chemistry set; how cool is that?!

this was a really special project for me. these three frames hang on the back wall, opposite the mirror. prior to this makeover, there was no art in the bathroom. it was important to me, to bring in some art to make the space more personal and intimate. however, i didn't want to just throw up any piece of art that i liked because this space wasn't for me. i really wanted it to be special. i was thrilled when the idea came to me to frame pictures of three of the main crops my in-laws grow. i found pictures of each crop and antiqued them to get a vintage feel. from the top down is: cotton, almonds, wheat.

although a perfectly fine chrome towel rack came with the pack we bought, i really wanted to make a custom towel rack for this little bathroom. it was a fun and more importantly, cheap, little project. i picked up 2 corner blocks or crown molding and a thin piece of wood (sorry i can't remember the size). i also bought two iron hooks to hang the towels on. i realllly wanted to get two different antique-looking hooks, but they were all so expensive at the antique stores! so, i opted with the $1.50 special at lowe's and you would never know the difference. (if you look closely, you can see a screw. yes, i still have some touch-ups to do).

(i realize these pictures are really quite horrific. i have a nice camera, just don't know how to use it. ESPECIALLY in a small dark space. aaagh.)

thanks for stopping by!

busy bees

lots of things are goin' on around here!! i've been busy designing a few invites (that are super fun), and we've got a big wedding on saturday! in between those fun things, school work, being a good wife, and taking care of our new pet (more to come on that later), there just isn't much time left for blogging. but, i promise i will be back next week with some fun pictures to share! i hope you all have a fantastic weekend! please pray NO rain on saturday...the wedding is OUTDOORS!

a sneak peak at what my next couple days will look like...gonna be up to my ears in these...

lots of these...

this...

and some of this...

happy thursday, friday, and weekend! :)

yes, please

these match my house perfectly with the birdcage motif and light blue background...

love the sweet little owls
found at z gallerie

entertaining

these lanterns are fabulous! although they are nothing new in the retail world, they would be new to my home! i would like a set for some backyard entertaining. and for $15 - $38 bucks, that's not a bad price at all. this cool {NOT HOT} weather just begs for some backyard dinners, doesn't it?

farm sink

while you might expect to see a sink similar to this in a farm house, these little beauties have become quite the rage in non-farm houses. and it's obvious as to why people oooo and aaahh over these things. i mean, just look...

(i love this kitchen. love this kitchen. those open air shelves are amazing. and can we talk about those glass cupboard doors. gorgeous! so fresh, clean, and airy. love, love, LOVE! ...i also love the yellow, black, and white kitchen above. that is too cute.)

ok...speaking of fresh, clean, and airy. ummm, HELLO!! i know my mom is going to love this kitchen, as do i. it is like shappy-chic perfection. and really, it's not necessary, but i would LOVE a double sink. lol

another kitchen i would love to cook in.





so here is the deal. i am coming to you again for some help. we have a farm sink in our sweet little farm house. it is different than these pictured above (and is authentic and old might i add) with the bottom portion of the sink crafted out of metal. we have been debating {again} as to what color to paint the metal portion. we could obviously paint it white, but why in the world would we want to do that?! before i tell you our latest thoughts on what color to paint it, i would like your true and honest suggestions. (of course because you did so good the last time!)

you see all the grey and rust colored looking primer? all of that will be painted. there are also four doors that will be hung once they are painted...one door on each side and two in the middle (to hide that ugly trash can!) each drawer has a stainless steel handle just in case you would like to know.


ok, so tell me...what color do you think we should paint our farm sink? fyi - our kitchen is primarily yellow and white with black and khaki accents. and the fridge of course.

**updated to say: what kitchen would you choose from above?

tabletops: spring has sprung!

on this side of the world, spring is in the air. i see lots of windows down when i'm driving, smiles on faces, and already, i have seen lots of flip flops. people love spring. it's like a new beginning, a fresh start. i think it makes people happy; energizes some, gives hope to others, and flat-out brightens most peoples' day.

as soon as the blossoms started popping out a couple weeks ago, i could hardly wait to decorate. in all honesty, i just wanted to chop down some of those bloom-filled almond trees and bring them inside my house. but that would be bad. very bad. so instead, i decided to get crafty. i did NOT want to spend a lot of money. instead, i wanted to use what i had already. so that's exactly what i did. i went shopping in our cellar (i love old houses) and in our back room and found lots of treasure worthy decorations. i made one quick trip to michael's for spray paint, new birds, and fun lil butterflies. about $15 later, some branches, a pile of junk, a few bottles of glitter and a couple cans of spray paint, spring has officially sprung in the trig's household.

scrap branches i found in the "burn" pile at our house, paired with smallstumps birch tubes. a freshly painted bird cage with those fun wired butterflies i found at michael's sit on faux grass i already had (i think it was from michael's as well).




cute little guy

i originally wanted to hang the bird cages from the ceiling with fishing line, but due to the "old house" issues, i decided it was best to not hang them. (although i very much wanted to). i did not want all three bird cages sitting directly on the table and i definitely did not want them to be at the same height. so i had to get creative. how could i elevate the bird cages without putting holes in the ceiling? i decided to use some of the clear square and rectangle vases i have by filling them with faux mossy stones and placing them on their sides with the bird cages on top. then the entire entry table was covered in spanish moss along and of course some more branches. :)







i feel like i always struggle trying to come up with a center piece for our coffee table. our coffee table is directly in front of our tv (as most people's are), so to do a tall centerpiece would just be silly (especially because we have an extremely low couch). but for whatever reason, coming up with a low centerpiece for this table just isn't easy for me. i always feel like they look silly and i end up taking apart whatever it is that i made. that is until this project... i really love how this little centerpiece turned out. it just makes me happy. and in the end, that's what it's all about, right? i don't know about you, but that's the only reason i decorate my house. because i love it and it makes me smile each time i see every little detail.

the moss, mushrooms, and bird combination is just so earthy and raw, yet cutesy too with those glittery butterflies, isn't it? i love it.


this tree was born out of an idea to bring springy colors into the house. i saw some lovely branches outside and thought it would be fun to turn one into a tree. i had this silly idea to hang circles of different colored paper from the tree to resemble the spring and easter season. after a couple days of thinking about it, i remembered that i had some old scrap-book paper in just the perfect colors! i wasn't sure how it would turn out so i just went for it. and i am so glad i did...i just love it. it's so playful and silly...goes well with all the butterflies and birds flying around the living room. :)


it's hard to tell, but i actually spray painted this entire tree a khaki color. i was curious as to how it would turn out as compared to the natural brown branches. result? i love the color and i especially love it up against my blue walls. there is something about chocolate brown, blue, khaki, and white that just works. it works well. the problem is, on these skinny branches, it's hardly noticeable unless you know i painted it. conclusion? waste of $4, waste of 1 hour painting, and waste of losing the feeling in my index finger for 1 week.



here is the moss i harvested from the roof-top! so far so good, i am keeping it alive as much as i can tell. i am definitely keeping those sprouty-weeds alive that's for sure...they just keep growing! the first thing i did was fill the ceramic bowl with small rocks, then placed the moss on top so that it would act as a drainage system. i decided if the moss doesn't do well, i'll just go harvest some more.



my MIL bought a dozen farm eggs for us last year and i just about screamed when i opened the container. who knew eggs could be so cute? light brown, dark brown, cream, green. lord knows we couldn't throw those shells away! so what did that mean? it meant me blowing all the egg out of each shell. i then soaked them overnight in bleach water in order to clean the "raw" eggy out of the shell. they are now ready to be used for spring decorating! (btw, i do not recommend blowing eggs. my cheeks hurt for one month afterward. surely michael's has to have good enough faux farm eggs, right?)

when you are short on counter space, you even decorate your stove.



these are so cute aren't they? my mom gave them to me last easter. :)


she also gave me these fluffy chicks...i love them sooo much. i wish i had 5 more of them.

so how 'bout that! why don't you pull out some of those old treasures that you've stuffed away, grab some spray paint, glitter, and that ever-faithful glue gun, and spring-up your home! more than anything, i hope you're inspired to take a step outside to see how you can bring some of the outdoors in. after all, it will be 107 degrees out (in the central valley at least) before you know it and all you will want to do is shut the outside OUT.

happy spring and happy decorating. :)