Bathroom Makeover

After having the classic 'beach theme' bathroom for several years, I decided I wanted a bathroom makeover. I had no idea, at first, what I wanted to switch to, but I thought something with purple would be nice. I started with my poppy picture and pieced together an elegant poppy, purple and orange bathroom.

  When I got my first apartment on my own, I was excited to decorate in themes and colors of my choice. I picked seashells and beach colors for the bathroom and found three seashell art pieces online for just $5 each and free shipping. Even when I first bought them, I knew I could easily paint over them when I wanted something different to look at. And that's exactly what I did as I redid my bathroom look.

  I started by completely painting one of the pieces completely tan;

I wanted to create a 'wooden pallet' look to the already wood square.
  After the paint had dried, I sanded it down a bit and put on a second coat. While the paint was still wet, I brushed in strokes of darker shades of brown to make it look like wood grains and knots. I used different sized paint brushes and, for some spots, brushed in a circle, let it dry a little, then brushed it out. Once I was happy with how it looked, I let it dry overnight, before starting to outline the lettering.
  I had seen this quote on a canvas at Target about a year ago and I loved it. I think it is a great reminder to have hanging next to the bathroom mirror, so that I see it each morning as I'm getting ready for the day.
  First, I measured out three sections and penciled in straight lines. Then I started penciling in the words. There was a lot of erasing and adjusting to get the letters (mostly) centered and to give each letter a calligraphy look. It was a lot of close-up work; I had to keep setting it down and coming back to it, so that I didn't get a headache. It was a few days to get all the letters penciled and painted on, but well worth it!

This bathroom feels super relaxing, happy, and inspirational.
I also added a picture that a friend made me as a Christmas gift.
He used mirror paint on the frame's glass, then painted in the
words from a stencil - absolutely perfect!

Picture Frame Makeover

Just a quick post to show off this picture frame that I have finally finished!

When I moved into my apartment, two years ago, I printed these photos of mine and had the frame that I needed to repaint. It was previously red and not an easy task to cover.

I began my first attempt at covering the red the same week I moved in, The wood of the frame must have been treated. The red was glossy and the paint wasn't sticking. Two coats wasn't enough. And as soon as I peeled the painter's tape off one color it pulled all the paint with it.

I washed (literally, washed in my bathtub) the whole frame and tried another approach - sand the red off until I got to the bare wood. I think the wood was soaked in glossy red evil. I sanded and sanded, but didn't see much of a difference.

To give you an idea, here's the back of the frame - sorry, I didn't take photos throughout the process.

Frustrated, I walked away from the project; and almost two years later, it was still in my basement.

I decided to give it one more try and if the paint still peeled, I would toss the frame and buy a new one. But a happy day for me, the paint stuck and it looked just the way I had imagined!

Some projects get lost for a while, but they're always satisfying to see completed!

Repurposed DVD Rack

   I wanted more color in my bathroom, but I'm renting and not supposed to paint the walls...

My last apartment's bathroom didn't have a closet in it. There were a few shelves behind the toilet and a couple towel bars; by default, all of my bathroom items were kept out "on display." I liked having a basket filled with rolled up towels, as if it were ready to be taken to the beach. Speaking of the beach, I like that theme for a bathroom.

This apartment has a good sized closet, in which I impulsively unpacked all my bathroom items upon moving in. Now, a year later, I had an idea that seemed better.

I had a DVD rack sitting in my basement that had been put out of use when I bought a new TV stand with plenty of space for DVDs. This was the perfect width for between the tub and toilet (pretty much the only 'extra' space in the bathroom); and, since the shelves are have bars that run across, the bottom two work together as a magazine rack!

I'm happy with how it's all put together - towels are back out on display to add some color and I was able to decorate with some beach shells. 

And bonus! There was extra space in the bathroom closet, so I moved things around to make more space in my craft room. I think I'll have that re-filled soon enough!

homemaking

This time, last year, I had just moved into a new apartment; a nice 2-bedroom, split-level, duplex. This seemed like a huge upgrade in space from my previous 1-bedroom apartment! I now have one bedroom set up just for my sewing/knitting/crafting materials. Plus, I have the entire basement for space - half is carpeted and set up for board-gaming, nephews' toys, guest space, etc. The other half is the 'work-side;' set up with a washer/dryer hook-up (if I ever decide to get a set...), a work bench and shelves, paints and scrap wood, my planting and gardening tools, and general storage. It is so nice to have space to do the things I enjoy!

As with any new living space, I had to make the rooms my own by crafting and building my ideas to make it feel like me. In the photo above, the shelves were built by my dad and me. I wish I had a picture of how they were first designed for my previous apartment! The kitchen of the 1-bedroom apartment was laid out like an L; well, an upside down L really. You walked into the doorway at the long end and had a hallway of space with the stove and fridge on one side and the single bay sink on the other. Across the fridge, on the short end of the L, was just a cubby-area with nothing in it... seemed like a waste of space and I needed more shelf space anyway so I designed the shelves to fit perfectly in the area, wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling. Imagine the two outside sections of the shelf, in the picture above, set one in front of the other to create a deeper cupboard area (it had a door on it before), and the center shelf  flipped upside down and on top of the other two. Space for the microwave and food!

Not the easiest to picture probably, and not something I needed for this apartment's kitchen. So, I sanded them down and put on a few coats of paint to get a nice long living room shelf, which is perfect for that long wall.

Voilà!


I had multiple project ideas for my new apartment that were a few months in the making - curtains, more shelves, pictures and frames...

Actually, my kitchen curtain was planned to be made for my old apartment, but I didn't actually make it until January of this year... I can be a bit of a procrastinator sometimes.
I was very happy with the way it came out after designing the pattern myself. These prints kind of became my "theme" for the kitchen - owls and apples; and I really like the 70's style/colors.

This is the only window in the kitchen and it happens to face the sun all day. I decided it was the perfect spot for some houseplants, but I'd have to create a shelf that was the same height as the tiny window ledge.

My Dad

I wanted something that kept the room feeling open, but still had some room for extra items. So I came up with a squared, A-frame style. I took all the measurements and drew a picture for my dad. He helped with the 'harder' stuff - picking out the perfect boards, sawing to size, screwing and nailing everything perfectly. Then I was ready to sand and stain it!

Staining a dark red to match the curtain.

And here's the finished look for my kitchen projects!