Sunday, January 29, 2012

Pretty in Pink?

For the record I have never liked the color pink.  Never!  Even when I was a little girl, I never remember going through the typical pink little girl phase.  When I think of pink now, it reminds me of a good friend (LM) who does pink well in a beautiful Barbie kind of way.  Pink just seems to suit her and although in many ways we are much alike - we are not when it comes to the color pink.  She loves it - I loathe it.

So when I was faced with a pink tiled bath here at TUD, I sort of thought OMG, it's really pink!  Further, I sort of cringed when I understood that budget limitations would prohibit any sort of gut/reno to this room anytime soon. I knew that the pink bath was here to stay for awhile because other rooms are just way ahead on the priority list.

The question then became, how in the hell can I make the pink bath at least a bath we could live with and not totally cringe every time I walked in??? Hmmmm.....a challenge for sure.  First step, find a fabric that could bring some tones in that I at least liked: taupes, browns, etc. and incorpate not one 1 but 2 different shades of pink tile.  Easier said than done.  I searched for some time before I came upon a fabric that I thought might do the trick, but finally found one.  The rest unfolds below - before shots remind me of how bad it looked:


oh BTW, I forgot to mention there was also a lovely fake marble laminate countertop
and a 2-tone pink tiled floor.  The room basically screamed PINK when you walked in.



Also an old cabinet and wonky sink.
It was a toss up as to which looked worse, the counter top or the tile.
On second thought, all that pink tile was far worse!



At least the tub and toilet were white.



The last before shot - I promise.

For a woman who hates pink and also has had some pretty fabulous baths in my former lives, I wanted to first show you the true before shots, so you can understand my angst with how can I transform this bathroom, with say under $500.  No gutting for that price, no big change outs for that price....so let the budget transformation begin.

By far the most expensive investment was the fabric for the custom shower curtain.  I figured it was worth the price of about $200 (fabric and labor) to cover as much of the pink as possible?  While the fabric is a bit wild for my normal style, it had all the colors that I thought might just work.  Then I went to my go-to light beige for the walls, to tone down the pink a bit more.  So without further explantation, I give you my after shots.



Do you think the wild fabric is wild enough to divert your eyes from noticing the pink?



Hey, the "wonky" sink is growing on me.



The ugly counter top got a new look with Rustoleum's counter top paint.
Warning: if you use this stinky product be prepared to have the fumes
force you to leave the house for at least a day.



A close up of some "pretties", aka further diverting the eye from the pink tile.




Since this does serve as the children's bath area, a helpful lesson for life is on display.
Note: to the 3 tween/teen girls who will be in residence this summer.....
the "P" is especially for you.  remember the "lighter" you come
to the States, the more shopping you can do while here!



Finally, a shot of the floor.  Per the suggestion of our much loved
Nate Berkus, when you have an ugly floor and can't spend big
bucks, try the new peel and stick vinyl.  I have to agree with
Nate of this one....for $60. and some patience - you can rid
yourself of a really ugly tile.  It made a tremendous difference.


So there you have it.....it's still pink, but a little prettier in pink.  Since 3 girls will be using the bath this summer, I thought to myself, well maybe they won't think pink is as bad as I do.

What do you think????

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Recent purchases that made me happy

Wondering if I found that camera cord?  Nope.  It's still missing.  The good news is that I had ordered my new Nikon from Amazon.com and it arrived.  now mind you, I had to read enough of the manual to actually take some photos, but mission accomplished and I did get some shots. 

So first up, on the guess what's made me happy lately column besides the fabulous new Nikon!).  A few recent purchases that all just please me.

Take a look:

A fabulous new book featuring 36 amazing places, which I plan to enjoy 1 chapter at a time.
If you have a chance to purchase this, I think it's woth the spend.  I found this copy at HomeGoods for $50.

Next up on the clearance aisle at Target:


I just loved these plastic-great-for-outdoors plates. 
 I bought all they had @ $1.48 each and am on the hunt for more.

Last but not least a cool little tin ice bucket:



Figure it will be great for BBQ's this spring/summer - outdoors chilling down a few bottles of white wine
or for my beer drinking family and friends....perhaps a bucket of cold beers.


Are you noticing a common theme here?  Yep, it's my "fix" for my love of orange these days. Still got my groove on for orange and I'm not even sure exactly why.  I have never ever used or even thought about enjoying this color until now.

So here's to HomeGoods and Target - 2 of my favorite stores for a quick pick-me-up.  I can almost always run in and find something cool and cheap.  Did I need any of these things?  well no, not really ....but why let that burst my bubble? 


Tuesday, January 24, 2012

What you need to be a good blogger :)

I had full plans to do a post today on some things that made me happy.  Mind you, I have been absent lately - dealing with a family issue up north and unfortunately being in Northern MI when the storm came and cancelled all the flights.  Grrrr!  My little interuption in my own world, made me appreciate my own little world.  While dealing with the challenges of being a solo parent to the twins (who now know that they out number me!) and running a household by myself....I am very grateful that I live in the land of sunshine and do not have to deal with snow storms, icey roads and oh yeh - car doors that are frozen shut.  Let's just say it was good to get back to FL.

On to the subject at hand.  I read blogs....as many as I have time to view.  Some I really enjoy, some I think are a bit too personal or do not focus on their own DIY projects, etc.  There are thousands out there and they seem to cover everything.  I have decided that I like the blogs that really show all the DIY progress that the creative blogsters out there manage to accomplish with small budgets, but huge creativity.  The one thing I have noticed is that ALL of these blogs are written by women, who have husbands that do a large majority of the work, have all  power tools and in other words - work as a team.  While not impossible, it's hard to do some things by myself.  Even small things like moving a piece of furniture.  So I do what I can, call on a friend (preferably a strong friend) when I need to move furniture and hire out what I can't do by myself.  Unfortunately this limits me - as my budget is small while my visions are big.

OK.....so my plans to show you some little things that make me happy tonight seem to be in the "it's not happening column" because, get this - I can't find my cord to my camera.  how lame is that?  the funny part of the story is that while I don't have a husband to help, I also don't have anyone I can blame for misplacing the cord.:)

So there you have it.  No photos, no story.....only sheer determination to find wherever the hell it is that I put the damn camera cord.  I'm also on a mission to get a room reveal done by this weekend.  I'm close, so close I can see the post.  so hang on.....I promise to find my cord, shoot the progress and yes, actually post it.

so what I have concluded REALLY does help one become a good blogger is a) having a husband/partner who shares the load b) having time to do all the work to accomplish the changes c) more technical skills than I presently have (but I am working on it!) and d) be able to locate your camera cord!

Friday, January 6, 2012

Let's repurpose vs. pitch

While I contently work on the many projects here at my current little ugly duckling - I also spend a fair amount of time working on projects for others.  This post will fall into that category. 

There once was a chair.  Sort of a homely little chair, but it was also a comfortable chair and certainly worth saving vs. pitching.  The question often comes down to expense.  Fabric and upholstering do not come cheap and often it is more affordable to just pitch the old and go out and buy new.  As was the case with the homely little chair.  After discussion and a trip or two to fabric stores - my wonderful Walt, the upholstery man, took this little ugly duckling and turned it into a swan.  And you know what?  I feel really good about "saving" the chair .....sort of like going paperless to save the trees.  The green side of me is coming out more and more!

Before: The Homely (but comfy) Little Chair



The After: Now being used and enjoyed as an office chair in the BR




Hard to see in this shot - but the contrasting piping in a chocolate paisley against the beige/gray pinstripe looks really fab.  I have also noticed that the little homely chair sits up just a little bit more proudly these days.....kind of like a lady after fully recovered from a facelift.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

The story of a simple fireplace screen

For the past 4 months that I have been working on my little ugly duckling, I have been searching for a fireplace screen.  Now little did I know, that it would not be an easy task.  I thought, measure the hole - find the screen.  Well.....maybe I should say find a goodlooking screen that will properly fit the opening for a bargain price.  I looked high and low: online, HD and Lowes, consignment stores, etc.  Now mind you perhaps in the South we may not have as large of an offering because we rarely actually use a fireplace - but I swear I could not find one that a) I liked b) would fit or c) could afford. 

So what did we stare at for nearly 5 months?  This....

How pathetic!


Even when I decorated the mantle for the holidays to try and distract the wandering eye......




and even tried hanging stockings .....


The ugly big hole was what your eye was drawn to.
Kind of like a woman dressed up for a party without any shoes on....
before she's drunk and kicks them off to dance!


Despite my search for weeks, I could not find anything that would work.  Fast forward to yesterday - I run into Target (I am a huge Target lover!!) and lo and hehold.....what catches my eye but a fireplace screen.  not just any old fireplace screen, but THE one.  I look at the measurements and sure enough - it will work.  so there I am in Target trying not to do the dance of joy, grabbing the big 'ol screen and trying to balance in on the cart to check out.  Imagine this scene, me pushing cart, twins balancing the screen. 

We come home - complete with all items needed to make s'mores for the very first time, put the fireplace screen together and now have this:




Monday, January 2, 2012

Award: Most Improved

If I were to give an award for "most improved" room to date, it would definitely have to be what we are now using as the TV room.  When I first saw it, after the renters vacated, I think it may have been the room that triggered my anxiety attack.  The room was dark and drab, painted in a khaki (is that how you spell that???) color, not a cool khaki, but more like the color of an Army jeep.  The plaster ceiling was cracked and caving in and although I thought we could just repair it, we actually had to replace it.  There were also large holes in the walls and the heavy window treatments made the room look even more dark....I swear it reminded me of a vampire cave.  In fact I wondered if the 3 teenage boys that formerly lived here were really vampires.

Then I came in after the house was vacant and ripped down the heavy window treatments, open the blinds and let the light in.  I immediately felt better, because I knew it could go from looking like a vampire cave to something more refreshing. I wish I had a picture of when the renters were here and the room looked like a dark cave, but the best before shots I can offer are the cleaned up, windows letting light in shots - and it doesn't look nearly as bad as it did. I know I have posted little snippets before, but completed Before and After shots below..... 

Before of Entry Doors

After - ahhh it's amazing what white paint can do.


Before shot of the room
Imagine dark vampire drapes and in this shot you cannot see the holes in the walls or the ceiling falling in.




After Shots: make me happy to see the lighter brighter version.

I have never painted a room white before.  My painters were pressuring me to pick the color so they could get going and I was in the undecided column for a while.  Kept thinking of the cave and that I just wanted it to be a bright cheery room - and voila...completely inspired by Bob and Courtney Novogratz to just go with white and bring in pops of color.  I am SO happy with my decision, despite the fact my painters kept saying - "white-you really want bright white???".  They know me well and have never ever seen me go with a white room - ever!

And since I know that Y and J will be checking this post to see progress, here are a few more angles:


Before


After


Before


After


Last Before

and some After shots: woo-hoo...I LOVE progress!




My free chair!


Voila: our nice sunny cheerful T room!



Sunday, January 1, 2012

New Year = New Attitude!

Happy New Year!!  I am always so happy to see a new year begin.  The promise of what will come in the new year continues to intrigue me.  Sort of like a clean slate - in a "let's start again and see what we can do better this year" sort of way. 

OK, so I didn't make it through my 12 days of Christmas plan (Sorry YH), but the good news is I really enjoyed the holiday season.  Actually, it was because I enjoyed the holiday season SO much, that I didn't have time to get to the blog :)....but that's ok, because my only resolution made for this new year is to:



and just how is it I plan to do this?    Hmmmmm.....let me count the ways:

10) Schedule more time to relax (yes I need to schedule it, or my neurotic OCD nature has me working on some big to-do list)

9) Enjoy trying more new recipes and attempting to get my little guy to finally eat some veggies.

8) Travel - I have been blessed to travel much of the globe, but I have new places still yet to explore.

7) Be grateful for all that has yet to come.  The good, the bad, the path yet to travel has not been set ....but I want to embrace it and remember that every experience enriches my life, often in an unknown way.

6) Remember to enjoy the small things in life: a perfect tomato, the smiles of my children, a beautiful day, etc.

5) Appreciate the kindness of others and say thank you more often.

4) Blog more often.  OK, maybe that should have a higher ranking :)

3) Be spontanious - understand that a plan can be changed and that projects, appointments and a calendar of events can often be rescheduled.

2) Commit to finding a job that I will enjoy and want to get up and be excited about every day.

1) Don't sweat the small stuff and continue to remember that I do not need to have all of the answers TODAY!

In other words.......Here's to being less of a control freak and more of a free spirit in 2012!  Thanks to my fabulous Mr. S for his perspective, grace, wisdom and advice.

PS: TV room reveal tomorrow.....and now I'm off to read the newest magazine in the pile and have an hour of peace and quiet to myself instead of cleaning the garage......see I have already started working on my top ten list!