Meanwhile....

We're not quite into the thick of our bathroom renovation yet (in fact, we haven't done a single thing past talk out loud about it, and visit 2 tile stores...)

But I'm ITCHING to see some progress somewhere in this house. It's hit a plateau where there's not a lot we can do unless we have a good amount of time/money to spare. So I decided to take matters into my own cheap hands.

I'm thinking the way to make the biggest impact with the smallest amount of cash is to paint something. Therefore, I shall stencil an entire wall. The thing is, I am gonna make the stencil myself. I will end up adding a lot of time to my project, but in the end I'll get exactly what I want and can see immediate results. No buyers remorse either!

Where, you ask, is an appropriate place to stencil an entire wall? Well, why not the living room!? So far, the only thing Kennedy and I have hung on the walls in that room are his Bose speakers, and a mirror. And while they look great, I'm not so much a fan of entertainment components as art. Here's a shot of the wall that will be crowned in glory in the near future:

My plan is to purchase the same color the wall is already painted in, but in a high gloss finish. OR, I could go one shade lighter....I haven't decided how much subtlety I want yet.

Now for the patterns! Here are a few patterns that I'm leaning toward...They are all strikingly similar!

Source unknown

From Good Girl Gone Glad

Pottery Barn Moorish Tile Rugs

Wish me luck! If I pull this off, I'll be sure to give you a hint or two on how to do the same! If I don't pull it off, I will post embarrassing photos and then paint over it.

"This just got real..."

...is what Kennedy told me last night after he got off the phone with Stinson. We have recruited our first helpers for this bathroom project!

Now, where to begin? I decided that the most logical next step was to decide on a layout for the bathroom. Of course this isn't written in stone, but it will at least give us a jumping-off point. I'm thinking that we should have several back-up plans in the event that we hit a snag.

Kennedy and I have made some discoveries here in DIY-land. One being that every project (big or small!) takes at least 3 times longer than your original estimation.

Another discovery is that SOMETHING WILL GO WRONG. No matter what. It might be minor, or it could be major, but it's best to plan for the unexpected.

We've decided to do a slow demo over the course of a few weekends. Maybe rip down some wall paper here, pull off some moulding there, carefully remove the wall of mirrors above the huge bathtub (seriously, I like mirrors as much as the next girl, but I'm not sure I want an alcove of mirrors when I'm bathing...)

I'll quit rambling now and get on with it. What you see below is a before and after blueprint of the bathroom that I quickly drew up on my computer - not exactly to scale, but pretty durn close. Let me know what you think! Do-able? NOT do-able? Any suggestions for the extra space between the shower and tub (if we decide to go with that layout)?

HERE!

The red Xs indicate the places that I have to stand in order to get in and out of that wretched shower/toilet closet.

Feel free to share any advice you have!

Identity Crisis...

That's the clinical description for what my blog is going through. Please bear with me.

Restless Leg Syndrome

It's 10:08 on a Saturday night and here I find myself blogging and watching Tombstone with Kennedy (which at first glance, looked like Clue -- What? I've never seen either all the way through, but handle-bar mustaches + billiards rooms = Clue in my mind.)

Val Kilmer has really let himself go.

While we're on the topic of things that could really use a makeover, Kennedy and I have decided to finally take the plunge and renovate our master bathroom.

Here are are a couple of pictures on move-in day:

From the outside looking in....The only difference between this photo and now is we have since thrown out that bath mat and the white shelf on the back wall.

Here's another, just because it's so visually appealing...

From the inside looking out...

I cannot WAIT to have this project finished. And we haven't even started yet. This is definitely going to be one of those "marriage counseling" projects where Kennedy & I both come away better people. But in the end, I will not have to open a door, step in and press my body against the wall, then shut the door just to be able to get into our shower. 

Other non-negotiables we have for this bathroom project:

-No peeling wallpaper

-A bathtub that drains properly

-an absence of mold and mildew

-getting rid of anything brass

We are still in the preliminary stages of planning, but here are a few pictures of inspiration to help you envision with us. 

White Subway Tile (with white grout) in the shower....

Claw foot tub

Perhaps some grey slate tile for the floors....

(From Restoration Hardware....I wish!)

The jury's still out on what type of countertops we're gonna get -- I wouldn't mind going with a dark or black granite....Kennedy wants not black. We may compromise with a white-ish grey color. Who knows! We still need to decide on a layout!

Coming up next....A blueprint of our current bathroom and some possible new arrangements! Stay tuned!

Resolution Revolution

Screw New Year's Resolutions!

Yeah, I made some. But here I am about 1 week in and I've kept NONE of them. I really haven't even started any of them.

I do believe, however, that a new year is a great excuse to get organized and start over. Which is basically what I need to do in a lot of areas of my life. I'm thinking this blog can be one of those areas. I want to blog! I want to make time for it! I want to share/record my crafts and home DIY projects. And I want my blog to be cute and organized.

Are all those things going to happen overnight? I guess not. So I'll start by cleaning my house, then sharing where we're at with all of this home renovation stuff.

We really have made some great strides in making this house ours (despite the fact that we have yet to hang stuff on the walls....) I guess it's high time I blogged about it.

So this is my "resolution"....to try and keep up with the fast-paced world o' blogging.

Until then, I'll leave you with a beautiful photo I took in Hawaii this Christmas holiday.