Bathroom Quick Change

We think our next room to tackle is going to be the master suite. Which is going to be a BIG project if we do what we want in there. It will involve tiling the shower walls, a new vanity and mirror, maybe flooring, new bedroom furniture and linens, art, and maybe (maybe?) a bigger tub.

So we don't want to do a ton of work until we're ready to go in there. But there came a point where we just couldn't deal with the showerhead anymore. It was this huge thing with a triangular part in the middle that came off to be a handheld piece, and it just annoyed the crap out of us. We also couldn't stand the old, worn out drain switch. We were never quite sure if the drain was plugged until the shower started filling up on us.

So with about a half hour of work and a $50 investment, we have made showering a much more pleasant experience! And, we bought brushed nickel fixtures so we can still use them in our bathroom after the big redo!

Cheap and Chic: Dropcloth Curtains

If you're looking for a great way to transform one of your windows without breaking the bank, here's a great window treatment that we did for under $20.

First the inspiration, at Pottery Barn for $108/panel:



And now the result:



To make these curtains, I used a rod we already had in our old apartment. I bought curtain rings at Burlington Coat Factory for $5.99, and two 6x9 canvas dropcloths at the Home Depot for $5 each. I folded the tops of the curtains over until I got to the right length, and clipped on the rings. Then, I used some fusible webbing and an iron to hem them at the top. Hemming these at the top and using clips means there's little pressure on the ironed hem, and it will last. If you're a sewer, you can sew a pocket rod into these, but the fabric is very thick.

The total cost of this project is $18.50, tax included, thanks to some supplies I had on hand. Even if you were starting from scratch, you could do it for under $50, rod included. Not bad for a total window transformation!

A note for the wrinkle nazis: this fabric is VERY thick and holds wrinkles extremely easily. This is after a wash, dry, and iron. I'm hoping gravity will get rid of some of them, but for now they'll do.

Guest Bathroom Redo

From the beginning, we've planned to slowly paint every room in the house. Emphasis on slowly. We hadn't lived in the house even a month when we broke down and bought paint for the upstairs bathroom. It's not the most used room in the house. Not by far. But every time either of us walked in there, we were immediately in a bad mood. The walls were painted a light yellow, but it had such sickly undertones that we took to calling it bile. When we were ready to get started, we gave the room a good cleaning and started removing fixtures, and we noticed a few things we inherited from our previous owners. Thanks guys!

1. They hadn't thought to prime before giving the walls a single coat of light yellow paint. The color before? Dark gray. No wonder the yellow looked sick.
2. They also hadn't thought to paint behind the mirror. Okay, not too bad. Or the toilet. I know it's hard to reach behind a toilet, but it's certainly not hard to SEE back there.
3. When they put quarter round down next to the bathtub, they caulked it to keep water from the bathtub from running down behind the wood and into the subfloor. Nice, right? Well, they just put on a crapload of caulk and smeared it everywhere. We're talking two full inches away from the quarter round, smears of caulk. We got up close and personal with our razor blades, people.

So here's the not so nice before. (with the seller's art and flowers. We hated it so much we only took one picture before we took to the walls with kilz.)



Since then, we primed and painted the walls, painted the ceiling, trim, and door. We've cut and painted new quarter round, to be put down when my husband wakes up from his nap. I put down two pieces this morning and realized I was in a bit over my head. We also replaced the light fixture, got a new, oval beveled mirror to go over the sink. We put in a shower curtain for a decorative element, even though this is just a bathtub. We bought new linens and accessories as well.

Now the bathroom is fresh and inviting. Even the cats love it! Note: bathroom walls are not actually the color of mustard or baby poo. I'm just a crappy photographer.





















Walls: Sherwin Williams Sassy Green
Ceiling: Sherwin Williams Rice Paddy
Trim: Sherwin Williams Muslin

Most decorative pieces are from Target, a couple of pieces are from Wal-Mart.