I love little changes that make a big difference! No, this is not a new bed – just an easy-to-sew slipcover for our headboard. I have been creating a light and neutral look in our bedroom, but something wasn’t quite … Continue reading
I’m really excited to be a Guest Participant in my first One Room Challenge! This is a great way to get inspiration and motivation for your home. For this challenge, I’ve decided to re-do our kids’ bath. It started out with a cute beach theme that seemed perfect when the boys were little, but now I am ready for it to grow up with them. Our new look features neutral colors, natural touches, and enough personality to stand up to three boys! Thanks for following along!
Recap:
For week three, I created wall shelves using Ikea Ekby Valter wall brackets and some wood that I had left over from another project. I cut the wood to 7.5″ x 16.5″ and finished it with clear polyurethane.
If you’re looking for ready-made shelves, here is an option with a similar look..
I mentioned how I really wanted to bring natural wood into this space, and these shelves help tie things together with the bamboo bathmat and seagrass basket.
I have used these wall brackets before to hang macrame planters, and I was excited to find them in this black finish, which coordinates with our existing vanity.
Here are links (some affiliate links) for our new accessories:
Head over to the One Room Challenge link-up page to see more inspiring ideas!
“Jewels”
I’m really excited to be a Guest Participant in my first One Room Challenge! This is a great way to get inspiration and motivation for your home. For this challenge, I’ve decided to re-do our kids’ bath. It started out with a cute beach theme that seemed perfect when the boys were little, but now I am ready for it to grow up with them. Our new look features neutral colors, natural touches, and enough personality to stand up to three boys! Thanks for following along!
Recap:
In week two, I got to have some fun decorating! I’m starting off by bringing in the practical things we need to make the room functional. I put the source list at the bottom of this post. The decorative accessories will come later, but I can already see our new look emerge.
This shower curtain is similar to the feather pattern from Serena and Lily, but they don’t sell the shower curtain anymore, so I was really happy to discover a look-alike product.
I knew I wanted to bring some natural wood into this room. While I loved the spa-like look of slatted teak mats, I was afraid that the kids would stub their toes in the middle of the night, because our bath mat sits right in front of the toilet. I settled for this low profile flexible bamboo mat, and I’m happy with the results!
Another bathroom essential is a wastebasket. Because this is a small room, ours has to sit in full view, and I wanted to find something more attractive than your average trash can. I was so excited when I figured out I could disguise our wastebasket by hiding it in this decorative basket! I reused a plastic nursery pot that fits neatly inside.
The kids’ toiletries used to be (kind of) corralled in a plastic bin on the vanity, and I wanted to find something that looked more sophisticated. At the same time, I saw how that plastic bin got encrusted with toothpaste and hair gel, so I did some searching to find this cute crocheted basket that is machine washable – yes!
Here are links (some are affiliate links) for our new accessories:
Now, I can get the boys out of my bathroom and back in their own! Hooray!
So far, my One Room Challenge experience has been so encouraging. What a great community! Please go check out week two of all the amazing makeovers!
“Jewels”
I’m really excited to be a Guest Participant in my first One Room Challenge! This is a great way to get inspiration and motivation for your home. For this challenge, I’ve decided to re-do our kids’ bath. It started out with a cute beach theme that seemed perfect when the boys were little, but now I am ready for it to grow up with them. Our new look features neutral colors, natural touches, and enough personality to stand up to three boys! Thanks for following along!
Fortunately, we renovated this bath when we moved into our house a few years ago, and all the “bones” are still good. Without doing a major renovation, I have a feeling I can still completely change our look! I’ve been so inspired by the clean palette of today’s most popular design styles – whether it’s “Scandinavian-inspired,” “California Casual,” or “Modern Farmhouse,” everyone – myself included – is loving white walls and lots of natural materials.
For week one, my task was make this room a blank slate! I took down all the decorations, touched up the existing vanity, sealed the marble, and got some help painting the walls from our friend Joe.
The new wall color is “Feather Down” from Benjamin Moore. I’ve used it in our master bath as well, and I love the warm neutral feel.
Here are a few “before” (or “old after”) and “after” (or “new before”) pictures. I am so excited to get to work rebuilding this space!
Go check out all the other exciting guest great projects over at the Spring 2018 One Room Challenge!
I hope you come back to see the rest of this room’s transformation!
“Jewels”
Our powder room is really tiny. And it was really plain when we moved in to our house a few years ago. I spruced up the space a few years ago, and I’ve been pretty happy with it, but the one last part that I still kind of hated was the pink floor tile. Now, I can finally say I love every part of this room!
The secret ingredient for this mini-makeover is vinyl tile decals! They come in many patterns and sizes, and most of the vendors will even help you with custom sizes, which is what I ordered. I chose this Moroccan-inspired pattern that is so popular right now. It’s very similar to the tile I used for my DIY tile table runner.
I painted my grout first, to cover the pink, and the decals are very easy to apply – they are repositionable and a nice weight and quality. I was afraid vinyl would be too cheap-y, but it turns out that they add function as well as form, because the floor is not as cold underfoot. I’m sure they won’t last forever, but I feel like this little change will really help hold us over until a real renovation some day.
Finn came to hang out with me and check out the new smells… I mean floor.
Also, I am so in love with my new blue Rothy’s shoes. If you want to check out a pair, here’s a $20 discount code!
Where will you try a tile makeover?
“Jewels”
I’m decorating our foyer and wanted to featured a beautiful console table. While I found some already-finished options I liked, I needed something very specific to help disguise a radiator – but not block it off – so I decided to dive in and customize my own!
I knew I wanted the feel of a lacquered Chinese table, but I couldn’t find one in the right size and shape. I looked for something else with simple lines and hoped that with a few tweaks, some paint, and new hardware, I could pull off a transformation!
I started by assembling the sideboard except for the lower shelf. I wanted to leave the bottom open for baskets or stools. I had to fill in a few holes with wood filler. I also filled in the holes for the hardware and drilled new ones to match handles I bought on Etsy.
After sanding for a smooth finish, I started painting. I really debated the color choice, because the hall is already quite dark. In the end, I just knew I had to go with the color I loved and (with credit to Tim Gunn on Project Runway) make it work!
The navy paint is Nocturne by Behr, which I also used to repaint our master bath vanity. After painting, I added several coats of a glossy varnish, both to create shine as well as protect the finish.
My plan is to use some light-colored and neutral accessories to balance out the darker table.
Finn, the rug model, and the new console.
Can’t wait to see the whole space put together!
“Jewels”
I’m not really sure what got me started on this project. I wasn’t actually unhappy with our master bath. I think I was just spending too much time on Pinterest and got the seven year itch…
The main change I made to our bathroom was painting the vanity. The color is Nocturne by Behr from Home Depot.
The smaller changes I made were a new bathmat and rearranging the accessories. My inspiration was a stunning master bath by Amber Interiors. If you are as in love as I am with her style, check out my post on finding the ingredients for her beautiful spaces.
Some of the elements I wanted to use included:
With just a few changes, I am excited to see the transformation in our master bathroom!
I wonder which room is next to be the beneficiary (victim) of my makeover fever!
“Jewels”
This is a quick little project, but I really like how it spruces up our powder room. I had a simple soap and lotion set from Trader Joe’s, and I decided to decorate them with some marble contact paper.
Ta-da!
I recently became obsessed with the look of vintage faux bamboo dressers, like those made by Thomasville or Henry Link in the 60s and 70s. These dressers have come back into fashion, repainted for a gorgeous new look. I see them on eBay and Etsy regularly, but with the shipping costs from across the country, it doesn’t seem quite worth it. I’m also nervous about taking on such a big project. As Ibie, whose dresser is in the second picture below, chronicles on her blog, the painting process on such a large piece is not for the fainthearted.
Here are some of the beautiful makeovers that caught my eye:
Callie’s black dresser featured on Little Green Notebook. I love the glossy black finish, and the rest of this room is fantastic, too!
Go to Little Green Notebook
Ibie’s grey Henry Link dresser on One Story Building. This looks so sophisticated and elegant! I certainly believe her that it was a bear to paint, though.
Go to One Story Building
I still have this project in the back of my mind, and I occasionally look around on Craigslist, eBay, and Etsy for that perfect dresser to repaint, but for now, I’m happy with an easier update to our old dresser. This is actually an inexpensive piece that we bought a decade ago. We almost got rid of it a couple of years back, but no one on Craigslist even wanted it, so we decided to repair all the sagging drawer bottoms, and I’m so glad that it has a new life as the sideboard in our dining room.
BEFORE: Old dresser we are using as a sideboard.
The hardware we had on there is a little rustic for our space, so I decided to give those old knobs a new life down at my dad’s beach house and replace the hardware with – what else – faux bamboo pulls! I chose this Belwith Bamboo Collection black nickel cabinet pull
, and there were several others out there that also look great, and I put some of my favorites on Pinterest.
Belwith Bamboo Pull
Since the new pulls need two holes, I had to drill new ones. TIP: I used a piece of a piece of painter’s taped marked with the distance between the holes, so I could quickly measure and drill.
TIP: mark the distance between holes for cabinet hardware on a piece of painter’s tape.
And here’s the “new” old dresser. No, it’s not as stunning as an old Regency dresser painted in an elegant new color, but it was quick, easy, and inexpensive.
New faux bamboo hardware gives our old dresser new life.
I’m happy with the result of this little project, and will still keep my eye out for something perfect.
“Jewels”
I love such a love for beautiful fabrics! And why use just one fabric to upholster a chair, when you can use two?! The back of a chair is a great place to use a more delicate, expensive, or ornate fabric that might not be ideal for the seat, and the contrast between the two materials adds a lot of interest. I’ve seen great examples of this from some of my favorite designers:
Candice Olsen used a contrasting fabric on the outside of these beautiful dining chairs. The blue ties the seat and outside together.
Sarah Richardson strikes a great playful note with these chairs upholstered in multiple fabrics. Again, the color theme - in this case, red - tie them together.
So, I was looking around my house for a way to try this, when my eyes landed on a pair of green side chairs that we’ve had for many years as extra seating in our living room. They were originally dining chairs that worked well for saving space, and I cut down the legs to make them more comfy for lounging. Our new house can get dark, so I’ve been trying to lighten up our furniture, and I just happened to have recently bought this gorgeous floral fabric. I didn’t even have a specific plan for it, but I knew that I had to have it (did I mention, I have a weakness for beautiful fabrics?!) I spotted it on Fabricguru.com, which is my favorite online fabric store. They have great prices on remnants and an easy-to-browse interface. The downside is that a lot of the fabrics are discontinued or almost so, so if you need more down the road, it may be hard to find.
Robert Allen Waldemere Contemporary Floral Printed Cotton Drapery Fabric in Noir
Here’s what happened when the old chairs met my new fabric:
Waldemere floral fabric on the outside of green velvet chairs.
To apply the fabric, I experimented with our staple gun, but in the end, it worked best to apply the fabric with just a regular craft glue gun. I folded about a half inch “seam” around the edge and just glued it on. I was prepared to cover the edges – or staples, had I used them – with some piping, but I lucked out, and the panels had piping already, so it looked very finished with very few steps. I think you could retrofit a variety of existing chairs with some creativity and minimal upholstery skills.
For some more inspiration, check out these beautiful examples found by other bloggers:
Spotted by Caitlin Wilson at Saks.
Chairs by K-design, spotted by Decorati.
Go give it a try! It might take some adaptation to work on your particular chairs, but keep in mind using nailhead trim, piping, or decorative braid to hide staples and seams, creating a transition as you turn your chairs into eye-pleasing conversation pieces!
“Jewels”
This project is shared at:
