Author: Staci

Staci blogs about travel at TheVoyageer.com.

Five Days to Deadline

Still trying to figure out the art situation in the bathroom! So let’s change topics, shall we?

This weekend we are hosting our friends for a housewarming party (Saturday) and our family for a Father’s Day grill-out (Sunday) so we have a lot of things to get going before those two events! Nothing like a deadline for motivation. It was the story of college, right?

I have my priorities, and Doug has his priorities, so I had him write a little list while I was at work one day, that way I could see what he wanted to accomplish. It was a great exercise, having him put some thought into it (he isn’t usually as house-preoccupied as I am)  without influencing him so much. I, naturally, have a mile-long list in my head which is continuously growing. It was important to pick out a few important and doable tasks to conquer before our next big weekend. Here’s what he came up with:

  • Finish the curtains
  • Organize the spare bedroom
  • Put up several pieces of art
  • Paint the kitchen and dining room
  • Put up the pot /pan hanger in kitchen
  • Sell/give away headboard

As of right now, organize the spare bedroom and put up several pieces of art are complete! Last weekend we got some real work done in that area. The spare room’s floor is no longer a tripping hazard!

Hanging some art made a huge difference, too. We put up my antique advertisement prints in the bedroom, a couple vintage canvases in the dining room, and a few frames in the hallway. The total cost of giving our existing artwork new context? Zero dollars.

art over dresser

These used to live in the TV area, and it’s refreshing seeing them in a new context over our bedroom dresser.

Vintage Dining Room Art

These vintage scandinavian canvases came out of retirement and look right at home on our retro wood paneling!

Art in Hallway

A couple sentimental prints (aligned to the right) gives the hallway a bit of interest. In our last place they were part of a mini gallery wall in the bedroom. Also, check out our vintage doorbell! I love it.

Art to cover electric panel

Oh, and a huge frame to cover our enormous (almost two feet tall) electric panel.

Painting the kitchen and dining room will be a huge improvement, and we are going to give it our best shot to get it done by Saturday. I’m not sure if it’s realistic, but like I said there’s nothing like a deadline to get the rear in gear. I do plan on finishing up the living room curtains and am trying to think of strategies as to not get rid of the plywood headboard (I love it too much! Photo from the old place).

Point Blanket

Looking at this photo reminds me that we need lampshades, too! Gah!

Wish us luck!

Bathroom, Sneak Peek

I said when I returned the bathroom would have painted walls, and here I am, true to my word!

Painting such a dark color over white took three coats. For those of you who missed the inspiration board, I used Arboretum by Behr in eggshell. It was very quick since it was a small space, and the transformation is totally worth it.

Bathroom, Painted

Although the color is super saturated, due to the white cabinet, toilet, and shower curtain, plus the ivory countertop and shower surround, the room does not feel dark. I am so pleased with the transformation, especially considering how quick it was to make a big difference. Someday I would love to change out the vanity/cabinet, and replace the light fixture. For now, I feel that the dramatic color elevates the existing pieces. It looks even better in person. I really ought to figure out how to manually white-balance my camera. Any tips?

Bathroom, Painted

Can’t wait to return with true “after” photos! I have some finishing touches to add (many of them are finished, but I’m waiting for an art print to come in the mail) and I’ll be ready to show ya!

Bathroom Plans!

It seems to be a well-established trend in Blogger-Land that the smallest spaces in the home are the ones tackled first. Going with the trend, the bathroom was the first space on my radar, especially since I wanted to paint something a BOLD color after living with white walls in an apartment for a year and a half. Since I want to stay largely neutral in most of the main areas, we certainly went dark, and it was so invigorating!

The space isn’t done yet but I did whip up an inspiration board as a kind of sneak peek. Making these is helpful to see if certain themes go together well, and makes it easy to swap art art pieces, for example, to find the best fit.

Arboretum Inspiration Board

artwork / elephant hanging / wall unit / turkish towel

bath accessories / paint / floor mat 

The paint color, which is already on the walls, is called Arboretum by Behr. I happened to grab a “color trend” leaflet while in the paint area and the intense dark turquoise immediately grabbed me! I thought it would be a cool way to play referee between the mishmash of white (cabinets, toilet) and cream (shower/bath, countertop).

Since the bathroom has two doors (one opens to the hall, one opens to the master bedrdoom), and the doors remained white, there is actually a lot of lightness remaining in the bathroom, even with a super saturated color. I love it.

Bringing in other neutrals such as the same wooden wall fixture we had in the other apartment was another way to connect the bathroom with other areas of the house. I hope eventually every room has at least one nice wood piece, be it a table, desk, dresser, or something else. I don’t mind mixing and matching wood tones, as long as the styles speak to each other.

Now we’re literally waiting for paint to dry, so we can put back up the hand towel hanger, shower curtain rod, etc. Hopefully next time I check in I should have some great photos to share!