Category: Place 4

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!

Same Story, New Chapter

Sorry for going MIA on you here for a while, but I’ve been busy working two jobs and buying a condo.

Wait what??! Buying a condo!

It’s real. We moved in a week ago and already put most of our stuff away. My desire to make things look nice and Doug’s type-A “get it done now” personality really make moving in and making things look put together a fast job.

The Front Room

But first, some “empties.” I almost didn’t get a chance to take them. I felt weirdly self-conscious about taking these on the day we got the keys. I don’t know why, it was just Doug and I, but it was weird walking around and taking pictures of “nothing.” But I’m glad I did it. It’s already so different! Funny how furniture can do that, right?

Above, you see the entrance. The living room has a long sliding door that buts up against a little mini-wall. It juts out a couple of feet creating a tiny vestibule. What a grand foyer, right? Just enough room to store shoes and the dog’s leash. Already working on getting cute and functional items set up in that zone. To the left of Doug is the dining room, which leads to the kitchen…

The Empty Kitchen

The Empty Kitchen

Overall, the original 60s cabinets are in great shape, so before tearing them out and starting from scratch (like so many bloggers tend to do ASAP,) I am going to see what we can do to make them seem retro, which is fitting in our 1960s complex, but crisp and modern at the same time. Spoilers: It probably involves painting the yellow walls a brilliant white).

On to the bedrooms. The master bedroom is very large, and impossible to photograph well until I invest in a wider-angle lens. I did my best:

Bedroom, Angle 1

This shot is from the main door into the room. Immediately when walking through the door, a closet is to the right. It’s a standard sized clothes closet with two sliding doors. You’ll be able to tell better what I’m talking about in the next picture.

Bedroom, Angle 2

A second closet backs up onto the first closet and across from it is a little vanity. Quite fancy indeed! Naturally, Doug was kind enough to let me have that vanity and closet area, while he took the one near the door. I certainly got a keeper! He does have an ulterior motive: We both hope that it helps me keep my clothes, shoes, makeup, and hair stuff orderly. Only time will tell…

Bedroom, Angle 3

One thing I already know is that having this vanity area definitely makes this one-bathroom place seem less personal. Often in a one-bathroom home the people who live there have to toe the line between “I get ready in this bathroom every day” and “my guests don’t need to see all my toiletries.” I get to hide all my stuff in my vanity area!

The bathroom has one door that opens to the vanity (above) and one that opens to the hallway. This will be a really nice feature when we have guests. This shot shows the room from both doors:

Bathroom, Two Angles

Last but not least, the guest room “slash” office “slash” whatever we’re feeling like calling it at the time.

Guest Room

Guest Room

I am so excited to use this room as my blogging HQ, since I fully intend of making it a part of my weekly routine as it has been in the past. It also gets phenomenal afternoon light, making it perfect for photographing items for my Etsy store. The puzzling part is my intention of fitting a guest bed in here. What to do? How can I incorporate the storage I want while also accommodating a desk and a bed?

We’ll see how things progress… I am so glad to be living among a work in progress again–I love having projects! So many things to do, and now that our place is ours, the possibilities are almost endless!