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Always in My Heart

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My passion is decorating with vintage and antique finds on a budget. There was a time when I wouldn't have dreamed of going into a goodwill. That day has passed. :) My second love is scrapbooking all those special family moments for posterity, and I recently set up my very own scrapbooking room. I have three beautiful children, two sons and a daughter as well as a sweet (albeit full blooded Yankee) daughter-in-law and two grandgirls. I also enjoy gardening, meeting new friends and relaxing on my patio in the evenings with a glass of fine wine. During the summer of 2001, I spent two glorious weeks at Kennedy Space Center. I've been somewhat of a space geek ever since....
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Thursday, January 27, 2011

Finally.......... The Big Reveal


Hi there, everybody, are you ready for some BIG news?  I am SO EXCITED to announce that Debbie over at Debbiedoos Blogging and Blabbing is featuring my blog this week!  Please hop on over and tell her hello!  Her sweet e-mail was just the incentive I needed to push myself to finish my hall bath renovation in order to share it with y'all.... 

Well..... make that finish jUsT about everything.... 

There are a couple of areas still needing some TLC but I'll try my VERY best to hide them from public view.  :)

Let me begin with a little history.  When my house was built in 1993, I had the bathroom vanity area wallpapered in a hunter green and white striped paper that made the faint hearted feel dizzy, very very dizzy.  It wasn't the emotion I intended to invoke, that's for sure.  But we lived with it until I pulled that outdated stuff down 7 or 8 years ago and allowed my dear daughter to choose the color scheme for the room.......


She's the one in the middle hugging the Mona Lisa.............

She picked a bright periwinkle blue color and a colorful striped shower curtain and bath accessories that totally DID NOT match the traditional style of my house.  But hey, she had a great time with it and since two sloppy teenaged males shared that space with her at the time, it wasn't exactly wise to splurge on a major renovation.  Here's a "during" picture taken after the large wall mirror was removed.  Notice the outdated light fixtures and worn out bathroom faucets...  I had absolutely NO IDEA what to do with the mirror so I posted it on craigslist and made $60 off of it!  The floor had already been changed out from a very white SHOW EVERYTHING vinyl floor when this picture was taken.

Looking through the doorway into the tub area, you can see the newly installed ceramic tile that replaced a cultured marble tub surround.  The marble was cracked below the soap dish and I figured
it would cost as much to replace it as it would to have the area tiled.... 
Remember, I'm a single girl living on a budget..... Nuf said...


Geez, just looking at all those tools makes me tired.... 
Back when I removed the wallpaper and painted the area, the wall had no texture so we mixed some granules into the paint to texturize it.   BIG MISTAKE....  Please don't ever EVER make that mistake.....I had to do a lot of sanding and scraping to remove it. 

Over my two week Christmas vacation, I did a lot of the work.....  And my man Johnny was there hammering and drilling...... and critiquing my painting :)....... and working right alongside me. What a guy, can I tell you?  And the best part is that he LoVeS home projects, says he thinks they're fun!  I'm doing my best not to scare him off....  LOL     Thanks, baby, you're the greatest!

Is this not a total and complete transformation, ladies? 

The mirrors were purchased at Kirkland's, $59 each.  I made numerous trips back and forth and tried out four different mirrors before settling on these.  Not only did I want them to blend well with the color of the stain on the vanity, I wanted to tie together the brushed nickel and iron accents....  We hung them high to bring the eye up and highlight the nine foot ceilings.  We also plan to install crown moulding.  The fleur de lis towel rings were purchased at The Royal Standard, my favorite gift shop in the whole wide world.  Since Hurricane Katrina rolled on through, the fleur de lis has become the symbol of rebirth and hope down here in south Louisiana and it seemed fitting as I rebuild my life post-divorce....


We centered the mirrors over the sinks and that created a large space in the middle that needed filling.....  I debated between a gorgeous floral arrangement and tall apothecary jars and you can see which won out.   I filled one jar with bath salts (most definitely NOT the hallucinogenic variety) and the other with sea sponges and a pretty soap that was gifted to me by my sweet daughter.  The silver plated mirror, brush, and comb set was purchased last spring at an estate sale for fifteen bucks!  I've always admired those sets in the antique shops but never wanted to pay top dollar.....  I'm not sure of the age of this one because the comb appears to be plastic not bone, but I picked it up for a song and love it nevertheless.  The towels come from Wally World and I'm planning to add some washcloths to that basket once Wally World gets more of them in. 

But alas, that beautiful arrangement is ever present in my mind's eye.  Just have to share its classic beauty with you..... I've always LOVED white flowers and have dreamed of a totally white garden.   

Here it is.....



Isn't that about the prettiest thing you've ever seen?  After considerable google searching, I determined that the tall flowers are Serracenia, an endangered variety of lily.  The small flowers at the base are hydrangeas.  I'm thinking of ordering a smaller arrangement of the same flowers done up in an iron wall sconce/basket to hang between the mirrors.  Ladies, I'd love to hear feedback on that idea, certainly don't want to bring the
DiZzY
back with too much "stuff."


I originallly envisioned oil rubbed bronze faucets in this room but decided that it might date the room......  So I chose a classic style in brushed nickel.  Aren't they absolutely the most elegant fixtures you've ever seen? 

A word of advice.....  Stay away from the model showrooms when selecting bathroom fixtures.....  I visited a high end plumbing showroom and was told that I'd pay a minimum of $250 per faucet for the wide handlespread type.  I shopped around and my plumber told me about a friend who has a small warehouse with no model showroom overhead costs.  The guy was more knowledgeable than anyone else I spoke to, didn't rush me, was more than willing to open boxes and show me lots of choices, and he cut me a great deal.  The faucets are high end American Standard and he sold them to me for $165 each.
Shopping around really pays off....

Here's a shot of the new light fixtures.... 
Squint your eyes, please, and imagine pretty glossy white crown moulding....


One plus of hanging the mirrors high was that the openings where the original light fixtures were hung are covered by the mirrors.  We did patch them but didn't have to worry about doing a perfect job. 

My bathroom is small and I wanted to make it appear as large as possible so I chose a white shower curtain with just a touch of chocolate brown trim.  It is similar to one I found online at Ballard Designs at twice the price.  The Ballard one had a large monogrammed initial in the center and I'm thinking I'll have this one monogrammed with my initial or a fleur de lis.  It has a lining that is detached at the bottom so it could easily be monogrammed without an ugly backside showing..... Your thoughts, ladies????


I had the tile guy lay the floor tile on a diagonal to make the area appear larger. He repeated it in the shower surround and added a border of small tiles to dress it up.  It's a much nicer look than the cultured marble, isn't it?

While he was at it, I had him tile my master bath as well.  I used a larger 18" to 18" tile in there. See my Meet Molly post here to view it.



There's nothing like new towels to freshen up a bathroom, is there?


A bucket of towels keeps them handy and ready for use....  Even the potty got a nice new seat.   :)


Can't forget the matching tissue holder!  That white stripe on the wall is a shadow..... 

So there you have it, my new to me bathroom done on
a shoestring budget. 

Changing out the vanity knobs really made a difference but I'm still debating whether I should paint and distress that vanity.  I think it'd look awesome but once you do it, there's no going back.....



We still have a bit left to do, shoe moulding to nail down, that crown moulding and one more fleur de lis robe hook to hang, and a bit of patching......  You see, my friendly plumber suggested that we raise the shower spigot owing to the fact that my sons are six footers......


So in exchange for less shower stooping, Bryan agrees to maintain a neat and tidy bathroom, right??? 
He's just too darn cute to be a slob.....

Can you hear me, Bryan???   HELLO???  :)



Here's one last look at those classy faucets...........


Thanks much for visiting, my friends, and please drop me a quick comment as I love to hear from y'all...........

And kudos to Johnny....... He's THE MAN! 

22 comments:

  1. Omagah! How wonderfuel. Love your new font too! You are just getting way to techy. My favorites... the mirrors, the filled jars, the towel/paper holder! Your son is a cutie, just saying, I have a cutie daughter.... Enjoy the room and thank goodness for the Johnny's of the world! Better get ready for new followers...that Debbiedo is going to send your way.

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  2. Wow! What a great job...and Johnny is THE MAN for sure~ He's a keeper--better put a string on him and tie him to the next project before he gets away!

    Love everything you did. I think it is classic AND classy. I think the monogram would be fantastic but then I like monograms on anything.

    Nice choice of fixtures and mirrors and flooring. If I did anything else at all I would probably either stain the cabinets a really dark color...or paint them black...or white...but that is just me. I like painted cabinets...but the wood is nice too and you are right- once you paint there is no turning back. You did a FABULOUS job....and spent your money wisely! Hugs- Diana

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  3. Terri, your bathroom looks amazing! Really no detail forgotten. Love the brushed nickel..what I really like is how you mixed the finishes mirror, light, faucet..all very complimentary yet not matchy matchy. I am the same way. Tomorrow my link will be up later on the afternoon. I was running behind in posts...after the pet partay:) But I will see you tomorrow for SURE! And thank you for the honor of featuring you.

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  4. I dropped by from Debbie's. Love your blog and love what you've done with the bathroom. I posted on a bathroom makeover I did for my son today as well. I am your latest follower. I would love if you would stop by my blog and check it out and follow me back. Thanks so much. Looking forward to keeping up with your blog. www.diybydesign.blogspot.com

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  5. Beautiful redo!! I am your newest follower, I linked from Debbie! Please come visit my blog and maybe you'd like to follow me back!

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  6. Hi, just wanted to stop by... I am a new follower and love, love the bathroom redo. Can you redo mine? I wish.... and make it look just like yours? lol If only possible...
    I hope we can be blog buddies.

    Lisa

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  7. Hi Terri ~ I am stopping by to say hi! Before I was married I lived in Houston and worked for a company based in New Orleans. I was fortunate enough to travel to NO several times and loved it. While I live in Idaho now, there lives a bit of that Cajun spirit in my heart and to prove it my Jeep license plate reads ~ LANYAP. The spelling is phonetic, couldn't get the real spelling on the plate. The girl at the DMV said "That's not a naughty word is it?" So if you ever see a little blonde driving a Jeep with the top down in LA with an Idaho plate reading LANYAP ~ no need to say Who Dat? It's me! I'm your newest follower, come visit me sometime!

    Love,
    Susan and Bentley
    xxoo

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  8. Terri, the bathroom looks great. I love the apothecary jars there. Great mirrors and lighting.

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  9. Looks really great!!! Love your accessories!!!

    I'm Jennifer your newest happy follower!!!

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  10. HI Terri! I have come over from Debbiedoos. I LOOOVE your bathroom makeover! Everyuthing looks terrific! I really like the freur de lis accessories. I would definitely do the monogram, I think they are so classy! I will be your newest follower too. If you get a chance please stop over to my blog! We have the old BIG mirror in our bathrooms too, and the OUTDATED faucets. We really need to UPDATE:):) Thanks for the inspiration! XO, Pinky

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  11. Hi Terri! I am coming from Debbie's too. Love what you did to the bathroom. I like fleur de lis too cause I am from Mississippi but very close to LA, just crissing a bridge actually.You have a lovely family!...Christine

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  12. Popping over from Debbiedoos to say hello. Your bathroom looks wonderful! We're hoping to redo ours this spring so I've taken note of all your little tips & advice.

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  13. JUmping over from Debbiedoos, Great job. I did my bathroom all by my self a year ago...what a job! I say don't put anything between the mirrors, it might look to busy! Good luck blogging!

    Carol

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  14. Just joined your blog,I am living in Mississippi now, but once lived in Ponchatoula-love Louisiana. You did a fabulous job in your bathroom!

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  15. Hi Terri! You did a beautiful job on your bathroom remodel! Hopped over from Debbiedoos...I am a new follower!

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  16. Popping in from Debbies and just love what you have done...wish you could pop by my bathroom and fix it up like you did yours, very very nice! Your blog is great girl, keep it up!

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  17. Terri, I just came over from Debbie's. Love what you have done in this bath. You did a great job coordinating everything, and wow did you get a deal with the faucets. I have some older faucets on which I love the actual faucet but wanted to change the handles. Kohler wanted $200. each just to change the handles. I wish I lived nearby.
    I am your newest follower. Please drop by for a visit and follow me as well. Hugs, Ginger

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  18. Hi Terri, just from Debbie's. You bathroom's grand! You're great to have a lovely hubby who loves home project. Like your blog and the fonts are so "soft" on reading.

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  19. Hi Terri, You bathroom transformation is beautiful! I love every change you made. Congrats on a great job.
    Hugs,
    Sherry

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  20. Your bathroom looks gorgeous! I just found your blog from Debbie's feature on your blog. Congrats!! I am now a follower. Come check me out if you get a chance I am new to blogging.

    noplacelikehomeally.blogspot.com

    ~Allyson~

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  21. I am so happy Terri...it was my pleasure:)XO

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