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  But we lived with it until I pulled that outdated stuff down 7 or 8 years ago and allowed my dear daughter to choose the color scheme for the room.......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  Notice the outdated light fixtures and worn out bathroom faucets...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! 

Fleur de Lis Decor for Three or More Tuesday

I'm linking up with Tam over at The Gypsy's Corner on this rainy yucky Tuesday evening for Three or More Tuesday.  Be sure to hop on over and pay her a visit.

The fleur de lis has always been a popular symbol down here in south Louisiana but after Katrina wrecked serious devastation on the city of New Orleans in 2005, it became a symbol of tenacity and hope.  And then those good ole boys wearing black and gold became Super Bowl champs last January and fleur de lis fever really spiked.  The English translation is "flower of the lily" and its roots can be traced way back to King Louis VI or VII when it was first used on a shield.

So I found it really fitting to use the fleur de lis in my bathroom redecoration efforts post-divorce.... I love the look and it aptly represents my efforts at rebuilding my life.  I am WOMAN, hear me ROOOAAAARRRR........  (giggle, giggle) as I hammer and paint and drill and nail my way back to SANITY!!!!

I'll soon be revealing my bathroom redo but here's a glimpse of three or more.........



Two nice iron fleur de lis towel rings adorned with new towels from Wally World that add a touch of chocolate brown......

 There's nothing better'n one fleur de lis than two of 'em....

Can't leave out the tissue holder!!!  Stay tuned for the big reveal.......

HAPPY THREE OR MORE TUESDAY!!!!

Meet Molly

Meet Molly............  She's been around a lot of years, the old gal.....

Years ago when I was a college student, my mom went to a surplus equipment sale.  The home economics department at a nearby high school had replaced all of the sewing machines and the old models were all on sale.  For cheap, EXTREMELY cheap......  So my thrify mother walked away with five Mollys in wood cabinets that had been antiqued in a hideous green color, one Molly for each daughter and one for her only daughter-in-law.  Remember that trend of antiquing furniture in bright colors???  And on the front of each of the sewing cabinets, someone wrote in permanent black Sharpie marker, "SOLD, $20."  Now I have to say that would HAVE to have been a male..... That, my friends, was criminal behavior.  Even an ugly green finish didn't need to be defaced like that.  Ha ha....Needless to say, I ditched my cabinet and kept old Molly.  Of course at that time she was in the pRiMe of her life......  And I used Molly to sew all sorts of things..... 

Dresses and tops for me while I was a struggling college student.

Bumper pads and a bed skirt for my firstborn's baby blue nursery.

Pretty Christmas outfits with battenburg lace collars for my sweet daughter.

Adorable sundresses for said daughter.

Window toppers for two new houses.

Brightly printed sundresses for my twin granddaughters.

Molly and I even took a field trip to my best friend's beach condo last spring where she was put to work sewing slipcovers for a nice banana plant chair and ottoman.  'Til she ran out of steam trying to sew the thick cording on those slipcovers and we had to run over to Wally World and buy a cheap machine to finish up the job.  And hurt Molly's feelings in a BIG way....  My BFF said, "Seriously, Terri, it's time to buy yourself a decent sewing machine, don't you think????"  There's something about all those memories that makes me feel like a traitor to give up on old Molly.....

Cause Molly and I have shared a lot of HISTORY together.  And lately the old girl has started to need a lot of coddling.  She has to be plugged up just so or the electricity doesn't flow.  And the foot pedal has to be pressed just so in order for it to work.  But somehow I feel like a traitor to give her up for a new machine..... 

Here's what she worked hard on yesterday.......................

I know, the color is off and I REALLY need a new camera.....  I don't bond to cameras like I bond to sewing machines.....It's just a matter of $$$$$$ before the camera gets replaced.....

The fabric was a remnant on clearance and I got it for $6.00.......  Went online and searched for more and ordered another yard for the other window........... 

This yard cost a whole $10.99 with free shipping........  I think I'm going to buy some new towels in that pretty sagey green color with all the money I saved on window toppers.....  :)  

 This bathroom also got a new ceramic tile floor....

I plan to change the wall color at some point but right now I'm focusing on my hall bath that's getting a TOTAL redo.... I love these floors, can I tell you?  The original flooring was ugly white vinyl that showed every single thing.  It NEVER looked clean, never ever.  I LOVE my new floor!

Stay tuned for the big reveal on the hall bath....................  Off to start painting the hallway.....

Woo Hoo, A Blog Award!

Kudos to Diana over at http://thenanadiana.blogspot.com/ for bestowing the Stylish Blogger Award on my humble little blog.  Please pop over and visit Diana's sweet blog.... If you're one of us "old timers" and married in the 70's, you'll especially appreciate her wedding pictures with that hot hubbie in his blue leisure suit.  Tee hee....  Quite honestly, I've been so busy between work and play that my little blog has been showing serious signs of neglect....

You see, I've been renovating my two bathrooms which has turned out to be quite a lot more work than I envisioned.....  Here's a glimpse of what's to come if you hold on and wait patiently.....

Some soothing green paint accented with this crisp white shower curtain trimmed in chocolate brown.  Should I have a big ole script initial monogrammed on it???  It has a nice white liner that would cover the ugliness of the reverse side of said monogram....  This girl thinks ahead.....

I know, the suspense is absolutely KILLING you, isn't it?

I looked for towels EVERYWHERE and guess where I found these, of all places?????  Didn't pay a king's ransom for them at Bed, Bath, and Beyond or root around for them at TJ Maxx or Ross Dress for Less or Marshall's.....  They came from Wally World!  They are deluxe, very plush brown towels with a neat quatrefoil design on them.  Now I can't wait to get the room put back together so I can actually USE them!  New faucets are in the installation process (one down, one to go) and new tub/shower fixtures are on special order......  Can't wait to share with you.....

This weekend's project?????  You guessed it..... shoe mould.... To finish up the newly installed tile flooring.  My kitty is still pouting over those new tile floors.....  She opens a certain bathroom cabinet with her paw, climbs in, and has a special spot on the far (dark, very very dark) end of the cabinet where she snoozes for hours on end.  'Cept she hasn't been back there since the tile man left out of here......  I think all that sawing and pounding scared her silly....

HAPPY WEDNESDAY, FOLKS!!!!!

The Reveal....

A few hot glue gun blisters later and VOILA!  A Mardi Gras wreath for my front door....  Unfortunately it's too dark out to take a picture of it in its rightful place.  And my camera sucks in low light, don't you think?  Sorry for the poor quality of the image....  Doubleclick on the pic for a better view if you dare.  :)

 And ladies, for your viewing pleasure here's my Mardi Gras tree from a previous year's burst of creativity.  HAPPY MARDI GRAS from the deep south!

Glitter on the Rug.... AGAIN??!!



Just when I thought my rug had finally recovered from the deluge of red and green glitter that fell off the new Christmas ornaments, along comes the gold, green, and purple making a mess all over my rug...AGAIN.... 

Hobby Lobby was just a callin' my name this afternoon, on the eve of my first day back to work since December 22nd.  Couldn't let the LAST day of Christmas vacation pass doing idle housework now, could I?  One hour later I emerged with a stash of glittery gold wire ribbon, shiny purple ribbon edged in gold, some adorable glittered musical instruments, wire sparkly thingies, and a nice cheap grapevine wreath.  Sigh.....  Could've spent a ton of money in that place....  There's nothing like a project to make a quiet evening fly by, is there?

To that I added gold mesh recycled from my Christmas swag and a neat fleur de lis and glittery crown I got for half off at Louisiana Nursery Outlet the day after Xmas.  Throw in a hot glue gun, a handful of glue sticks, and one blistered finger and what do ya get???? 



Tune in tOmOrRoW for the result.  HAPPY MARDI GRAS, EVERYONE!!!