Trying to choose

We had a great weekend and accomplished a lot ~ outside! 

mowing

weed-eating

window washing

sweeping

weeding

planting

pruning

whew!

A bit of work on the bathroom, too.

And look, I finally captured the inspiration photo for the remodel!

This was my original inspiration but there are so many gorgeous bathrooms out there.

Cute and funky ones, too.

I keep looking at new photos as I try choose the faucet and lights.

The thing is, I know which faucet I want. It's second priciest of my narrowed down options, of course.  

I do not want a boring faucet. Not this time. (Hubby laughs.)

Then there are lights. I do believe I've looked at every bathroom light online. I even went to a local lighting store to see the finishes first hand. Do I want polished nickel? Or chrome? Or bronze? Or galvanized metal? 

I do know I don't want huge lights, and many of them are really big, for that tiny space.

This one has the number one position for awhile now.

Would it be too shiny? Stick out too far?

I wish I could bring them all home to try on for size.

My newest kick has been white sconces, barn-light style, something like this.

Or maybe one with vintage flair.

Then I go back to my idea of nickel or chrome but with an industrial twist.

And keeping it real, there is the budget to stay within. My goal is to have fixtures I love within a reasonable cost. 

A sweet friend told me to just pick a light fixture among all the good ones.

Another friend reminded me how fun it'll be when the remodel is done and I can hang the new shower curtain, hang artwork and put out the new rug.

Looking forward to that day!

A treasure.

I have my grandmother's Watkins cookbook from the 1940's.

Grandma Nellie Slater Tiffany passed away quite young, when I was quite young. It is a treasure to me to see her writing in this book.

I was looking through the cookbook recently on my hunt for a good oatmeal cookie. I found some rather interesting recipes. 

Here is good nutrition via 1940.

But look what I found in grandma's writing.

I think it would be fun to try this recipe!

Just might do that soon.

Oh, the bathroom battens are all puttied and caulked. Yay!

The $500 t.p. holder

Yes, you read that right. I've been spotting toilet paper holders for $500 during my online shopping for bathroom accessories. Who knew?? They aren't even 14 carat gold.

I am trying to finalize light fixtures and bath accessories because we are making headway.

Hubby got the battens installed. We measured and figured and measured again trying to figure out the layout. While he was in the garage I pulled out the blue tape and my sewing tape measure. I tried 16" between battens, then 12", then 10", then 8 1/2", then 9 1/16".

I tried to start 4" from the corners, then 5".

Hubby comes back in with cut battens, puts them on the walls and in a few seconds it looked perfect! How does he do that? He can build anything, really.

He did not need my math skills or blue tape skills.

And I am so relieved and thankful to LOVE it. 

Now to do my best to find the right lights and accessories to give it the vintage look I'm going for.

Within the budget.

No $500 t.p. holders.

A fun search.

Anyone who knows me (and my sisters/family) knows how much I love to do research. We've always loved libraries and now the internet is like a huge library right there with a few key strokes. 

Even on the phone - how crazy is that!!!

I LOVE technology.

I watch TV and immediately google things that catch my eye, find more about what I've seen, madly look for someone's dress, or jewelry. Even more madly look for a painting seen in a house remodel, a faucet, a cabinet pull. I may not intend to purchase any of these things but I must find them.

I should have been a private eye!

Anyway, one of my very favorite searches is on Etsy. It is fascinating to search and see what comes up. Not a specific item but something like pumpkin, gold finch, red barn, white house, tiny houses, blue/green, daffodil. . .

Recently I've searched for blue Ball mason jars. I've been thinking of doing a gallery wall above the new little dresser of all blue mason jar art. 

If I could figure out how to post photos of what I find there, I'd show you. My Pinterest boards are full of those images so you could check them out there, if you were so inclined. I wish it was as easy to post images with full credit here in this blog world.

Someone please make this happen - thank you!

Hey, this one worked. I wish I knew how and why.

I purchased this print from The Wheatfield on Etsy and will be framing it for the gallery wall.

I have lots of blue canning jars thanks to my sis who collected them years ago at garage sales before they got popular and expensive. Love them and the sis who gave them to me!

Maybe I'll try to photograph some of my collection for the gallery wall.

No shortage of inspiration - now to just do it!

We've got a winner and it might be a twin!

Yes, we do.
The bathroom countertop has been chosen.

The color is whiter than my photos show.

We were able to find a quartz remnant that works. Yay!! And she might be a twin-separated-at-birth from the countertop in one of my very favorite kitchens. Melissa at the Inspired Room used this color in her new kitchen. Since it was purchased at the same place we are getting our piece the remnant might very well be left over from her kitchen project. Twins!! If you haven't seen her kitchen check it out here:

http://theinspiredroom.net/2013/04/02/kitchen-remodel/

It's funny because I was trying to find a different remnant but this is what was available and thankfully it worked well in the space. Seeing her kitchen also gave me confidence to chose this. Now I'd just love to have her whole kitchen. . .

This is the state of affairs presently ~ hubby will make a template for the countertop today so it can be fabricated at the shop.

And hopefully make headway on the board and batten.

I intend to set up a station somewhere for painting the bathroom door.

Oh, and I sent back the lights/hardware that I wasn't sure about. Still trying to get a clearer vision of the design for this space.

Thanks for stopping by to see the progress!

The Little Dresser

36 years ago this summer I was pregnant with our first son. My in-laws gave us the little dresser that was my hubby's as a baby. His grandfather handmade it for him. 

It was a red-ish wood color with wooden knobs. I decided to paint it. In those days we didn't get to know ahead of time if it was a boy or girl, so I chose to paint it yellow.

We used a Winnie-the-Pooh theme for the room.

First son arrived.

Then the second son arrived.

It served them well until they got older and needed bigger, separate dressers. We moved it to the master bedroom. It still had the same coat of paint but now sported ceramic knobs.

And there it sat for years and years. 

Last summer I decided to repaint it a gray-blue color which ended up looking rather baby blue. Not what I envisioned.

So I took it to Dana at Color It Coastal for a fresh coat of Antique White.

And here it is:

Can you see what inspired me in this photo I recently posted?

Yup, the variety of drawer pulls. I think this one is my favorite.

Or how about this guy.

I've lined the drawers ~ with wrapping paper.

The little dresser now sits in the guest room/craft room/my office space.

She's going to hold some linens, fabric, craft supplies.

A few hydrangeas from the yard, an original Elizabeth St. Hilare Nelson collage and my grandmother's buttons in a one jar, collected buttons in another (I love buttons!).

A very fun re-use of this special family treasure. 

I'm Normal - yippity!

Yesterday a big box arrived from a favorite source. I was so excited. I'd looked and looked and studied and pinned the items before finally hitting the submit order button.

And what did I discover when I opened the box? That I did NOT like the glass on the bathroom sconces. I'm not thrilled with the sconces themselves, either. An online only item so I couldn't go see it in person. In the photos the glass looked like it had a ridged pattern to it with a bit of character. In person it is modern, smooth glass. A nice hue but not the style I am going for, I think.

I've sort of lost my vision for the room with first the tile, then the lights.

I also discovered I'd accidentally ordered two toilet paper holders and two towel rings, by mistake, even with approving the order before clicking send. What?

BUT ~ hubby, who is in the construction business, calmly said this happens all the time. Things arrive and don't look like you thought they would. No problem, just send them back.

I Am Normal - who woulda thought !!

I am rethinking things in there. Maybe I won't go all shiny with polished nickel. Maybe I'll go a bit more retro. What can I do to make the room look like I love?

How do you other bloggers/designers out there do it?

I was thinking back to when we built this house and I was even more indecisive/timid then I am now, heh. I chose affordable shiny brass lighting for the house, and loved it. I picked a gray-blue 80's carpet (cause it was the 80's) and loved it.  I even loved the vinyl flooring.  It was a low budget, not-the-dream-house but I didn't regret the decisions.

That's what I am seeking this time around. I love our bedroom carpeting and the new bathroom vanities and never have to convince myself they are okay.  The stairwell is turning out just right. Very fun sconces in there - I'll show them to you in a future post.

And the project I've been teasing you with is almost done and it is just as I'd hope.

So there IS hope. I AM normal. What a relief!!