West Elm

I’m currently planning our bathroom renovation (fiiiinally) and am looking forward to accessorising it with some fun pieces. Even if you’re not doing a full-blown makeover, you can still freshen up your bathroom with some carefully selected accessories.

Head over to Houzz today to see my picks.

I’m off galivanting around the world for a few weeks so I have lined up some some talented ladies to hold the fort while I’m gone. Hope you enjoy!

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Two of my favourite things about the internet: meeting lovely likeminded people and awesome creative tools like Pinterest. Today’s guest post combines the two, as my blog buddy Janice Bear shows us the real side of Pinterest-inspired projects with, uh, varying degrees of success. – Alicia

If you remember from the first time Alicia let me visit , I’m a bit preoccupied with the sensation that is Pinterest.

The thing about pinning, and blogging, and tutorial-writing is that there is no sense of time. You see the picture or you read the words (or both) and an idea is born all in ten minutes or less.

Then, the work begins. And goes on. And on. And on. This is especially true when you’re trying to fit all that project-ing in around normal life.

For instance, let’s take a look at Suzannah’s chic new bathroom.

Original project by Adventures in Dressmaking

Fab, right? It took you about two seconds to look at that photo. It took me a few seconds as well, but when I begin taking blog-worthy notes of my painting process it was week two of striping my bathroom walls.

Week two and all I had to show for it is four primed walls and a few measly strips of masking tape.

Here’s the thing; my (rented) house is going on 35 years old, and this tiny room has seen more than a few layers of paint, patches, and more paint. I didn’t scrape any old paint off, but I went more than a few rounds of trying to even out the walls with spackle and sand paper.

Then came the necessary priming; it kept  the paint from soaking into the sponge-like spackle, and prepared the dingy manila yellow walls to accept the bright new paint. I… err… forgot to take photos of the previous color. Trust me; it was grody.

Originally I wanted to stripe all four walls, but nixed that idea pretty quickly. The walls are so janky I don’t think I’d ever be able to line up the stripes at each corner. Instead, I painted the two larger walls white and marked the stripes on the two small walls. All that took another week, most of which was spent measuring out the stripes.

We are, sadly, not pirates so “X” does not mark the spot. That is, the stripes with Xs are to be painted gray.

By week four, I had two white walls and two walls with white stripes all requiring touch ups. I do not recommend you paint an entire wall in a solid color intending to add the stripes later.  The second color will not stick to the painted surface so you’ll end up having to re-prime. That in mind, I re-taped the walls and painted the alternating stripes gray.

Then the fun really began. When I removed the tape white paint came with it! Argh!

Once I’d thrown a temper tantrum I opened a fresh can of white paint to do the touch ups. When it dried it was very evident that something was amiss.

In case your monitor hides the horror, allow me to adjust the contrast of my photo for you.

The cans of white paint, purchased from the same home improvement store, labeled identically, and untinted ARE TWO DIFFERENT SHADES OF WHITE.

This means another touch up layer of paint. Except, I got bronchitis. That turned into pneumonia. I was all but dead for ten days. I know, I know: excuses…

I have, however, managed to (mostly) finish my striped walls.

I took this photo from just outside the powder room door. From that distance it looks pretty good. Unfortunately, one cannot exactly use the toilet from a distance.

Once inside all the bleeding lines and, of course, the multiple whites are disturbingly evident. Week eight: still not finished.

After eight weeks, I really had hoped to show you guys my brilliant “new” powder room. You know, the one inspired by looking at pin for two seconds. Alas, life got in the way a bit. Still, I call this pin plausible, even for less practiced painters. I’ve assembled a few tips to help you past a few roadblocks.

1. High gloss paints fare well in bathrooms because they’re easy to clean, but they also show every little imperfection in the wall. Every. Single. One.
2. Wipe your (dry) walls with a damp cloth each time you paint. Your walls may look clean, but once you paint that hair you didn’t see will be forever glued to the wall and you’ll see it each time you enter the room.
3. When taping off your stripes use shorter lengths of tape. They are so much easier to work with.
4. Paint away from the tape to avoid pooling paint (i.e. raised paint lines between the two chosen shades.)
5. Check around for additional tutorials and tips. For instance:
   1. Unskinny Boppy
   2. The House of Smiths
   3. White Table Style

What do you say, darling readers? Plausible for first-timers or a pros-only project?

P.S. Isn’t Alicia a doll for inviting me back? Thank you, dear!

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About the guest poster:

Hello, dream bathroom.

It’s hard to believe that owner Anile Prakesh turned that ugly specimen into what is hand down the most beautiful bathroom I’ve ever seen. The combination of the traditional vanity and tapware, glamorous marble and chandelier, rustic brick wall and shelves and modern tub work harmoniously to create the perfect balance of textures and styles.

Read how she did it (and see more photos) here.

We’re friends, right?

Good, because you’re getting a peek at something I doubt too  many people would be volunteering to share on the internet: their toiletries drawer.

Lately things have been so hectic with work and social commitments that I admit I’ve let things slip around the house and have not been following my rule of leaving things as you found them. My bathroom drawer is just one such example.

I was just shoving stuff in there until it got to the point where I couldn’t find anything and stuff was falling over the back of the drawer into The Man’s below. I know it’s only a little problem, but when it was causing frustration at least twice every day and would only take a few minutes to fix, I had no excuse.

Eek, right?

My method? I started by taking everything out of the drawer and wiping it out.

I laid everything out on the floor and grouped similar items. I discovered I had not one but FOUR wide plastic hair combs (which would be overkill for anyone but ridiculous for me since I rarely even use a comb). I also found two brand new boxes of hairties, the second one of which I bought not realising I already had one somewhere in the depths there. I kept the hairties because they wear out quickly but ditched all but one of the combs. Also in the bin went the bent bobby pins and the pink bobbly hairties (which I have no idea why I owned in the first place). The gross makeup-covered headband went into a bucket of bleach.

Believe it or not, these drawer dividers were actually in the before photo (scroll back up and see if you can find them, Where’s Wally style). I got them years ago and they’re really handy.

Ahhh, so much better. It literally only took five minutes but has made my morning and evening routine so much smoother. Bonus: I should save money but not buying duplicates of items I already own.

I am dying to redo our bathroom, but I know it will be awhile before we can. In the meantime I will console myself with the thought that it could be worse. Much worse.

Like this revolting scene from Stefanie’s bathroom.

Wow. Just… wow.

And there’s a whole house full of other jaw-dropping transformations on her blog Brooklyn Limestone.

One of the standout stalls at Bowerbird Bazaar last week was Bride & Wolfe. Their intricate laser-cut plywood decorations would add a touch of whimsy to any room.

The product that particularly caught my eye was the rocking squirrels, shown above in lovely autumn tones. Turn it around, however, and it’s painted white for a more wintery or minimalist look.

I am taking some time off my regular blogging schedule during the final days before my wedding and while I’m on my honeymoon. Since you will be at home while I am having the time of my life, I have pre-posted some fun links and great guest posts to keep you entertained.

I can’t emphasise enough what a fantastic resource Apartment Therapy is. The House Tours, in particular, are so inspiring. They feature real people, usually with small homes and small budgets, which is especially good if you are sick of seeing overly styled, unrealistic interiors.