November 9, 2012

• {ShOp tHe hOusE}
  by way of bathroom style
  fifth.edition

  there’s a fire in the fireplace.
  at any time i think those low clouds outside my window are going to break open..
  start pouring down the rain.
   
  hence making it a good morning to still be in my pj’s under a comfy blanket on the couch.

  reese is next to me with a richard scarey lift-the-flap book.
  so every other sentence i’m having to stop, and open a flap three or four times..
  because of course, to open it only once is just not good enough with a two year old!!
   
  i wanted to share a simple before and after of our bathroom.
  which isn’t really that exciting of a makeover.
  and i’m not sure if it’s even kosher to post pictures of your toilet on the internet.~

  but this isn’t really a post about decorating as much as it is a lesson in contentment for me!
  
  though i do love the whole process of creating beautiful spaces in our home.. 
  i admit i’ve found myself really struggling since moving here.
  wanting this place to be nice and look how i envisioned -
  yet feeling restrained because we’re only renting, and often not having the extra money to just go buy what i’d like.
   
  i’d say my style has become somewhat shabby chic/ vintage/ garage sale/ side of the road junk no one wants kind of style.
  not necessarily because that’s really my style but more because i’ve had to adapt through the years-
  learning to work within the limitations i had. 

  and it has been.. i started to write fun, but that’s not really the right word.
  because there’s many days i’ve sat in tears at the not so fun-ness of renting.
  of working within a budget, or no budget at all.
   
  maybe the better word, instead of fun, would be freeing!
  finally realizing that just because i don’t own it. can’t buy it. doesn’t mean i have to live discontent or discouraged.
  and that’s not saying i never feel that way…  i said LIVE that way! and to me there’s a difference.
  it’s one thing if we struggle with feeling discontent. it’s another if we allow ourselves to live in it!

  “misery is easy. it’s happiness that is hard work!”

  for me, it’s coming back over and over again to taking my focus from what i don’t have onto what i do.
  from what i can’t buy to looking around at what could work instead..

  when others come into my home and comment on my creativity
  i laugh and assure them it’s merely me being forced to take what i already have and try to see it through new eyes.
  to use things in different rooms. in new ways~

  and so – enter downstairs bathroom.
  the one that if you come to my house, will probably be the one you’ll use.
  and just so ya know.. it’s around the corner on the right from the front door!

  like any typical foyer bathroom, it’s small.
  here’s what it looked like when we first moved in~

  
   
  and though i do like teal and peach separately, i’d don’t really care for them together!
  {sorry if those were the colors of your wedding}

  we decided to buy a 20 dollar gallon of paint {the cheapest you can get at home depot} to go over the walls.
  problem was. even though the walls looked better it didn’t change the color of that marbled hunter green countertop.

  the guy that built this house must have gotten a super deal on that particular formica because it’s everywhere in here!

  one day while racking my brain on how in the world you could change countertops..
  without flat out replacing them, i remembered that i’d heard of a paint specifically designed for painting countertops.
  however one googled trip to home depot and i quickly realized that wasn’t in the bathroom budget!

  but then the idea of painting it wouldn’t leave my brain.

  and yes. anyone who knows me even a little will know where this is going.
  one afternoon i got out the painters tape and taped everything around it.
  and by everything i mean basically the entire bathroom within 20 inches of the sink was covered in painters tape!
  i then got my can of spray paint that i picked up at wal-mart. shook it hard. and went to town!
  it ended up taking 2 cans by the time it was all said and done.

  but the results turned out better than i thought, and best part –
  no more marbled green countertops.

  
  
  when i took the paint off around the edges though it pulled some of the paint from the walls.
  i didn’t have any extra paint to go over it. and didn’t want to spend another 20 bucks on a new can.
  so. i lived with it awhile. trying to stragically place things on that little ledge to hide the peeled paint.
  anyone know what i’m talking about? decorating to try to hide the flaws!

  
  
  the other day i decided it was time for something more permanent over it.
  and that’s when i went on a little shopping trip – around my house!

  it was ben’s room where i found what i thought i was looking for..
  and it seemed fitting to make a it a bit more boyish since i call it his bathroom anyway -
  after all, it’s on his list of chores each week to clean!

  i took an old map from his wall and cut it to fit right along the counter.
  securing it with just some cute push pins i found at target.
  i burnt the edges for more of an old feel~
  and apparently i have a thing for burning the edges of maps!

  

  the leftover pieces of map i put above the mirror…

  
  
  
  that’s my favorite postcard ever.. it speaks to me of our whole move here!

  
  
  
  and just some more of the details and yes, that’s a globe next to the toilet!

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  see. nothing fancy or mind blowing..
  but hopefully a small encouragement to not let your limitations stop you from creating spaces that make your home a bit more cozy~ 

  “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
  
  

  

  by the way – here in canada it’s called the washroom.
  curious. what do YOU call it??
  restroom. bathroom. washroom. the room where mom goes for a little peace of mind?

  happy friday y’all.

  amber.

  • 11:34 am
  • 42 Comments