A career change and a project...Boys' Bathroom

I recently left the corporate world after 8+ years to follow my dream as a domestic engineer. :o) I am finally able to tackle some projects that have been on my to do list and it feels great!

Last week I worked on redoing the bathroom that doubles as a guest/kids' bathroom.

It's very hard to get decent pics of a bathroom! I had already started the demolition and piling everything in the bathtub before I realized that I needed to take before pics! Excuse the horrendous lighting against the horrendous pale yellow walls.
Before:

-Yellow walls with marching ants stamped along the baseboards and around the shower, mirror and door. Grass stencil along the baseboards. (sorry, didn't get close up of those!)

The process:
-Painted walls a muted gray
-Removed the standard builder mirror and lighting bar
-Repainted vanity cabinet and added hardware
-Replaced towel racks
-New shower curtain




Wooden shoe form hooks from First Monday Trade Days in Canton, TX; Custom eye chart says 'Wash your hands and brush your teeth'....motherhood subliminal messaging!


Round mirror from Hobby Lobby, new light fixture was a Goodwill find.


Painted over the white cabinets with a rich dark chocolate color (my fave!) and added hardware. (Canton finds for a quarter a piece! Score!!) Scrolly applique is from Hobby Lobby.


This was a rubber stamp holder in it's former life (Canton find from a few years ago!)...added some test tubes (Hobby Lobby) and now it's a toothbrush holder! The boys love it!


Found this towel holder in Canton on our last trip and it was the inspiration for the room. (Along with the wooden shoe form hooks)

I still have to add a few more touches, but I'm happy with the progress.

Extreme Makeover: Patio Edition

This is our sad, sad patio. Isn't it pitiful?




Let's try a different angle....


Nope, no help at all.

We have talked about doing something back here for the last few years. Wooden deck, pavers, stone work....I just didn't have a vision and it wasn't really in the budget, so we did nothing.



Until this year.

Our first choice was stonework, but it was a little over our budget, so we decided to do concrete instead.


Here it is in the 'during' stage.



And after we added plants and fabric shade panels to the arbor.








Oh yeah, I can definitely relax out here now!

To see how others are beautifying their surroundings, go check out the blog party at The Inspired Room.

Paint it is!

So, I have been a busy little bee over the last several weeks, preparing the house to host a baby shower for my friend Leslie. Nothing like the motivation of 20+ women coming over to get projects done around the house! :o)

So, last post I showed you this mirror and asked if I should paint it or not.


Thanks so much to everyone's advice! I went with painting it black and left some brown peeking through.

First I taped off the mirror part,


and then I took a candle and rubbed it all along the edges, in the creases and on the details. Next, I spray painted it black and once the paint was dry, I took a towel and rubbed the edges to reveal the brown. The wax from the candle works as a resist for the paint. It worked great!

Here's a close up of the top detail:


Another close up:


And now the big reveal!


Remember the before?


And the after:



I am thrilled with how it turned out! Thanks again, ladies, for your advice!

I'm (almost) famous!

One of the blogs I follow is Layla's over at The Lettered Cottage. She is such a talented designer and she posts such inspiring photos and decorating advice.

Several months ago as I was cruising Layla's blog, I came across this post and stopped dead in my tracks. I had been trying to figure out a home improvement project to work on with my Stepmom over the Thanksgiving holidays. I quickly sent her the link to Molly and she thought it was a great idea.

Once we got the project completed, I decided to send Layla and email to say thanks for the inspiration and sent her the before and after pictures. When I heard back from her, she asked if I minded if she shared my pictures with her readers. MIND?!?!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? What a huge compliment! I was so excited!

So, last night as I was catching up on my favorite blogs I came across her blog entry from last week. (Can you tell where this is going yet? ha ha)

I'm famous!! Go and check it out for youself! Country Kitchen Cabinet re-do.

Thank you Layla! What an honor to be showcased on your blog!