Seeing Spots: The Bathroom

The downstairs bathroom is probably one of our most completed rooms at this point.  The before wasn’t horrible, just very beige and sterile. 

I knew that I could really have some fun in the space because it was so small.  Coming up with the vision was easy-- Convincing demanding Josh to let me paint it cheetah print was the hard part. I mean, I can’t really blame him—he’s not exactly as enthusiastic about animal prints as I am.

I thought about wallpaper, but decided against it for the cost and the permanence (we’re I’m considering remodeling the downstairs in a few years, I didn’t want to deal with all the stripping etc.) I had seen different bloggers using this stencil from Royal Designs stencils and loved the results.  I’ve never stenciled a wall before, but figured I could give it a shot.

Painting small spaces, like the bathroom, can be tricky because there aren’t huge stretches of walls and you have to navigate around all the fixtures, etc.  I painted the base coat with Sherwin Williams Alabaster White.  The same white is carried throughout the other rooms of the house so it helps each room flow.

Here is the Alabaster base coat.  Already looks fresher.  

Once the base paint was dry, I got to work on stenciling.  With my Mac Miller Pandora channel playing, I got started.  After getting one sheet done, I realized this wasn’t going to be a day long project.  It wasn’t hard, just time consuming. I spent probably 3 weekends at 6 hours a pop to complete the painting.  I think it might be like childbirth—while I was doing it, it was terrible, but the end results were so worth it. 

Stenciling in rows 

seeing spots!

While the cheetah print is definitely the focal point, I knew the details were what would make the space feel fun and sophisticated and not safari themed.  I wanted to add some character to the vanity, so i painted it a kelly green and added these druzy pulls from Anthropologie to up the glam factor.

I pulled the same green into the painting behind the toilet for repetition (I just love that print!) We switched up the light fixture to a more updated chrome and bubble glass fixture.  I replaced the heavy wood mirror with a contemporary beveled edge.  The lucitetowel rack, toilet paper holder,  and tray are modern and fun, but keep the cheetah print as the star.  Also, a sucker for our new monogram, I was just looking for an excuse to order these customized hand towels from Etsy. Here are some pictures. 

The finishing touch was the velvet curtain with geode tie back.  I ended up making the tie back myself after scouring the internet for hours looking for a modern tie back (most of them were too traditional for the space).  The curtain probably seems like a strange choice.  The door is a pocket door and we knew  before buying the house (our inspector was the best) that the door was likely going to jam.  It did.  We got a quote to fix it and it’s out of our price range right now (would have to knock down a wall to get it back on track, and again, if we remodel, that would be the first thing to go, so not worth spending the money there now). SO. The curtain was the next best thing.  It works just fine for us now, especially with two full bathrooms upstairs.

In the end, I am so happy with the space.  Everyone who comes over comments on how fun it is and it really does feel like a little surprise nestled in the back of the house.   If you’re thinking about adding some interest to your space, I would definitely recommend checking out Royal Design stencils.  You won’t believe how many styles they have!  It’s definitely a time investment, but worth it.  

Beige and Boring: The "Before" Tour

House hunting was a lot like the hunger games.  Houses were flying off the market.  We would see a listing and before we could even schedule a visit, it would be sold.   Mom always says that things happen for a reason, and the adage was true.  We ended up with our dream home, at the right price, in a great neighborhood.

I was so excited about buying a house that a cardboard box got me excited.  Josh, the more practical one in the relationship, was a harder sell.  We looked at a lot of properties-- each with their pros and cons.

When we walked into Chaney, his whole demeanor changed-- it sounds silly, but it looked like he was home.  By the time we were on the back patio, we were ready to put in an offer.   After a bidding war, Chaney was ours.  The next few weeks consisted of frequent drives past the house.  If there wasn't a car in the driveway, we would drive down the cul de sac and just stare at the house.  When we did see a car, we would drive very creepily past the entrance several times.  

It got a little weird.  If we would have closed any later, I'm pretty sure someone would have called the police on us.  

We slept on the floor the first night in the house-- tipsy off the bottle of champagne we consumed.  It was ours and we were beyond excited.

While it is the perfect home for us, we planned on making big changes.  I am lucky that Josh usually trusts my vision and goes along with my crazy ideas.  Before we get into the progress (and we certainly have many more projects to go!) here is a tour of our home before.  Lots of beige.  Lots of builders grade.  Lots of damage from the 2 huge dogs the previous owners owned. But. Lots of potential-- and that's the important part.  

 Outside view of the front porch 

Back of the house. The double deck was a huge selling point for us.

Entrance

Living room leading to dining room 

living room leading to entrance 

Dining room-- whoaaa red!  

Kitchen 

Kitchen 

Family room-- we loved the vaulted ceilings 

Family room 

Upstairs landing 

guest bedroom #1 

guest bedroom #1 

guest bedroom #1

guest bedroom #2

master

Master

Master

Backyard 

Backyard 

It's so funny looking at the before pictures-- lots has happened here in 4 months.  Can't wait to share our changes.

Changing Chaney

My husband and I were married in March.  It was almost one of those weddings you read about.  No, not the ones on Style Me Pretty, Snippet and Ink, or Green Wedding Shoes blog.  Nope.  More like the ones in the horror stories section of People Magazine.

On our rehearsal dinner night, while I was tucked in bed getting my beauty sleep for the best day ever, my husband was in the ER.  Drunk. With 8 other more wasted groomsmen.  I wish I could say he was there for one of the other guys. Nope.  He was there for the gaping wound in the back of his head that he got falling down the stairs. On the night before our wedding.

We’re that couple.


But, you probably already knew that considering I’m pretty sure my readership will be mostly family and friends (hi mom!).

Shortly after the wedding, we purchased our first home.  When we walked into the house on Chaney Court, we knew it would be the perfect place to begin our newlywed lives.

We hope this blog is a place where we can share our progress, our successes, and mistakes as first time homeowners.   It’s only been 4 months, and we’ve had our fair share of them all so far.