Friday, July 17, 2009

Project #847,049

Don't laugh! I feel like that's how many things are on my to-do lists. I have several... one in my head. Or maybe three... and a few written in the odd notebooks and on pads of paper here and there in my purse(s) and desk drawers and car. I read somewhere that one should make lists if one desires organization in one's life. So... it hasn't really seemed to help me much for some reason. Hrrmmm....

Anywho ~ I share with you the pictures I took of my gloriously and horridly vintage bathroom! I love the way the cabinets angle in at the bottom. It lets my guests - for this is our Guest Bathroom - get reeeaaaallly close to the mirror to inspect their enlarged pores or search for gray hairs in their eyebrows.

The tile is not too bad, except that the color is not quite describable. It's a goldy, greeny, odd kind of color that doesn't seem to go with anything. And, it's everywhere. On the counter, on the floor, up the walls, in the shower/tub.

BUT, lucky me, I found this lovely shower curtain with a tropical feel to it (a perfect addition to the vintage tiki god tumblers I use as decor on the counter top) with leaves that perfectly match the goldy, greeny, odd color of the tiles! I couldn't believe it! That was the start of the idea to redecorate. I'm going to paint the bright white cabinets a deep chocolate color, to bring down the visual assault a bit. They were originally a horrible off-white-turned-yellow color, so the white was definitely an improvement, but I think a dark brown will be in keeping with the more modern look I like in bathrooms I see on HGTV.

Then, as I was hanging out on Fabric.com looking at their sale fabrics, I spotted The Perfect Fabric to make curtains out of! If you take a close look here, the current ones are two halves of a pillowcase. A little too "dorm room" for a house with a mortgage and established trees. Doesn't it look AMAZING next to the shower curtain!? I'm ignoring the fact that one of my daughters and my husband, upon seeing the fabric for the first time, pointed out that the design is remeniscent of a Star of David. Not that I care, of course, I have nothing against the Israelis or the Old Testament, but it's RATTAN!!! Good grief. Non-decorators...

So, the final goody that will grace my newly redecorated bathroom will be these gorgeous little prints by soon-to-be-famous artist, Brian Biggs. He has a great little shop on Etsy where you can get prints just like these (and a few others). Oh, and he's my brother. I'm going to frame them sitting on top of the brown burlap you see behind them (also from Fabric.com) and hang them on the wall opposite the sinks. At first I thought I'd paint the walls, but I think once the rest of the stuff is done, it will be enough. The cream walls will be a nice backdrop for the dark cabinets and colorful prints. Or I could put a mural on the walls... hmmm... project #847,050!!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Yard Sale Finds

A long weekend, a visit to the in-laws, a sweet score of vintage goodies to share with my readers!

We are just north of Kansas City, MO for a week of R&R with the Hubby's family. Yesterday his sister suggested we should see what kind of yard sales we should find... of course you know I didn't argue with that!

We found one that offered up a pile of t-shirts and shorts for the boy-child, but the real finds were these vintage lovelies. A great little overnight bag that is in pristine condition, a Pepsi bottle box, a cookbook from the 1970's, an old crocheted doily, a vintage apron, an embroidered table scarf, a pile of vintage canning jar lids and some cardboard milk bottle lids. I know I'll keep a few of the jar lids, but I think most of this stuff will be listed in my vintage Etsy shop. The doily will be incorporated into a bag.

There are a couple of thrift stores and antique shops I have always wished we had time to visit when we come up here for a weekend, so I'm hoping to get to those this week as well.