About this Blog

This blog is about all things that happen in my New England home and garden....if you are interested in decorating, gardening, cooking and entertaining...then follow me here to get inspired and get creative.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Linking Up

Hello there...
Just a nod to a few of my favorite blogs. Today I am linking the post of my bathroom progress to the following link parties:

Centsational Girl

Between Naps on the Porch

Under the Table Dreaming

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Bathroom Makeover Progress

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was working on giving my guest bathroom a face lift. I started out with a terracotta colored wall. Sorry for no before pictures besides this little one. I sometimes get too excited to get going with a project and forget to do the before pictures.

As you can see I wanted to choose lighter and brighter colors. Surprisingly enough, despite the dark terracotta color, this bathroom is very bright on a sunny day. However, after living with the color for almost 6 years, I thought it was time for a change...long overdue actually!
So, I decided to take on horizontal stripes. I gathered some inspiration from some of my favorite online magazines and sites and made the decision to go with lighter walls and a slightly darker color on top. My brother, who has his own painting business (I know I am very, very lucky!) finally squeezed me into his tight schedule. The reason why it took so long to get this project moving was because I was waiting for him. I could have tackled the room by myself, but bathrooms can be tricky with all the cutting, and plus the wood work and doors needed to be redone. So all in all, it was a lot for me to take on alone, so that's when I rely on the pros! This is what the walls looked like with the finished painting. I chose to go with Benjamin Moore Linen White.






Now that this stage was done, I was left alone to tackle the stripes. My brother offered to do them, but I really wanted to try to do it myself. I thought that it would be easy enough, and it really was.


At this point I couldn't decide if I wanted all the stripes to be the same width or not. If I went this route, I would have had to measure and mark off the areas first and then start to paint. I chose not to do this. I decided to go with a more organic design. I knew that I wanted the area above the sink to be my color, so that there would be some contrast, so I started taping off there.


Next, I painted on the color. I decided to go with a color that I already had on hand from my master bedroom redo. It's called Bunny Gray, also from Benjamin Moore. From here I just started to work my way up and then down, spacing out where I wanted the gray to go in a way that was pleasing to the eye. A little tip when doing stripes is to pull off the tape when the paint is still wet, this will ensure a nice line.


 
{Sorry if the pictures seem a little dark, but it's not a very nice day this morning. It's actually rainy and gross out...not an ideal picture taking day.}
I'm really pleased with the way it all came out. I only painted the one wall with the stripes. I don't know if I want to continue all the way around or not? What do you think? Should I leave it as is or go all the way around. What would be left to do is really only the wall with the window, and the wall with the door coming into the bathroom. The adjacent wall is closet doors that hide my washer and dryer, so that would only get one stripe along the top. I don't know I might. We'll see.
Next on the agenda is to find a new mirror. I took down the builder's mirror that was on there and I'm not putting it back up. At first I was going to reuse it and frame it out with molding, but I decided that I would purchase a new one instead and use the old one for something else. (another idea in the works) I'm also going to make a small valance for the window. That will be the next thing I share. I also need some artwork in the room. So, this project is still a work in progress. I hope to get everything else completed by the later part of next week. With Easter coming up this weekend, I'll be busy with other things.
Please offer your feedback and let me know what you think so far. I appreciate the ideas and advice!

Have a great day!

Gina


Saturday, April 2, 2011

A sneak peak of what's to come

Well, I have been busy, busy trying to get things going on my next project. Last time I gave you a little sneak peek at what I was going to be working on next.


You can see that I was debating on what to do here. Well, for starters, this is my powder room. The paint color used to be a rust color. I've enjoyed it for the last several years, but I've grown tired of it over the last several months and I've been wanting to lighten and brighten the space. I really wanted to try something different than just painting the walls a single color. So, I decided that I would attempt stripes. I wanted to find some examples in order to try and decide how I wanted to approach this venture. So, I've been searching for some inspiration and gathered some great ideas. You can see my ideabook for Houzz here. I will post my finished work next time.

Have a great weekend!

Gina