Monday, April 29, 2013

Laundry Room Progress



Hello Lovelies.  In true bad blogger fashion, I have been missing in action for the last two weeks.  Where does time go?

I was a busy bee this weekend and updated our laundry room.  It all started with my mom's bathroom.  How are the two related, you ask?  Well, I'll tell you.  For my mama's birthday (can you tell I'm Southern since I say Mama?), I made her a new shower curtain from Brunschwig & Fils iconic Le Lac.  This, of course, led to other changes in the bathroom (Thank the Lord!) which included new lighting.  We picked out a vintage chandelier before hanging the valance in the room.  When it arrived it did not work in her bathroom, but was *perfect* for my laundry room.  Lemons and lemonade, right?

On Saturday I got to work transforming the little beauty.  My husband thought I was nuts.  What is it about spray painting a chandelier Rustoleum's Safety Red that men don't understand???  Here she is in all her glory.






Isn't she a beauty?  Original "Made in Italy" tag intact.  At this point I was completely smitten.  And then I realized something important.  There were two links of chain left and about twelve inches of wire.  Not nearly enough for our laundry room that has 12' ceilings.   The chain was an easy fix, I just painted some extra that I had on hand from other fixtures I've hung.  The short wire meant I had to re-wire the darn thing.  It's not difficult, just kind of a pain.  So I got busy and about thirty minutes later she was ready to replace the monstrosity that was living in our laundry room.  Want to see?  While we are looking at ugly, I may as well show you how bad the laundry room looked.  Prepare yourself.












In came the ladder and out came that horrible 4' fluorescent light.  I must admit that some very un-ladylike language was muttered while removing it.  It was not heavy, but each end was secured with the World's.  Longest.  Screws.  Imagine me standing on a ladder, holding up the fixture while trying to unscrew this bad boy.  




Yes, that's a quarter next to that screw.  


Two gaping holes and some crumbling plaster?  I'll take that any day and be happy to do the sheetrock repair if it means no more fluorescent.










Are you ready to see the pretties?  After all this whining and ugly, I'm sure you are!  






Brunschwig & Fils Le Lac relaxed roman shade and Les Touches runner



Notice the vintage tissue holder?  It now holds my dryer sheets.  *Genius*



Italian Tole Chandelier



Still a few things I'd like to do in here.  I'll be sure to keep you updated with any progress.  In the meantime, here is a source list:

Runner - Brunschwig & Fils Les Touches available from House of Pemberley
Roman Shade - Brunschwig & Fils Le Lac available from House of Pemberley
Chandelier - Vintage painted Rustoleum Safety Red
Wall Paint - Martha Stewart Bakery Box White


Thanks for stopping by today.  Hope you enjoy the new laundry room as much as I do.  Oh and PS - I actually did do all the laundry in the before photos.  Promise.


Best,

Kimber


Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Bathroom Update



Hello All!  I am super excited to share with you the updates that we have done in our master bathroom.  When we moved in a year ago, this is what we had...








 
 
 
 
Faux finish?  Check.  Ugly polished brass lighting?  Check.  Epcot-inspired hardware...even on the doors(!)?  Check.  Yes, my friends, we were stuck somewhere in the 90's. 
 
 
 
It took a bit of thinking to determine what I should do.  I just kept asking myself
 
WWMMD?
 
"What would Mary McDonald do?"
 
In reality, the answer is probably gut it and start over, but that wasn't an option for us.  Fresh paint, updated lighting, new hardware, some wallpaper and new accessories and I give you our updated master bathroom.
 
 
 
 





 
 
 
 














 

 













 










 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
What do you think?  Believe it or not, the sconces are actually the same as in the original pictures.  I'll be back soon to share how I updated them.
 
 
 
Best,
Kimber


Monday, April 1, 2013

Crickets and Lamb



I know I promised a bathroom update DAYS ago, but I have learned a few very important things:

  1. In order to showcase a bathroom redo, said bathroom needs to be clean.
  2. In order to photograph a bathroom with walls of mirrors, I need to be clean too.
  3. A day when the above two correspond is next to impossible.

I'm working on it, I promise.  I do, however, have a little DIY stool to show you today.  The master has a little vanity area with a place for a chair.  I have not yet committed to anything to put there yet because I wasn't sure where I was going rug-wise.  And I did not want to spend money on a temporary fix.  Enter this beauty from my husband's bachelor days...




 
 
 
 
 
I know.  In his defense...wait, there is no defense for that.  I'm not even going to apologize for the night photo.  Because I probably did you a favor by now showing you in the light.  Here's a close up:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I started by using my handy Rub n Buff in Antique Gold on the legs. Knowing that I planned on covering the sides, I stopped right at the top of the legs. 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
I love all of the Mongolian Lamb stools that I have seen and, knowing that I will never actually sit in this stool so I don't have to worry about hair, I ordered a yard of faux Mongolian Lamb fur in ivory here.  After four quick seams, we now have an uber chic stool for our master bathroom.
 
 


 
 
 
 
I'll be back in the next day or two to show you the bathroom.  In the meantime, have you added any Mongolian lamb to your home?

xoxo,
Kimber