House Updates 1

Garret and I cleaned the first level, re-arranging furniture and organizing.  We also put a bathmat down in the guest bathroom, and a painting on the wall.  My orchid decided that the bathroom was a lovely place to primp herself, so there she is.  I still need to go through the drawers in the dresser in the living room, and re-organize the kitchen, and hunt down a shower curtain for the guest bath (the first one was defective, then they were out for a very long time!).  But overall I'm pleased with how it's coming together.

I have so many images I'll separate these into 3 posts.  First up we have the guest bathroom!

 This is the painting of the Northern Lights as viewed from Scotland that we bought in England.  You can see the before from when the frame was darker HERE.

It might seem a little odd to have a painting in the bathroom, but I loved the color of the bathmat in there so much that I realized the painting was the perfect choice for a pop of color in a very neutral room. 

Bathroom Painting

Nearly 2 weeks ago (Oh my God, time flies) I spent all night taping up the guest bathroom and painting, barely able to move my arms the next morning.  It looks darker than it is because there is no window and the lighting in there isn't ideal, but it's a beautiful pale cream (like the color of heavy cream), and though I want to put up some botanical and floral art work in there (I've been collecting pieces for the last year), for now it was so nice to have it done before my best friend came to visit.

All taped off:

 The stick figure door sign I painted while in England and it now finally has a home again!

 Bare counters, but the pumpkin soap turned out to be better than a candle, it scents the whole room deliciously!

I love the clean look with the white towels and shower curtain.  It's a tall, tall room (there is a foot above the shower even), but small and cozy. 

For G

I cleaned up the bathroom windowsill while G was outside working on the yard yesterday.  I absolutely am glad I didn't take a before, as there was medicine, make-up, soaps, etc. on it.  But I arranged the little tray we have, and added the chalkboard behind it.  Here, a message for G:

"Just thought you should know I think you're so Amazing!"

What 20 Minutes Can Do

I went on a rampage tonight re-arranging furniture and making plans.  However my greatest achievement was this:  simply gathering up the things in our bathroom and making them look pretty.  And G loved it, even with the girly touches!  We have shelves next to our shower in our bathroom, and they drive me a little batty.  They're not deep enough (something we intend to fix) and it's a very tall opening in my wall.  But I took three of the shelves and transformed them into an organized space.

Now everything is easily accessible (I can admit we've pretty much been living out of our black travel bags), and looks more put together.  And it was all either free or inexpensive!  The silver plated tray that our perfume and colognes are on I picked up for less than $2.  The milk glass perfume bottle bust is something from my grandmama's home.  The glass holding the cotton swabs actually has a beautiful "S' monogram (our last name) that I picked up from the thrift store for $.66.  The wooden tray I picked up (originally planned to use it in the guest room, now am looking for another) for less than $2.  And the goldtone tray is a mirror that I picked up for around $3.  Less than $10 to transform our little space.  I cannot wait to finish the bathroom and show you the final look (for now)!  I love that I am doing this on a tight budget, and finding creative ways to please our eye.  


Have you added anything special to your home recently?  Anything you are looking for?