Improving the Half Bath

I knew as soon as I painted the half bath that there were immediate small changes I wanted to make. Really there are big changes I want to make throughout the house..flooring and countertops being the big two but we aren't quite there yet.

So I started with floating shelves which my boyfriend willingly helped me put up, and thank goodness, he made it look easy! He is also a joy to work beside because he doesn't get angry and frustrated over every little thing! Whew! I got some accessories from TJMaxx and my storage room to dress the shelves. They aren't perfect yet but it's fun looking for things here and there to improve it.

 

 

Ok so I've seen the 'frame your ugly builder basic gold framed mirror' thing on Pinterest and thought it was a perfect solution for my mirror which I'm not ready to replace. I mentioned it to Brett (the aforementioned boyfriend) and he jumped right on the task and did a fantastic job! I bought a light fixture and he swapped that out for me along with a toilet paper and towel holder. He even painted an old trash can to a better color for the space. Amazing how many things there are to do in such a small space! So I'm thrilled with the results and even though it will get major improvements in the future it looks great for now.

 

 

 

 

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Painting Continues...The kitchen (and sitting room!)

 

Ahh..the kitchen. This room was the same yellow as the master bathroom. I don't have any good before pictures of it, just a couple that happen to include the color. I struggled with the color for this room too. I thought about a green as is the trend for kitchens these days. I had green in my last house and really liked it. But since I decided on a green for the half bath right off the kitchen I thought it would be a bit much. The color I ended up using was my first attempt at the griege/whole house neutral. I was basing the color on a lighter shade of the living room paint, but it is lighter and grayer than I wanted. It has grown on me a bit but I'm still not sure if I will keep it.

I also added as sitting room to the kitchen which I am absolutely thrilled with! I had been pinning kitchen sitting rooms for ages on Pinterest but as I have said, I have no imagination and just couldn't picture how it would look here or if it would fit. I ended up buying a couple of chairs on sale at Ross and I used a table I moved over from my other house. I agonized for way too long over how big of a rug to put here and tried a couple I already had. The one I found at Tjmaxx works great and I love it. I now sit here all the time. I use it when I am cooking to sit and look up a recipe or if I am waiting for cookies to come out of the oven. Much less risk that I will burn something due to frequent distraction if I leave the room. :)

 

This is of my cat who likes to sit facing corners which I find endlessly amusing :) but it happens to catch the 'before' of the kitchen paint.

Here is the after of the kitchen paint. I painted a white below the chair rail.

 

And here is the breakfast area turned sitting area. A much better use for the space, I think. I meant there is already a bar to sit at for eating.

 

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Painting Continues...

I finally picked out a paint color for the bathroom. As you can see, I was leaning towards a teal/turquoise color. I love that color in bathrooms but I couldn't get a good feel for it in here. I have been looking for a grey/beige color as a whole house neutral to use in halls and rooms where I didn't have something else in mind. A color that would tie in the other colors of the house. I picked one and ended up using it in the master bath. I like how it turned out and I feel like it is enough of an improvement to make the others that are needed less pressing.

I took out the over toilet cabinet and will probably put up more floating shelves through I am worried that there will be too many in the house. :)

 

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Painting 'My House'

So I'm doing a lot of decorating, but it's not really my house. It's owned by my boyfriend. I moved in about 11 mos ago and I've been slowly making the house my own. He has been kind enough to allow me to decorate pretty much how I want. I started out painting. He had lived in the house for a few years and only the few rooms that had wallpaper in them when he moved in were painted. Thank goodness the wallpaper was gone though! All except the dining room that is. So I started painting with the living room. I've always liked dark taupe and once I had manned up and painted a room that color many years ago, it has remained my favorite. So the living room is a lovely dark grey brown. Next was the dining room which got painted a dark grey after my boyfriend generously removed the wallpaper. He is such a hard worker! It took a few months after the initial paint surge to figure out how to paint the rest of the house. I decided to go with a grey undertone to all the rooms. I had never before thought much about whole house unity for paint color, or if I did it meant painting most of the house the same color. I'm thrilled with the decision, but I have still come across some obstacles deciding on paint colors. In general.  Have no imagination and rely mostly on other peoples endless inspiration to help me along. I do typically though know what paint I want when I see it and don't have regrets. With that said I have made a mistake in the painting of the kitchen. I wanted a color the same as the living room (and hall) but a shade or two lighter and ended up going too light and too grey. It looks ok but I am not happy with it and will repaint it when I find the right color. I've painted the half bath off the kitchen a trendy light green and it is considerably brighter. I have brought home a taupe sample to add to my considerable collection to try in the kitchen and master bathroom. Fingers crossed, this is the one. :)

This is an 'after' of the paint. The wall were just white before.

Another 'after' of the living room.

This is also an 'after' of the dining room paint.

Another 'after' showing the dining room door into the kitchen.

Finally, a 'before' pic. This is of the half bath off the kitchen.

This is the 'after' of the paint. I have since done some other things and will show those later.