Master Bath

I don't think I officially posted photos of our master bath renovation. I took "before" photos with my camera phone, and something happened and I lost all my photos on my phone. Lovely. 

Imagine a bathroom with pink carpet (yes, I said carpet) with pink walls, and a vanity that was literally falling apart. Disgusting. Ugly. That's all you need to know. 

We started the bathroom renovation after we found out we'd be putting our house up for sale. That being said, I think I'd still choose the Martha Stewart vanity, floor tile, and shower tiles (which are just white subway tiles) had we planned to stay. 

I'm officially ready for a new camera, FYI.  A fancy camera- the kind professionals use. I'm good at pretending to be professional at things. 

Rit Dye and Gold Leaf

As I mentioned earlier, it's been a stressful week, and to take my mind off reality I'm keeping myself busy doing little projects. Over the holidays my in-laws sent a lamp home with us. Initially I thought about finding a new lampshade for it and painting the actual lamp. Then I saw Lindsay's post on dying lampshades. That is right up my alley!!! 

image via everythingLEB

Lamp BEFORE:

Lamp AFTER:

I used one bottle of Rit Dye's Golden Yellow. It came out a little runny, so I'm going to dye it one more time. When the lamp is on, it's hardly noticeable though. 

I also painted the base with Gold Leaf. 

I'm not certain this guy (girl ?) will continue residing in the living room, but for now it's fine.  So what are your thoughts on the lamp??? Should I paint the body still?? 

I also purchased my first item from Furbish: 

I ordered the La Fiorentina tray (one of my favorite fabrics!)

I love it! The bottom was white when it arrived, which is fine, but whenever I get out the Gold Leaf it's a rare occasion that there aren't multiple victims. After I finished the lamp, I decided to paint the bottom of the tray. 

I LOVE how it came out! 

Have you purchased anything from Jamie's shop??? It's hard to resist!! 

XOXO,

Kelly 

Finishing Touches

Well, it's here, the final stretch before Christmas. Christopher and I have been hard at work over the last few days. I can't remember if I mentioned it, but we are hosting Christmas with my family this year, so we have been busy bees! 

We repainted the stairway and upstairs hallway (for the third time). Luckily I love the color, but even if I didn't I wouldn't be changing it. My poor fingers are so sick of holding a paint brush! 

Before: 

and After: 

I'd love to replace this light at some point, but for now it'll do! 

I made felt ball garland to match my wreath: 

 *Our card wall is getting awfully full. 

We'll be at Christopher's parents house with his family for the next two days. I'm so thankful to be spending time with both of our families this year! I hope you're all having a wonderful week!




**Update: I've had a few readers ask how I made the garland: for a tutorial visit here.  

XOXO,

Kelly  

Gallery Walls

I LOVE gallery walls; they're a great way to be creative and make your home unique by grouping together images and items that have meaning to you (or things that you just think are pretty). Here are a few swoon-worthy gallery walls:

via Elle Decor

David Jimenez

via Lonny

via Domino

After our wedding, I created a gallery wall of our own with all of our wedding photos:

I loved it at the time, but there comes a point where it's weird to have an entire wall dedicated to your wedding. A few weeks ago, I reached that point.

SO, after painting the entry and living room, I decided to update the gallery wall as well. The librarians and book conservationists are going to hate me for this one. To save money, rather than trying to find small prints, I purchased this book at Half Priced Books for $4.98, and I tore it to pieces:

I'm pretty proud of the results, considering I didn't plan ahead or draw the layout beforehand. In the future I might add more photos and objects, but for now I'm happy with it.

**For anyone who's concerned about the fact that I destroyed a book, I did read it as I was tearing it apart. It's quite interesting if art history is your thing, and I even saved it just in case I need more artwork in the future!

XOXO,

Kelly

Light Switcheroo

About a year ago I got really luck and found this beautiful chandelier at the Pottery Barn Outlet. It was a total steal, and we were in need of a new entryway light. I didn't think too much of it when we first installed it, but once a few of our taller friends and family members came to visit and knocked their heads on the crystal balls, I realized we had a problem.

Fast forward one year: I finally found a semi-flush mount that I like! It's really difficult, I've learned, to find flush and semi-flush lights that are aesthetically appealing and reasonably priced!

Before:

*I'd like to officially apologize one last time to anyone who has bonked their head on my crystal ball chandelier!!!

AFTER:

The moravian star pendant obviously doesn't give off as much light (1 bulb vs. 5), but it makes up for it in character!!!

I laid on the floor to take this shot; I love the pattern it casts on the ceiling. Luca was jumping on me and licking my face at this point, so I'm pretty impressed with how this shot turned out!

In case you're wondering where the Bellora light is now:

It's not really this bright; I'm just terrible with lighting and photography!

Happy Friday!!!!

XOXO,

Kelly

Paint Update!

I took the entire week of Thanksgiving off work, and while it would have been nice to rent some movies and check a few books off my reading list, I did neither of those things. My motto last week was "no rest for the weary", and it was so worth it! Remember this post?? Well, I officially bid "adieu"!!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I haven't rehung the gallery wall photos because I'm thinking about changing them. Currently, the wall has all of our wedding photos, but I'm considering putting sketches from a book in them instead (maybe a book filled with black and white Matisse drawings).

I decided this afternoon, when I finally finished painting, that I am in love with the end result. I couldn't be happier! For anyone interested the color is "Clam Shell" (516-6) by Pittsburgh Paints.

In other news, our new entryway light arrived Wednesday; the current one hangs too low (whoops, my fault). I need to con my father-in-law to teach me how to hang light fixtures; if he's a smart man he'll refuse knowing that I'm the most clumsy person in the world.

Either way, this little pretty needs to find its way to the ceiling- FAST!

Lastly, I've primed and painted the nightstands. I still need to sand them lightly and do one last coat. As you can see I haven't figured out the hardware situation yet, so I've left them unpainted for the time being.

That's all for now! It's back to reality (work) for this one!!!

XOXO,

Kelly