Archive - July, 2007

A Change of Plans

The bathroom is further along, but I’m afraid I’ve deviated a bit from the original plan!

I hated the lights above the medicine cabinet, so I bought a new fixture for $30 from Lowes. We had to take the cabinet down to install the new light, and then realized that we couldn’t put it back up. The lights wouldn’t clear the top, and there were going to be some harsh shadows.

The new plan: hang a mirror instead and add a small medicine cabinet to the right, over the toilet. I bought a mirror ($30) and a cabinet ($40) from IKEA. Oh, and I repainted.

Bathroom Redo

It looks pretty good so far! The trim still needs to be primed and painted, and I haven’t done anything to the vanity yet.

So far, so good

Oops, Wrong Color.

I painted the bathroom a few days ago. It looks much more blue than I thought it would. Oops.

Here’s what the bathroom looks like so far…

bathroom progress

That’s “Antiguan Sky” from Benjamin Moore. It’s a pretty blue/green color that I pulled from the shower curtain, but it’s much brighter than I was expecting. It doesn’t look so terrible in the photo, but I just took that picture a few minutes ago (it’s midnight). It’s a very *ahem* cheerful color during the day.

I hated it at first and immediately thought I would repaint. Now that I’ve added some towels and a bathmat from IKEA, it looks kinda cute. Kinda.

*addendum*
Here are some new photos, taken at 10:30 a.m. with lots of daylight coming in:

bathroom progress

another progress photo

Elsewhere: Julieta’s Kitchen

Julieta asked how I would finish her (already lovely) kitchen in the comments of my last post. I do already have an idea of her style because we’ve been working on a web project together over at Smart & Lovely, and hey – I was up for a fun distraction.

She’s already transformed her bland, old kitchen into something great:

Julieta’s Kitchen

Really, the only thing she hasn’t finished is the backsplash. I say throw some white subway tiles up and call it a day. Hey, it worked for me. Oh, or she could get all fancy with tile from Ann Sacks.

Ann Sacks Tile
I would be so jealous of you.

Julieta isn’t crazy about flowers, until she finds just the right floral pattern (right, Jules?). I did include some florals, but they’re not overwhelmingly girly. I worked with the colors she has now, and decided to bring in more of the blue I know she loves.

Here’s a gorgeous fabric for the tablecloth (Amy Butler fabric from Purl Soho):

Amy Butler Fabric

Maybe for the curtains too? That might be too matchy matchy. Maybe a striped fabric would be better, or another fabric from the same line.

Moving on, here are some other fun touches for the kitchen:

julietaskitchen500.jpg

The little dishtowel from Anthropologie is so sweet (sorry, more florals). The Nigella Lawson bowls are designed to be cradled in your arm as you mix, and they’re a really pretty color. Also pretty? The pallette dinnerware from CB2.

I just bought a few of those lacquered cupcakes (the small and medium sizes) for my bathroom redo. I know – bathrooms and cupcakes? I don’t care. I’m putting my ponytail holders and barrettes in them. And they’d be adorable in Julieta’s kitchen, but they would make much more sense there (being in a kitchen and all).

Lastly, there’s the retro blue scale. Perhaps you don’t need a scale in the kitchen? Rubbish. Find a spot for it! You know, either that or you could get a breadbox. ;)


…And perhaps this is the start of a new feature on the blog? Helping others? Or maybe designing a room around a color, fabric, or object?

Or would you rather I just focus on my own house?

Bigger Than a Breadbox?

No, exactly the same size! Ba dum bum.

There was a breadbox in the kitchen at the family lake house, and I really liked it. When we returned home, I started searching on eBay for something similar. I lost the first one that I bid on (it ended up going for $125!), but I won the second.

My New (Old) Breadbox

The green picks up on the green of our cabinet knobs. I love that our breadbox is vintage, but there are plenty of new breadboxes to choose from too (with a vintage look)…


I really like the Buick Red Bread Bin from Anthropologie.

I’ve also seen it in white and shocking pink (yum!).

I would love to see this in a kitchen with sparkly red vinyl chairs, a boomerang laminate tabletop, counters with chrome trim, a Nelson Ball Clock, cherry fabric for curtains, and a vintage-style apron.


Next is the lovely, soft green Vintage Bread Bin Box from Ballard Designs.

I imagine it in a kitchen with creamy white cabinets, jade milk glass knobs, striped cafe curtains, feminine switchplates, mismatched ivory plates on the walls, and a big, old farmhouse table.


And then there’s the Classic Enameled Breadbox from The Vermont Country Store.

I think they got the gingham in the photo just right. A breadbox like that belongs in a vintage Americana kitchen… cute red gingham curtains, distressed metal sign (or letters), a vintage floral tablecloth, rooster juice glasses (I wish I knew what happened to my Grandma’s similar glasses), and a white cake stand (with apple pie on top, of course).

A Mustard Pot?

A few years ago, my mother-in-law (thanks, Helen!) gave me a little stainless steel set that I believe was her mother’s. It had a little tray with salt and pepper shakers, and a sugar bowl. Well, I thought it was a sugar bowl.

Salt, Pepper, and Mustard Pot (?)

I was cleaning it today, and I decided to google the manufacturer’s name (Stelton Denmark). It turns out that the little ‘sugar bowl’ might actually be a mustard pot, at least according to unica home and the rest of the interweb.

I was more surprised though to learn that the set had been designed by Arne Jacobsen! It’s part of his Cylinda line from 1967.

“Hmmm”, I thought. “I have a book about Arne Jacobsen. Maybe it will be in there.” [Note the ridiculous use of quotes. I am ever so writerly.] Anyway, it was in there:

Arne Jacobsen Cylinda Line

Like the commercial version of the AJA flatware, the new line jettisoned the ornament and associations of traditional silverware in favor of a machined product that reflected both the nature of the material and Jacobsen’s own vision of sensuous utility.

Michael Sheridan, Room 606

Now, the book doesn’t make any mention of a mustard pot. In fact, the picture credits it as a sugar pot. And that’s exactly how I intend to use it.

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