Making it Lovely

Tag: Bathrooms

  • Some Affordable Bathroom Update Ideas

    Some Affordable Bathroom Update Ideas

    I’ve been sort of planning a little redo for our main bathroom. Not in any real, concrete way, mind you. More of a “gee, we’ve lived here for five years and have never touched the space, aside from hanging up a shower curtain” kind of way. (I’ve never even showed it properly, other than this shot.) So I’ve been looking at affordable updates, and I put a whole roundup together of bathroom decor under $50. I think a new shower curtain may be in order at the very least.

    Sources: shower curtain • Botticelli Angel paint • mirror • wall vases • washing machine hamper • bath mat • cart • more here

  • Skip to My Loo

    Skip to My Loo

    I could say this is the most ridiculous thing I’ve received as a blogger. It’s a signed Jonathan Adler toilet paper roll cover, which does in fact feel ridiculous to type out. But the thing is… it’s actually pretty cool.

    And it looks cute in my bathroom.


    There are three Adler designs available from Cottonelle. They’re an Alt Summit sponsor too, so I imagine you’ll be able to see them in person if you’re headed that way.

  • The (Mini) Bathroom Fixtures are Here

    The (Mini) Bathroom Fixtures are Here

    Hmmm. I wanted them to look like candy, but um, they don’t. They look like badly glazed dollhouse furniture.

    Do you think I should try to repaint the fixtures, or leave them as-is? I do like how luminous the glaze is, even if it is terribly uneven. The bathroom will be the small room on the second floor of my dollhouse. I think I’m going to use that gold patterned paper as wallpaper, and I’ll probably make a different mirror to go above the sink. The ceiling will either be wallpapered along with the walls, or it will go shiny gold.

    I’ve been thinking about this whole dollhouse challenge. I think there are two ways for me to go about decorating mine…

    • Tastefully decorate the house so that the only way you could tell it’s a miniature is with a coin in there for scale. Design each room like I’d design a real room, just scaled down.
    • Go crazy and kooky. This is not a real house, dang it! Why not have gold ceilings and pink fixtures and hot pink stairs with striped runners (not that I’ve decided yet)?

    I’ll tell you, I think the second option sounds like a lot more fun. It’s a fantasy! Why not fully embrace that?

    How many of you are working on dollhouses along with us? How are you approaching yours?

  • The Basement Half-Bathroom

    The Basement Half-Bathroom

    Six months after beginning our basement remodel, the half-bath has finally been finished. What was once an indoor-outhouse (by the looks of it, anyway) is now the cutest bathroom in our home! It’s hard to get a good photo of the room because it’s so small (4’x5.5′, and just over 6′ to the ceiling), but here’s an attempt.

    The toilet, sink, and faucet were provided by Vintage Tub & Bath, and the sconces were courtesy of Schoolhouse Electric.

    I found the mirror on eBay, spray painted it black, and had new glass cut for it (since it arrived shattered). For the opposite wall, I found a little shelf and painted it green to hold a couple of lacquered bowls and zigzag tumbler. The first aid box is empty, but I figure I can keep some bandages and little things we might need nearby to tend to rambunctious kiddos in the soon-to-be playroom. And say, you look lovely today.

    I’m loving these man and woman vases just to the right of the doorway So funny!

    It was a long process, but I was able to choose every fixture and finish since we were building the bathroom from scratch. I’m pleased with the final result… and glad to be done!

  • Art for the Bathroom

    Art for the Bathroom

    One of the benefits of having a green floor is the ability to layout art on it and imagine the arrangement on your similarly toned walls. Trouble figuring out placements for a gallery wall? Just paint your floors to match! Great planning aid!

    I kid. Here’s what I’ve got so far though.

    I’m going to use a little ledge for the tumbler and bowl, either in white or green. I’m considering adding a clock though too, and then maybe I’d need another little ledge to balance it out. What do you think?

    Also, I’m trying to choose a color for the mirror. I had originally planned on yellow, but I nixed all of the yellow accessories for the room, so now the color would probably look out of place. Maybe black? Or the darker green of that little bowl above?

  • Bathroom Shelving Misjudgment

    Bathroom Shelving Misjudgment

    I made the trip out to IKEA on Saturday with August, specifically to buy the Ekby Shelves for the basement bathroom. They’re only seven inches deep (vs. 12″ for the west elm bookcase I had been considering), so I figured that was the way to go.

    Clearly a lack of sleep is getting to me. What was I thinking? It might be all right for a lady, but you know, a man needs room to stand in front of a toilet. That’s not going to happen with shelves on the opposite wall, even if they are only 7″ deep.

    This half-bath is tiny. And short — I’m 5’5″, and you can see how close the ceiling is even for me. So… I guess I’ll be cutting back on the tchotchkes? On a positive note though, the eyesore vents have been painted to match the walls and ceiling. Much better.