master bathroom: phase 1

So, our master bathroom is a work in progress.   I was tired of it looking SO dated, so we did a "phase 1" update.  (mostly cosmetic, only removing countertops and mirrors as major reno parts).    If you'd like to see some of my planning and inspiration, check out my Pinterest board:  https://www.pinterest.com/nic073/home-master-bathroom/

Here's a quick Before/After to check out:  

 

And, let's walk through a bit of the updating.   It started out with "let's replace the mirrors"...  (I wasn't sure what size would be correct, so I tried out paper on the wall to get a visual)

 

Hmmm... what size is right? 

 

Which led to.... "I'm going to just paint this cabinet and change the knobs"

(Knobs are from Target, by the way)  I distressed the cabinets because I wanted them to have a worn in, farmhouse feel.   And because we have a million kids and "perfect" doesn't stick around here for long.   Painting... let me tell you.   I think I did something wrong.  I used white chalk paint and didn't prime before (I feel like I'd read you DO NOT have to prime before?"  Anyhow, I'm pretty sure I put on like 7 coats of paint.  Ok... maybe more like 4 or 5.  But a LOT.   I did use BLACK chalk paint on the cabinet in our half bath (I'll share that update later!) and it went on in 2 coats and covered like a CHAMP!   This cabinet was my "tester" because I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to paint our kitchen cabinets and after the half bath painted over so easily I thought... let's try white and then I'll give the kitchen cabinets a go.  Well.   Our kitchen cabinets are still orangey-wood so that tells ya how scared I am of that project HA!   I will, however, primer first should I attempt this again.  

 

 

  

Better, yes?  

 

Then down came the mirror and up went some Sea Salt colored paint and white trim.

 

Holy crap white trim makes so much difference! (I didn't paint the window trim because it was a pain and we never open the blinds on these windows)

 

 

Now for the mirrors.... AHHH I splurged on these babies.  I spent HOURS of my life trying to find them cheaper, but ended up buying them from Restoration Hardware.   If you know me, you know I'll spend far more time than necessary trying to find something at a better deal... and in the end I probably should just suck it up and pay the price.   (Though lots of times I do find good knock offs! What can I say, I'm a bargain girl at heart!)

 

So, you can imagine the horror when I attempted to mount this mirror myself, leaned it up against the cabinet and it fell backwards and shattered.  I cried.  I legit cried.  I called RH and cried to the unsympathetic customer service guy on the phone who basically told me "That's a bummer".   Luckily,  when I got my crap together and called again to reorder, I told the girl my sob story and she took pity on me and shipped another mirror out to me!   I LOVE HER.   

 

 Now its time for countertops.   Again, the master bath gets to be my guinea pig for the kitchen.   I really really really wanted soapstone in the kitchen but had heard it was super soft and not super durable.   But I loooove the worn look it has.   So, the master bath gets soapstone.  I freaking love it.   In my mind, its like granite and marble got together on a one night stand and had soapstone.   It has the veins of marble, the granite specks and unevenness, and throw in a bit of matte finish... AHHH!   In these pictures I have it oiled (mineral oil) but I rarely oil it because I like the dry, matte finish.   We've had it for almost a year and would I do it again?  In a heartbeat.   I LOVE IT.  I'm actually considering it for the kitchen.  Hmm.  

 

  

 

Now we need lights....  I got these from Lowe's:

And I put those babies up myself!

 It's coming along! 

Check out the Before & After in progress:::

 We still have to do something about that tile... GAH!   I'm not sure exactly what to do because I'd love to do some white subway tile, but the tub + shower + toilet is a slight off white.  Not "beige" but definitely not white.  I have thought about doing some grey/cream/white tiles around the tub and then a darker floor.   I don't know if I can justify the cost of renovating those things... but maybe we need to.  I don't know.   For now, we live with the tile.

 Here was my design board for the master bath.  

 And here is where we are now:

I try to pretend that hunter green tile coordinates with my fake plants.  Right?  HA!

 

 

Another splurge... our faucets! 

hudsons bedroom

While our house was completely not our style when we moved in (and it is still a continual, slow work in progress), we were pretty lucky that it was in a sense kind of a blank slate for us to work with.  Errrrr for me to work with.  HAHA!   Decorating and all this jazz is 99% of the time my idea.   Our home had been built and lived in by one family only, and upon selling, they were empty nesters.   So... they had this huge 6 bedroom home to themselves!   I'm pretty sure the entire upstairs hadn't been used in awhile!

Everything was wood trim (typical of late 90's-2000's homes) and lots of hunter green (think cabinet knobs, ceiling fans, light fixtures) and wallpaper (in the kitchen and bathrooms and laundry room).  Easy fixes, so that's great. 

The kids bedrooms got a quick paint job- walls AND trim (so many thanks to my grandma and LeeAnn for helping me!)

Hudson's room started out like this:

    

And now looks like this:

In our old house, the boys shared a room, and Porter claimed the bunk beds.    Hudson got a new bed + dresser (Ikea) and quilt set (Pottery Barn on eBay b/c its older) and most of the other things in his room were from our old house.   The painting behind his bed was inspired (errr knocked off) from Land of Nod.   I love finding paintings that I know I can recreate and do them myself... and save myself $150 or so :)  I painted this one back in 2010. 

I adore the doll beds in his room... he and Amelia play dolls with Amelia + Eloise's Bitty Babies.  Right now Lulu's Bitty Baby has been claimed by Hudson and has a few boy outfits.  

Hudson LOVES animals... Pugs especially.   We found this artwork at Home Goods not too long ago. Not sure if I need or want curtains.... probably "need" them (aka... it'll look better/more finished with curtains) but... I dunno.

The desk is something I got at a garage sale or thrift store years ago.  It's bounced from Porter's room to the basement to Porter's new room now to Hudson's room.

Ikea Expedit:  I LOVE THESE!  As I share pictures from our house... you'll see they're practically in every room.

Hudson painted the panda picture.... I painted the dog pic (knock off from Pottery Barn)... and the H was made by me.  Simple... paint a board, draw out your shape, put in nails and wind string around every which way. 

This little picture is actually a Curly Girl card that I framed. 

 

Can't leave out his little plants!   

amelia's bedroom

Kids bedrooms are my favorite to decorate... and not even joking, partially why I want my kids to all have separate bedrooms- SO I HAVE MORE KID ROOMS TO DECORATE!   Amelia's room is the smallest of the 4 kids rooms (not by much... just because of this jutted out area where the fireplace from downstairs takes up part of her room).  When we moved, I didn't change anything about her room... basically just painted the same color, put up her same curtains and bed and decor and voila!  

Here is her bedroom before:  

And here it is now!  

Her curtains are just fabric from JoAnn Fabrics.  I'm super sucky at sewing so I literally sew a straight line and use the ring clips to attach the curtains.

I adore her Jenny Lind bed, although I'm sure we'll upgrade her to a full sized bed in a couple years.  I'll miss the antique bed though!

Pennant Banner was found at Target and the metal butterfly was from World Market.   The frames and pictures are all either thrift store finds and painted or printed off by me.  I found her dresser at a thrift store and painted it too.  Reminds me... we have the headboard that matches it.  HMM.  

The "I Love You To The Moon And Back" picture I found at this little shop in Grand Haven this summer when we were on vacation.  

Tassle banner is from Target and the signs Porter and I painted for Amelia's nursery.  Shelf is from Ikea. 

My mom painted this giraffe picture for Amelia at one of those "painting parties".  

Little tchotchkes on her shelf.   I adore nesting dolls.  The unicorn and copper piggy bank were mine as a child.   We bought this doll for her in Eze, France.  

 BEFORE: 

AFTER: