Christmas Home Tour 2016

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Go ahead & grab a hot beverage because I've got lots of pictures
to show you today.
Let's do this home tour all in one post.
I'll even promise to keep the chit chat to a minimum.

Come on in!

Welcome!

We did several home projects this year which I, being 

a sporadic blogger this year, did not share yet!

Hopefully you won't notice them here.

Let's start in the living room.

I went with a red, white & black theme this year.

Now into the entryway we go.

This old window is right next to the front door.

Straight ahead, you'll see my 

"It's A Wonderful Life" themed vignette.

I have always loved this movie.

My husband, over the years, has come to love it too.

This vignette was so much fun to put together.

Now let's head into the dining room.

I pretty much always keep to a white, cream,

blue, silver & gold palette in here.

And the sitting room...

 Next up, the kitchen...

Moving on to the center hallway.

This little tree was all about pastels...

pink, blush, blue, mint, gray.

 I even gave the bathroom shelf (below) some holiday spirit.

 Next is the master bedroom...

I hope you enjoyed my Christmas home tour this year.

It's always a pleasure to have you visit.

Merry Christmas!!!

Linking to:

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

 

Revealing the Upstairs Bathroom Remodel

Hello friends!

 I have been meaning to share our upstairs bathroom remodel 

with you for a few months now.

 There are quite a few pics, so you might want to grab some coffee, 

or maybe something cold to drink as you browse along.

Let's start with the before pictures, shall we?

Can I just say how much I despised this bathroom?

This bathroom is upstairs

and primarily used by my kids...who are now teenagers.

Before:

I loathe those blue fixtures!

I can't get over my tendency to want to shield my eyes!

Cringe worthy!

During:

The contractors came and gutted the place.

Oh what a mess!

Why such a mess you ask?

This bathroom was obviously added on years after the house

was built in 1933.

The walls were sheet rock...or so we all thought. 

When they got to tearing down the shower wall.....

it was plaster!  

(Just like in the rest of the house.)

Even though this bathroom is upstairs,

that plaster dust covered every single surface of my

house both upstairs & downstairs!

I really could have cried.

Thankfully, things starting looking up quickly.

After:

What an improvement, huh?

I fell in love with this gray wood look tile.

I loved it so much I wanted it used on both the floors...

...and the shower walls.

So much better!

I just need to add a few little accents to 

the walls yet, but other than that, she's all done!

If you're digging this whole before & after thing,

you can see the reveal of my downstairs bathroom

from a few years back by clicking right here.  

Thanks for stopping by today!

Linking to:

Tuesdays @ Our Home at Our Home Away from Home

A Winter Bath

Since we have been bombarded with fluffy white stuff,

I thought this post would be appropriate.

Some time before Christmas, I got it in my head that red would be a pretty color to introduce into my tiny blue cottage bathroom.  So began the search for a red shower curtain...

My first purchase was a lovely red & white toile curtain.  I loved the curtain, but the deep red with my blue walls just wasn't doing it for me.

It was a cheerful and happy red that I needed.

My second purchase was a red & white polka dotted curtain.  It certainly was cheerful and happy, but man it was just red overload!

One day, in early December, I was shopping in Kohls & spied the cutest snowmen shower curtain.  The snowmen were wearing red scarves.

Hmmm, I thought to myself. 

Perhaps I need to add just a touch of red instead of a full-on blow-out of red.

But wouldn't it be silly to buy a shower curtain just for Christmas?

Do I really want a themed bathroom?   

With closer observation, I noticed the snowmen weren't really Christmas-y snowmen, they were more Winter-y snowmen.  Along with the fact that Winter lasts until March (or April...or May...) in these parts,  I could use it well past Christmas.  Between the sale & coupon, it would only be $12.00 & change, so why not have a little fun?

Come take a look....

Are they cute or what?

  

Turns out that just a touch of red was the way to go.

My favorite shelf with a touch of snow & a touch of red.

Aaaah, I love it!

Have I ever told you how much I love red & white gingham?

And that, my friends, is my Winter bath!

Thanks for stopping by today.

I appreciate your visit oh so much!

A New Space to Decorate for Christmas this year

One of my happiest home improvement moments of 2011, had to be our new cottage bathroom.  If you haven't seen it and would like to, click here.

   

Now that I finally have an updated space, I couldn't resist adding a little bit of Christmas to it.  

As the clock ticks speedily towards Christmas, I hope that you are enjoying all the goodness that the season has to offer.  See you soon!

At long last...The Cottage Bathroom Reveal

Oh yes, I bet you have all forgotten by now. It may have taken forever (the reveal, not the actual reno), but I am proud to say that I am finally ready to share the newly remodeled bathroom with you!

I posted about our bathroom here, but the general details are: it is very small (I literally have to take pictures from the hallway), it is the only bathroom on the 1st floor, and it is a full bath.

We started with a 1933, lavender & black tiled bathroom.



The contractors completed gutted the place, right down to the wood lathes.





Everything was plaster--at least 3 inch thick plaster. As a matter of fact, the contractors swore they would never take on a job like this again. The demo was back-breaking. (Believe me, I'm not knocking plaster. I like plaster. My husband loves plaster. He hates our new "sheet rock crap walls" as he calls them.



Are you ready?





I'm telling you for hours...days...hell...even weeks afterward, I would stand in the bathroom, look around & smile.

Honestly, I have to say my husband was wonderful about this whole project (less the sheet rock, of course). I have a tendency to get out of hand & act as though money is no object. He usually has to reign me in. This time however, he let me run. Oh a girl could get used to that!

I had a hard time deciding on what I wanted, but I knew I wanted beadboard. I also knew I didn't want a modern shower with glass surround (although the contractor tried to talk me into it), I knew it would never work in this old house.

I knew I wanted this shower curtain. It's Sophia, by Laura Ashley.



From the curtain, I picked a wall color. It seemed a no brainer to go with a Laura Ashley paint...Summer Nightfall.

Lots of back & forth about whether to go with a pedestal sink or vanity. Because the bathroom is so small, a pedestal sink seemed the logical choice. However, since this is the main bath on the 1st floor (where the master bedroom is located), we really needed the storage of the vanity. We ordered this KraftMaid baby.







Our biggest problem was the radiator. We thought we would remove the old radiator. Hubby went with measurements to the heating store and the salesman ordered us a new, smaller model. Of course, when it came in, it didn't fit. We wanted to scream.

It was too late at that point to do anything (like put a baseboard heater or put the heat in the floor). So we had to take the old, original, million-ton radiator (affectionately called, Old Ironsides) have it sandblasted & then powder coated. Needless to say, it went from ugly to somewhat attractive. (I wish I had a picture of its original state.)



I spent weeks trying to find something for this wall, with no luck. I kept thinking a painting or print was what I wanted. When I found this shelf on Etsy, I loved it & knew this would work perfectly. (I still need to play around with the shelf display though).





There she is. Before & After.



Our Cottage Bathroom.



Linking to:

Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Potpourri Party at 2805
Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home
Inspiration Friday at At The Picket Fence
Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
Fall into Fall at DIY by Design
Open House Party at No Minimalist Here
Wow us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style
Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage
Fall in Love at Decor to Adore