A Quick Fix.

I've been trying to work on my art, but things come up. We've had a non-stop stream of friends coming to stay with us, including tonight someone will be with us for the remainder of this month. That put my neurotic furniture arranging on hold (which Rob is really happy about) and made me instead turn to things that are quicker or easier to manage. Ok, so this wasn't quick or easy, really, but it was something that will tide me over until we get a full on remodel of the kitchen.


Ok, so the kitchen isn't horrendous.. it's showing it's age, it's not the best layout, and it's just kind of blah. I really didn't like the cabinet fronts, but really, that will get worked out as soon as we remodel. It wasn't worth a temporary cost to make it better until we take the sledgehammer to it.

Insert 1 ambitious friend, screwdrivers, and a husband out on an errand so that he couldn't stop us. Add some paint and some shelves and you have this:


Forgive the mess, we were just starting to arrange our kitchen wares and clean them after having been removed from the boxes. That's my excuse anyway.

It was a very fast makeover and it made a bit of difference. I can live with it... for now. But if said ambitious friend comes over one day when we have nothing better to do, maybe we'll take something else apart....

Ok, I don't have the best photos. But here is the general idea.

WC Before:

Black toilet of horror. Black tiles of horror. Just generally ugly water closet.

WC After:

note tampons. Normally hidden, but not today! Out in the open for EVERYONE TO SEE. Just in case you were questioning my being a woman.
We added the white wainscoting and painted the walls the palest purple. A new light was put in, not that you can see it, and the tiles are 1" hex tiles with light gray grout.

Bathroom Before:

This photo of Jen pretty much shows you what we were dealing with.
1. white ugly tiles all the way up the walls
2. nasty stall shower
3. black sink... that was REALLY HIGH. Seriously, the counter was boob height.
4. weird ugly light sconce things. Looks like elementary school project gone wrong.
5. Also had the nasty black tiles on the floor like the WC.

Bathroom After:



obviously pre-installation and paint

It's already a mess, we just moved in. But yay! Same pale purple walls, white wainscoting throughout, vintage corner sink with new faucet, cute clawfoot, and new tiles. I don't have a good photo of the tub... I'll deal with that later. It's a small space, so getting photos of it is very difficult. The new window is on order and should be installed some time next week.

Was it worth it? Yes. The bathroom is not a horrible monstrosity that I'm embarrassed to have in my house. I can only imagines guests panicking with the old weird black toilet that filled to the top before flushing. I definitely think the bathroom remodel and the secret window added more value than we spent, so overall a good decision. I'm sure a lot of people walked away from the property after seeing what they would have to deal with.

Next - the kitchen.

Finished Illustrations!

I put aside the paint brush and hammer for a night and completed two illustrations that had been waiting for me to just buckle down and finish!




Thanks to Kelly and Bethany to putting up with my crazy time schedule!