UPSTAIRS BATHROOM RENOVATION

Good Morning Monday!

I hope you all had a great weekend. We drove to our oldest daughter's and spent a couple of days. We celebrated her birthday before she relocates with her new job. She was able to get tickets for her Dad and I to go to a Steelers/Buffalo pre-season game. My husband's a big Steelers fan and we were both raised in the Buffalo area, so it was a doubly great evening! Beautiful temps, gorgeous sunset over the stadium and that river view was outstanding!

Today's blog is all about our upstairs bathroom renovation. There are so many DIY'ers out in blogland I thought I would share our BEFORE and AFTER photos of one of the upstairs bathrooms with you. As you will see it clearly was in need of updating when we bought the home.

The house is 16 years old. We've never purchased a home that was older than 5 years, so this was a new challenge for me. Of course it had great bones......but the colors had to go.

Here's a peek into what we faced. Our house was filled with colorful toilets, dark formica countertops and lots of surprises! The collage shows a side-by-side comparison BEFORE & AFTER the bathroom was completed.

Here's what we changed:

1.Trim and Ceiling-Benjamin Moore Ceiling and Trim Super White 02 (trim is gloss)
2. Wall-Benjamin Moore-AC 25 Harbor Gray
3. Shower Curtain-Restoration Hardware
4. Bath mats-Restoration Hardware
5. Countertop & Sink combo-Home Depot-Lamtech Stock Marble Vanity top white
6. Moen faucets
7. New lighting fixture
8. White American Standard toilet
9. Aqua blue ceramic tile floor edge around bath perimeter and aqua tub spray painted  white by Miracle Method.
10. Painted existing cabinet white and added new hardware.

We were quite pleased with the outcome and quite honestly are really glad the aqua/turquoise is gone!

Do you have any projects like these on your horizon? It's such fun to share ideas---feel free to share yours with us!

Have a wonderful day!

Kathleen

Linking up to Before and After Wednesday--
http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/2016/03/before-after-wednesday-week-70.html

DIY PANTRY SHELVING EXTENSIONS

Lately I've been running out of storage in one of my pantries. We have two in the kitchen one small pantry that I use for food items and a large pantry I use for storage of everything from entertaining pieces to items that take up to much space in my kitchen cabinets.

When I mentioned to my husband that I could use some extra storage space he took a look at the pantry. He determined that the two bottom shelves could easily be expanded and still allow me to reach the top two shelves without a problem. I would also have space underneath where boxes of items and other items could be stored.

He ran to Home Depot and bought 2 pieces of 5/8" pine shelving. This was an exact match with what the previous carpenter had used when the shelves were first built. It's very sturdy and can withhold the weight of all of the dishes and other things without a problem. 

After taking his measurements, cutting and installing took about 45 minutes. This is what the pantry looked like with the raw shelving installed. I had an additional 15 inches per shelf x2 plus the tiled floor underneath.

Next step was painting the shelves. My husband used left over trim paint from the kitchen. Benjamin Moore Semi-Gloss Super White. It turned out great! 



 After drying I cut shelf liner and covered the new shelves so that the dishes would have a bit of a cushion and the shelf was protected.


Below is a side view giving you a better idea of how much extra shelving I gained by this simple task. The shelf literally doubled in width. 

The top two shelves remain at a 15 inch depth.The bottom two are now 30 inches deep. Giving me the additional storage space I needed.

Now when I open the pantry doors I can see exactly what I have on each shelf! 

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you enjoyed our pantry project. Do you have a similar pantry situation? Share with us what your solution was to gain more space.

Have a wonderful day!

Kathleen

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MY STYLE MONDAY--LIME AND PURPLE

It is always interesting when the Pantone Fashion Colors of the year are released. The 2014 chart

is full of so many beautiful colors this year. The Radiant Orchid color reminds me of the beautiful orchids that seem to be more plentiful now. They may be found everywhere from Home Depot to your local Farmer's Markets. I love using the deeper almost purple form of this and pairing it with something in the lime family. As displayed in countless photos from gorgeous weddings, to home decor, to clothing. It can be quite breath taking.

 

                                         

I put together a Spring vignette with these colors, adding the yellow and white as contrasts in the floral bouquet. It brings a nice springlike punch of color to the table, and nice WOW as you enter a room.
.

What are your favorite Pantone Colors in the 2014 chart? Which ones will you be using or
wearing this Spring?

Thanks for visiting The Lavender Bouquet.

Have a wonderful day!

Kathleen

*** Feel free to leave your comments in our comment section.

Ralph Lauren Inspired Powder Room Renovation

Despite a Powder Room being a first floor basic necessity in a home, it also holds a great importance as far as first impressions to your guests. I feel the décor should be a step up from other parts of the home. I want my guests to feel a warm welcome that makes them feel special, and I always add a touch of something shiny for a little elegance. If there is any room that you can add a bit of elegance to, it is the Powder Room.....kind of like when you add that statement piece of jewelry to your favorite outfit!

The following are the photos of the Powder Room BEFORE we purchased our home:

The floor is a dark green marble, original with the house. Two tiered decorative crown moulding and  a 5inch baseboard gave us a nice start to our renovation. We removed the wall cabinet over the toilet, took down the chair moulding, mirror, light fixture and toilet paper and towel fixtures and started with a clean slate.

Powder Room AFTER

I love wallpaper in my Powder Rooms.  Shine, texture and a beautiful pattern set such a lovely tone. I always gravitate to the colors and textures that coordinate with the rest of our home of course. I found this beautiful "Ralph Lauren" inspired wallpaper and coordinated everything else based upon this selection.

The double crown moulding, all base trim and inside of the door was painted a dark brown to compliment the paper.  The ceiling was painted a beautiful lighter version of the background of the wallpaper so the layers of color all blended well in such a small area, adding a little drama to the room.

The marble floors were cleaned and honed. I added a new mirror, light fixture, and towel and toilet rings. I found the mirror at Home Depot. The frame was quite dark and plain. I added some gold paint by dry brushing it on the raised pattern. This gave the mirror a bit of a rustic look and also made the beautiful raised floral design more pronounced.

The original gold faucets were in good condition, coordinated well, and so I decided to keep them. They add a nice shiny touch and compliment my wallpaper choice. I kept the décor ie; wall placque and accessories simple carrying the "Ralph Lauren" theme throughout. I lastly added a beautiful monogramed towel from Horchow. A nice touch for guests.

I hope you have enjoyed this segment of our Powder Room Renovation. I would love to hear your ideas for Powder Rooms and if you have photos, please feel free to share those as well.

Wednesday starts my COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS DIY IDEAS. I will be sharing "7" weeks of DIY projects. I will focus on holiday décor, special holiday foods, and gift ideas. I hope you will join me for all of the fun!

See you Wednesday..........

ENJOY!
K

DIY-- Halloween Decor

As I was thinking about Halloween quickly approaching I thought I had better get busy, get my wreath made for the front door, and get my porch decorated. Oh gosh, I had just decorated it for FALL.....wasn't there a way I could do a presto-chango and have my Fall porch change to my Halloween porch?  Actually I started channeling Samantha from Bewitched for a little help and she obliged...........

This is my 2013 FALL WREATH.

   

  This is my 2013 Halloween Wreath.

I ran to JoAnn Fabric and picked up a paper mache' hat, ($1.59) spray painted it black, and stapled it
to the existing leaves on the wreath. I purchased THE WITCH IS IN placque ($3.89) from JoAnn also and attached it with a bit of wire to the bottom of the wreath. Everything was 70% off making my grand total to change my wreath less than $5.50!!

Adding my favorite Houston gauze ghost to the corn stalks worked well with the existing mums, pumpkins and gourds.

I added stick figure ghosts that I bought at a craft show many years ago in Ohio, on the other side....giving another touch for Halloween.

Last year in Home Depot I found black twigs with tiny purple battery operated lights on them. I stuck them into the existing planters on my porch and added a few leaves to the already planted baby cabbage plants in the pots. These little purple lights give an eerie look in the darkness on Halloween night. Last year my husband monogrammed the white pumpkin for me, and the real pumpkin on the right side my husband carves the night before Halloween. We still love the old fashioned carved pumpkin with a candle.......remember the smell of the candle burning the lid of the pumpkin?

My Halloween porch is finished. I added corn stalks and skeletons to the mix for some added spookiness! For just a few dollars and a little help from "Samantha" we are now ready for our little goblins!!

Happy Halloween to all..........

ENJOY!
K