Pre-Nesting

I've heard of women nesting when they become pregnant, but I think I may need to coin the term "pre-nesting" if it hasn't already been coined. My husband and I have recently made the decision to start our family and I have gone on a home improvement rampage. I've always enjoyed updating small details in rooms from time to time, but now that I know we could have a baby in the very near future, I have this (almost) uncontrollable urge to truly turn our house into a home.

My latest conquest was our full bathroom. I wish I would have taken a true "before" picture (before I put up pictures or added decorations). The best I can do is paint a mental picture: an aqua blue shower curtain that shrunk in the dryer and became too short, grimy looking towel hooks/paper towel holder, a patch the size of a dinner plate on the wall by the towel paper holder, and a padded toilet seat that had definitely seen better days (something about using a padded toilet seat that had previous owners creeps me out). The picture I took before I painted still shows a major improvement. I tried to be practical since A) we're renting & B) we've got a little more than 2 years left here.

I tried to ignore the annoying buttery yellow color on the walls, the ugly patch, and the less than attractive towels hooks/toilet paper holder. I tried, and succeeded, for 8 months... until one day I just snapped. On a whim, I picked out a new shower curtain. This led to a new bathmat, coordinating hand towels, two pictures to hang, two candle holders + candles, and a matching soap pump/covered to go with the trash can I already had.

Once I got my new little pretties up, I could not bare the thought of that horrible buttery yellow on the walls any longer. Then I thought of the color my husband suggested when I talked about wanting to paint the bathroom long ago... gray. I had not given his suggestion much thought at the time, but it suddenly just clicked. I dragged Mike to Home Depot a couple of days later, stared at various shades of gray for about ten minutes, and settled on Behr's "Graceful Gray". Once I got it on the walls, I knew it was absolutely the perfect choice... I've got the pictures to prove it...

Before: better with the new decorations, but the butter yellow is still not cutting it

After: Ahhh, much better with the Graceful Gray

After: I call the bathroom's look "Beach Chic"

I wish I could wow everyone with an incredible budget, but the makeover kind of just happened. For future home improvements, I hope to make planning & budgeting a bigger part of the mission. Anyway, here is a rough rundown of what I got and what I spent...

Behr paint in Graceful Gray: $32

Towel bar/toilet paper holder set from Home Depot: about $47

Shower Curtain from Kohl's: on sale @ $32.99

Seahorse Pillar Candle Holders from Kohl's: on sale @ $9.00 & $6.75 (if I am remembering correctly, they were 55% off at the time).

Short Pillar Candle & Tall Pillar Candle from Kohl's: on sale @ $4.95 & $4.50 (I think these were also 55% off at the time of purchase. Normally, I would not include such a small detail... but these candles smell absolutely heavenly. Even when they are unlit, my bathroom smells a-maz-ing!

Bathmat similar to this one (from the same brand) from Kohl's: on sale @ $8.99

Hand Towels both from Kohl's: on sale @ $5.99 each

Framed Art both from Kohl's: on sale @ $24.99 each (I can't find a link, but the artist is Cynthia Coulter)

Soap pump & covered dish on the sink both from Home Goods: $9.99 & $7.99 (they are beautiful & made from 100% recycled glass).

Grand Total = about $226.12. I didn't realize I'd spent that much, but it's not so bad when you consider that the price includes paint, hardware, some linens, wall art, & quite a few accessories. Oops, I forgot about the toilet seat, so tack on another $15 or so to that total.

Items already owned: small green vase (purchased @ Ross for $3.99 years ago), coordinating trash can to the soap pump & covered dish (purchased @ Home Goods a few months ago for $19.99), shower curtain hooks (purchased on sale @ Kmart months ago for $8.99).

I know I could have worked harder to complete a similar look under a better budget, but I am completely happy with the bathroom (as in: I inhale deeply and let out a 100% content sigh every time I walk into the bathroom). I was feeling a bit superficial for swooning over a room because of material items, but then I considered something else. While it is basically just a room with stuff in it, now it reflects my (and my hubby's too) personality and it brings me a feeling of comfort. So, all this "pre-nesting" business is an effort to create spaces in the rooms throughout our house that make it a HOME. What better gift can we give to ourselves and our baby-to-be than a peaceful home that brings all of us both comfort and joy?

something pretty

we got some new art for our wall collage at the craft fair today.

wordless wednesday

Living Room Tour

A few of my friends and family members have been asking for pictures of our new house, so I thought this would be the perfect place to post pictures for everyone! I'll start with the living room since it's the only room that I feel is pretty much put together. I put the pictures in order, so this is a counter-clockwise view starting at the front door...


Here's our front door complete with a mini wreath I made last year. I definitely need a bigger wreath, which will probably happen soon since I'll be putting up Christmas decor soon!


This is the view you see once you step inside. The living room is to the immediate left. The kitchen and laundry area are just past the living room. On the left side of the hall: full bathroom & main bedroom. On the right side of the hall: entry to garage, half bathroom, Mike's office, and my craft room.

This hope chest is over 70 years old. I really wish I did not have to mess with the finish, but it definitely needs some TLC. Those cute pumpkin candle holders were given to me by my mom when I had barely any Autumn decor. She always teases me about taking them back because she misses them ;p The picture is from my trip to North Carolina years ago. It fits in perfectly with my holiday theme.

I wasn't too keen on this little window cut out when we first moved in, but I've gotten used to it. It's fun to put little decorations on it. Mike likes it for convenience. Since the kitchen is on the other side, I've passed many drinks to Mike through the little window... lazy bum ;p

Our comfy couch and my FAVORITE picture of all time. I've waited for years for that beaut! I kind of based the whole look of the living room around this picture... that's how much I love it. It's called Singing Butler by Jack Vettriano. I got it from Bed, Bath, and Beyond for just over $40 (thank you 20% off coupon)! Oh, and I have to rave about these Dwell Studio Pillows from Target for a second. It was love at first sight when I spotted them online a while ago, but I could never find them (they were previously sold out online as well). I saw 2 of them at my local Target about a month ago and nearly had a heart attack. Needless to say, I snatched them up in a hurry... I may have scared fellow customers with my enthusiasm...

The view directly across from the hope chest and TV (I had to take the flash off so there wouldn't be a glare on the picture). My friend, Susan, gave me 2 of those little wall sconces as a gift. I recently spotted them while shopping and grabbed 2 more. I think they fill in the space around the picture nicely without distracting from the picture.

Close up of the little floral arrangement I made this year (I got the flowers, container, and floral foam from Hobby Lobby for under $15... I love that place). I got those cute little pumpkins at a local craft fair a couple months ago. The table runner is a gift from my aunt (can you tell my family loves the holidays?).

The view of our messy yard (I raked it all yesterday, so it's nice and clean now).

Other side of the living room. I am always rearranging the items on the little entry table.

The entry table's current look. My friends and family may not believe this, but I got that adorable cider sign from... wait for it... Good Will. Yep, you read that correctly. I don't want to say that I am a snob when I shop, but I never pictured myself browsing the aisles of Good Will. I've been putting together a frame collage, so I got the idea to check out Good Will for cheap frames. All I need is a little black spray paint to spruce up the ones that need a little TLC. Anyway, I saw the cider sign hanging out with the frames (ha, no pun intended) and picked it up for a whopping $1.99.

So, that's the living room. While I love those little lamps with the red shades (a gift from my mom), they are pretty dim and that is our only source of light. We need to get a standing lamp or add a light to the ceiling fan. Other than that, I just need to refinish the hope chest and entry table; add a little something to the wall that is perpendicular to the painting; and I would love a new coffee table (I hate having a glass top table). My ideal table would be a big, chunky chest with lots of storage for dvds! Hopefully I will have updated pictures in a few months!

P.S. This is the first time we've lived somewhere that A) allowed us to paint & B) we would be there long enough for all the work of painting to be worth while. I surprised myself with my color selection. I picked Torchlight from Sherwin-Williams. I am definitely not afraid of color, but this one is pretty bright. My reasoning is that it will cheer me up in the gloomy winter months.