Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Bed and Bath Remodel

I have been meaning to post these before and after pics forever.  This was a remodel I did a year ago. Somehow I've just never gotten around to posting about it.  Probably because I was originally going to make this blog just about cards.  But then I added jewelry.  So I might as well throw in everything else, too!

I have to confess that I am an avid DIYer.  My husband is not.  All our tools are ones I bought or were given to me as gifts.  I was so excited a couple of years ago when I made him a poker table for Christmas.  I had to buy a new circular saw (mine bit the dust), a new jig saw (Ok.  I'm hard on saws!  My old one bit the dust, too), and a new staple gun (You guessed it, my old one died....)  But I digress.  That is fodder for another post.

Anyway, I am also an HGTV fan, although I don't have much time to watch it anymore.  But I'm all about getting a look for cheap  less.  So, though I'm showcasing the new & improved bed and bath, I'll point out some of my previous fixes, too.

 So this is the bed  before (don't know why all the before pics look yellow!)  What you don't see is the really cool "crown" type of canopy I had hanging behind the bed.  I didn't think to start taking pictures until after it was down.  Anyway. I really loved the red and gold but was getting tired of it.  The accent pillows are made out of clearance satin drapery panels and scarves I found at Walmart.  The dresser scarves on the nightstands are velvet placements from Big Lots,

This is the bed after.  I had done this at our previous house, too.  Instead of a headboard, I framed out the area above the bed with crown molding, and painted it cream to contrast with the blue.  Then hung a print in the middle.  The flowers in the print were originally too white, so I just swiped over them with a sponge and some vanilla stamping ink to tone them down.  I should mention that my husband asked me, "Why didn't you paint the whole room?  Why one wall?"  Guess he doesn't get the concept of an accent wall.


 The foot of the bed was a bit crowded with the love seat and the hope chest.  But I loved having the   love seat there.  So, I finally ditched the love seat and move the hope chest, adding pillows to make it more comfy for sitting (out cats love it!)  The long cushion is a piece of foam rubber covered with a body pillow cover that I picked up on clearance.  I used the same wall sconces, just changing the candles, which I also found at Big Lots, along with the mirror. The 2 smaller pillows were part of the comforter set that I decided to use here instead of on the bed.

One of these days I'll get around to hanging the tapestry in my living room.  I'll need to ask my mom, but I believe this was brought over from the old country by my great grandparents, so I hate to have it put away.







 This photo has my electric fireplace that I bought about 12 years ago.  My husband griped that I was spending too much money, but I'd wanted a fireplace in the bedroom forever.Now he turns it on (flame only since I'm at the certain age where my body temperature fluctuates from second to second!)  The mirror was one from our previous house that had gotten a corner broken off.  I painted and distressed molding and glued it on to create the frame.  The problem is that when I wanted to hang one as you see above, it couldn't be done.  The molding was glued even with the edges of the mirror because of the size of the broken corner.  Therefore, there was nothing that I could attach hangers to because the back was all glass.  Hence the need to purchase a new mirror.

My good friend, Cindy, who helped me paint, had suggested I find a way to raise the fireplace so both occupants of the bed could see it.  I am very proud of the result.  I built this myself from mdf, 2x4s, and crown molding.  I simply took the fireplace insert out of the old surround, removed the gold trim, and then built supports inside the new surround to hold it in place (think legs made out of 2x4s, essentially).  Then I added the mosaic trim.  I found the coolest stuff at our local home Depot for helping with that.  It's basically a huge sheet of super sticky double stick tape.  You cut it to the size of your tiles (in this case mosaic tiles on a mesh backing).  Then you stick it to  the surface you are tiling, then add the tile.  Then you can grout immediately.  No waiting.  No adhesive mess.  Fabulous stuff!

Now on to the bathroom......


Bathroom before repeated the red and gold.  Geraniums in the flower box at the tub.  Window scarves tossed over brass curtain rods.  You can't see it, but the can light by the shower does have a decorative surround that I bought for it.  The colors were suitable for the "after" bathroom as well.

Now the walls (only 2 of them.  One here, one in the next pics) are the same color as the accent wall in the bedroom.  I purchased the window scarves on sale at Menard's.  The wall hanging here and in the next picture are from Big Lots.  I forget where I got the shower curtain, but I was thrilled that it had the accent stripes of brown and the brown flourish in the center, both echoing the new bedspread.  I replaced the geraniums with a board on which to place spare towels on one half, and filled the other with sand, decorative glass stones, and battery operated scented candles.

The cabinets here are the original plain oak ones, although I had swapped out the handles a few years ago.  When we moved in the mirror was plain old construction grade, and I added the painted/antiqued/distressed molding.  I found a great lighting option for can lights (which I hate).  You can buy pendant lights (now in many styles, only available in one when I got mine), that you use by simply unscrewing the can light bulb, and screwing the pendant into its place. The cord is adjustable so you can have it hang however long or short you like.  Then you put a regular bulb in the pendant.  I liked it so much when I got it that I ordered two for my kitchen, too.

The thing I really hated in the bathroom was the brass light fixture and the silver towel bars/rings.  Because of the bass ackwards way the light was put in, though, there isn't really any other option.  So instead, I got metallic spray paint (hammered bronze) and painted the towel bars/rings and the light housing.  I also broke down and painted the cabinets the same brown as the fireplace, the frame behind the bed, and the mirror molding.  People who know me well know this was a major breakthrough because I just can't bring myself to paint over perfectly good wood--especially oak.  But I'm glad I did!  It finished off the room in a way that could never have been acheveed by leaving them oak.

So there you have it.  Everything but the fireplace got finished in two days, thanks to the help of my friends Cindy and Christine.  The surround took me another day to build and another to install (I did have to work at my job, too!).  I love the way it turned out.  It didn't look bad in the regal red and gold (although  the pics don't do it justice).  But now it's peaceful and serene.  Spa-like.  I love it!


Sunday, May 13, 2012

So, as usual, much more time has gone by than I intended  between posts.  I've been busy!   For now I'll just show the things I made this weekend while sitting watching tv.  Hey, it's Mother's Day weekend, I deserve some down time!

This is a Shambala bracelet.  It's made with red jade beads.  This was my first attempt at macrame since I was about 12.  It was fun.  You can see part of the closure on the right side--all the black macrame above the last bead.  It's a slide closure, so it will fit a lot of different sized wrists.  Very nice since it's hard (at least for me) to figure out how big or small to make a bracelet.
Another macrame bracelet made with czech glass beads I got from a Tophatter auction. The thread is waxed Irish linen.  I guess this makes this bracelet international!

This bracelet uses the same knot as the Shambala bracelet, but instead of adding one bead to the middle, a bead is added to each side.

I loved the way this came out.  Unfortunately, that trouble I have sizing bracelets that I mentioned?  Well, it ended up being too small for me, even though I tried it around my wrist about a dozen times before finishing it.  However, luckily for my oldest daughter, it did fit her.

The button I used as a closure is a vintage button from my Grandma Rudolph's button "box".  It's not a box, it's a tin from a 5 lb beef brain.  She and my grandpa used to run a grocery store.  I love the look on people's faces when they really look at it for the first time.  The tin, not the button.








Another macrame bracelet--this one made with glass "pearls.  Another Tophatter win.  This is also made like the Shambala, but instead of a full knot (or more) and then adding a bead, you do a half knot, add a bead, then the other half, add a bead....It's pretty easy unless you're watching Supernatural with your daughter and keep losing your place.  Then you have to go back and calculate every time: left, right, left, right, left.  Don't know if it makes one feel like a soldier or Dr. Seuss.





A vintage button from the brain tin again.  This is probably my favorite.  Fortunately, there are several of them.















And finally, a pendant I made out of a baked marble.  I had read about these in many places online and was dying to try it.  It's very easy, but I did have to adjust things a bit.  Basically, you put your marbles on a pan in a preheated 500 degree oven for about 30 minutes.  Then take and pour them immediately into a glass or bowl of cold water with ice (Don't use plastic as the marbles could melt it when they settle.).  Let them sit for about 20-30 minutes.  Because the exterior and interior of the hot marble cool at different rates, the pressure inside the marble causes it to crack.  You may have one that occasionally cracks all the way, but I only had that happen to 2 out of about 15.  I did have to tweak things a little, though.  I didn't think the marbles had enough cracks, so I ended up putting them back in the oven.  When I took them out, I didn't have to ice them again as they had cracked more when heated the second time.  They do look really pretty.

Anyway, I then used silver wire to make a bail, glued it on, and voila!
a lovely pendant.  Can't wait to try making different wrapped wire bails for the rest of them.