Woman Vs. Bathroom Remodel: Round 1

I have been putting off this bathroom remodel for about 6 months. The main reason was that I knew it would take a long time...and I will admit that the sheer enormity of the task scared me. I was afraid I would be bathroom-less forever. I finally got up the nerve to this lovely 3-day weekend because, well...it was about damn time. Here is what the old bathroom looked like:

Left side - notice the ugly shell sink and the broken hot water knob

This is the right side - yes, that is an ugly green CARPET

So, along with the 80's feel of the bathroom, the horrible green carpet and equally disgusting green paint, it just looked dingy all the time. It needed a major facelift, and I was prepared. Or so I thought. 

Saturday morning I woke up full of energy and hope. I began demo work and it was not as therapeutic as I have been led to believe. This could be because I was trying to cause as little damage as necessary to the walls, or because it took almost all day. 

Behind the mirror were some bits and pieces of wallpaper from a long lost era and honestly, if it had been in better shape, I might have kept it. Trends always come back and I believe we are in another wallpaper craze right now. Alas, no wallpaper for me this time. 

Once I had removed everything from the bathroom (with a little help from boyfriend, who helped carry the obnoxiously heavy countertop downstairs), it was pretty much the end of the day and I was done. Done for the day. I wanted to paint, but just couldn't talk myself into it. 

Nevertheless, I got it done! 

So, first thing Sunday morning, I wake up and pick up the paintbrush, even before I make a pot of coffee. That's dedication, folks. It took about an hour and a half to paint everything (I also tackled the other side of the bathroom where the toilet and bathtub reside). The color I "chose" is called Antique Silver and I say "chose" because it was left over paint from my kitchen, and hey...why not? Anything is better than that green. 

I installed the vanity that I had bought 6 months ago, it came already assembled, so it was simply a matter of securing it to the wall with a few screws. Next came the countertop and faucet. I chose to install the faucet first because it was easier while the sink was not connected to the vanity. This was not that difficult, except that I could not find my instructions, so I had to wing it. Everything seems to work right and I did not end up with extra pieces. :)

Next, I had to move the junction box for the light fixture since I planned on putting in shelving to the right of the vanity and had to recenter the light over the new vanity. Not very difficult really, but it did require patch work on the wall. It was worth it though, because I love the new light! 

I cheated on the shelves and made a trip to IKEA instead of building my own. Hey, it was already Monday and I was tired. Still had the plumbing to work out and I needed a win. The shelves were easy to put together and look beautiful. Though there is still the little problem of flooring to be done and finishing touches here and there...it is coming along quite nicely.

What do you think? I think it is a great improvement already and cannot wait for it to be finished! Let me know what you think of the medicine cabinet. I kind of want to keep it and make it my shrine to OPI to display my crazy nail polish obsession, but not quite sure. I am open to suggestions, too, so just let me know!

DIY Drum Shade Light

Let me begin by saying that I am working on the jewelry tree, but it is not quite finished, so I will blog about that later. Today, I decided to tackle the much hated light fixture in what will eventually be my dining nook. Right now it houses my many tools, some extra tile, a bathroom vanity that I will one day install and countless other goodies. 


This is what the old light fixture looked like:

I believe this is the cheapest "chandelier" you can buy and it just screams "boring," so I had to do away with it. I looked online for some inspiration and settled on putting up a drum shade light. Sounded easy enough. Here are some of the ones I liked:

Luckily, I already had a drum shade at home (from an awesome lamp I bought at Marshall's a few months back). I was a little sad to take the drum shade from the lamp, but it was for a good cause. :) 

Isn't it beautiful?

I decided that I liked the simple wire and chain from the old light fixture, so I did not buy a new light kit. The only other thing I needed was a light socket, which I picked up for about $3.50 at the local Home Depot. 

After turning off the breaker (very important!) and stripping (if that's the correct terminology) the old plastic to expose the wire, I attached the wire to the light socket. It was quite simple, I figured since I had no idea which wire went where, I would try it one way and if that failed, do it the other way. Luckily, I was able to get it right the first time. 

Voila!

Isn't it great?! I attached the drum shade via some extra chain links and hung it on a swag because I like the look. The best part: this light is on a dimmer switch that I installed about a month ago. Ambiance lighting here I come!

I think it's a major improvement...now I just need to find a new drum shade for my poor, naked lamp. Oh daaarn, must go shopping...tee hee!

Happiness is a Handmade Duvet

I had been eyeing this duvet from West Elm for a very long time, but just could not rationalize coughing up over $100 for it. 

Instead, I did some research on the internet and found a DIY version from a fellow blogger: Living on the Chic. I have fallen in love with Trissta's blog and have found many other DIY projects on her blog that I MUST take on! This weekend, I actually made the duvet!


If you read her blog, you will see that she was able to find some sheets at the local thrift store and saved bcps money. I wasn't that patient, so I found mine at Target for $13/each. After asking around, I managed to borrow a 1973 Singer Genie sewing machine from my friend, Shannon's mom (one of her 6 sewing machines?!). She even threaded the thing for me (which I ended up somehow undoing and having to spend hours figuring out how to make work again). Once I figured it out (thank you online instructions), it worked like a dream!

The first step in the process is to mark out all your little sections where you will be creating the pintucks. I did this with some eyeliner, mostly because I figured it would wash out when I threw it in the laundry and also because I'm not a seasoned sewing genius with practical sewing tools (such as a sewing pencil) just laying around. I have a picture of this, but it's hard to see, so if you need to see this in action, check out Trissta's blog. Once I had everything marked out, I started making the pintucks. I did this by hand because I had not quite figured out the sewing machine and I had no other option. It is really easy to do, just pick up the fabric, twist it and sew in place.

I made sure to have these very secure in order to avoid having to redo them in the future if the seams came out. Once this was done, I contemplated how long it would take me to sew the two Queen size sheets together into a duvet...by hand. I think it only took me 2.5 seconds to realize that this was an impossible idea - so I tried AGAIN to make the Singer Genie work. After giving up several times, researching on the internet and finally just simply following the directions that my friend gave me on threading the machine, it all worked! After that, it only took about 15 minutes to actually sew the sheets together. I even added a little fabric to create bows at the bottom (from leftover fabric).

The finished product is gorgeous and I even did the same design to an extra pillow case to complete the project. 


Total cost:
Queen Sheets - $27
Sewing Machine - FREE! (borrowed)


Savings:
$100 (when including a pillow sham)


Yes, it took some time, but I learned how to use a sewing machine in the process and I feel really good about the final product. Next up: Perhaps this beautiful jewelry tree (made from an actual branch!)? 

www.centsationalgirl.com

-Sara