Good morning loveies! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We had amazing
sunny skies that allowed us to open our windows--spring is so close!

If you read this post last week, you know I am redoing the guest bath.
 This is what I chose for my inspiration:
 
   

I got my sharpies out and went to town.



I have just started adding color to the butterflies and birds 






To get to this point has taken a ridiculous amount of hours.... But, I think I can finally see the finish line!!

So, I don't spend a lot of time working on my own casa. I have not found the time or energy
 to revamp. But, enough is enough as far as our guest bathroom is concerned...yuck..

  

The house was new when we bought it. But, all of the finishes were pretty much builder basics.
The 'tiles' were some sort of stick-on linoleum number. 
 
So let's examine: bad orangey cabinets, frameless piece of mirror, horrible off-centered
light, cheap hardware.

We started with the floors. I found some tile that I really liked at Overstock:

  Cute little penny rounds that I absolutely loved. 

But, I loved these from SomerTile {also at Overstock} just a little more. Because the linoleum 
floor was in good {level} shape, it acted as my subfloor. I tiled right on top. 

I like it a lot! 
{**tip--if you buy these from OS, buy more than you need because they package them poorly and
there is quite a bit of breakage}   

It's a fairly good sized bathroom with no architectural features at all. So we decided to fake some.

Using the shower height as a guide, I used semi-gloss White Dove to paint the bottom 3/4 of the walls.

 

 We are going for a wainscot effect. Not so believable quite yet, huh?

Using 1x3 pine, hubby ripped it down to a 1/2" on the table saw. {so it actually  is 2 1/2' x 1/2"} 
The existing trim around the door, window and floor was a little bit more than 1/2" so it allowed it all to
read as wainscoting. 

I primed all the pieces and then attached the horizontal top pieces 73" from the floor with a
pneumatic nail gun.   

Then we attached the vertical pieces 28" apart {this was the calculation that worked out well with 
our room size.}

Then I filled all the nail holes and caulked every edge. Then it all got several coats of paint. 

This left me with about 40" above the 'wainscotting'. This is where it got complicated.

I had 2 wallpapers that were in contention for the 'above wall' area. 
 The first was Schumachers Birds and Butterflies wallpaper:

  

 And the second was Vanuatu from Anthropologie:

But I wasn't willing to shell out the $600 for the 3 rolls it would take.  

Plan B: I remembered some fabric at Calico Corners that I had seen and liked online.
 I thought it could work really well as wallpaper.

I haven't tried this technique before, but I had always wanted to--wet the fabric with liquid starch
 and apply it like wallpaper.  
  
I placed the order and excitedly waited for it to arrive.

Only, when I saw it in person, the background was really yellowy-brown. More so in person than in
my pic. And it had an incredibly unflattering sheen to it...ugh...so back to CC it went.
 
Sooo, we have now moved on to Plan C, which is the cheapest, but, the most time consuming.
It involves a bunch of these:

   
Hmmmm.......any guesses????

Here is a fun art idea. I can't take credit for making these. I was lucky enough to find them
 for sale at Home Goods last summer. But, I think it would be an easy to copy craft.



These are around 12" in diameter and about a 1 1/2 " thick. 
To make these: Cut your wood slices. Smooth both sides with sandpaper or a palm sander.



Create or find very simple images. A kids coloring book would be a good place for images.
 


Tape your image onto the wood. Following the outline of your image, poke a hole with a
 pencil {every inch} through the paper and onto the wood. This will create your 'dotted' template. 



Remove the paper. With a drill, drill all the way through the wood following your template. {Make sure
your hole/drill bit is big enough to accommodate the needle and the cord slipping through easily}. Using
 a big embroidery needle and colored cord, 'sew' your design. Attach a picture hanger to the back.
 


Simple, fun 'alternative' art for a little girls bathroom.
  

I showed you a Condo I remodeled and staged in yesterday's post. Today, I wanted to share
 with you some great sources that I used.

The living room had a big back wall so I needed pieces that were substantial. I used the Ikea Ektorp
slipcovered sofa. It's a great price, perfect size, it looks great--it's terribly uncomfortable {sorry, but let's
 call it like it is}.$499. I flanked the sofa with a pair of Ikea Hemnes Bookcases $180/pc. To jazz them up a little, I attached lattice fabric to the back of the bookcases with spray adhesive. The sconces were a steal from Shades of Light. They were a horrible chartreuse color that I spray painted turquoise. They were originally @$175 but I scored them for $24 {unfortunately they are no longer available}. The console I made out of 2 1/2 yds of fabric {$25}, a 5' x15" piece of plywood for the top {already had} and 2 Mainstays Modular storage bases from Wal-Mart.$19/pc. I added a little of the lattice fabric along the hem. 

The 2 chairs are from Overstock. $261!!! They are really cute AND they sit really nice. The large mirror
is from an auction. $15. It got painted. The small round mirror was on clearance at Homegoods for $15.
 I velcroed it on to the larger mirror. The small cute white table is also from Homegoods. $49. The glass vase on top is filled with vintage pool balls {ebay]. The Parson's coffee table is from Wal-Mart $29! {You do have to put it together, and, I must insist that you cover it with something, but it makes a great 'base'} I cut a piece of foam for the top and then I slipcovered the whole thing with 2 yards of turquoise fabric piped with a terra cotta fabric. The butterfly prints were $50 for the pair from Homegoods. I made all the pillows and the curtains. The curtain hardware came from BigLots. All the accessories in the bookcases came from Homegoods and an Antique/junk store in Sylva {most got spray painted}. 

The kitchen furniture was bought at an unfinished furniture store in Franklin. The store had a drip in the
ceiling that caused some damage. So I got the table, 3 chairs and a bench for $300. I stained the 
table top and painted/glazed the chairs.

  
The Roman shade is faux--I ironed the folds and then they were sewn in place {I's hung about 10" above the window trim to make the room/window appear taller}. The oil-rubbed bronze cabinet hardware knobs are $1/pc on Ebay.

The bathroom mirror was reused by simply adding some molding to frame it. New oil-rubbed bronze
light fixture, $45 and the faucet,$75 both came from Lowes. I found a 'kit' from Wal-Mart that had the
oil-rubbed-bronze towel bar, towel ring, and TP holder for $29 {score!!} That's Giallo Ornamental
formica on the countertop..you gotta do what cha got to do...$$ {that back wall isn't blue--it's the camera] 

Here's where you can save a ton if you are staging. The mattress is actually a queen size air mattress from Big Lots, $39 {I know, right!} It is really, really thick so it makes a great looking finished bed. I made a 'bed frame' out of 1"x 12" pine boards, turned on their sides and screwed together, $32. The dresser is the Hemnes from Ikea in gray-brown. I love this color and you can not beat the $149 price tag. The mirror is from Homegoods, $30 {painted} as well as the artwork, $50. The curtains are actually shower
 curtains from  target. They were really wide so I cut them in half, $25 per window {cha-ching!} 
I don't think they are still available.

       
 The bedding is Dwell from Target $80. I can't remember if the lamp came from Target or Homegoods.
 It's a really pretty milky blue. I added some trim to the bottom of the lampshade. My hubby and I made
the headboard. It is a piece of plywood, painted a deep navy, with small molding added around the edge.
 A piece of foam covered in batting, then covered in fabric, was glued to the middle and then a piece of
 rope was glued around the edge of the fabric, $50. The side table is from Target $49.

In the master, the same mattress trick was used. Because you can't use a bedskirt on a homemade
 air mattress/pine bed frame, I bought a sheet set from Overstock {for each bedroom $30}, cut the flat
 sheet into 18" strips and then hemmed the bottom. I then glued them onto the air mattress creating the
 bedskirt. It's staging people--it doesn't have to be 'for reals'. The white comforter is from Overstock.
The little square storage ottomans are the perfect little accent at the end of the bed, $49. The lamps are
 from Target, $39. The side tables {Target} were originally a really bad creamy sponged treatment that
 I sanded and painted white.$79.

 

I had a little bit of the floral fabric left over from the living room curtains. So, I cut it a little smaller than
 the front of the drawer and spray glued on. I painted the knobs orangy-red. This combo adds a little
 punch to the plain white tables.  

The dresser is also the Ikea Hemnes in white. The print is from Homegoods $59. I like the way it brings
 this side of the room a great dose of color. {I didn't hang the pics because I hated to put holes in the walls!} Accessories are from Homegoods.

  
Ribba frames from Ikea filled with scrapbook paper from Michaels. $15 +.50 {LOVE this frame}.

For consistency, I used the same color scheme throughout the entire condo.I like the flow that it gave and it also allowed me to shop faster because I didn't have to be specific in following a room by room plan. I knew if a piece didn't work in one room then I could easily use it in another.
 
This became a whopper of a long post--sorry. If there is anything I left out that you are curious
about, then shoot me a comment below.