Master Bathroom Update

We have been working on updating our master bathroom for about two months, and it is finally starting to get there. We finished painting, and there is no longer even a hint of that hideous red we used to have.
When we first started planning for what we wanted to do I made up a mood board, so we would have a solid plan, and something to reference. My rooms never turn out exactly as planned, but it's a great way to get started. Here's the original mood board.

See, the two lights at the top? The stripe one is our dream light, but I just wasn't able to swallow the $200 price tag, no matter how cute it is. Especially for something so simple. The other light is from cb2, and was priced a lot more reasonably at $50. We were planning on buying that one, but life got busy, and it just didn't happen, then...


I was browsing ebay when I found this light.

It's from Good Earth Lighting and usually costs about $90. Here's the kicker, I got it for $8.50!!! With shipping it came in just a little bit under $20, which is unbelievable. 

I was really excited, but a little apprehensive about whether or not it would have all it's parts and function properly. When it arrived this past Wednesday, I took everything out of the box, and checked for missing or broken parts, and it was all there, and in excellent condition. WOO-HOO! 

Mike started installing it on Friday, but because of the shotty way our house was constructed he had to do some improvisation. Just so happens our junction box was installed so that it was recessed about two inches,

properly installed junction box

 and it wasn't going to be as simple as it should have been, so he took a break from it, and last night he figured out some way to make it work. (have I ever mentioned how grateful I am for my handy husband!)

I am ecstatic about the way it looks installed. It changes the look and feel of the whole bathroom dramatically. I don't think I've ever seen a light fixture do so much for a space before. It took the bathroom from ehhh-  functional and efficient, to my soon to be spa haven. I LOVE IT!

Here are some before and afters of the room so far. We have some more projects that we're still working, on, but it's finally starting to come together!

Please excuse the not so great photos this bathroom has zero natural light!

I really wish I had taken better photos of the light before. 

We spray painted the old frame with a hammered metallic to hold us over until we got a new one.

Here's the view from our "sink nook" which is just outside the bathroom.

 It's SO much better already! This light definitely has some serious "bang for it's buck" I still just can not get over how huge of a difference it made. 

Where do you find amazing deals?

A New Napkin Holder

I have been thinking for a while that it would be nice to have a napkin holder to keep on the table, especially when we have friends over, so they don't always have to ask me where they are or go hunting my cabinets if they need a spare. I spotted this one at Goodwill a few weeks ago, and for some reason I loved it. That reason could or could not have been the forty-seven cent price tag, but the cute little flowers didn't hurt either.

OK, don't run away yet, I promise I am going somewhere better with this. I consider the ability to see things for what they could be as one of my best traits. Not just things, people too, but that's not what we're talking about. I knew that this napkin holder had some good in it, behind all that grime and eighties paint job. 

So, I cleaned it up and primed it.

SO much better already!!! I just used some spray paint from our stash, which is apparently a bit larger than I realized. We pick up cans here and there when they are on clearance at Sherwin Williams, and we often overbuy for projects, or if I just really like a color. The ones with the yellow dots are all discontinued. I thought this one would work well since it seals out all kinds of nastiness. Any sealing primer should work well.

I used one coat of primer, and two coats of satin white, which I somehow forgot to photograph, but I think you can get the idea. I did very light and even coats to prevent drips and get a nice even coverage. I didn't want to overdo it and kill the detail of the flowers or basket. 

I think it's perfect for Spring and Summer, and possibly even beyond that. It might not be exactly what I would've chosen, but for under fifty cents I'm not going to complain. It was pretty much this or nothing.

I love that the middle of it (where the napkins go) is nice and thick, and will hold a ton of napkins. I also like how the white really accents all the details of the flowers and basket pattern. I think I'll hold onto it for a while.

I can't wait to use it on my Easter table!

What have you been spray painting lately? Any hideous eighties paint jobs?

Time for New Rugs!

I am SO super excited about this!

These beautiful, fabulous rugs are on their way to my house!!! I have no idea how, but somehow I stumbled onto the RUGS USA website, and realized that almost all of their clearance rugs are an additional 75% off when you use coupon code: CL75OFF

what what! When I spotted that Morrocan Trellis beauty I immediately called Mike to tell him about it. I REALLLLY wanted it. (for me to be willing to improperly spell a word, you need to know I mean it)

He told me that if it was meant to be it would still be there when he got home and could look at it too. It was!!! YAHOO! So, I showed him that one, and a few other options, but we decided that the Moroccan Trellis was the best choice for our living room. At only $112 dollars for a 100%  wool rug there really was no question in my mind.

I also really liked this Wrought Iron pattern.

Mike liked it too, I was a little concerned about how it would lay with furniture on top of it, and how well it would hold up. So... We bought the 2'1"x4' version of this rug, and we're going to use it in the entry! It was only $23!!! Which is an insanely good price. I have been admiring this type of rug for a long time, and I couldn't find an 18"x30" for less than $40.

Some of you might be wondering what we're going to do with our current living room rug, now that we bought a new one. After all it is only 4 months old, and that chevron pattern is pretty awesome!

I do love this rug, and it has worked really well for us. I think it's a little to big for this space, I know it's hard to keep clean, and it doesn't fully allow the hardwood floors to shine. I love how it ties into our chevron wall in the entry without being identical or to "in your face". However we spend a majority of our time at home in this room, and I don't think the polypropylene will last very long in this space, definitely not like wool would.
Now that you've heard my full rationalization of why we should purchase a new rug after having this one for just 4 months, I'll tell you what we're going to do with the old on. I am thinking we will take it upstairs to the playroom. I eventually want to put hardwood or laminate flooring up there, so we'll need something soft to protect little knees and elbows. For now, it should work well to protect the carpet.

What deals have you found recently that got your heart pumping?

a very cute collection

check out this amazing milk glass collection from HottHoller. I am a little bit obsessed with the stuff lately, and as long as we get our offer accepted in the next month or so I will be displaying my collection on the built in shelves in the dining room of our future home. If we end up going with another place I'm sure I will be able to find a spot for it.

What I loved most about this shot is that it is displayed in front of a bright blue background. It's not exactly the color I will use in the back of our shelving (our color will be a bit deeper with a hint of purple, I guess more of a royal blue)

Here are my two favorite new additions to the collection. I adore hobnail!

Liv's Room- Progress

Ok, so if you remember the moodboard post for Livi's room from last month it was very pink, and the loft bed from PBteen was a major part of that. Well, Mike and I have finally decided that it's kind of scary to think of our four year old up that high with just one railing between her and the ground. She is quite the wild one and jumps around like a monkey. It's also a big investment for us if it ends up not working, so we are back on the hunt for a bed for the munchkin.

We have made some other purchases for her room in the mean time. We got her this amazing Terra Cotta Kilim rug from Pottery Barn. We got the 5'x8' which we think will work great! The fact that I got that big of a rug for under $200 just made the whole thing that much better.

We also got a great deal on this bedding from The Land of Nod's Clearance section, and I am totally thrilled with how well it coordinates with the rug.

We weren't planning on doing the whole pink and brown thing again, but the look is a lot different. I guess I just like what I like, and I like pink and brown. This is a much more mature look than her current room, and I love the touch of green. So, those are the changes to her room for now, and I'm sure there are many more to come, but I am happy with the progress.

Now I just need to update the moodboard, hopefully that will happen some time next week, and hopefully that fire they lit underneath the bank starts burning hot, and we hear something. ahh, the joy of a short sale!

Coordinating but not Matching

So, Mike and I have been hemming and hawing over what kind of furniture to choose for our future living room. We hadn't really looked into leather as an option for the room, but when I found this chaise on sale at JCPenney I started to consider mixing in a little bit of leather. We know that we prefer the look of coordinating furniture over a matching set, but I hadn't really considered using leather as one of the main pieces.

Then I saw this in the store a few weeks ago, and I just love it. So, I am trying to figure out a way to incorporate it into our design, unfortunately I don't think it's going to end up working unless we change the whole style, feel or even the color scheme that we are going for.

Here are some of the other pieces that we have been considering.

the lily from raymour and flanigan

then there's the ashton which is also from Raymour and Flanigan, and is one piece that I think has some potential to coordinate nicely with the chaise, my only concern is that this sofa is a little smaller than the other options

JCPenney also had some reasonably priced options like the Possibilities 4-Piece Loveseat and Chaise Sectional, which is available in 20 different colors. I really like it in Thunder.

We also really love the KARLSTAD Sofa and chaise lounge in Isunda gray from the wonderful IKEA. I only wish that this one came standard with wood legs rather than chrome plated

We started looking at our options in the beginning of last month when Olivia and I took a trip to Unclaimed Freight, and they had incredible prices, check out that post from the past for the details about what we found there. Here are some of our favorites.

Even back then the thought of mixing in a little leather to add some more texture was on my mind. Remember this lovely little ottoman that I was and still am totally crushing on.

We are beginning to see what we are most attracted to, what we think is a reasonable price, and what will work/ fit in the room, unfortunately we have to wait to take the plunge until we get word from our realtor that all is good in short sale land and our offer is accepted, until then we will keep on browsing and dreaming . I swear by the time we finally settle on this place every single detail of every room will be worked out. I hope the wait is almost over!

another day of bargain shopping

My little sweet pea and I went to an awesome birthday party today for one of my friends children, I knew we would be passing a furniture store on the way home, and I had heard that they have some amazing deals, so I figured it was worth having a look around. We will need to buy seating for the living room in the new house, and I wanted to try to get an idea of what was available, and how much it would cost.
Here's what I found at Unclaimed Freight:
This beauty was only $299, and although it caught my eye as soon as I walked by it, I think it is a bit to formal for our style, so we kept on looking

This one definitely is in the running for us. Less formal, fun, easy to keep looking clean, classic yet clean lines. Plus! Get this - it is a sleeper sofa. This has potential for both our guest room and living room. The sofa by itself is $429 and with the love seat it comes to $589. I know it would be hard for me to not get the love seat when it's only $160 more, but we'll see what we need.

What I love about this next sofa is the fact that it is a nice light tan, and seems like a durable, kid friendly fabric, so I could pretty much make it work with any of my possible color schemes, and the timeless lines of the design are reassuring to a cheapy like me. This style is not going anywhere anytime soon. This was only available as a sofa love seat set and it was listed at $597. They said it would be $1499 at a "regular" store, but I don't always believe the hype. Either way it's a deal.

 I REALLY like the next one, and it's only $299. Seriously, when I saw these prices I could've cried tears of joy. I love saving money. I love how clean looking this one is. I love the light color, and it is HUGE! This has to be the longest of all the sofas, and what a price! The best part of all was when I sat down and put my hand on it, it has got to be the softest sofa I have ever felt, I am guessing that it's microfiber, but wow! This place is sofa heaven!

Here's one last little piece of eye candy for you. This is the first gem I spotted upon entering the store. It's a light green bone leather, and with a price like that, how can I not buy it. When I get Mike back there this is the first thing I am looking for, and I will buy it immediately. I am in love with an ottoman! The cute little legs with tiny little wheels. It's so sturdy and it has nail head trim. YUM! I can just picture it with a cute little tray on top with a good book and a vase of flowers.

OK, I'm done for now. I will keep you all up to date when we take the big furniture plunge. I have lots more places to check out before we jump on anything. I am SO excited! I want to move right now!

Outlets!

So, two of my bestests and I decided that a child free girls night out was in order. It certainly was, I have to say that the car ride to and from the Philadelphia Premium Outlets was just as much fun as the actual shopping. I love those ladies, and I could very possibly be insane if it wasn't for our frequent get togethers.




Anyway, back to the Outlets! We weren't sure where to start when we got there and were looking around for a good parking spot. I was scanning the multitude of stores before us when I let out a huge gasp, they both looked at me and said "what!?! - Restoration Hardware?" YES! Restoration Hardware. I was So Excited! To put it into a little better perspective; Mike and I thoroughly enjoy sitting down together before bed and ooh and ahh over the beauty that is Restoration Hardware.

We ran inside and checked out all the amazing sale and clearance items. I was in love with about eight hundred different things. I found sheets, curtains, side tables, chairs, mirrors, OH the Mirror! Check out this beauty The Rococo Mirror! also, be sure to check out the price. Online and in the catalog the price is $1995 plus $95 for shipping. I don't think I would be able to sleep at night knowing if I spent that much on a mirror. Get this: Outlet price- $1,197! That's 40% off, and no shipping! WOWZA! It is quite possible that the store employees had to mop up my drool puddle from the floor.



sorry it's so blurry! look how many time's
it was marked down! I still can't believe it!



With deep sadness I left that beautiful creature there. I don't think it would be very healthy for my marriage to make that kind of purchase without Mike.  Really I am hoping that when we go back in a month or two it will still be there, and will have been marked down another 20% . I know, it's a pipe dream, but it would be incredible to get this hand carved 85" pine beauty for under $800 dollars. Maybe by then there will be another beautiful leaner mirror that costs less and I love more [a girl can dream can't she?] We'll see what happens I guess!

I am VERY excited for our next trip to the RH Outlet, and we might just need to rent a trailer for the trip. I am so happy to have found this wonderland, I may finally be able to afford the furniture I dream about. I heart bargain shopping!