Home of Beverly Wesman, Photograph by Susan Heeger for Country Living
The Bathroom
Thought I’d show you our bathroom today, since I took all the pictures for listing the condo. The bathroom actually went through two makeovers, I guess. But first… here’s the original:
Yeeeugh. Don’t worry. That pink vinyl baseboard was in the bathroom too.
And that stone-look laminate counter top and mirror/lightbox unit? They just don’t make ‘em like that anymore.
Originally I tried a nautical scheme for the bathroom - bright white with a dark navy blue stripe around the room. I looked everywhere for a shower curtain with broad navy and white stripes, but none was found. And the room has no natural light, so instead of looking crisp and fresh, the ultra white looked stark and blah. So a few months back I changed things up, inspired by this picture from Martha Stewart Weddings:
I already had drapes (from my old office seen here and here) that were an aqua coloured paisley, and I had wanted to try Behr’s Fresh Day paint colour for some time. Here’s how it looks! (I tried my best to get true colours in the photographs, but in a windowless room, that’s always a challenge. I think you get the idea, though.)
We replaced the vanity with an Ikea cabinet/sink combo and used the matching storage tower and medicine cabinet as well. (I can’t remember what it was called, but they discontinued it the summer we bought it. Probably Klemtorpensopji. Or something like that.) I really love the wide sink, and the edge is wide enough to keep the basics that we need. It was really the most affordable option at the time. With the wide sink there’s no need to also buy a countertop, and the doors have grooves cut out for pulls, so there was no need to buy hardware.
The mirror is from Lowes. We previously put up a square mirror, but everything looked too boxy with the square-ish vanity and sink. I like the beaded detail.
The soap dish is a little milk glass dish I found at a thrift store.
I like having the woven baskets in there for some texture.
The shower curtains, as I mentioned, were once drapes in my office. I hemmed them and hung plastic liners behind each one. I love the look of two curtains - treating the shower like a window. It’s really pretty, and luxurious feeling. And symmetrical, which I’m a big fan of.
The pussy willows are courtesy of a sweet friend, Karri.
I added some punches of green (which is a little more emerald looking in real life.) with the green glass bottle, spray painting a bamboo tray and some cheap hooks, and with the gemstone art I’ve talked about here and here.
The flooring was a vinyl tile we bought for a good price - the thing with our place is we didn’t want to invest too much money, or we wouldn’t get a decent return when we sold. It’s durable, easy to clean, and I like the look.
I like taking all of those bathroom necessities and placing them in jars or baskets. They look pretty when grouped that way, and it’s nice that anyone can find them.
So there you go! It’s nothing too crazy amazing, but it’s pretty and I like it!
Designed by Patricia Healing and Daniel Barsanti, photograph by Douglas Friedman for House Beautiful
Hanging Art in the Bathroom
I always feel stumped on what art to hang in the bathroom. Portraits are out. That’s just awkward. And lots of people seem to go for seascapes or water-themed art, but that feels too obvious for me. A while ago I posted about painting agate-inspired art, so for my bathroom I stuck with that geological idea and painted some malachite-inspired art. (Geologists, look away. Because these are not very technical. Because, you know, I have all those geologists who follow my blog.)
I told you I was obsessing over emerald green, and I’ve been adding it to my bathroom in accents. This was another way to repeat the colour.
I tend to hang my pictures differently all the time, but I thought I’d share with you one way to do it that requires no math (this is for a picture frame with two hooks on the back). This is what you’ll need (plus, nails and pictures. duh.):
Isn’t my level cute? (I got it in a Christmas gift exchange, which makes it extra special, since I never get anything good in those! Once I got a little black toad paperweight with red jewel eyes. Creepiest ever.) And painters tape is a marvellous thing for hanging picture frames. I use it all the time. And it’s especially great for spacing out groupings of art. But I don’t show you that today. So. Um… where was I?
Take your painters tape and stretch it over the little hooky-hanger-thingie and press down. (Sorry, is this getting to technical? I’ll slow down.)
Then poke your nail through the tape into the top of the hooky-hanger-thingy to make a hole.
Here’s a picture of a hole in some painters tape on the back of a picture frame. This is thrilling stuff, people.
Then transfer that tape strip to the wall and use a level to make sure it’s straight.
Hammer your nails into the wall through your pre-marked holes.
Hang your picture on the nails and use your level again to be sure it’s straight.
Then, because I was hanging an identical frame below the first one, I removed the top frame and created a guide with painters tape from the top nail downward, again using the level to make sure it’s straight.
After that I repeated the first steps with the second frame
I matched up the nail hole for the second frame with the side of the tape guide from the top. I hammered the nails and I hung the second picture. And then I went savage and ripped off all the tape like a mad woman. Not really. But you could.
Ta da! Some colourful, interesting, abstract art for the bathroom!
