bathroom redo (2)

those of you following me on instagram may have noticed our smaller bathroom is currently demoed down to the studs. d decided to take on this project, and now we are in the throes of a remodel. luckily we spent some time mulling over choices some years back, and have our master bath to base it on. (i love it still, after all these years!)

there are only a few variations. this bathroom has a stall shower - and we will add a glass door to the list of changes. other than that, the fixtures, for the most part, are staying the same as the other bathroom. (i'm a big proponent to design continuity, especially in a smaller house. i like seeing the same color palette, light fixtures, faucets, tile, etc stretching through the space.)

will keep you posted. (or hop over to instagram for more day to day progress - or not ;) )

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bookends

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i think my parents had a set of no.3...

this is the house that bj built.

we had a lovely break. lots of time with good friends. and (despite the fridge fiasco) just the right amount of relaxing!

we visited k's godparents (who happen to live down the road in another great sfv mcm neighborhood - encino village.)

we were all blown-away (especially k!) by their newest addition - this fantastic mid-century inspired playhouse that bj built himself, with all materials purchased from the home depot!



i plan on working with him to get the plans for this available as a pdf. it is just too good not to share, right?



watch for it :)

wallpaper 101

there's stuff still to do, but i couldnt resist sharing where we are at!

we were a little nervous about this DIY project. in preparation we watched a lot of videos including:

this one

and

read up about it on good old msl








in the end (and d may beg to differ) i thought it went up rather smoothly (no pun intended!) i had experience, a long long time ago, putting up pre-pasted wallpaper with my mom. the kind you soak in a tray then apply to the wall. i must say, though my memory may be failing me, i think this was a much easier, and cleaner process. we had to search a bit for a paste (we found it at Lowe's) but it was easy to work with and set-up and clean-up were quite basic.

items of note:

* have a long clean smooth table top surface to work on. this made applying the paste a great deal easier
* wipe down said smooth surface between paste applications. we did have a minor mishap with the paper sticking to the table and tearing. luckily we had ordered extra.
* order extra (see above). we used the calculator on the wallpaper direct site. glad we did.
* it is a two-person job. sure one person could have done it. but it was great having an extra pair of hands (especially as first-timers). d did the cutting, paste-up, application to the wall and trimming; while i was his spotter, and followed him with the tools to push out any bubbles, roll the seams and sponge down. (it was a great team-building exercise!)
* invest in a good roller. we had a cheap one that came with the kit d picked-up. we ended up using a clean brayer which worked much better.
* prep prep prep! d's careful preparation of the wall (sanding, patching, sanding, priming, and sealing) made a huge difference to the outcome.



i really love how it looks. (d is getting tired of hearing me go on about it!) it ties into the theme of the house in color and its retro vibe. the natural wood furnishings keep it warm and inviting. our chaotic neglected bedroom has turned into a "crisp clean space" and a "cozy refuge".

wallpaper: dandelion mobile in porcelain with powder blue by miss print purchased at wallpaperdirect.com (but sadly no longer available).

still to do: walnut shelving, bedside built-ins, baseboards and having ceiling painted. we are close!

this just happened!

becoming an annual event

pretty much same time last year