First, here's what we're working with. For those college friends of mine, yes, this is definitely a throwback from my last year of school. Yeah the chocolate, pink and green was cool at one time (believe me, I really made it look cute, but it was way too dark for my current space and I was patiently waiting for the means in which to change it up. This is just a mini make over, so get ready.


It all started when I saw this Dwell Studio Peony Shower Curtain. It was so fresh (and so clean clean) that I had to make it the inspiration for the master bath. Note, that the gray will be the bridge between the bathroom and the bedroom (which will be gray and yellow).

When my mommy came to visit we took a trip back to Target to get some bathroom accessories. I thought that I would mix it up and not buy from all the same collection - it just keeps it more interesting and lets the pieces stand more on their own. In short, it makes them more memorable. Note, I've been coveting this antique soap pump for months.


I love to mix pattern. Scale is always the main component. I have a large scale print on the curtain, a smaller geometric on the rug for the bathing area, and a tighter weave for the rug in the vanity area. They all vary in texture (visual and tactile) but they complement one another in color.


One of the significant design challenges I faced was that I didn't have an outlet for a night light in my bathroom (the vanity area is separate from the toilet and bathtub area. What I decided to do was go into my box o' tricks and pull out some lanterns that I had been saving (you would not believe how many I've accumulated over the years). The small green one (courtesy of the dollar tree) came with a little light bulb and all I needed was 2 AAA batteries to make it work as a little night light. I really wanted a gray lantern, so I painted this white one with some silver acrylic paint that I had handy (come to think of it, I'll probably do a second coat for more even coverage).


The pattern of the rugs actually went together quite nicely.


Eventually I added some mirrors behind the throne, but I'm itching to cover the hanging hardware.
That will be my next project.


And of course here's all my little goodies.


What a dramatic difference!  For a rental, I'd say that's pretty good. It sure does make me a little happier! Shower anyone?






So sorry for the lack of updates lately. I've been trying my best to get back into the swing of things, but I'm hoping that I can start making daily updates really soon. In the mean time, I'll leave you with a few (ill lit) shots of our living room. It's actually coming along pretty well. I definitely have more plans for the near future, but for me and my thrifty budget, things must come together slowly but surely. Check it out.

Here is our infamous Klamby sofa (which is actually quite comfy for lounging) along with a faux throw I got from the workplace, Target lamp ($13 with shade), a frame left over from the wedding (fab photos from Brianna Goodwin), and our Kartell-esque side tables from Homegoods.


Hubby's shoes... for a lived-in look. lol!


I'm still in the process of choosing photos for the frames on the wall.


I have yet to build up the nerve to cut the sheers (they came with hemming tape, but so far I've been chicken). This view gives a little sneak peak into the sunroom - notice our westelm steal in the background. I'm still in the process of trying to figure out what kind of sheers I want to use in that space, but hopefully I get it together soon. There you go, a small sneak peak our peacock/orchid - inspired love nest.
So normally on my days off I like to work on stuff in our apartment (i.e. rearranging things, putting things away, hanging stuff up). Today, I wanted to focus on a nice, little update for the bedroom that I've been putting off for a while. The bedroom is still a work in progress, but I wanted to start small and knock out some of the little things. Remember this piece?





Why, it's the whirly hanging candle light from cb2. At $3.95 each, we can all afford to add a little sparkle!


So here is the before shot.





Five candle holders plus a roll of trilene, scissors, ceiling hooks, and a hammer, and you get this...


wait for it...


There we go! I suppose it took about 45 minutes to do this. Making the knots for the fishing line while making sure that everything hung at the same height was a tad bit challenging. Brandon hung the hooks ('cause I'm a little shorty) and I did the measuring / cutting / hanging.




For those of you who are wondering about fires, I am actually going to end up purchasing some "smart tea lights" from cb2 which have battery operated LEDs. They look like this -


The next thing on the agenda is to change our comforter and sheets (the new comforter is on standby in the closet). I've already hung new curtains (which turned out pretty good by the way, so I must share). I'll also be conjuring up a new idea for night stands - in case you were wondering, the Lack tables were only a temporary solution. So, more to come people, stand by!


 So I wanted something that would make a nice statement over our sofa. I decided to go with an inexpensive option and hang a collage of frames that I scored from Target.

 

First I arranged them on the floor, then I numbered the plastic coating so that I knew which frame came next in the sequence.

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What I didn't know was that this whole "hanging while keeping the correct spacing thing" was much more difficult than I had originally anticipated, so naturally I had to change the layout once I got it up on the wall.


So it ended up looking more like this. Notice the common horizontal line, which I dig. I also picked up some lime magnetic flowers from Target, which ended up working quite nicely in the negative spaces.


When my boo got home, he suggested that I add the little frame on the far right (which I happily agreed since I had two left over from changing the original layout). Now all I have to do is fill the frames with some memories. I was thinking about doing all the photos in a sepia tone for a classic look. Whatcha think?