Our Finished Otomi Bathroom

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I am so excited to share our finished bathroom! Here is part one and part two in case you missed them.

My friend, Jessica, owns Bella Wall Designs. She was such a sweetie and stenciled my walls for me. She did such an amazing job on the stencil. The whole bathroom just pops. The updated bathroom makes me smile. Just like Jessica does.

My philosophy on design is to do whatever makes you happy. And every room should have layers. Small bathrooms have so much potential, because you can really make them pop in a more bold way than the rest of your home.

Do not be afraid of color.

It has never bit anyone.

That I know of.

I wanted to share some tips on what I did for a quick update on a builder’s stock bathroom. Our bathroom is over twenty years old. I thought of replacing the vanity, but the tile in there is fairly new. And it matched the tile throughout the house. To replace the vanity probably meant having to patch some areas of the tile. This seemed risky (what if it didn’t match?) and costly. I also priced out several vanity pieces. I fell in love with an antique pine cabinet, but it sold out when I was not looking.

What’s a girl to do?

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Well, I simply purchased these furniture legs on clearance from a hardware store in town that specializes in molding. Our woodworker who did our library cabinets and baseboards put them in for us at the same time he did our mirror.

Then we just painted the cabinet a medium shade of grey to compliment the blue that was going to go in.

Added mustard knobs from World Market.

And voila’! Our vanity looked like a new one!

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I love the frame that Paul from Vrieling Woodworks. (he also installed our large baseboards and our bookcases) built us last year. It was installed around our standard builder’s mirror. It definitely goes with my Alice In Wonderland meets The Hobbit themed home.

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I love our farmhouse copper sink in our kitchen. I purchased that one off of eBay. So, I knew I wanted to continue the copper theme into our hallway bathroom. I continued the savings by purchasing this copper vessel sink from eBay, as well. Copper is a natural killer of bacteria. So, it is perfect for a bathroom. If you do choose to purchase copper sinks from eBay, it is important to do your research. Some copper sinks from certain countries have lead in them. That would be dangerous to have in your home!

The faucet was also purchased from eBay for a steal.

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We went to the local countertop dealer and requested a look at their scrap pieces. We were able to save money on the countertop this way. We also got a much higher end countertop than we thought we would be able to get, because of our savings. It is a concrete countertop with bits of blue glass and shells in it. Almost as if Alice came back from her adventure and put her souvenirs into this countertop.

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I bought the Otomi Stencil from Etsy. I have a collection of Otomi pieces from our trips to Mexico. I love the pattern. I knew I wanted to match the blue of the Otomi in the bathroom to the blue of the pattern below.

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Here is sweet Jessica, who did my stencil in the bathroom holding the Otomi piece with me. Notice her amazing vintage Ralph Lauren tie. She has the coolest style.

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Here we are in the finished bathroom. The embroidered crewel pieces are all part of my vintage collection.

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And here are some pictures of the bathroom sans us friends. The shower curtain is Anthropologie’s Flamenco Shower Curtain. I love the different shades of blue and green it holds.

I am so proud of this room. I think it came together in a variety of cool layers.

Have you redone a room in your home lately? Added any fun colors?

P.S. I shared this on Savvy Southern Style.

And My Romantic Home.

Antique Shopping

My kids were at school. My husband went to work. The house was clean acceptable. I headed to the antique store to browse.

There is something about being around antiques for me. I find it very soothing. I love to look at the chipped pieces of history. The stories in my head start spinning. It is like listening to the music of the past.

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I have a favorite antique store in town. There is a seller there who is a genius at displaying her pieces. I wanted to share the beauty with you.

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I ended up buying an antique tablecloth with a rooster on it from her section for a great price. I just loved the unique colors. I like to layer old tablecloths when I have get togethers.

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I also purchased some old lace. I don’t know what I will do with it yet, but it was too good of a price to pass up. When I was a child, I had a lace collection. And I would sit in the middle of my room and pull out my bits of lace. I would caress them and put them in order. ‘Cause I’m all normal like that. My favorite piece was rainbow colored.

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From a different seller, I purchased this old croquet set. I had been wanting one for some time. I had seen them on Etsy. But just the price to ship the sets on Etsy ended up being the actual price I paid for my whole set. I was one happy gal. Can you guess why I wanted this?

Oh. Because I’m so athletic?

Yes?

No.

Think Alice in Wonderland. Think “crazy fun house.”

Have you been antiquing lately? What did you spot? What did you see?

P.S. I shared this on Savvy Southern Style.

And My Romantic Home.

It’s The Little Things: On Our Fireplace Mantel

Sweet Brynne asked me last week if I would do a post about the items on my mantle. I thought it was a great idea. I take most of my outfit photos in front of my fireplace, because of the convenience. I love the items on my mantle. Each piece is special to me. I am excited to share!

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First, let’s talk about the painting above the mantel in case you missed my post about one of my favorite artists, Ginette Callaway. In 2004, I commissioned sweet Ginette to paint me a peacock for above our newly tiled fireplace.

Ginette really came through. She painted three paintings and let me choose one. My biggest regret is not buying two. I loved another one as well. Actually all three were stunning. The other one I vividly remember showcased a smaller peacock with a giant fan of feathers in colors of the rainbow, but mostly lavender hues. Gorgeous.

But I love this painting. I love Ginette. The painting makes me happy every day to look at it.

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In the center of our mantel is a Lego VW Bus. My husband and son love Legos. My husband has a 1967 VW Bus that we adore. I bought this for my husband as a Christmas present a few years ago. They built it together.

This year, Lego offered a free (my favorite word) mini Lego VW Bus with an online purchase. It happened to be near my son’s birthday. Score!

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The felted gnomes riding the dragon and the VW Bus are from Moongoat on Etsy. I love her shop. I have many of her gnomes hidden throughout my house. I cannot resist a felted gnome.

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The little girl gnome is from ABC Carpet and Home in New York. It is the most amazing store. Every time I am in New York, it is my favorite shop to visit. I cannot afford most things there, but I have managed to snag a deal on each of my trips.

I had seen the gnome when I had gone on a family trip in June three years ago. She was part of a trio (a scruffy male gnome and a wizard gnome). They were $48 a piece (the store is pricy). I do not know if the gnomes were antiques. They had been loved on. Hard. I obviously was not going to spend $144 on three felted gnomes. I left them behind.

In September of that same year, I took a trip to New York with my girlfriends. We visited this store. The gnomes were still there. Their tags were removed. I asked the sales girl how much they were now. She sold them to me for $10 each. And she wrapped them up so cute.

I gifted them to my husband when I got home.

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Every year my husband and I go on a two to three night trip for our anniversary sans kids (this year it is Vegas). On one of the trips, we went to San Francisco. In a small little store in Chinatown, I spotted this amazing rope dragon (my husband collects dragons). I remember he was $45. And he always has a gnome riding him. Although, it may not always be the same one. ; )

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About three years before my grandmother passed away, she gifted me this jar of buttons. The jar was my great grandmother’s. Her and I looked very much alike. She was Polish. And I once got chased through the college campus by a little old man who wanted to know the exact place I was born in Poland. Anyway, I never met her. Half of the button’s were also my great grandmother’s. The other half my grandmother purchased off of eBay. My jar of buttons is one of my favorite things in my home. I like the idea of my grandma shopping on eBay. I also like the history of the jar and the buttons.

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The green candle hanging from the jar was made by my daughter in the fifth grade. Fifth grade is when the children in California learn about Colonial Times. At our school, they have a day where all of the kids dress up in colonial clothes and participate in activities that they would have done back then. I have been waiting to add a candle made by my son for years. This year he is in the fifth grade. I have made him promise me he will choose candle making as one of his activities. Hopefully, the mantle will have a new addition soon.

And the beehive candle was a Christmas present from my stepmom. It is made from my dad’s beeswax (he is a beekeeper). I LOVE it.

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The small blue candlesticks were a Christmas gift from my mother some years ago. I love the color. I love everything about them. They are perfect!

The beaded purple candle holders were some of my first purchases from Anthropologie. I waited for them to go on sale. This was many years ago.

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The felted gnome on the jar of buttons wearing the snail as a hat is also from Etsy. This one was done by Eve’s Little Earthlings. I think they are extremely cute.

I think with the snail on his head he looks like the man with the bird on his head from one of my favorite movies, “Labyrinth.”

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The little pig next to them is from my favorite video game. The video game is Monster Hunter. The pig’s name is Poogie. In the video game I fight jelly beans (just kidding. We obviously fight monsters. I am quite the Monster Hunter. Not to brag or anything). My husband and I play it together. We each have Poogie in our house in the video game. You can change his clothes. If you pet him right, he does a backflip and little red hearts spring from his head.

Yep.

I actually have a stuffed Poogie on my husband’s desk in our bedroom. And I am also the proud owner of a blow up stuffed giant piece of meat (also from the video game). Maybe I should pose with it sometime.

Or not.

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On either side of the mantle are two little roosters. I purchased them at an antique store a few years ago. They have remains of a cork on the bottom of them, so I assume they used to be wine stoppers. I think their colors are fantastic.

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The little chipmunks were painted by my children many years ago from a pottery place in town. We have pieces like them all over the house.

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The blue vase was a purchase my husband and I made on a family vacation to Arizona when my son was a year old. It was our only souvenir.

He bought me these orange roses on clearance this week (they are not doin’ so well). One of his favorite things to do is buy huge amounts of flowers for me after a holiday when the stores have a surplus of flowers to get rid of. One year, he bought me seven dozen beautiful red roses for $7!

He is sweet.

Next big after-holiday flower discounts? Easter and Mother’s Day!

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It’s The Little Things: Displaying what you love, because the items mean love to you.

What is on your mantle? What is your favorite piece to display?

Thanks Brynne for the great idea! : )

Bathroom Progress

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My good friend, Jessica, has been at my house this week stenciling my bathroom with the Otomi design I had purchased from Etsy last year. I had a vision in my head and it is so exciting to see it coming to fruition.

This is our main bathroom. Our house only has two. So, I wanted it to be fun and have a bit of a wow factor in the small space.

I started the renovation last year with a new countertop and sink. I had my sweet contractor who installed our baseboards, add legs to the vanity and build and paint the green mirror. Our painter painted the vanity gun metal grey for us. He also painted the yellowing walls white. If you missed those updates, you can see them here.

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Before.

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This is halfway finished. Isn’t it looking awesome?

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Jessica has a business called Bella Wall Designs. I am so lucky to have such a talented friend. There is no way I could have done this on my own. And the only help I gave was to sit in my bathroom while she stenciled and I drank wine. I’m really good at that. Jess, I’m available for hire!

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Seriously though, thank you Jessica! It is looking amazing! Jessica’s specialty is Italian plastering, so if my design is too out there for you, she is a girl with many skills. I have seen her other work and it is beautiful.

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Here is my inspirational Otomi piece. I purchased it with my family in Puerta Vallarta two years ago. It usually rests behind my couch. On that trip I brought home four Otomi pieces. I love the beautiful embroidery and whimsical creatures.

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I have a slight rug dilemma. Ideally I wanted a 3 X 5 rag rug with a feed bag design on it. Just one to two red stripes. No more. It turns out that doesn’t really exist. I might look into making one. But, after the tablecloth debacle, it might be years before we create another family heirloom.

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In the meantime, do you think those two rugs will work in the space? Keep in mind, my vintage crewel wall embroidery is going back up soon. And some pieces have burlap in them. I like it. But it might be too busy. Although my whole house would be considered too busy for many. : ). The rugs were $11.99 each after a coupon at World Market. So the price is right, too.

Have you done anything fun in your home recently? I really love Brynne from The Gathered Home’s new Ikea desk revision.

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Jessica finished the stenciling on Saturday evening while I was on a date. Is she awesome or what? Here is a sneak peak at the finished project. I still have to layer it with my embroidered pieces and a towel or two.

I am beyond in love. It is like she pulled a dream from my head and brought it into reality. Thank you Jessica!

* Since this post was written, I have completed the project. To see the finished project, click here.

Also, I shared this on Savvy Southern Style!

And My Romantic Home.