Guest Bath Makeover

I shared with you how I have been freshening up our home since all the kids moved out.

I told you about my bathroom update, but I also have been working on an update to the former kid's bath.
I needed to repair a bit of  the tile before I could get to some much needed painting. 

I have been a little overwhelmed thinking about this repair. It is the result of years of teenagers showering in this room. The moisture seeped in behind the tile and the wall got mildewed. 
This was only a small repair (two tiles) but I needed to replace the nasty sheet rock.
After much thought I decided to put my big girl tool belt on and fix it before my brother and his wife came. I removed three of the tiles. I went up one tile higher than I needed to in order to make sure I got all the ruined sheet rock and so that I had room to stick it in.The tiles popped right off but I was super careful with them because I didn't think I would be able to find replacements for this gray tile after 20 years. 

If you need to tackle something like this, clean off the old grout and chalk. 

I cut a new piece of sheetrock to the exact width of the old.
I used drywall screws to attach the new drywall.
I used tile adhesive to reattach the tiles. This came in a tub from Lowes. There was no mixing or anything, it was ready to use.

New chalk and grout finished the tile. 
To fix the wall I used joint compound.

Mr. Bill bought a brand that goes on pink and turns white when it is dry. 
I feel like a preschooler with a brand new glue stick every time  I use it. :)

It is like frosting a cake. 
It took a bit to match the existing orange peel texture.

Mr. Bill had a remnant of baseboard to replace a little piece that was rotten.
It was even primed.

I can't  remember the last time I painted in this bathroom.

Umm... When was sage green in vogue?

My old neighbor gave me a can of paint years ago. She was going to use it paint her powder room but found a color she liked better. 

It was a pretty color and it held up to three teenagers pretty well.
I found the can under the sink and was surprised to find that it was Color Place by Walmart.

I am impressed.
It lasted 14 years or so.

But it was time for a change and time to lighten up.

This is my huge stack of paint samples. I tried to find a gray in just about every brand.

I love gray for a neutral. I knew gray for this bathroom would be hard because there are no windows. I wanted to avoid a gray that would read blue in a dark space. 
(Bill's office reads blue.)
In the end I just grabbed one.

Good news it doesn't read blue, but  it reads a little green.

It's not exactly what I wanted but it looks lovely.

A very soft greenish and in some lights aqua.

It could be that my eyes see green because of the green room next door.

I used a paint and primer and gave it three coats so I doubt it is picking up the green of the old color. 

 It only took about an hour to paint this tiny area.

I love the little chair to hold a towel.  

I have had this chair my whole life. Each of my brothers and I had one. 

It goes to a little tea party table. The whole set was destined for the church rummage sale when I was a teenager, but I couldn't let it go, so I brought it home and we stuck it in storage until I had my own children.

This watercolor picture was a wedding gift from one of my oldest, dearest friends, Carol. It was in a very groovy frame and for some reason I could never envision it in a new frame.

  

I found this frame and shmooked a little gray paint on it.
I rubbed the paint on and wiped it off to let the gold underneath still show. I am sure others call this dry brushing. ;)

I have such happy memories looking at this painting. 
This was our first piece of original art. 

The black and white checked floor was my second tiling job. 
The small tiles were perfect for a novice. They were easy to cut. I even did it with a tile snip.

It goes well with the black walls in the sink area.

This area is about to get a new counter so I will save that reveal for another day. 

The light fixture was rusted from many steamy showers.
I had to break off the metal holding it on. 

 

This vintage cutie was $3.00 at the thrift.

One more look at the after of the damaged wall.

I was so scared to attempt this repair, but I am excited I did it. 
I kind of thought this was beyond my skills. 
I hope you will give something like this a try. It wasn't as hard as I made it out to be.
Sprinkled with gray/green,
Katie  
Linking with,
French Country Cottage

The View When I Am Sick

I think I mentioned in my last post that I was a little behind on blogging because I caught some sort of upper respiratory infection. 

I moved from my bed to the sofa and then back to bed for days on end.

As I was laying in bed one day, I realized that my view from my side of the bed is pretty cute.

I have tweaked and tweaked my room in the past few months in an attempt to lighten it and brighten it. 

I am happy with the results and I thought you might like to see too.

 The armoire used to be in the living room until we got the new entertainment cabinet. 

Here.

  It is a much better match for this room than the medium oak armoire that was in here. 

This one is a sentimental piece. We bought it with one of our first tax returns. It provides tons of storage.

 I finally settled on a piece for in between the windows.

I found this dresser at Trader's Village in Grand Prairie, Tx. about 32 years ago. 

They still have the same flea market every weekend. 

It is mostly cheap junk. 

Of course, you may think my little dresser is junk but I love it. 

It has been all over this house. 

 This is the view to the left of my bed.

I bought the little shelves eons ago out at Canton.

I always thought I would replace them with a Victorian hanging cabinet of some sort. 

I just haven't found anything I like better for a price I am willing to pay.

  Our secretary is in the other corner.   

I just recently put all white dishes in it. 

The white really pops off of the wood.

I plan on recovering the little chair in drop cloth material. I might even paint it white.

It was irritating me that I was in bed rather than doing some projects. 

But, 

I guess the Lord knew I needed to slow it down. 

Sprinkled with a view,

Katie  
Linking with,
Between Naps on the Porch  
Cowgirl Up Link Party  
From My Front Porch to Yours  
No Minimalist Here  
Savvy Southern Style   
French Country Cottage

Winter Garden

Snow is such a rarity here in North Texas that I had to run out and take some photos of it while it was here.

There is something so whimsical, magical and beautiful about a garden covered in snow.

Here are a few of my favorites from our Christmas snowfall.

  I had tons of fun trying to capture my feathered friends. 

Beautiful! 

We had flurries forecast yesterday, but we didn't get anything. 

I hope we get more this winter.
Sprinkled with snow,

Katie  
Linking with,
Funky Junk Interiors  

Paint it White

I grew up in New Rochelle, N.Y. in an Arts and Craft's Style home. 
I think my parents bought the house the year I was born. 

I remember my mother standing on the front porch stripping white paint off of each interior door. 

They stripped and stained every door in that house to a more original finish.

 I decided to see if I could find a google image of my childhood home. Instead... I saw that is has been listed and has sold recently. 
How fun to be able to virtual tour my childhood home.

 I noticed that some of the doors have been refinished in a lighter tone and others have been repainted white.
I guess it was time. It was in the 60's when my parents were working on it.

That memory of my mom refinishing those doors has been deeply ingrained in me.

Which is why I had a bit of a hard time finally brushing paint on some of the surfaces in my home. 

I started painting stuff white back in January when I did a post on the dish dresser.  
Bill built it for me back in the 80's. 

It was light pine which was super popular back then. 

He was not feeling sentimental about this piece and said I could give it away, but I couldn't do that. He built it with the tools and skills he had at the time from a drawing I gave him.  

He thinks it is crude, but I love it. 
I just didn't love the pine stain. 

The effects of the paintbrush were so unbelievable and immediately gratifying that  

it started me on a quest of painting some of my furniture.
My parent's voices were kind of echoing in my head.  

But, I couldn't stand some of the stained wood around here. 

vintage Ethan Allen clock

$5.00 shelf from a antiquing weekend.

10 year old wholesale shelf

a thrift store make-do cupboard.

the bucket from an old ice cream freezer

our mantel

 an $8.00 chair

the kitchen desk. 

my kitchen cabinets.

(We had those done.)

I have had more paint in my hair than you can believe but
I think I am about done. 
I still have to decide what I will do with the banisters.

Am I going to paint every antique I have in this house?

No because...
I can still hear my parents saying

"You don't paint good wood."

I hope you enjoyed my stroll down memory lane and 
the painted finishes as well. 

Sprinkled with painted projects,

Katie 
Linking with,
Savvy Southern Style  
French Country Cottage  
Between Naps on the Porch