Another project (semi) complete. Maybe.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

I was in a bit of a rush to get our upstairs hall bath and hall bedroom complete, or in a state of non-ugliness really.  We were planning a trip out of town and our friend Jonathan was coming in to watch Hailey.

The hall bath had another special version the glass topped vanity.  There were two of these in the house, the other being in the basement.  Yes, we have four full bathrooms in our house.  I know.  It's pretty ridiculous.  But again, this was a two flat with likely an illegal apartment in the basement, hence all the bathrooms.

Here's what was in that bathroom.  Sorry for the bad photo; it's my Craigslist posting photo.  Plus I'm still trying to figure out my new camera.


Because of the location of the drain in the wall, they cut out a 1" x ~24" swath of wall in order to fit this vanity in.  Yep, the reason the right side of the top looks smaller is because it's in the wall.  Nice, right?  They hacked up the baseboard trim and cut a hole in the wall to make it work.  *eye roll*

So we sold both of these vanities as a grouping -- mirrors, faucets, drains, hoses, everything.  Get. It. Out.  I underpriced them and got $300 for all.  I kind of regret that price.  Especially since a few days later the guy who bought them from me re-listed them for $700 since they "didn't fit."  He should have just cut a hole in the wall, right?

Anyway.

I was shopping all the pre-made stuff and really, I'm just amazed at how expensive vanities are.  Especially since most of them are just particle board or MDF.  Granted, that's what I purchased because that's all that's out there.


After a lot of hemming and hawing, and torturing Mike with lots of emails, I picked up this combination from Ikea for about $160.  I also purchased the mirror there for $10.  The little bamboo shelves I had from a long time ago are Target.  The faucet is from eBay* coming in at $25.  Since this is sort of a guest bath I put up a photo someone gave me taken from the 95th floor of the Hancock Building.  I can't remember his name but I remember that he liked Yngwie Malmsteen.

Plus I painted the bathroom in....wait for it....checking the binder.....Tropical Splash.


I also got a three photo frame from Ikea and put my own photos of Chicago in it.  I need another two frames to make that look right.  The shower curtain is from Menards, about $10, and kind of where the color idea came from as I purchased that first.  I still need to replace the light fixture.

So I kinda like it.  This room doesn't look or feel complete though.  Again, I was in a rush.  I wanted to pick a brighter bolder color since everything else in the house is turning into light tones.  I'm not sold on this color yet.  I also painted the hall bedroom the same color, thinking continuity there.  I'll post those photos another day.

But then my mom sends me a link the other day to Abigail Ahern's (ah see, I'm learning how to do this stuff!) work and I realize I'm going the wrong way.  I've seen some of her work before, even pinned it on Pinterest.  Her use of color is killing me, something I would do if it were just me, all dark and moody and rich and deep.  Years ago I painted one of my bathrooms in semi-gloss black.  And it was Awesome.  My realtor didn't think so but it was super cool and I loved it.  So, I've never been one to shy away from color or bold.

Maybe something like this or maybe this color or the teal in this link.  Or maybe this (the gray rolled over white) would be cool with a darker color over the Tropical Splash.  Eh, maybe not.  See, this is what happens to me with my own home.  I start seeing a million different cool ideas and I can't stop or pick something.  I have crazy taste too, all over the map, and it scares people.  Obviously.  I sense you're scared now.  Either way, I'll have to convince Mike who is always scared of what I might pull out of my hat next.

*The general bath faucets link is an eBay affiliate link.  Mwah, thanks!  Please see the "boring stuff" tab for more info.

2 comments

  1. I LOVED your bathroom way back when it was at least two tones of rich blues on all the walls and you had a gold framed mirror, gold touches here and there. Gave it an underwater feel and it was AWESOME. I've always planned to do something like that...just haven't done it yet.

    So I say go bold! :D It's you.

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  2. Oh right, the bathroom in my loft, yes? Boy, I really loved that blue tile. I still see that tile for sale on occasion.

    You're right, I need to go bold! :)

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