Decorating a teen bathroom, challenges

 Here is where this little bathroom stands today after two full days of working on it. Black wainscoting, black and white accents and Heavenly blue walls.

Challenges in this bathroom are that is is a jack and jill bathroom so the toilet and tub are seperated from the sink by a door, we removed the door because of moisture issues and since only on person is using this bathroom there is no need for that door. 

The second challenge is that the toilet area is tight and girls need their stuff. 

The nest challenge is that this bathroom has no windows and no natural light. 

My goal was to make this bathroom pretty and highly functional maximizing storage. 

      I love love the star light but my nearly 15 year old daughter does not agree. Well truth be told she doesn't care about design really at all.

 I started by trying to find a solution for this tight space. I was hopeful that there would be space for a cut out and cubby and there was just enough space to do so.

 I know this looks a little odd but painted out to blend into the wall I knew it would look fine and would allow some needed space. It fits 4 rolls of toilet paper on the right and lady necessities on the left. Teen bathroom, K.

 My nearly 15 year old daughter is my messy kid , the one that keeps everything and needs multiples of everything , it seems. The counter if her vanity is so cluttered it drives me crazy. I decided to create extra storage shelves on the side of the mirror by creating semi floating shelves. The frame will be painted black soon.

 I wanted a bold edgy look since this is a teens bathroom and it is also something new. My daughter wanted white , it didn't take much to convince her to give the black a try.

 Here was the little speed bump, while at Home Depot she, the teenager picked the purpley blue hue. I figured hey its some interest, but it was awful , I hated it , it was dark drab and depressing , gothic someone even said . Not my goal. So this morning I tried a grey and a soft blue, both looked awful and drab. This room has no window so the wrong color is unforgiving.

 This was the origional color that I had planned on using , Heavenly blue a Martha Stewart color. It was perfect after all, finally. This image shows it looking very periwinkle , it's not its a soft powder blue.

Here is the light Mason has decided is cooler than my lovely star fixture , I sure hope she is right. It is nice I like it very much.

There is a bit more painting to do and finishing touches including painting the cabinets black and adding a nice foot detail as well as removing one door and making it into drawers , why didn't I just do that at the building stage , dumb. It's coming along. Her room is a right off though since every inch of wall space is covered in One Direction pictures and posters. Oh well....it's natural.

Sources.
The wall color is Heavenly Blue MS, the shower curtain is from Homesense, the mirror is from Target, the star light is from Home Depot, new light from Home Depot, towels from Ikea.

Whole house makeover , my journey working with a great family and moving on

 In 2010 I was contacted by a neighbour inquiring about my services. Little did I know this would result in many years of work for me and lots of time spent getting to know a really great family.
I have been very fortunate to have developed great bonds with many of my clients, what a perk.

  This house is now on the market, ready for some lucky family to move right in and enjoy, I wonder if the new owners will let me finish the last few projects I wanted to complete, LOL. It will be sad to see them move on, they are moving far away in fact but I am very excited for them .
I have no doubt this house will go fast. The basement is completed also and is such a great space. 
Multiple offers!!!

    When I met this family things were pretty sparse, they needed a fresh eye to rearrange the space. First things first we moved the sofa from the front room to the back family room. It worked much better.

 This front sitting room or living room was just completed most recently in December just in time fro Christmas. I am a big fan for Ikea seating as much of it is washable , with two pets and two children washable furniture is welcome. No one wants to wash the covers but imagine is you couldn't , that's a lot of spot cleaning.
I wanted to have four chairs in this area but we compromised on three to keep it open and I think it was a good decision. The rug I found at Lowe's. The bookcase was made by the owners. The art is scrap book paper simply framed. The ottoman was from Homesense. Drapes Ikea and the wainscoting by me.

 I just love the feeling of this room it really welcomes you in as soon as you step in the front door.

 The table and chairs I found second hand on Kijiji ,the table was hand made by the previous owner. I sanded the table down and stained it with a black stain. The chairs were also Kijiji and I recovered them and freshened them up with stain and paint. The light was recently changed to this one which we all love , it makes the space and is from Lowe's. In a pinch 6 chairs can fit around the dining table. The wall color is Rhino by behr.

                                                                             

 One of the first projects three years ago was moving the tv to this location and hanging it on the wall, adding a charming cabinet beneath for storage and equipment was a great decision. It too was a kijiji find that I refinished, it is such great quality and a charming touch. The home owner added the beadboard to the family room which is so nice. Love trim upgrades.

 The powder room was brought to life with two shade of blue which I painted. It's not easy getting those lines straight, dizzying...Love the colors, sorry I forget what they are.

 I also suggested the home owner paint out the oak kitchen cabinets white to freshen things up. They tiled the backsplash and added a glass detail. They wanted to cut out two doors and add chicken wire to display china , what a nice touch.

                                                                             

 Now to the master bedroom, the king sized bed was staying so there wasn't really room for side tables but you need side tables, so I built two and attached them to the wall, installing the as they are keeps clutter from the tables out of sight. I decided to panel the whole bed wall , it creates so much interest no need for art there , the wall is art. Swing arm lamps from Lowe's are the perfect option.

 I also made the bench at the foot of the bed , the lid open to store magazines and books and baskets are beneath it.
                                                                   

I added board and batten trim to the en-suite , framed the mirror and changed out the counter from laminate to a simulated stone top giving it a beachy feel.

 Two little girls share this home so at least one very pink room fits right in. I just love this room, we went bold with the pink and it turned out perfectly. The built ins I did. The vanity table was a second hand find that I refinished.

 It is a very happy little room , perfect for any girl to love.

 And of course a sweet chandelier. Sorry I do not recall the colors used here.

I can not take any credit for this room, oh wait the drapes were my suggestion when it was a guest room, but it is so cute now, I love this color. The light is from Rona. There were plans for a built in bench under the window here also but the house is now for sale, so the bench is no longer needed. How lucky for someone to be able to purchase such a charming house. 

Before's

What a makeover...it has been one of my best projects ever and it has been great to work with this family. Since they are moving my job is now done here, boo. It has been lot's of fun for sure and I am thrilled with how it has turned out. It is amazing how decorating can take a house and create a home , one that welcomes you and makes you feel safe and relaxed and at home.

There you have it, besides my last home this home is my biggest whole home project that I was so happy to be a part of , I wish this family the best in their next journey and I hope we always keep in touch and I thank them for allowing me to do my work in their home. It's been great.

Casting call for HGTV's new show Bailout Builders

New Series Casting Homeowners in Need of a Reno Rescue

Are you a homeowner in the middle of a reno gone wrong? Let us fix it for you!

Proper Television is casting homeowners for Bailout Builders, a new homereno series for HGTV. If cast, you will receive the services of three well-known and established home repair professionals who are wizards at transforming disaster houses into dream homes.

We are seeking outgoing, motivated couples who may have bitten off more than they can chew with their home renos and could use a lifeline—pronto!

Sound like fun? Contact jesse@propertelevision.com for details!

Proper televsion reached out to me and asked me to share with you a new show and casting call. Well all tough I am in the middle of reno's here at my house and suffering from a tad of burn out they are looking for someone more in over their heads than I am. Sad for me but maybe good for you?

Have you started a reno project and in need of assistance? well maybe this is your saving grace...good luck , let me know if this is the show you have been waiting for.

Random update

well it has been an interesting few days. I came back sick from Aruba with a very bad cough , sore throat and fever so most of last week was a waste.

Friday Sophie had track and field day ,which she wanted to skip , I got a call around 11:00am from her teacher saying she had hurt her ankle and that it was quite swollen so they were arranging her a drive back to the school so I could go get her and take her home. Can I just say 

that our public school here is really wonderful, the principal drove her back himself. Her ankle was quite swollen when I first saw her and she was able to drag her leg along. I thought it was just twisted but even after advil the pain was getting unbearable, she never asks to go to the Dr but Sophie wanted me to bring her right away. 

So off to the clinic where they wanted an x-ray , and good thing too because she had to my shock, two fractures. She was fitted with a removable boot cast $175 , oh well not everything can be free. But shout out to free healthcare, go  Canada. 

Her pain was pretty bad for the first three days but things are looking better today , she is back to school. Sadly she got my terrible cold with fever , when it rains it pours.

I am very much actively figuring out our backyard plans. It all started with this app https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/home-outside-palette-create/id440420011?mt=8

I found it on pinterest a while back and it is fun to play with. 

We then found a local pool company who did an amazing drawing for us with great ideas. But you can't rush such a big decision or project. I have tweeked things here and there over the last few weeks and this current plans seems to be everything we want.

 The app is great but it doesn't have the pattern of stone I want so that is way you see a flagstone pattern, we don't want that.  We want random square and rectangle stone , like this sandstone, or blue stone, but we are also open to a cement product also. Of course real stone is nicer.

 I am in love with this outdoor dining set from Lowe's , the chairs are my favorite, and the table is the most beautiful I have seen.

We went to see a couple of pools this weekend which was great, this tiki hut left quite an impression on me, it really creates and escape outside of the pool here, it is wired for lights and television. It really takes you away.
Summer has been in full swing since our return from Aruba, it's quite incredible.

So hopefully soon we will all be healthy and mended and enjoying more outdoor time. I can only imagine having a retreat backyard at this point but it sure is fun to imagine.

 This is my favorite pool of all time , this is the kind of stone we like , and the steps into the pool also.

This is the style we want for the covered dining area....but ours would be a vaulted open roof, I just love the beams and bamboo.

Thanks for stopping by I hope your last week has been a little less eventful than mine. I didn't mention the dog with new allergies or the bunny that was hit by a car ( it survived and was picked up by animal services, poor bunny we have lots of wild cotton tails around here) oh and I saw two snakes across from our house, I have lived here most of my life and never have seen a snake and I saw two on one 10 minute walk....snakes freak me out.
Hope you are enjoying some lovely weather, off to do my daily watering now, cheers!