DIY Geometric Modern Bathroom Makeover
For the past couple months, I’ve turned my attention from clothing and accessory DIY’s to home DIY’s. I’ve felt like I was entering a new phase stylistically, and some areas of our house were still frozen in time – almost exactly the same as they were when we first moved in (now 6 years ago!!). One area was our downstairs bathroom.
Straight off of the kitchen and next to the garage door, this is the bathroom that is one of the first things you see when you come in from the garage – and that people visiting our home will always use. It was a pastel mint color with a mid-90’s-style pastel lavender-and-mint wallpaper border. 
The previous owners of this house LOVED lavender and pastel mint – the entire outside of the house and the master bath were lavender, and the kitchen, downstairs bathroom, and bedroom were pastel mint. Though I don’t mind either of those colors in clothing (some clothing), the color scheme felt a little dated – and completely NOT us. However, after buying the house in February 2008, I went through a phase of painting Lil Tot’s room…then the kitchen…and then I think Hub got tired of constantly living amongst plastic dropcloths and paint cans and told me to stop.
So this bathroom lingered for a long time, untouched. 
I purchased a Monet poster and a faux orchid thingy from Target to deck it out, for the sole reason that both items matched the color scheme. But I HATED this bathroom, and vowed to eventually do something about it.
In January of this year I finally decided: I was going to go modern, with gray and white and stark, raving mad bright orange. I wanted to go bold and cool and mix patterns and push myself out of my comfort zone. And after much browsing on Pinterest and design/home decor blogs, I finally took the plunge.
First, I painted the main wall facing the door white (Miller – straight out of the can eggshell-finish white!!). Once dry, I taped off my stripes, and added a contrasting gray stripe down with the help of this tutorial. (Thanks, Jen!) Then I painted 3 walls the same gray (Glidden Pebble, in case anyone is wondering) in a satin finish (for easy cleaning – important in a bathroom!). 
One afternoon I handed Lil Tot 4 colors of coordinating gray and orange paint (ignoring his pleas for “Blue! Blue!”) and asked him to paint me a picture on a 24″ x 24″ canvas I’d gotten from Michael’s. At first he was grumpy, but then got into it. After about 30 minutes or so, he was upset that his painting was awful. I said leave it for a day, and the next day try again. And lo and behold, the next day we got out the paints again, and I encouraged him to add more layers of paint over top the parts he didn’t like. And what do you know? He ended up creating a beautiful, personal piece of art that I just love, and am so proud to hang in our house. Plus, he was so proud of himself for painting something he really liked and not giving up the first time around. (To me, it looks like a police car spinning its wheels in the snow…but it could be anything, really.) Seriously, who needs Monet??!
Then I found the perfect mirror to replace that hideous mirror at Target. A friend and I pried the builders’ mirror off following this tutorial, with the help of a short crowbar from Home Depot ($11!) it came off easily.
Inspired by this pin, I decided to make some washi tape gemstones on the wall. I bought some orange and grey-striped tape from Michael’s (the white was actually mat-mounting art tape from Dick Blick’s), and made some faceted shapes on the walls. (I really wanted to buy these wall decals – but just couldn’t afford them.:-(
We had the soap and lotion dispensers (Molton Brown White Mulberry, a Christmas gift from years ago…and if you can find this scent on Ebay I highly, highly recommend it!!), so I placed them on a little striped tray from Target. (Tray was bought around Christmas-time, and I haven’t seen it since the Spring at Target, sorry.)
The ugly dust-collecting orchid got the boot, and was replaced with what was actually the Ace ceramic hurricane from ZGallerie. (Now on sale for $7.99, folks!) Inside I placed a clear glass vase I had for filling with flowers. Since the hurricane is open, I could also use a colored vase inside and have it peek through!
The books are Hub’s manga. I absolutely loathe having books in the bathroom – I think it ruins the books due to moisture and ugh! other bacteria floating around – plus, it looks super-tacky. But he loves reading them while doing his business (and leaving them all over the counter), so I just became the willow, bent, and covered his favorites in handmade Nepalese Lokta Bean paper and orange book cloth, both purchased from The Paper Source. 
Book-covering tutorial is here.
I added a lattice-pattern candle from HomeGoods that I just love – smells like lemongrass! – and a homemade baking soda deodorizer in a jar.
I created that following this tutorial, using baking soda and a couple drops of essential oils (about 2/3 what I put in was Eternal Essence Clean Cotton
I used an old jam jar, and replaced the lid with a piece of orange cardstock I painted a pattern on with white paint, then punched holes into. If you feel the bathroom is stinky, just shake thejar from side to side holding it above where the smell is originating – and poof! Gone. No nasty chemicals, no cloying, overpowering scents. Beautiful.
The toilet paper holder got moved to the right utilizing a pivoting design…the previous owners must have been left-handed since all the toilet paper holders in our house are on the left side of the toilets! (With hastily-patched screw holes in the walls to the right of the toilets. 😉 I also got a matching towel ring for the wall next to the sink so Lil Tot stops dripping water all over the floor after washing his hands. And I replaced the cabinet pulls with silver hexagonal ones from the Home Depot.
And finally, towels: picked these two grey-and-white patterned ones at TJ Maxx, and I just love the geometric pattern on them. Perfect for our little sanctuary!
Every time I look at this room, I can’t help but smile. It’s so perfect. I want to spend all day in there. Well, not quite all day…. (Maybe that’s weird to share with the Internet…?)
But at least it’s not an eyesore and I’m no longer embarrassed when any guest visiting our house asks to use the bathroom. Yay for small comforts!
And one last time, BEFORE (above) and AFTER (below)…
What do you think? Would you have been able to go with a pop of bold color in such a small space? Or stick to muted pastels?
xo
Carly
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A couple years ago I was desperately wanting some galaxy-print fabric since clothing featuring photorealistic prints of stars was just about everywhere. But I couldn’t find any fabric sellers that sold this particular print!! So I just Did It Myself, and designed 
In order to offer them for sale in my shop, 
As it was I had to use some black cotton sateen for the back, but it turned out pretty well regardless and I’m just as pleased with it as if it had been galaxy-print all the way around.
I used Butterick Pattern 6834, chopping the length at View E (since that’s all the galaxy-print fabric I had). (I believe the pattern is no longer available.)
Here are some similar patterns you could use:
It sewed up quickly and was pressed and hemmed in no time, and now I have a fun mini-skirt for Summer!
Stay tuned for my outfit featuring this skirt, coming soon to the blog.
Hello friends! Here’s an ombre nail art idea for you today to try out the next time you’re painting your nails.
I was wanting to update my pedi with something reminiscent of warm, starry night skies – which are so much more gorgeous in Summer. While everyone else is doing pastels or neons this season, I went dark and spangled, just like late July evenings with the sky dotted with fireflies and stars.
After prepping my feet according to this 
I love the dark and mysterious look to this pedi, and how it sparkles in the sunlight (and against my favorite silver sandals).
(I tried sorbet blue and lavender in this 
Happy Summer DIY pedis!
The brand-new Canadian line, 
I decided to open up the Mexican Bracelets kit and try my hand at some embroidery thread-wrapped bracelets. 
They were super-easy to make and a cute, colorful addition to my stack of arm adornment. Here’s how to make them:
TRENDiY Art Mexican Bracelets Kit / scissors
1. Start by double-knotting one thread around your bangle.
3. Change color by tying a new thread to the old one with a double knot, then cutting off the old thread.
You can use 2 or 3 different colors rolled together for different looks, switch up the colors frequently, or tie many colors loosely around (even finishing your bracelet with 
Make it your own, make it colorful, and make it fun!
Tassels, tassels, everywhere! I officially declare 2014 the Year of the Tassel. They’ve been having a HUGE moment again, and I love their undone, boho-chic feel. Casual and cool at the same time. It’s very easy to make your own tassels – or even better yet, make your own fun colorblocked tassel NECKLACE (just like 
embroidery thread in 4 colors (I chose cobalt blue, navy blue, goldenrod, and metallic gold) / 3/8″ diameter natural rope, 1 yard long / 1 1/4″ goldtone D-ring / scissors / tape / glue / toothpick (optional)
1. Start wrapping the embroidery thread around the bottom of the D-ring, using 2 fingers to create the right length. Wrap around many times until you get a thick bundle.
4. Wrap both ends of the thread multiple times around where you tied, and tie the ends together with a double knot. Leave the ends loose for now.
6. Fluff out the threads in the bottom of the tassel.
9. Snip off the ends of the threads close to those knots once dry.
12. Finish each wrap by double-knotting the thread at the back. Dab with glue, and snip off the ends.
You’re done! A bright, bold accessory for breezy tops and easy dresses this season is only a couple wraps and snips away. You can you any combination of fun colors, and totally switch up the look of the piece by adding pompons, charms, or other accoutrements to make it all your own!
Happy DIY’ing!
