One down.

oI started a project last week: the guest bath. Initially I was only going to freshen up the warm, dark mushroom-taupe color that was already on the wall. But before I started that I decided to patch up the popcorn ceiling. My first step was to peel of the flaking pieces and fill in the gaps with a flat white ceiling paint. Well, before I knew it my 2"x2" area that needed to be patched quickly grew into over a foot across... and I kept going. Before I knew it I had taken down the whole ceiling texture.

After a trip to my local Lowe's to figure out what to do with my ceiling since I didn't want to put more popcorn back up there - and getting the sheet rock mud smooth enough to paint flat would be a difficult if not impossible endeavor - I finally decided on tin tiling. Which quickly led me to the idea of textured wallpaper. For far less than a quarter of the cost of tin I could put up this wallpaper designed to look like tin and paint it any color I'd like. So, without any further ado, here it is.


I will admit that initially I was nervous about wallpaper. I'd never done it before and I'd imagine if not done properly you could end up with a disaster. But, it was surprisingly easy. After removing the popcorn ceiling and exposing the bare sheet rock, I sealed the sheet rock with a water based primer. I used a special glue for pre-pasted textured wallpaper and quickly got to work. It took about 3 hours to cover the entire 5' x 8' bath working alone.


After waiting over 24 hours for the wallpaper to 'set', the next step was to seal the wallpaper with an oil-based primer. This was suggested to me since it was in a bathroom. The last thing I wanted was the paper rolling down in the middle of taking a shower! I let the the primer dry for another 24 hours.


For an interesting effect, and since I saved so much money on opting for the wallpaper instead of the ceiling tiles, I went with a metallic faux-finish. I picked a color with a sunny butter cream hue and a pearl finish. The first step was to paint the ceiling the yellow base coat. The next was to paint two layers of the pearly metallic paint over it. In the photo above you can see the yellow base coat on the right (darker) with the first layer of metallic pearl paint on the left side (lighter). The metallic top coat lightened and brightened the yellow significantly.


It is extremely hard to photograph, but the ceiling has a subtle sheen and pearly quality that adds a lot of interest in this tiny bathroom.


Finally, I painted the bath in a soft gray color (called "Quill"). I put up some crown molding and painted it an antiqued ivory paint (titled "Parchment") with a high-gloss finish. I went with the cool gray to compliment the salt-and-pepper granite around the basin. Since the ceiling is so shiny I opted for an eggshell finish on the walls to pull focus upwards.

For what ended up being a 10-day project (as opposed to a weekend thing) I am extremely happy with the results of my hard work! I just adore the cool gray combined with the bright, sunny ceiling. Next the master bath...

>> 27 October 2010 Update:
Hey, check it out... Urban Outfitters is even selling the textured wallpaper that you can paint.

Happy Mother's Day!

I want to take a minute and wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day. To celebrate the day that honors these very important women, I'm offering a special in the shop. Exquisite gemstones mix with fine metals in my modern-day heirlooms. Each design through Mother's Day - which is May 9th so don't forget - is 20% off the original list price.

Stop by, take a peek and treat a mother you know (or yourself!).

...And remember, I will gladly gift wrap, include a personal note from you, and ship your selection directly to the person of your choosing. This service is complimentary.

Featured in this post is the Vilma earring pair of moss aquamarine, antique enameled links, 14k white and 18k yellow gold. Below is Pavone, a peacock-inspired bracelet in apatite, turquoise, kyanite, prehnite and peridot with bright sterling.

Fishies (part deux) & the garden

I am thrilled to report that the pond we installed at our new home is thriving. The fish are doing so well. All seem to have made the transition from the old pond to the new one without any issues. The water is a little yellow from the amazing amount of oak pollen this year, but that should clear up soon. The waterlily is looking amazing and I'm eager to see some yellow flowers soon. Within the floating pot is an iris.
The grass and clover is coming back and the herbs and flowers are growing well. I've planted some purple vinca, dusty miller and transplanted small loropetalum. In containers I've planted some lavender, pineapple mint, spearmint and orange mint. I planted the mint in containers because, as I learned last year, they will take over everything. I'm hoping the pots will help 'contain' them just a little. Also here are a few couple photos of my container garden - some more apple mint, lavender, petunias, rosemary and pruple sage.

Pill bugs are so cool.

I had a lot of fun with this one. It wasn't a well-planned or a researched theme as usual. Just some great selections that I thought went well together -- plus one really, really cool button.

Featured: Edera Jewelry, GreatFindz, Tailey Vintage, Kathryn Riechert Jewelry, Beanforest, Pom Love, Yann Pendaries Photographe, sMac Shop, Love Bella Jewels, The Cycling Artist (Tina Mammoser), Decadence 2 Artbar & Edart. Alternates: Jadite Kate, MsBelle, Nancy Hughes Miller & Talulabelles.

UPDATE: With the launch of 'Treasury East', I've decided to re-do this collection. A neat feature of Treasury East is that all sixteen items are featured. Take a peek here.

New finds.

Since we've started the process of working on the new house - such as painting, spackling and sanding, replacing and fixing - new clothes and fine goods just haven't been on the top of my Want List. (C'mon - I asked for wooden plantation blinds for my birthday! and am excited about them!)
Needless to say I've tried to avoid gazing at the summer preview from J.Crew or catching glimpses of shoes from Anthropologie, and done everything possible to abstain from lusting over a few other goodies my favorite Etsy shops. However, these little gems have caught my eye and I'm struggling to resist their lure... enjoy.

Jeweled celestial dress from J.Crew. $695.

Rose gold & ruby stacking band from Patrick Irla Jewelry. $344.

Salt & pepper cellars with spoons from Pigeon Toe Ceramics. $47

Maeve handbag in marigold from Hobo International. $298.

Red Cloud original oil painting by Ambera Wellmann. $365.

Sandringham slides by Chie Mihara at Anthropologie. $380.

Fishies

I've been working the past week on installing a pond into the backyard of our new home. At our previous house there was a pond which I had cleaned up and added some fish. So when we moved, of course my little finned friends had to come with us. The pond is much smaller than the one we had before which I hope will make the care a bit easier. Maybe someday I'll add a small waterfall.

The fish have been successfully moved and I hope they are enjoying their new home. It is spring here so the waterlilies have only started - that is why you will notice a very large terracotta pot at the bottom of the pond to offer shelter until the greens add coverage and protection. It is actually half of a terracotta pot - I purchased a cracked one at Lowe's and then carefully broke it then rubbed the edges smooth with a stone.

Today I'm going to spread the mulch and finish planting around the edges. I'm eager to get the pond more integrated with the surroundings.

And look at Howie enjoying the pond, too!
For more new pond photos and pics of the old pond and gardens, check out my Flickr page.

Guest post on Outblush

I am honored to be featured as a guest blogger on Outblush.com this week. When asked to review a favorite product of mine, I couldn't resist talking about a favorite soap of mine from the incredible Sweet Petula. Outblush.com is a great blog that features snippets, tidbits and reviews of products, fashion, and life. To read to post and the blog... visit Outblush.

Photo of soap is from Sweet Petula.