I was too lazy to make the bed this morning to take day photos so these photos from last night will have to do. We finally put everything back in its place after the paint job and I'm happy to call this bedroom done! Here's what it looked like before the blue accent wall. Honestly, I'm just glad to have gotten rid of the gray paint swatch above the lamp. That was an "oops" moment for me when I was testing gray paints. I had forgotten that we weren't painting that wall so yea, oops. And to be perfectly honest, I'm still getting used to the blue. I think it was everything I had hoped -- it's a happy, minty blue that isn't too muted or too "nursery". But somehow I am just startled by the burst of color and I start to think, "Should we have gone with a much paler and softer blue instead?" Anyone else always has second thoughts after painting? I do think it's very pretty, though. I'm thinking about giving the mirror a little bit of gold. I think it'll make it look very glam in here. And here is my nightstand with the nice blue background. I love all the little things on the nightstand. The photo is the two of us in Monet's Garden last year. The flowers are from our garden. I just love the wiener dog that is holding the color pencils. Somehow I've also found its neck to be useful for corralling all my loose hair ties. Poor doggie. And of course, the set of stacking bowls I got from West Elm recently. And lastly, this has nothing to do with the blue accent wall but our orchid next to the chair is blooming again. :) 6/28 Update: Thanks to David for making the bed this morning :)
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After some reshuffling, I think most of the contents in the office closet are in their places. :) So I figured it's a good place to document the progress. So here is what it currently looks like with the new Elfa shelving and the Expedit we added earlier this year. This corner has come such a long way and I'm loving all the added storage space and the ease of keeping this place organized! Here's what the left side of the closet looked like just weeks earlier. It's hard to believe that we lived with this for 2 years because it provided zero functional storage. It was basically a dumping ground for anything that didn't belong in a bedroom closet. And needless to say, I always kept those doors shut! And here it is today! I'm a bit embarrassed to say I basically keep the door open all the time to admire it. Haha. I'm weird, I know. The top shelf is stuffed with two king pillows, one accent pillow and a mattress topper. It isn't exactly beautiful, but I love how I can just stuff these things on top. The second shelf holds file boxes, which holds our tax information from since we both started working (you're supposed to keep tax documents for 7 years). I like them on this shelf because it's something we access just a few times a year. The next two shelves are the workhorses of our new closet space. I got these yweave baskets from Target earlier this week because the dimensions are perfect for the space. Plus, I love the weave pattern and the color! They're holding all our random crafting, sewing, electronics and RE/Office Supplies. Love these! And I'm not quite sure what to do with this blank shelf yet but I kind of love how I have a blank shelf I have no idea what to do with! Such a luxury. :) I have two baskets I bought from Home Goods on the floor level. The left basket holds all our scrap cardboard paper and other random paper supplies that are weird in size. The right basket holds all my larger fabrics like batting and felt. Those things take up a lot of room so it was nice to have a place for them. So that was the left side of the closet. Here's the right side of the closet just a few weeks ago after I pulled almost everything out. Before this there were two huge plastic boxes on the floor with pillows and other guest bedding stacked on top. And here is that same side now! The top shelf holds two euro shams (continuing from the left side). Here's a better picture of the iron caddy. See how the cord is nice and organized in the cord holder? It seriously took no styling or effort on my part to make it look nice. Even though the right side of the Elfa system is really a place for guests to hang things, I didn't want to leave it empty. So I figured I can put all the other guest bedding stuff there like pillows and blankets. When we actually have guests, these things will move to the bed which clears the space for guests to hang their things. And as you can see, I do have floor space here that I'm not sure what to do with. I did move my basket of wrapping paper here, which seems to be a good place for it. And I have plans to add a row of hooks on this wall so guests can all hang their bags or jackets or whatever. That was the best use of this space that I can think of, but feel free to give me your suggestions! Would love to maximize this space as well! And that completes the tour of our "new" office closet, a space that I'm really happy with. :)
So we finished painting in yesterday's post. The paint has dried now and we've put everything back in! I can't believe how nice it looks! I absolutely love it! To celebrate I also vacuumed the floor, wiped down the counter & sink, washed the baseboards and wiped down the exterior of the tub. I want to wash the inside of the tub soon as well! Ahh....I love being in this room. Here's a little reminder of what it looks like before. There was nothing wrong with the space at all. In fact, that art work is one of my favorites in the house! The only complaint was that the room is a tad on the dark side. And here it is now as you walk in the door. :) I'm contemplating whether I should move the art down a little so it'll be centered around the beige stripe. What do you think? I love the happy coincidence that the orange mum is the same shade of orange as the bar of soap in the picture! Turn your head to the right and you see the tub straight on. The colors in this shot is pretty true to actual. Turn right a little more and you'll see the wall that houses the towel bar. I love how the white in the bath mat pops now! I also noticed for the first time how perfect this rug is in this space! It picks up on all the colors in this room. How cool is that? This is what you'll see if your back is against the tub. I love all the stripes running through the door. It makes the room look much more polished and interesting. The stripes also make the room seem bigger than its square footage. And if you turn to the right again you'll be back at the sink. :) I'm so thrilled with this room right now! Sometimes I stop by for no reason, turn on the light and just stand there to admire the stripes. What a difference they make! This post officially closes Pinterest Challenge #3! We had so much fun doing this one. It took us 3 days, 2-3 hours per day, to complete this project. The cost came in at around $25 (for a gallon of paint and a roll of painter's tape -- although I still have 1/2 gallon of paint left!).
And for those of you wondering what budget this goes into, just know that it isn't home furnishings. :D This is probably my favorite room in our house in terms of how it makes me feel when I'm inside. I love the lighting the afternoon sun casts into this room. I also love the combination of the modern lines from the pedestal sink to the more feminine feel from the beadboard. And of course, how can you go wrong with white and pale blue? Of course, we dont' take credit for this room at all as all we've done is accessorize it. ![]() I got this wire basket on clearance from Target for $4. It was supposed to fit in a cube storage system, but I loved the shape and color so I brought 3 of them home. I love how it sort of anchors the room from being way too whimsical and dreamy. I also like the vintage charm it adds. Plus, $4 for toilet paper storage is cheaper than anything I've found so far! Trader Joe's is my weekly ritual. I go there every week to buy bananas. I don't know why I feel like I have to get my bananas there, but I do. And last week, a bouquet of yellow flowers caught my eye. It was $3.99 for a bunch so I swooped it up and brought it home. It now lives in our bathroom. In its honor, I've decided to take some photos. Our bathroom is actually quite magical right around noonish. That's when the sun just happens to align with our skylight and light pours through the portal into our bathroom. It's a real pity that we are never really home at this hour to witness it. But on days when we are lucky enough to stay home, I like to visit the bathroom around this time for this reason. Here is the sunny bouquet that I brought home. It has lasted a week without waning at all! I'm quite impressed. The leaves are still vibrant green and contrasts so beautifully against the yellow petals. The minute I placed the vase on the countertop, the room just brightened. Who knew just a little bit of life and color can make such a difference? Fresh flowers are simply lovely. You really can't replicate them no matter how skilled of an artist you are. Somehow a measure of adoration is lost when you find out the flowers are fake. Yet I find myself teetering between whether I should invest in a bouquet every week or not. Even though it's not expensive as a one-time purchase. But accumulated over time, it can quickly add up. What do you think, my friends? What should I do? It's so hard to place a value on flowers. When they're in bloom, they are absolutely stunning and worth every penny. But their lives are so short lived and when they wither, you can't do anything except to throw them away. Which reminds of me these verses: For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them. (Psalm 103:14-18) Those are halting words. Even though we are ephemeral and our days are just like grass and flower. His mery to us is from everlasting to everlasting. He even made a covenant with us and keeps it. Doesn't that contrast just stop you in your steps? It doesn't make any sense, does it. Our ephemeral and His everlasting. Our ephemeral to His everlasting. It seems pretty straightforward, but when you think just a bit more, there seems to be so much to think about. (Sorry I seem to be getting worse and worse with my verbosity. I'm going through a "white wall" phase if you haven't noticed. Everything that enters my mind is studied.) Above are bath rugs that David spotted on clearance from Bed, Bath & Beyond. I think they were $15 each. At first I was kind of skeptical. But in the end they were perfect--in size, color and feel. So we're quite happy with the purchase. It's pretty amazing that nearly 2 years after our wedding, we still have a positive balance on our BB&B giftcard from our registry! Here's the skylight that I referred to. In addition, we also have raised, vaulted ceilings. Aren't we just the luckiest ducks. (David just told me that he'd rather be the luckiest T-Rex instead. Um. I think I'll just let that one go). Anyway we're quite at a loss with what to with some of the spaces up there. Are we supposed to put something up there? Do we just leave it as is? Should we paint it? Any suggestions? Regardless, we're fine with the way it is. It's already a dream bathroom as is. To the left of the vanity is the toilet room, which you are all very familiar with by now. But another picture won't hurt anyone, will it? To the left of the toilet room (opposite the vanity) is the shower/tub. We have a nice, large tub as you can see. And generous space to put soap and shampoo. We are pretty religious at squeegeeing the glass after showering. (In fact, it's become a daily contest to see who can grab the squeegee first. Don't ask.) I like the idea of taking baths and I've done it a few times. But I am also super fickle. Apparently I can't stand water that is not scorching hot (according to David). He claims that I bathe in lava water temperatures. I guess that's true. I can't seem to enjoy lukewarm showers. And that's kind of true when I take baths, too. The problem is, I can only sit in the water for 10 minutes. Okay, 15 minutes tops. And then I begin to sweat profusely, feel lightheaded and have to come out. I don't remember a bath that has lasted more than 15 minutes. Then at the end I feel like I've wasted all that water and it's not worth it. Anyway, that was probably way too much information. But that's the reason why I don't take baths that often even though I like the idea of it very much Here's the step that leads up to the tub. It can get quite slippery. In fact, within the first few days of when we moved in, I slipped and fell and got a huge bruise. Now I'm used to it and I'm more careful when stepping in and out. Having a small bathmat there helps. Next to the bathmat is our scale we received as a wedding present (whoever you are, thank you!). It's also a daily contest to see who has gained more weight from the previous day. One who loses weight gets mocked and laughed at by the other. Cheating also occurs regularly by someone whom we will not name (*cough* David Jeng *cough*). Finally, to the left of the tub is our closet. I've reclaimed one of the sheepskin rugs I had previously stolen from this room. Mainly because I've not taken any action to buy a new rug. Mainly because I'm over budget this month in the "home furnishing" category. (Yes, we do keep a budget). Plus, I'm feeling kind of cheap lately. But I really do sit on the closet floor every morning, and the tiles are really cold in the morning. So I've reclaimed the sheepskin. (And knowing me, it'll probably be there to stay).
So there it is. Our lovely bathroom. As told last week, we successfully rewired the chandelier! Soon after, we planted a ceiling hook above the cafe table (eyeballing it to make sure it's also centered with respect to the window) and hung it up. Took all of 5 minutes. Honest. David is now experienced with installing ceiling hooks after our hanging pot, our pendant light and now this chandelier.
And there are no words left except to proudly re-introduce our cozy cafe. :) Enjoy. I'm taking a day off to recoup from the trip (will post my reflections on that later!). Since our room faces east, the morning light made it much easier to photograph so I promptly grabbed a camera to take some photos! Well, actually what I did first was make the bed, straighten up the magazines, remove the misc. items from the side tables and picked things off the floor. :D *sigh, if only we can keep it spotless and clean at all times. |
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