Some things don’t change, evidently.

This is an end table. An end table with pretty things on top.

And on top of it is a pile. Neat as it may be, it is another freakin pile. He’s going to learn some time. Right?

 

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Candlelight.

There are two ways of spreading light: to the candle or the mirror that reflects it

Edith Wharton.

 

(Candle is Voluspa Ambre Lumiere)

Little bathroom, big change.

The transformation to this bathroom is like night and day; literally,

(as I snapped some photos on a snowy night, and some in the snowy morn).

But the change to this small bathroom was particularly striking;

When I found the house this bathroom was dark and depressing. The walls were covered in a wallpaper that was deep colors and printed in ivy. The vanity was a dark wood and the light fixture was also old, in bad shape and dark. All of the heaviness made a small room seem even tinier and more confining.

I do not have any before pictures (another room I’m sure the realtor and sellers did not want exposed to the light of day), but here is our after:

Here is what our bathroom looks like now. Like our kids’ bathroom, this is not a luxurious space, but it could have been a heck of a lot worse. Especially for a 90 year old home.

The photos framed above are ones snapped by my mom on her trip to Paris earlier this fall. 

We did replace this toilet, as the old one was one of these weird old things that had a toilet training seat built in. Freaky, right?

I wasn’t kidding before; some pictures from night, some from day.

We had our painters strip the dark ivy wallpaper and put on a fresh coat of Benjamin Moore White Diamond. In order to further brighten the space, we had them paint the dark brown vanity and mirror with the trim paint, Decorators White. I even painted the hardware myself, from brass to a platinum color. 

Again, just because my bathroom is not glamorous itself, it doesn’t mean I couldn’t put a little bit of glamour in my accents. This is a dessert tiered tray similar to the one on my coffee table, but instead of macaroons, mine is covered with scented candles and sweet smelling soaps.
And it is a beautiful sill from which to see the snow on the tops of the trees on a winter morning.

This bathroom is the perfect example of a dramatic transformation on a dime (and I am sorry that I do not have a before photo, but please take my word). For next to nothing I turned a small, dark space into a little, bright haven.