Dan's Bathroom.

Unless you're one of those apartment dwellers that has been lucky enough to find a place with an updated bathroom, chances are that you're like me and hate your bathroom.

I'd hated mine since moving in nearly three years ago. It's tiny. The fixtures are dated. The lighting sucks. The flooring is horrendous. The bathtub drips. The towel bar kept falling down if I put more than one towel on it at a time. Hell, I'd seen truck stop bathrooms in better shape than mine.

You get the idea?

How about a visual?

Super scary flooring

Being a rental, there's not a lot that I could do with the space. If I'd owned my apartment, I'd have ripped out the vanity, tile, flooring, lighting and anything else that I could get my hands on. But since that isn't the case, once I'd unpacked and settled in I figured that I'd try to give my bathroom a bit of a face lift with a coat of paint. I ended up choosing a colour called 'Aztec Ruins' which I thought would compliment the yellow floor and counter top. I figured that a nice, somewhat boring beige would help neutralize the space. Beige, the great neutralizer. Right? Wrong-o!

For the past couple of years, my bathroom has felt like a big yellow box. The paint colour did absolutely nothing for the space and the last thing that I wanted to do was crawl into a relaxing bath when I had to look at the walls.

This spring I made it my goal to find a new paint colour and have the space repainted by the end of summer. Long story short, as of this past Sunday evening I'd yet to paint the space, let alone settle on a colour. I'd played around with some ideas, stuck chips on the wall, but still wasn't sure which direction I was heading in.

The ugly vanity

Finding myself annoyed with my indecisiveness, I hit up a big box store during my lunch break on Monday, selected a colour off of a chip and by 5:30 that afternoon was rolling on the first coat.

Two evenings and three coats of paint later it's looking a lot less 'truck stop-ish' and a lot more 'spa' like (or as spa like as you can get when you're on a budget and are still stuck with the ugliest vanity in the world).

A bit better right?

Mucho better!

I don't plan on staying in my apartment forever, so I didn't want to spend a fortune completing this project, but at the same time I wanted to make it livable. Using accessories that I already had, and in purchasing only a few other pieces I've created a space that I can live with for the next year.

If you go digging around you can easily pickup apothecary jars at any thrift or secondhand store - for a couple of bucks and a bag of seashells you can easily create that coveted 'Pottery Barn' look.

A new towel bar and cushy towels add to the look! Checkout unexpected places like Winners (T.J. Maxx) for amazing buys on boutique styled bath hardware!

I scored these sailboat prints a couple of months ago at Liquidation World for $5.00. After hunting around online I found the set for $89.99! Score!

I couldn't forget my Lush robot bath bombs!

 I love the new robe hook! A steal at only $6.00!

Remember this vase? I found it a couple of weeks ago at Goodwill and it fits in perfectly!

I love how my bathroom turned out! While I couldn't change some of the physical components, I've at least made them livable! What do you think?! Now onto the living room, random furniture pieces and stacks of unfinished projects hiding in my storage room!

Time to put those robots to use!
D-

Sources:

Paint - 'Silver Shores' / 50YR 53/011 by CIL

Towel Bar & Robe Hook - Winners

Shower Curtain - By Moda at Home (found at Liquidation World)

Sailboat Prints - By Graham & Brown (found at Liquidation World)

Apothecary Jars - Value Village

Gray Bath Towels - JC Penney

White Hand Towels - The Bay

Vase - Salvation Army

Soap Dispenser - Dollarama

Robot Bath Bombs - Lush

Mr. Mitchell takes a drive.

I have a confession to make. I did something bad after work.

As I was driving to the gym I veered off onto a side street and ended up at one of my favourite thrift stores. This might not sound like a big deal, but I'd secretly made a bit of a pact with myself last night to avoid thrifting of a couple of weeks so that I could focus on a couple of big projects that I've been putting off.

Yeah, that idea didn't last long. And for that, I'm glad, because I found some fun stuff!

I know that it's nowhere near Thrift Thursday, but I figured that I'd share anyways.

Exhibit A -

The shop was filled to the trim with everything and anything....and to top it off all housewares were 50% off! Yet, I had to do a bit of digging before finding anything that I could deem as being 'Dan Worthy'....but once I started to really look I found some cool pieces.

First up I found this nifty cigarette tin for a whopping $1.50 - it has a cool pattern and will look neat on my nightstand or perhaps on my desk holding paperclips. Next came a set of four Chinese finger bowls. I've always had a thing for tiny bowls of this nature, but have never seen a set with more than a couple of pieces, and at .75 for the lot I couldn't turn them down. I'm thinking that they'll look cool as votive holders, or I might put them to use in the kitchen when I'm baking. And last but not least a 16 PC cup and saucer set originally from Stokes. $4.50 = coming home with Dan. I've got mugs and stemware galore, but figured that it was finally time to invest in some cups. Tea party time?

Aren't these finger bowls cool? I have no idea what they say, for all I know they could say "your Mom wears army boots" but I love them none the less.

 The tin, as cute as it was, was looking pretty tarnished and I figured that it might be worth a bit of time and effort to see if I could give it a bit of sparkle and shine.

I'm not one to promote stuff....I do enough of that at work, but I found an awesome silver polish that's totally worth trying. I love ol' skool silverware, but have resisted the urge to buy it because of the fact that I'm too lazy to polish it. That and most of the cleaners that I've tried have given me a wicked high (and not a good one at that....). However, this stuff is amazing!

It's a pink-y coloured paste and it doesn't have a 'cleaner' smell to it. That and It didn't cause my hands to get all red and itchy. It was easy enough to use, and in no time flat, my tin was looking like this - 

 I decided that I liked a bit of the patina and worn finish and that it added a bit to the tin so I left it (that and I have no attention span and didn't feel like scrubbing anymore)....not too bad hey? Bring on the thrift store silverware and old cutlery! (As if I need any more collections...)

So there you have it. One day into my 'no thifting' plan and I've already fallen by the wayside. Then again, I did find some neat pieces....so I think it was worth it. What's that saying....something like "it's good to be bad"....?

And while I'm at it, I should show you what I stumbled across this past Friday evening.

Exhibit B - 

Grand total $5.50. Thank you Salvation Army on Empress Street.

Now! Time to get some other projects figured out!

Staging! Closet organizing! Painting! Reupholstering! Now! (Or maybe tomorrow...)

What have your best finds been as of late?
D-

All decked out.

I'm lucky in the sense that when I moved to the city I found a great place. Seriously. When I paid my first month's rent, I kind of gasped at the amount that I was forking over, and wasn't sure if I was making the right decision; but after talking with colleagues and friends I realized that I'd stumbled across a gem that I was excited to make my own.

While I've taken a lot of time to focus on the indoors, I've failed to really do anything with one of my favourite spots - my deck. I've got an 8' x 13' piece of heaven. Well okay, maybe not. It's more like a cement pad complete with peeling paint on the railing, but hey, it's mine.

So here's the thing - with the exception of my sexy Nexgrill BBQ that I picked up last spring, it's pretty boring. The goal for this season - to spice it up and turn it into a space that we can actually enjoy (and on a budget to boot)! I've had all winter to look outside and  mentally picture how I want this space to look and how I want to use it and what I'd like to include.

I love outdoor spaces that are multi-functional and are thought of as an extension to indoor spaces.  I want to be able to grill, entertain, enjoy some greenery and just kickback throughout the summer.  Also, a bit of privacy is a must.  Right now this space basically says "hey, look at us, we're grilling asparagus."

Being a rental, I can't really do a lot to the space physically (that said, I can't stand the ugly jam jar light and even the most basic of coach fixtures will be a vast improvement) and really don't want to spend a lot of coin. Here's what I'm thinking that I'd like to do on a budget....

http://www.jaysonhomeandgarden.com

First off - some planters!  McDiarmid Lumber, a local hardware retailer in Winnipeg has similar fibreclay planters on offer from $24.99-$49.99.  I'd love to see a few of the larger units on my deck filled with -

http://ecx.images-amazon.com

...some small cedars! How fun would that look?! I love the idea of potted cedars. I really haven't figured out how I'd get a couple of these guys into my car - I guess that they'd have to be smaller, but I love the idea of something that has some real size to it. Plus, how cool would two planters look flanking the door on my storage room?

I also like the idea of outfitting my deck with some flower / herb planters as well - I've got a couple of plastic planters that I picked up a couple of years ago. They're your typical 'faux terracota' style units, but I'm thinking that I can jazz them up with some Krylon Fusion paint in a sexy espresso tone. Fusion is an awesome spray paint made specifically for plastics. Rather than sitting on the surface of the piece being painted, the paint actually eats into (don't be scared!) the piece leaving an amazing finish that won't peel off right any time soon.

http://www.thegardenerseden.com

Mister doesn't know it yet, but I might buy this bistro set when we head down to Grand Forks in a couple of weeks.  Target is offering this sweet set for $99.00....with our exchange rate the way it is, I'll be able to pick it up for a song.  That is unless I find something else that catches my eye....like this little set from JYSK for $79.00 - 

http://jysk.ca

Hmm....how does a guy decide?

While I might need a couple of days to ponder what I'd like to sit on, I do know that this space needs some lighting! I've already decided that this space is going to need some paper lanterns. I'm waiting to see if my local dollar store ends up with some nice white ones (no pink or purple thank you). But if all else fails and I can't find them, I'm going to pick up some from Ikea or Michaels. Or, maybe I should go with some mini lanterns complete with little lights. I'd love to find something like in the picture below - 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com

I love the idea of added some funky galvanized buckets filled with herbs and flowers.  You can easily pickup galvanized buckets at farm supply stores, thrift shops and also in the back of my Dad's shed (he won't miss them).

http://www.google.ca

Lastly - what's a good deck without a couple of brewskies?  I'll take a bottle of 67 any day of the week and will be on the hunt for my summer wine choices this weekend when we hit up the Winnipeg Wine Festival.

http://www.molsoncoors.com

So that's the plan.  What do you think?!  How cheaply can I put this together!?  We'll see as I source everything out!

D-

The scary before pictures.

I've been in my place for a couple of years now, and it's slowly but surely starting to feel like home.  Actually, scratch that.  You know it's home when you start dumping out desk drawers to hunt down that one stupid tax paper that you can't find.  Damn you income taxes!

That said, my place still feels like a work in progress.  Basically the canvas is painted, but it's all about figuring out the details - deciding how to tweak what I've got going on and how I can best showcase my pieces.  But before I show you any of that tweaking, I think that we should back the bus up a bit.  That's right!  It's time for me to share some amazingly ugly before pictures of my place!

When I landed my last position I had yet to move into Winnipeg, I basically had four days to find a place and move into the city from a little farm four hours away.  Having lived with roommates my last year of college, I had nothing (absolutely nothing) when it came to furniture - so have started from scratch.  Who doesn't love a fireplace surround painted in 'ugly house trim' brown?

This also explains the Rubbermaid tote nightstands and camping bed.

No furniture, but a snazzy dishwasher (that works most of the time)!

The first furniture purchase - the classic, yet unbelievably uncomfortable Zen stools from Superstore.

Yet another glimpse of the ever classy master bedroom and it's uber-chic window covering.

So you're probably wondering, "how did his place turnout?"  You'll just have to wait and see!  Prepare to have your mind blown!  Well, maybe not blown, but it does feel a heck of a lot more homey....stay tuned!

D-