A summer project (or two)

I’ve never been a very crafty of DIY kind of person. It’s a lack of skill, not a dislike of the idea, that’s been my problem historically. Lately, though, I’ve found myself much more interested in design blogs (both fashion- and home decor-related), such as Ramshackle Glam, Apartment Therapy, That’s Quirky, The Glitter Guide, b*spoke, Sugar and Spackle, interior decline, and Yay! DIY (among others). Everyday, lovely images float through my Google Reader, and I think to myself, “I want to go to there” (thankyouverymuchTinaFey).

We moved to Weatherford last September (after a month and a half of me commuting 100 miles for 5 days a week), into a house built in 1960. It’s a nice house–smaller than our house in Norman (1750 square ft. as opposed to about 2400 square ft.), but well taken care of by the previous owner, who rented the house to family and friends attending SWOSU over the last decade or so. It’s a sturdy house–Dave’s dad called it an “Aunt Betty” house when he saw it, thanks to the squat square structure and dark bricks–with a storm cellar in the back yard. The previous owners put some effort into improving the home–refurbishing the original wood floors in the living room, painting most of the rooms a neutral shade, and tiling and painting the kitchen.

There are two problem rooms that still need some work, though: a spare room that Dave wants to turn into a movie room/man cave (I’ll deal with that later this summer) and the “main” bathroom we use daily, which is across the hall from our bedroom. It’s the bathroom I want to tackle first.

Let’s start with some before pictures:

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the bathroom, really. I just feel like it needs an update, something that better reflects our tastes. I love a nautical theme as much as the next former Girl Scout, but the decor in this room just feels a bit too. . .literal.

I’m thinking we need to do something a little cleaner, perhaps replace the wallpaper border with a blue (painted) stripe, and mimic that strip on the shower curtain and curtain. For some reason, I really like this (admittedly overpriced) curtain from DKNY. My original thought was a single blue stripe on the shower curtain, but maybe it’d be better to add more visual interest. I also considered finding one of those window appliques to place on the window instead of a traditional curtain. But I’m not sure about that just yet.

The hardware on the cabinets definitely needs updating.

I’m thinking a brushed steel, something simple with straight lines. And maybe we could put a frame around the mirror, too? Hmm.

There are some things about the bathroom I like, that I hope to preserve and highlight with this makeover, like the gold-flecked counter (please ignore the fact that I need to clean around the sink) and the original (but currently in style in a retro kind of way) light fixtures.

I am determined to update this bathroom. It will be done. Oh yes. . .hopefully.