operation finish

greetings! anybody still out there? sincere apologies for this most egregious lapse in blogging. it's been a whirlwind few months chez stone, culminating in my decision to quit an awful, time-sucking, soul-crushing job without another one lined up. yikes! sometimes in life, things are not what they seem. time to chalk it up to "life experience" and move on. so, what's next? i'm taking a few weeks to recover and reevaluate. kinda like the post-college gap year backpacking through europe that i never had. except with less gelato and more not spending any money.

in an effort to get back in touch with my poor shriveled creative spirit, i'm going to focus a lot on this blog. there are dozens and dozens of unfinished projects stacked up in my craft room, attic and garage that can be completed for zero dollars. there are also lots of closets, cabinets and shelves (not to mention the aforementioned craft room, attic and garage) that can be thoroughly cleaned and organized for zero dollars. tons of projects! hours of entertainment! zero dollars! and so, friends, it's time for....

OPERATION FINISH

show of hands: how many of you are like me, with supplies out the ears for well-intentioned projects that were never completed? over the next few weeks, i am going to systematically revisit these projects. and finish them. for zero dollars. or as close to zero dollars as possible. who's with me?!

despite the lack of time and will to live blog resultant from my recent workplace adventures, there have been some projects in the works up in here. here's what team stone has been up to over the past few months...

building shutters:

the old plastic shutters in the paint-testing phase

celebrating our 2nd anniversary:

family portrait fail

building a deck:

creating a gallery wall:

still searching for a few pieces...

organizing household storage:

indeed, we are rich in candles

and snuuuuggling:


OPERATION FINISH - it's on.

operation bathroom

y'all. our bathroom. is atrocious.

like, i won't even post actual before pictures of it on this blog until we are living in the "after," so that you don't stop being friends with me and refuse to ever come to my house. some of you have experienced it in person. and for that, i am truly sorry.

just imagine, if you will...

pink tile. with sparkly flecks.


painted over. yes, PAINTED. THE TILE. i know. painted over in a shade of army green:


to coordinate with the "stone-look" linoleum tiles that were applied to the floors:

and wait! it gets better! because the other accent color in the linoleum tiles? besides army green and a bluish-gray? is pumpkin orange. which they used for the walls, like so:


are you so jealous of me right now? do you wish you lived at my house? hold on, because i'm not EVEN done yet.

know what happens when you paint over tile? especially tile that will be exposed to moisture? this:

let's talk about how awesome the pink sparkly tile looks peeking through the army green flaking paint all over creation. or not.

that is what the bathroom looked like when i first started dating captain fantastic. and i still married him, if you can believe. (disclaimer: the previous owners were responsible for the atrocity) my first order of business, practically on the day his roommates moved out a few years ago, was to hang a decent shower curtain and paint over the pumpkin orange with a creamy white. and the toilet and pedestal sink are actually lovely white porcelain. so at least there's that. but the tile situation remains.

why have we not just ripped out the tile, you ask? because it will be a project of young house love proportions (click the link to see their diy-reno of the same type of bathroom that took four full weekends to accomplish) and it is the ONLY bathroom in our house. and while i could handle driving to my parents' to take a shower, WHERE am i supposed to PEE in the meantime? hmm?

yikes.

did i totally burn your retinas with that virtual tour? let me make it up to you by sharing what i hope the bathroom will look like very soon, after i either convince captain fantastic to hire someone to do it real quick-like or move in with my parents for a month while he does it himself (because HE can pee in the back yard).

inspiration photos:

alisberg parker architects via decorpad

lori tippins' bathroom via decorpad

erika of urban grace via decorpad

main components:

white subway tile for the tub/shower - this is fairly certain.


walls will either be tiled with white subway tile or covered with a bead board wainscot. thoughts?


carrera marble for the floor - either hex or basketweave - this will be period-appropriate for the house, but with an updated and luxe edge, methinks. youthinks?

ooooh the irony that something similar was probably either ripped up or is ruined under the linoleum.

i'm still in love with the light gray-blue large-scale paisley shower curtain i got from pottery barn several years ago, so i plan to reuse it. i'd like to do a simple roman shade with ribbon trim for the bathroom's single window like so (these walls are about the shade of the shower curtain):


sconces like these (in silver):

flanking either a rectangular mirror, or something a little funky, like this:


reglazing the bathtub. keeping the potty and pedestal sink. despite the lack of under-sink storage, i think the pedestal works well in the small space. and we do have a large linen closet in the bathroom for our storage needs.

what do you think? beadboard or subway tile? diy or splurge for a professional? can i come stay at your house?

please?

twinsies

remember these guys?


i scored a pair of side tables at an antique mall a while back for $idon'trememberhowmuchbutnotalot$. this was also before i learned that photographs are best taken sans flash. obviously.

i hope you're not getting all excited on me, thinking that i've actually done something to them. but i'm pretty sure you know me well enough to realize that they still look exactly the same.

anyhoo, i purchased them because i was able to overlook their dated finish and hardware out of love for the detailed corners of the tabletops:


i knew something could be done!

....just not exactly what.

i've always been certain of two things:

1) paint

2)
but that's about it. creamy white paint and distressed edges? a shiny coat of lacquer? stripes on the front of the drawers? too many options. my brain shut down and nothing was done.

but, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? it is the east, and high heeled foot in the door is the sun. check out what a little spray paint and leftover grass cloth wallpaper did to a set of nesting tables bound for the curb at her clients' home:


inspired by oomph's ungodly-expensive-yet-adorable 'tini tables. which, i then recalled, also come in a fabulous quatrefoil design:

do we see the resemblance?


yes, i meant to post the pictures twice. as if i were holding up a picture in front of your face, then swapping it for another picture, then bringing back the original picture, then switching again. to make a point. that they look similar.

and....AND?

i just so happen to possess a roll of leftover grass cloth wallpaper from my parents former den (hung circa 1981 mind you, because remember how they are ahead of the times).

BOOtotheYA

i think we all know what happens next.

consider

this:

overstock

plus this:




equals something similar to this:

inside avenue

or this:


plus this:


equals something similar to this:

inside avenue

slash this:

csn lighting

in my living room. thoughts?

confessions of a perfectionist

i love symmetry. i must have it. i'm aware of the rule of thirds and drawing the eye etc and so forth, but i can't help it. i'm pretty sure that only having one bedside table is somewhat responsible for the r.e.m.-stage teeth-gnashing that's been giving me migraines recently. don't get me wrong - i definitely appreciate and lust after plenty of asymmetrical design. there's just something about perfect symmetry that really floats my boat.

ergo,

in the pursuit of extreme symmetrical perfection, i'm currently scouring flea markets, amazon and my high school biology projects for botanicals to arrange thusly:

pictures via restoration hardware, caitlin creer interiors (2, 7), suzanne kasler, cote de texas, material girls blog, unknown (6,9), urban grace interiors, jentrified

...and all shall be right with the world.