Nautical bathroom

I love being by the water, any water.  Kayaking on Deep Creek Lake, watching the boats by the marina at Saltholmen, listening to waves crash on a beach, crabbing on Urbanna Creek, fishing with my aunt on her pontoon boat, canoeing on the pond at camp, I love it all.  We dream about having a place that overlooks the water, pulling a tube behind our ski boat, watching sunsets out on the dock.

That was my inspiration for updating the kids' bathroom.  This is how it looked when we bought the house.  Not bad, but certain elements started annoying me: the checkerboard floor, bleach-spotted Formica, flat-panel drawer fronts, teal and navy accent tile, towel bars that look like plastic...

Part of me wanted to rip it out down to the studs, but I'm too practical.  Most of it was in good shape so I just tweaked the surfaces.  Here is how it looks now.

It's hard to pick my favorite part, but I think the flooring made a big difference.  Since the existing tile was in good shape I was able to lay peel & stick vinyl planks over the top.  Score it with a knife and snap it off, or use shears to cut rounded edges - pretty easy.

Another big difference was neutralizing the navy and teal accent tiles with Rust-oleum Tub & Tile epoxy paint.  I sanded down the shiny tile glaze to give it some tooth, then taped it off and rolled on the paint in one big stripe (right over the grout) with a narrow foam roller.  Those are now a bit whiter than the other white tiles on the wall, but they no longer scream for attention.  I also rolled this paint on the edges of the vanity cabinet doors and drawers, covering the yellowed melamine edging.  (Originally I was planning to add 2" trim strips to each door/drawer for Shaker style, but the cabinet already projects as far forward as the vanity top so I didn't want to give it an underbite).

Weathered wood is popular right now, so in addition to having great flooring options I also found pre-stained rustic lumber to frame out the mirror.  A scrap piece became the towel rack along with galvanized dock cleats.  The kids actually hang up their towels now.

I added an anchor-shaped towel hook to the left of the sink.  How did this house go 19 years without a place to hang a hand towel by the sink?  Or knobs to open the drawers?  Here are the knobs I chose -- chrome like the faucet, with a rope detail as a subtle nautical element.  Other sources...
Shower curtain - HomeGoods
Vanity top paint - Valspar Smoky Pitch (with primer below and shellac over top)
Walls - Valspar Shark Loop (a lighter shade of the vanity top)
Whale and anchor art & anchor hook - Hobby Lobby
Vanity light fixture - Lowe's
Sign on the door - eBay

Chalk painting dining chairs

While we were living in Sweden I developed an obsession with painted furniture, specifically chalk paint with dark wax.  I love the look and couldn't wait to transform some of our many brown pieces of furniture.  My friend Debora let me use her chalk paint, wax, and brushes while we were home for a visit, and I was hooked.  When we moved back to the States one of the first places I found was my local Annie Sloan (ASCP) stockist, but I didn't buy any right away.  While we were renting I mulled and planned and thought about different colors and furniture pieces.  It wasn't until we bought a house that I could actually visualize a plan for wall color and furniture.  And until we move all I can work on is furniture.  Back in our previous house (before Sweden) we used our dining room as an office, so we sold our dining table and chairs.  I'm happy that we'll have a central (read: utilized) dining room in the new house, especially since it gave me an excuse to scour Craigslist for dining furniture.  I scored this set of eight shield-back chairs and a table, marking the first time I was truly thankful for getting a minivan.

Our full garage at the rental house

And when we had a warm day February 1st I was excited to get outside and paint!  Rather than add brown furniture to our brown dining area I wanted to paint them a color that would look good with both fall tones and beachy blues.  Green is my favorite color, but the Annie Sloan greens didn't look like what I had in mind, so I gathered green things from around the house and matched them to colors on a fan deck.

And then I had a very helpful conversation with Debora, where she sent me this picture of her chair painted ASCP Olive (with Primer Red accents, for the record). 

This looked much better there than on the paint chip or even the sample on the wall at the stockist (although I love it with the peacock-y Aubusson Blue).

Debora reminded me that chalk painting is a heckofalot easier than traditional sand/prime/latex painting.  So I bought a can of Olive and got to work.  Bowen (age 4) was so tickled to watch me paint.  He kept saying things like, "Mom, you're so GOOD at this!"  It was the encouragement I needed; bless him.

70 degrees a week after a foot of snow

And I loved it!  But then I had to decide if I'm going to wax or use another type of topcoat.  Wax gets into the porous surface of the chalk paint, creating a durable bond.  I have read a lot in the past year, including complaints about getting a consistent finish (too much, too little), showing fingerprints, having to be rewaxed.  But I also like the look of dark wax in the recesses, giving an antique looking patina.  (I'm aware of the irony of painting antique chairs to look antique, kinda like blow-straightening hair before curling it).  I decided to try General Finishes High Performance water-based top coat because I could just brush it on and be done, and we finally live in a location where I can just drive to Woodcraft to buy it (joy!).  But it goes on drippy and after two coats the satin was a little shinier than I was going for, so I took the plunge and bought the Annie Sloan wax and brush.  Even if you're dark waxing you apply clear wax first, so after we moved into the house we bought (!) I spent the first mild weekend doing nothing but painting and then waxing the remaining chairs.  After all, we had company coming and I needed those chairs.  Waxing was okay, not awesome but not that difficult.  I worked in the sunshine so that kept it soft and workable.  I was going to buff them later to give a little more sheen, but never got around to it.  I'm happy with how they turned out.  Here they are in our dining room at night, so it's not even obvious that they are green.  So much for having a pop of color.  Apparently I really like neutrals.

The far chair on the left side of the table is the one with poly

We actually eat dinner in this room every night, which makes me happy since I didn't want to have a room that was only used a few times a year.  I also wanted comfortable seating at the table, so these seats have new 3" foam pieces wrapped in batting and covered faux leather (read: wipeable).

Yes, yes I did buy brown and olive chairs and spent countless hours transforming them into brown and olive chairs.  But I like them so much better this way.  Whatever keeps me off the streets, right?

Welcome to the old apartment

When I think of Swedish design I think spare and modern.  Our building was constructed from 1887-1889, so our apartment has some architectural features I didn't expect.  Here is the view from the sofa.

The hallway with pussy willows (!) in a niche.

Olivia is performing a dance for you.

 Living room

Dining room... a little more modern here.

Kitchen

The walls are very thick, which I'm sure our neighbors appreciate.  It also gives us windowsills the size of desks.

Master bedroom, complete with the Scandinavian concept of individual duvets.  Steve can throw his covers off while I tuck mine under my chin.

Catching up

It's halfway through the year and I haven't been very good about updating the world on our adventures.  Between Bowen getting older, keeping up with making jewelry, and tracking every single thing I eat for Weight Watchers (which is, as it turns out, quite effective) I just haven't gotten around to blogging. So here are pictures of some of the other things we've done this year.

Matt Maher in concert (with Third Day)

We took an overnight in DC to meet up with my second cousin Susan and her husband Tim.  They are farmers in Minnesota, here in the capitol to lobby and visit their old stomping grounds. 

Another highlight of the trip was having tapas at La Tasca.  Bowen (5 months) did great for his first hotel stay.

I found my feet

Day trip to downtown Leesburg.  This shop's second floor is staged as a Manhattan apartment and I want so badly to live here after hours. 

We also checked out The Cottage, where I found my final pieces for the dining room wall collage...

... and Mom's Apple Pie where I first met Chocolate Bourbon Walnut pie.  OMG.

Steve and I went downtown for our anniversary (#12!), and because it was during the wine festival we found ourselves having to park on the top deck of the parking garage.  I finally found a great place to photograph the library dome, unobstructed by wires.

And new Old Jake...

Oh, and?  Filet mignon was back on the menu at Dancing Goat.  Happy anniversary to us!

After deliberating for years, we had two big (ailing) trees removed from our back yard.  In hindsight I'm really glad we did this as I'm not sure they would have survived the storm we had this past weekend.  In place of this one we now have an Autumn Blaze maple.

The Apple Blossom Festival...

Firefighter's Parade

Gettin' Bloomed (with Grandma) - Grand Feature Parade

Mother's Day flowers

John & Jenni's wedding

The National Zoo in DC

Girlfriends' Getaway with my college roommates Kristin, Val, & Jessica

Learning how to shepherd these little hearts...

Hanging out with Miss Marge while the moms watch the DVDs

Blandy Farm with Camille's family...

 Western Loudon Art Studio Tour...

Jeff & Liz Hall's kitties (and sculpture)

Once preschool let out for the summer our schedule has been more relaxed, but I have instituted "no TV during the week" so that we might be a little more creative with our time.  Like sprinklering.

And gymnastics...

We had a relaxing long weekend at the cabin in North Carolina...

And said goodbye to our beloved Riley.

I'm doing okay.  I think it was harder for me when she was sick, knowing that she wasn't her wiggly happy self and not knowing how long we had left.  Ten days after the MRI it was clear that it was time to let her go.  And I miss her so much, but it's actually easier now knowing she's not in pain any more.  She was such a great dog!

Olivia handled it really well.  We told her Riley was in heaven with God, and she seemed to be okay with that.  Sometimes she'll ask things like how Riley got there, but otherwise she just accepts that Riley is gone.  My friend Debora sent me a card that said Riley is in heaven making God's sofa smell like dog, which makes me feel better.  And on that happier note I'll include one of the outtakes from the cabin, which cracks me up every time I see it.

Spice Rack

Our kitchen is getting a facelift -- new doors to replace the peeling thermofoil ones, and pull-out shelves in the cabinets so we can get to the stuff in the back.  I got a quote from one of the big box home improvement stores, but the cost of refacing was as much as replacing the cabinets and we didn't want to risk breaking the existing granite counters.  Fortunately Google helped me find a local cabinet guy, Ammon, who has done a great job helping me reface for way less money.  I'm happy to support a local business, too, especially a craftsperson.  Ammon built a cabinet into the "desk" area next to the fridge since we don't ever sit at that desk.  I'll post pictures when the cabinets are finished, but I want to show you the coolest part of the project: a custom spice rack which utilizes the dead space between the pantry shelves and door.  I am thrilled at how much more space is freed up in my cabinets now.

Here is the original tutorial I saw on DIY Network.  Ammon measured my largest items and sized it accordingly, then sent me this drawing in turn. I asked him to resize one of the upper spaces to hold mini spice jars (like this), so it's a little different from the finished product. From the bottom the spaces are 16", 12", 12", 8", 4.25", 6", 8".  Ammon used screen molding on the front of each shelf (instead of the inset dowels in the tutorial) in order to maximize space for larger items like fish sauce and wrap boxes. After the rack was installed and filled I saw a picture on Houzz or Pinterest of a similar spice rack with plexiglass strips holding everything in and see-through.  Oh, well, I pass that clever idea on for you to try. 

We have a hollow-core door so Ammon used toggle bolts to install the rack securely.  For hanging there's a 1"x2"? strip along the upper edge of the rack where he put the bolts through.  I'm thinking there may be another strip like this at the bottom as well, but I was so excited to alphabetize my spices that I didn't look. 

You can sort of see in the next picture that there's a piece of lauan on the back of the rack to hold everything square without adding much depth.

You too can have a spice rack like mine.  It's the best thing since fat free tapioca pudding.