Like the kitchen, I didn’t want to make any changes that cost real money because a major renovation is coming within three to five years (-ish).

I only have one real ‘before’ picture (I’ll get to that in a minute) so I had to steal this other image from the Internet to show you what is not visible in the ‘before’ shot – a special gift to us from the previous owners. Here it is:

So that was the err, focal point if you looked to the left upon entering. Here’s what you would’ve seen if you looked to the right (taken on inspection day before we bought the house).

Oh my God what the hell is that run for your life!

Truly, truly awful. I think the 80′s renovators ran out of steam (or money) when they hit this room. The shelving was clearly completed by a weekend not-so-handy handyman.

The paper-based stick-on floor tile had been laid over a particle-board sub-floor which was disintegrating (haha on me – I didn’t know that at the time!) and whoever installed the floor in previous decades had not known that flooring should actually go all the way underneath the commode.

The labor-saving concept of cutting out a toilet shaped hole in the flooring material and laying it around the fixture simply will not give your home improvement projects a superior degree of polish.

The marble sink is an antique – it was salvaged from a laboratory from old Tulane Medical School. My position on antiques is fairly well known – one is not required to love them all equally. Consider this is also an antique:

Merklen Victorian Chair

See what I mean? So while I’m a little nostalgic about the history of the laboratory sink, I can say that if you shave for any length of time in something about the size of a soup bowl, well… nostalgia eventually fades.

Replacing the sink was beyond the scope and budget of the project, however, so I ripped out everything but that. I’d just been focused instead on a new floor, new paint and reworking the shelves.

Whew. I'm no longer afraid to approach it and brush my teeth!

Really, just a little (well a lot) of Brasso on the sink taps makes me almost as happy as everything else I did to our microscopic ‘master’ bath. The paint is ‘Stone Lion’ from Sherwin-Williams and was chosen to complement the veining in the marble sink.

Now that I’ve posted this (and maybe at the time) I think I played it too safe with the wall color however. If I repaint – I might go with a very dark color. Walls and ceiling.

The shelves were tricksters as they are not square toward the back, instead they meet the wall at an angle. I should’ve asked to borrow a protractor from Toad. Anyway, just a little lumber and new fascia and I think it is all hanging together now.

And this may sound crazy, but I can’t rip the existing mirrors from the wall without major damage. So I thinking about hanging a prettier mirror OVER the existing mirror to add some “OOMPH” – like one of these:

Mirror over a mirror? Crazy talk? I could always use it again later after the full rennovation...

Oh why not?

I bought a few yards of this toile and made the skirt for the sink. And since the plain window wasn’t really adding much of anything to the room, I made a pelmet with the fabric as well.

Spear and magic pelmet!

Somewhere along the way when I was Googling “how do you take a toilet apart to renovate your bathroom” I took the toilet apart. Seeing it dissected I realized I had no real affection for the old thing and zero motivation to put it back together again. Someone else in the house agreed and decided his contribution to the overall re-do effort would be to go out and buy a nice, new fixture. Yay!

A vast improvement.

The little shelves came from Pottery Barn and all the rest of the accessories came from a clever little shop called ‘somewhere else in the house.’

The shelves are fine – I rotate fun travel photos out periodically, but I had originally intended for a REALLY BIG CLOCK – something with an out-sized scale to add some real surprise to this wall. I’m still hunting for something that’s not prosaic. I’m hoping to stumble over something while out Christmas shopping.

And that’s it – for now… I’m still shaving in a soup bowl, but at least the rest of the room feels somewhat less ‘accidental’ than it did before. And other than the new commode, I spent less than $350 (it would’ve been less if I hadn’t had to redo the sub-floor, but I did discover that a sub-floor was necessary if you wanted actually to walk around the bathroom, or use it or anything).

Right now it’s fine, but would love any ideas to pump up some drama in this tiny (did I mention the room is tiny?) little bath.

Cheers!

But there’s one more. Walking in the house, if you look to the right parlor (if somebody’s got a better word than parlor, please let me know) I’ve got a big blank wall.

The wall descries its blankitude.

Oops. It looks like the rug is crooked too and the Aglaonema (Chinese Evergreen) under the desk have are probably due for replacement. They’ve been there two years now and are looking a bit leggy.  ANYWAY. Blank wall.

The only thing I purchased in Rome were these little reproduction prints by Charpentier. Really nothing more than mementos that add to my ever-growing collection (ahem, pile) of  ”things that need to be framed.”

Mats and ready-made frames are in their future.

And then I have this. A bookshelf of little prints and paintings I’ve collected over my past ten years here in New Orleans. In truth, I love the shelf and its various objects. When we moved in I randomly piled a box of framed miscellany onto its shelves and it has stayed unchanged. It grew on me, somehow.

Bookcase.

So I could dismantle the bookcase and re-assemble a gallery wall. We all love this:

It's well-documented in the blogosphere - we all love this.

I’ve certainly got the pieces, but I’m thinking now that the wall could use some OOMPHF (is that how you spell it?). I’ve got a habit of framing lots of small things together. What if I borrowed a page from Lauren’s playbook (in fact, I emailed her a few weeks ago to ask exactly what page of her playbook she used for this amazing oversized print for her wall).

An Albrecht Durer print reproduced at perhaps 20x it's size. Just perfect isn't it? I love the outsized scale! Go Lauren!

So I’m thinking I can do the gallery wall, or I can play with scale as Lauren has so cleverly done on this wall in her dining room. This is one of my favorite images – what if I took it and played it up large?

I love this image. It's from the Rizzoli book "Postmodern" by Paolo Portoghesi. The drawing is by Gerd Neumann: "Study for and imaginary capital, 1980"

Yes, I was nine in 1980. But I was a nine year old postmodernist at heart.

ANYWAY. I’ve spent the balance of my Saturday doing a cost benefit/analysis of various print sizes (and no small amount of Photoshoppery) and framing options and have arrived at an optimal 41″ x 54″ size to fill the blank wall at a very reasonable price with the above image – here’s a schematic (I’ll keep the old Paris map on the table easel as a front layer, most likely):

I know - I overplan a bit, but I want to make sure I'll like it before I spend one or multiple dimes.

I could make this much larger, but my finishing options became non-existant (frame). I think it needs it. Otherwise it could’ve been larger printed on a stretched canvas, unframed. However, my preference is unless it’s an image of an actual oil/acrylic painting, don’t reproduce it on canvas.

UPDATE: Even bigger. If I print it on wall mural fabric and just suggest a frame in the print, I could go even bigger. This may just do the trick:

Even bigger. 56 inches wide. Too big?

So I’m taking votes – gallery wall or something big? Let me know – comments are up top of the post!

Behold. The Pottery Barn Daily System.

What is the concept at work here?

To take a drawer and hang all of its contents on a wall?

Clearly the people that live in this imaginary Pottery Barn house have a desperate need to see at all times, with a single glance:

• their scissors
• a bingo card
• one photograph of pancakes
• every key that they own
• 30 precisely sharpened pencils

Or maybe its is a low tech version of this:

Either way, I am amused that the first item on the imaginary shopping list is “Arugula”

I see so many things that are an inspiration. I read all the magazines – each room styled within an inch of its life. But this feels different. It feels like real life. Go see a genuinely beautiful French country home near Normandy.

The photos taken by the owner, Christian of Le Banc Moussu blog are pure poetry – please proceed directly to the sublime.

Sigh.

Double sigh.

There’s so much more. 15 years of restoration love at work.

But there is something in the bedroom that has been bugging me for a long time. I just realized this morning, the corners of the room seem abandoned. I remembered seeing a wonderful “broken capital” pedestal on Joni’s Cote de Texas blog once. Maybe if I can source a column and a neo-classical bust, my corner would feel more complete.

Via Cote de Texas. The classic broken column. What I'm wanting today.

Now for something fun to go on top. I’m off to the races to check blog buddies for ideas. I found a lot of busts and other classical details – here’s a round-up:

Via Cote de Texas. Joni had a lot of good ideas about statuary in a recent Skirted Roundtable podcast.

This room via Cote de Texas really has some WOW. Note the bust, enfilade.

Another find from Joni - loving the black velvet table skirt.

Above images were shamelessly stolen from Cote de Texas

A handsome pair of hall sentries from Euro Antiques Market blog.

Above image was liberated from Euro Antiques Market

From Mary at Devon Designs - the Across the Pond blog (who should patent her decorative paint techniques for furniture - I've learned a lot from her)

Above image purloined from  Mary – Across the Pond

A weathered find from My Notting Hill

Above image was scandalously snagged from My Notting Hill

From a room by Shelia Bridges via So Haute

Above image was pilfered from So Haute!

Love this gold-tone bust. A find from KatieDid.

Image five finger discount via Katiedid

I like this fellow perched up high on Lauren's bookcase - from Pure Style Home. She saw a potential gem and gave this piece a fantastic aged finish.

Above image was filched without remorse from Lauren at Pure Style Home

I'm hoping this girl is still waiting for me at Perch New Orleans. She's too small for what I'm looking for but I bet I could find a home for her elsewhere in the house.

Image petty theft from Perch New Orleans!

Valorie has featured her in a variety of vignettes at Perch. This little staute works anywhere.

Above image was rapaciously misappropriated from the Perch blog

And finally – if anybody has any ideas for me to source the ‘broken column’ pedestal, please let me know!

Vintage 1974 Kenmore Sewing Machine. Do not ask it to do anything more than a straight stitch or it starts making noises like a bucket of rocks in the clothes dryer.

+

Wingback headboard with attractive shape but unfortunate wickeriness.

=

???

I’m thinking slipcover – either Linen or White Twill will be involved and piping for a nice professional look. I can guarantee some cursing will also be involved.

Hopefully the “after’ will make it to the blog. Not all of my weekend projects are successful. My attempt a faux finish on a light fixture last weekend was not pretty. Literally and figuratively.

I’m due for a win, I think.

UPDATE: I forfeit the match. Twill & linen were boring. I could not find a nice pale, mushroom colored velvet in town. My motivation to continue making a pattern has diminished to zero. I seem, in fact, to be growing fonder of the original wicker by the minute.

Subject: New Store & Hearth is Back!

—————

Experts say the top 3 reasons people divorce are sexual incompatibility, money and infidelity. The sample must have been limited to people living in mud huts because 92% of couples actually split after a remodel.

A candlelit dinner is romantic. Sharing a bath is romantic. Nine months of eating, sleeping and pooping in what used to be the hall closet is not romantic.

While my attitude is very Mother Teresa no matter the circumstance Jack is a monster under stress like when we decided to turn a dilapidated building in Sonoma’s idyllic West County into a sumptuous country store.

I took on the hard parts like visioning and strategy. All Jack had was tactical stuff like architectural plans, city and county permits, contractor management and a wee bit of the actual construction.

While I lay on the couch with eyes closed but strategizing intensively Jack traipsed through the house covered in drywall dust after I’d repeatedly said to hose off in the driveway first. To turn his passive aggressive behavior into a learning opportunity I got out the electric turkey carver while he was in the shower and patiently cut his dusty clothes into shreds. He had a total spazz attack wherein he said I was working his last nerve so I moved into the laundry room with the leftover Halloween candy and my therapist says healing may be a slow process based on past experience.

The new store is open just in time for our 8th anniversary in business and we cordially invite you to visit if you’re up wine tasting but come on the days I work not him he will misrepresent certain things. You can see pictures sprinkled throughout our site:  http://www.nancyboy.com/ To see some pretty new photos of our San Francisco store and one of Jack with someone the caption says is me but isn’t, I am way cuter, click here:http://www.sanfranmag.com/story/mixed-messages

Nancy Boy Signature Scented Lavender Buds

I get one of these hysterical emails each month – usually with a free-associative segue into whatever new product they’re announcing. All fun aside, I have to say their products are amazing. I heartily endorse the Nancy Boy Signature Shave Cream (“Tested on boyfriends, not animals.”), and almost any other of their all-natural and incredibly scented products.

Heck, I even washed the dogs on Sunday with the Nancy Boy eco dish soap. It contains entirely natural products – more so than the ‘dog shampoo’ I used to use that was made out of a petroleum-based substance. Likewise, all our clothes, towels and sheets get washed with their eco laundry soap. The fragrance is from actual lavendar and our clothes are completely petroleum free.

Speaking of botanicals, the Nancy Boys always send me a gift with each order. Last month it was a bag of lavender buds that were enhanced with their signature essential fragrance oil. I don’t usually do ‘house fragrance.’ I like candles but I never think to light them. And if I do, you will never walk into my house and think, “Is there a Cinnamon-Pomegranate Pie smoldering somewhere in this house?”

But I put these buds in a simple wide-mouthed glass bowl in the bedroom and it is just heavenly. The door stays closed during the day, so when I open it after work or settling into bed at night… well, the light fragrance will transport you. What a nice gift from a funny, original retailer.

Land's End Furniture Collection

Soooo. I was just looking to order a replacement lawnmower blade, but I seemingly wandered into a vastly different online department and found this – at SEARS.com.

Who knew? It might could be a leeetle more plump but this is really a steal… and it’s got the whole linen Swedishy thing going for it.

Just some fun hand-assembled (and phoney) clocks I spied today in the window of Saks. Our Saks is not generally known for creative window design so this one caught my eye. Also digging the New Orleans skyline and street lamps I caught in the shot.

P.S. Valorie, the Visual Vamp keeps on marching through the ranks in the Apartment Therapy 2009 Color Contest. She’s in the finals today! Show a little love and go here to vote again today!

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