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Room Makeovers

All Things Home

Blue & White Wallpaper for the 1/2 Bath

Between January and March of 2019, we worked on giving our half bathroom a makeover.  We painted the walls in Stonington Gray (mixed at 50%), swapped out the boring mirror with a vintage one, changed out the light fixture and faucet, and added a chair rail and picture frame molding.  As a part of the foyer makeover, we also had the beautiful Montauk blue slate floors installed.  (You can find details and the source on those in THIS POST.)  I knew at the time, though, that I wanted to find a blue and white wallpaper that would take it over the top.  I just didn’t want to rush the selection. So, I stopped there.  Having the bathroom done to this point allowed me to wait until I found just the right paper or wall treatment.  I toyed with designing my own, with hand painting, and even block printing something, but

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All Things Home

master bathroom makeover | picks & finishes

If you’ve been following my Instagram stories, you’ve seen the beginning of our master bathroom makeover!  The demo, electrical, and plumbing work are done, so we are well underway. I would say that our bathroom is a pretty good example of a suburban master suite that is about 10-15 years old.  It’s big with a good layout, but it has basic finishes and fixtures.  I do think the jet/soaker tub and Corian counter were upgraded options, but the tile, fixtures, and fiberglass shower were all inexpensive, neutral choices.  When we bought the house, we learned that it was built before there was a buyer, so it makes sense that all of the finish choices were pretty basic. Before I go any further, let me say that this bathroom is the best bathroom we’ve ever had.  We have never had two sinks, a separate shower, and a deep, big bathtub.  I

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All Things Home

slipcover chaise reveal | tutorial & sources

Back in March, I took some unhurried decorative play in the master bedroom.  I just felt stuck in this room.  The bones were there, but I was having trouble finishing it off.  I couldn’t make up my mind on the smaller pieces of furniture, what to hang on the wall, or how to make it a polished, finished space.  During this time of experimenting, shuffling around furniture, and rethinking things, I decided that the ticking fabric on the chaise was limiting my options to some extent.  I liked how several fabrics I already owned worked with the , but not the ticking stripe.  An easy option was to make a slipcover for the chaise. I covered it in an antique linen sheet and it immediately confirmed that thought.  I like the ticking fabric and it’s still in like-new condition, so a slipcover is a perfect way to change the look

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All Things Home

Blue & White Wallpaper for the 1/2 Bath

Between January and March of 2019, we worked on giving our half bathroom a makeover.  We painted the walls in Stonington Gray (mixed at 50%), swapped out the boring mirror with a vintage one, changed out the light fixture and faucet, and added a chair rail and picture frame molding.  As a part of the foyer makeover, we also had the beautiful Montauk blue slate floors installed.  (You can find details and the source on those in THIS POST.)  I knew at the time, though, that I wanted to find a blue and white wallpaper that would take it over the top.  I just didn’t want to rush the selection. So, I stopped there.  Having the bathroom done to this point allowed me to wait until I found just the right paper or wall treatment.  I toyed with designing my own, with hand painting, and even block printing something, but

Read More
All Things Home

slipcover chaise reveal | tutorial & sources

Back in March, I took some unhurried decorative play in the master bedroom.  I just felt stuck in this room.  The bones were there, but I was having trouble finishing it off.  I couldn’t make up my mind on the smaller pieces of furniture, what to hang on the wall, or how to make it a polished, finished space.  During this time of experimenting, shuffling around furniture, and rethinking things, I decided that the ticking fabric on the chaise was limiting my options to some extent.  I liked how several fabrics I already owned worked with the , but not the ticking stripe.  An easy option was to make a slipcover for the chaise. I covered it in an antique linen sheet and it immediately confirmed that thought.  I like the ticking fabric and it’s still in like-new condition, so a slipcover is a perfect way to change the look

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a slice of life

the first scratch in the hardwood floors

I think one of the reasons that I like old things is that they are already worn.  They wear scratches, dents, dings, chips, cracks, and crazing, and any new damage that is done to them will likely go unnoticed.  They are already imperfect and there is no pressure to keep them pristine.  Well, newly installed and freshly refinished hardwood floors do come with some amount of pressure to keep them scratch-free for as long as humanly possible. For me, that turned out to be less than 24 hours. I knew that these hardwood floors would scratch, because we have them on our stairs, in the dining room, my office, and 15-year-old floors in the kitchen and eating area.  All of them are scratched to some degree from the pets, from furniture scooting, from dropping things, from kids, from life.  I knew these floors, which are in the two most trafficked

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All Things Home

the $20 side table & master bedroom progress

Last week, while the floors were being refinished, I went out to a few antique shops with my friend, Cheri.  I’ll share some other things I purchased while I was out, but one of the things I found that was on my shopping list was a side table for $20!  I wanted one to put beside the chaise to hold a book or a drink and to bring some life to that corner with a plant.  This table ended up being the perfect find. It was actually sitting outside of the little antique shop, holding a bottle of hand sanitizer.  It didn’t have a price on it, so I figured it probably wasn’t for sale.  I’ve learned to always ask, though!  You never know.  I was already asking about the price on a sweet full-length mirror in a gold frame, so I asked about the side table as well.  The

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All Things Home

the process of living in a house while refinishing floors

Well, we’ve made it to the other side of having new wood floors installed in the living room while also refinishing the kitchen & eating area floors.  And, we were living in the house through the entire process.  In fact, every time we’ve either worked on floors ourselves or had them done, we’ve stayed in the house through the upheaval.  Several people asked if I would share the process as well as some tips for how we made it work, so that’s what this post is all about! DIY or pay the pros? The first big decision when it comes to installing or refinishing wood floors is figuring out if you want to tackle it yourself or hire it out.  We’ve done both and the decision was largely dictated by budget as well as the scale of the project and availability.  There is a small portion of it that boiled

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I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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