Hall Bath Makeover

As part of the ongoing quest to redo our home, we recently (ok, a few months ago) did a mini makeover on our hall bathroom.  I absolutely love it and am so excited to finally share it with you!

When we first moved into our home, our hall bath looked like this.

No joke, the former residents left the lovely shower curtain, and it looked like it had been there since the 60's when the house was build.  I quickly updated the shower curtain and decided to make the hall bath a Mickey Mouse theme, as it would be the primary bathroom for our kids, and I love all things Disney.  We used this shower curtain.

I was so sick of how horrid the vanity looked, I just couldn't take it any more. 

Do you see the gold and crystal knob hardware?  Super vintage and cool, but not so great for a kid bathroom.

I had my husband remove the doors for me.

He actually had to pry the hinges off because they had been painted over, and were seriously caked in paint.  Painting tip: ALWAYS remove or tape off all hardware when painting.

I sanded off about 5 coats of paint.  1-2 of off white, another of yellow, and yet another of a soft peach color.  It was bad.

I then paired the grooves of the door with a brush.

and rolled the rest of the door for a quick and even finish.

Then I started to paint the rest of the vanity.  I should say we, because one of my sweet and awesome friends came to help me.

We loved the way it looked so much, we decided to paint around the toilet as well.  I used press and seal saran wrap to protect the toilt from pain, and it worked perfect!

I had hubby replace the doors and install new hardware on them.  The change in the room was dramatic, and amazing.  I seriously love the bathroom.  I never thought I would have liked the black.  but I do.  It also goes perfectly with our Mickey theme.

Before I show you the dramatic side by side, the black paint I used.  It is CHALK PAINT!  I did it so the kids could have some fun art space.  However I love how clean and crisp the black looked in the space, so I haven't told them.  So please don't tell my kids that it is chalk paint.  

I hope you like this transformation as much as we do.  It really only took a little bit of time and not too much money to transform.  It has really mad a huge difference.  Next on the list is to do something about that sink, add some shelving, and decor.

I am so please with how it turned out.   Every time my daughter goes in she screams "Mickey".  It is so adorable, and totally worth it.

Linking up here this week:

Skip to my Lou, Not So Sweet Anne, The Dedicated House, DYI Showcase, Monday Funday, Chef in training, SavySouthernStyle, Worthwhile Wednesdays, Work it Wednesdays, Showcase your Talent, a handful of everything , Let's Bloom, House of Rose

New Craft Armoire

When we first moved in to our first home (over 1 year ago), we were so thankful to get several pieces of hand-me-down furniture.  One was this wonderful armoire.

I had seen many ideas on pintrest about how to use it, (doll house, gift wrapping station, hidden desk etc) however I knew that it was going to be my craft storage.  I love crafting but my previous storage system (a huge boxes) made taking things in and out a pain, and ate into my crafting time.  My solution is a crafting armoire!

I am planing on eventually painting this, and doing some more organizing prettifying (yes that is a real word), however, this is perfect for now, until I am able to paint and make it "pretty" I settled for functional, not perfect.  I am so glad I did.

Here is my before picture (remember we don't judge here!)

Here is the after:

Now, on top shelf on the inside holds my cricut cutter, and cartridges, as well as some spray paint.  The second shelf holds my sewing machine and box, as well as a bag for my "current project"  This way whatever I'm working on, I can toss fold neatly and store away if I have to stop for a week hour or two.

 This is my most favorite part, it is where I hang my cricut mats, on a command hook on the inside door of the dresser!  Before, they would always get squished, and now they stay nice and flat.

I cut up old boxes to make sections and organize the draws.

The first one holds general crafting supplies (glue, paint, ribbon etc)

The second one holds my scrap booking supplies

The third my fabric and patterns

Prior to this project, my crafting stuff was all shoved into boxes, and it was such a pain to get it out and put it away, it took the joy and fun out of crafting.  Now with easy access, I am so excited to get moving on my long list of projects!

Eventually I'd like to paint/re-stain the armoire, but for now transforming it into a craft storage that is functional and free is a big enough win for me.

What have you been organizing lately?

The Big Clean Out Project

I don't know if you have ever looked around your home, and all you have seen were messes and undone projects and things that needed doing.  I do this daily and for the last few months have been completely overwhelmed by them.  I have decided to take action, and instead of just being overwhelmed, start changing it, little by little. You will be (in the nearish future) be seeing some truly terrifying bordering/should be on an episode of hoarders "before" pictures from my home for this project.  I simply ask that you don't judge, and realize that if I can do it with my disaster zones, so can you.

When I was younger I used to love this movie (that most of you have probably never heard of) called "The Richest Cat In The World" in short it is about a talking cat, who inherits $5 million dollars and helps this boy learn to read.  The cat gets catnapped by jealous relatives who were expecting to cash in on the inheritance, in hopes of them receiving it instead.  I haven't seen it in years but one quote that stuck with me was this: "Inch by inch life is a cinch!  Yard by yard it's very, very hard!

So in that spirit, one (small inch like) step at a time, I am going to clean out my home and commit to completing, and sharing with you, 4 projects EACH MONTH.  I'm excited because these can be ANY projects you want!  If your space is more organized, than simply rearrange something.  We can each change something, even something small to make our homes better, more organized and more effective.  I'd love for you to join me in, The Big Clean Out Project!

On the last day of each month, we will be having a link up party so we can share and encourage each other!  The Big Clean Out Project 1st link party will be on August 31st, so get moving on your projects!

This month I am planning to:
1. Clean out the lower cabinets under my "bonus" counter
2. Clean out the upper cabinets above my "bonus" counter
3. Boxes from childhood in the garage
4. Kitchen Utensil Drawer (the kids have been messing with it, and it is a disaster!)

Number one and two are both in anticipation of me creating a "command center" on the extra counter I have between my kitchen and dining room.  Number three is because my parents dumped several boxes from my home into our garage a few months back, and I haven't touched them, we need the storage space in the garage so I need to at least go through them and figure out what is in them!

What projects will you do this month?  Big or small, each is a step towards a better home!