Design at Home: Powder Room Progress

As I’ve said before, our house needs very little in terms of renovations. Our largest renovation projects would be the kitchen and the backyard. And even then, the renovations aren’t essential…they’d just make me enjoy our house even more than I already do! 🙂 So the projects we’ve been slowly doing at the house are small tweaks to increase functionality and aesthetic.

One of the spaces that I’ve spent a bit of time working to improve is our main floor powder room. It was a white box that I knew could get even whiter.

Here’s what the space looked like when we moved in:

The bathroom was white and bright, but the light fixture was broken, the mirror was small, and the towel ring wasn’t my aesthetic.

We didn’t want to put too much money and effort into a massive renovation (like installing a custom vanity), but I knew we could do a few things to make it nicer. So we did!

One of the best things I did was to repaint the walls. They weren’t in the best shape, so I patched up a lot of holes, smoothed out a few gouges, and gave the whole room a fresh coat of white paint (leftover Benjamin Moore Simply White). The new paint job – like so many people often say – made a world of difference to this room. Magic!

Beyond the painting, I polished the window hardware (more magic!), hung a round mirror, and installed a modern light.

Seeing the before and progress photos makes me grin. A few tweaks has made a huge difference in the function and aesthetic of this space.

That said, the room transformation isn’t quite complete. The towel bar and toilet roll holder will arrive next month, and we have to decide on art. I’ll be happy to share more photos when all the pieces are in place.

The Friday Five: Things on My Mind

Here is what I have been reading, watching, and thinking about recently.

  1. I read this article, and I laughed out loud.
  2. We watched Belfast while we were in Ireland, and we loved it.
  3. I listened to and watched this video and smiled.
  4. I watched Inventing Anna over the course of a week or so. I liked it. I remember when the story of this fake con-artist socialite originally made the news. As far as acting goes, Julia Garner (as Anna Delvey) and Anna Chlumsky (as Vivienne Kent) were great.
  5. I’ve also watched Pam & Tommy. Oh dear.
  6. I watched half of the Super Bowl, including the half-time show. Like many others, I enjoyed the show. Dr. Dre was my favourite. I polled my students about who their favourite performers were, and most of them liked Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar. I knew very little about Kendrick Lamar, but my students have taught me quite a bit about him this week, which made me do additional research. Did you know Lamar won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music for his album DAMN.? I didn’t. I have since watched many videos and read many of his lyrics. As I was brainstorming ideas about how to incorporate his writing into my course, I learned that Drs. Christopher Driscoll, Anthony Pinn, and Monica Miller edited the first academic book about him and even developed a course focused on his work at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. I’ve just accessed the book from the university library, and I’m interested in seeing what it covers. Going down the Kendrick Lamar rabbit hole of research wasn’t what I was expecting to do after watching the Super Bowl!
  7. I bought and read Heating & Cooling by Beth Ann Fennelly after spotting it on Cup of Jo. I laughed out loud reading these very short stories.
  8. This evening clutch made me smile.

Furniture: The Black and White Striped Sofa

I saw this image on Chris & Julia’s Instagram story, and I instantly loved the look of the sofa. Black and white and bold. I love it! I think it could be a cool element in a living room, office, library, games room, and more.

In my own house, I could see this type of loungey sofa in what we’ve named our sitting room. Or potentially the secondary TV lounge. But where does one find such a cool piece? I’m keeping this photo as inspiration, and now I’ll put it out there in the world and perhaps a similar sofa will find its way into our home (magically, somehow).

Here are some results from my “black white striped sofa” Google search.

black and white striped sofa, Ali Baba (Has anyone ever ordered a sofa from Ali Baba?)
Donatella striped sofa (event rental)

I think I love the look of a boldly striped sofa, and I’m now considering such a pattern on my vintage settee that needs reupholstering. This might fulfill my desire for a cool striped piece while I wait for something more lounge-worthy like the one from April Tomlin to come along.

Marketplace: Happy Hearts

Valentine’s Day is around the corner, which means it’s time for extra hearts to join our lives. Here are some hearts that have grabbed my attention.

heart mobile, $119CAD, Crate & Barrel
heart pillow, $53.99USD, Target
Fortnum & Mason tea infuser, $129.95, Williams Sonoma
necklace, $29.99CAD, Devitt House
embroidered brooch, 18Euros, Macon & Lesquoy
candle, $14CAD (on sale), Wills & Prior
heart marble board, $66.95CAD, Art of Home
white heart soap, $8CAD, Lethbridge Lane

Fashion: Black and White Workwear

It’s back to work week! Oh my goodness – I can barely believe it. I haven’t been on in a classroom in two years. And I haven’t worn real workwear in just about that length of time, too. While at the beginning of the pandemic, I was mostly wearing jeans, pants, and a nice sweater, in recent times, I’ve succumbed to leggings and joggers paid with a nice top. It’s been awful. I have felt lazy and not put together. I wear makeup, perfume, and jewelry every day, but don’t remember the last time I blow dried my hair!

And now, I’m going to slowly get back into wearing workwear. I’m excited, but I also feel like I’ve lost my style over the last two years, so I’m not really sure what I’ll be putting together for my daily #WhiteCabanaStyle. I’ve cleaned out my closet several times over the last little while, but I haven’t really replaced too many pieces. Here are some outfits that are providing me with inspiration because (a) they’re effortless and (b) I already own many of the items.

Of course there’s a lot of black and white in my style inspiration files. Black pants (or jeans) pair easily with a white shirt, cream sweater, or black cardigan. Cream/beige pants pair well with a sweater of a similar tone or a white shirt. A LBC (Little Black Dress) goes a long way and is comfortable for all-day wear. A pattern coat or dress breaks up the solid black and white. I think items like the ones will be in heavy rotation for me from now until spring.

What about you? Are you back at work? Has the dress code changed since 2019?

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