Reader Submission: Rachel's NYC Master Bathroom Reno

I'm so excited to bring you today's post!  My dear friend Rachel and her beautiful family live in a lovely sun-filled condo in Queens, New York.  She and her husband decided it was high time to renovate their dated master bathroom.  All told it took about 6 weeks from start to finish, and my oh my, just wait until you see these absolutely amazing afters!  But here is a tease up front - this is a close up of her shower fixture.  You know with attention to detail like this, it's going to be good.

Before, Rachel's bathroom was perfectly functional but oh so very blue.  Blue sink, toilet, tile.  The shower was enclosed by a shower door that she and her husband hated (something to which I can totally relate).  It was high time to upgrade this bad boy.  Rather than DIY, they hired a contractor to handle the transformation for them.  He took care of all aspects of the demo and reno:  from hauling away the old stuff, to installing the new fixtures, laying the new tile all over the room and finishing out the space (note: Rachel highly recommends her contractor, Brian Costello in the NYC-area, for anyone looking for someone to handle renovation or woodworking projects; his contact info is at the end of the post).  Without further ado, here are the befores. 

The contractor got to work and demoed the room.  Here are just a sampling of the in process demo and reno pictures.  This took a few weeks.  Luckily, Rachel has a second bath in her home that they used during the reno process.

Rachel wanted the new space to be bright, clean and timeless.  She and her husband worked together to come up with the perfect chic and crisp color palette of lots of white and grey with some pops of black.  They went with stunning grey and white marble tile on the floor and timeless subway tile on the wall with a chic black and grey strip of marble tile as a border.  

Because the room was so small and there was no changing that, they wanted it to feel as spacious as possible.  As you will see below, success.  White porcelain for the toilet and sink.  A new white curtain replaces that old dated shower door.  Gorgeous chrome fixtures with hints of old school charm (the "cold" and "hot" on the faucets and shower curtain rings!) give the room tons of polish and personality.

Doesn't it look just amazing?  I gasped (in a good way!) when Rachel shared these swoon-worthy after pictures with me.  A big thanks to Rach for letting me share her master loo here on the blog today.  

So, what's your favorite part of the transformation?  Mine is definitely those hot & cold fixtures.  I just love them.  OK, and the white subway tile.  

See you swoon,

In case anyone is interested in where she got the goods, here's a source list for Rachel's bathroom:

Contractor:  Brian Costello (NYC Boroughs/Long Island Area) 516.852.9414

Sink & Showerhead:  Kohler

Faucet:  Aquadis

Medicine Cabinet and all Tile:  Home Depot

Shower Curtain and Curtain Rings:  Restoration Hardware

Light Fixture, Glass Shelves, Towel Bar: Pottery Barn "Mercer" Line

Toilet:  American Standard Cadet (low flow & self closing lid)

When life gives you lemons ...

... make them into a centerpiece.  Ha!

First off, HAPPY SPRING! I normally hate the use of all caps because I don't like to feel yelled at. But in this instance, I am yelling from the rooftops and will now add bold, italics, underline and a new color to emphasize my excitement about Winter being officially over: HAPPY SPRING!!!!

Earlier this month, I introduced you to Heather, my dear friend since first grade.  She has another lovely little project that I am so excited to share, especially since it is soooo inexpensive and simply adorable.  I'll give it away all up front so you can see the cuteness:

Isn't it sweet?  She had the little cake stand on hand: it was pink glass and she bought it years ago at Anthropologie.  The pink no longer worked in her home, so she sprayed it glossy white. 

Then she found this cloche at Goodwill for just $2.00.  She took away the wood base and stuck the glass top on her hobnail cake plate.

I just love it: the look, the price (next to nothing!) and the punchy yellow of those lemons.  She bought some fake lemons for a song ... but you could also use real lemons if you wanted to.  Here it is on her countertop again.

                          

In fact, I was so inspired by Heather's cute DIY centerpiece that I went out and bought a pack of faux lemons from Target for $4.99 and popped them in my glass bowl for my own cheap and easy ode to Spring.  See? 

Yeah! Spring is in the house!  Got any cute and easy DIY projects? Share share share!

PS:  Want to post a comment but are having trouble doing so? Click here to find out how. 

See you swoon,

Reader Submission: Heather's Fab New Hutch

I feel a little introduction is in order: Heather and I have been friends longer than anyone in my life (I don't feel right saying she is my "oldest" friend because at 35, the term "oldest" is no longer cute).  We have been friends since Mrs. Nidorf's class in the first grade.  That is almost 30 years of friendship!   And today we are still going strong and share a love of running, certain television shows, sneaking contraband peanut butter when we can (our kids are allergic) and home projects.  We're both constantly scouring Craigslist, Goodwill and the ReStore for fab finds.  I am so excited that she shared her amazing hutch transformation with me.  And now I get to share it with you!

Heather found this kind of tired and worn hutch on Craigslist for just $40.  It is solid wood and has the lines she liked and the storage she needed for her kitchen.  She removed the dated hardware and got to work.

Here is the hutch in its kinda shabby before state. 

Once the hardware was removed, Heather primed the piece with oil based primer.  Here it is looking much better already.

Once she primed, she did a few coats of white paint over top and topped it with a couple coats of clear polycrilic for durability.  Then she added some seriously gorgeous hardware: she went with black cup pulls for the drawers (L-O-V-E) and simply sprayed black the original door pulls, which I think looks so good (and gotta love that she saved a buck or two).  I think the final tally was about $45-$50.  Doesn't it look like a million bucks?  

Isn't that a swoon-worthy after? What about you guys? Do you have any furniture transformations you'd like to share? Send them along.  We'd love to feature them!

See you swoon,

Before & After: Colleen's Haddonfield Home

You all know about my undying adoration for paint.  Today, it grows stronger.  My friend Colleen (whose wedding we are featuring next week!) recently bought a gorgeous home in Haddonfield, New Jersey.  It is on the *perfect* street, in the *perfect* town.  Really - it's white-picket fence central and is a great place to live.  She and her husband fell in love with the house and were able to see past some decor flaws to its true potential.  First up: the exterior.

I think a lot of people shy away from exterior re-dos because it seems so daunting.  I have to say, Colleen nailed it.  What was once a nice house is now a complete stunner ... and it was all done with just changing the paint colors!  Take a peek and prepare to swoon.

BEFORE

AFTER

Isn't it amazing? Doesn't it make you want to grab your paintbrush and paint something ... anything?  A big thank you to Colleen for sharing her beautiful home with us today!  What's your favorite part? I am a sucker for a glossy red front door, so that is atop my list.

See you swoon,