Back in August while my husband was out of town, I began making over our bathroom! I painted the bathroom vanity, replaced the curtain and added in some decor.

Here’s the result:

The black cabinets turned out wonderful and the small touches really make the bathroom look wonderful!

I made the curtain using fabric I had on hand and simply tacked them up over the window using the ‘window mistreatment’ philosophy!

Since the color scheme is black, white and tan, I thought this Rolled Paper Africa Art was perfect! John David traveled to Ethiopia this past June and we have a Compassion child there so it’s a reminder of that trip, the wonderful people there and our sponsored child. I purchased it from Mercy House Kenya, a maternity home in Kenya.

And here’s another angle of the bathroom. I put a scripture verse on the wall and we bought a new soap dish that’s easier to clean!

Cost ::

Paint & Supplies: Free (used what I had on hand!)

Africa Art: $50 (with shipping)

Scripture Art: Free (I’ve had it for years!)

Soap Dish: $4 at Ikea

Curtains: Free (used fabric I already had!)

Total: $54

I think that was $54 well spent making the bathroom look wonderful!

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Now that we’re expecting and beginning to plan a nursery for two, I thought it was time to share Paxton’s nursery in our new home!

When we were expecting Paxton, we put together a nursery which was completely functional but lacked personalization and finishing touches. Then we moved to a rental and the nursery there was builder beige and we didn’t have a thing on the walls.

When we moved, I wanted to create a room for him that was personalized and a space he could grow up with, all on a small budget. We painted the walls a beautiful shade of green and added in touches of bright reds and blues with toys and decor. I adore primary colors!

Most of Paxton’s treasures are here on this bookshelf! He adores his books, his blocks, his farm animals and his farm!

Before we moved, I took a mirror that was in our yard sale pile and with a couple coats of spray paint completely made it over! The best part, we already had the spray paint so this was a free makeover!

While I was spray painting the mirror, I decided to paint the  knobs on the dresser red too! What a difference that made {and yes, a knob is missing! It’s actually tucked away in one of the drawers, we just haven’t put it back on!}

The “I can do everything” art was part of a Day Spring review, The Cat in the Hat book was $1 at a thrift store and I purchased the ABC book for $5 as a birthday party decoration. The chair, which we love, was a Christmas gift from my grandparents. Paxton loves reading his books in his chair! {Or just hanging out chewing on a toy in his chair!}

I picked up these curtains at Goodwill several years ago for a mere $4! We used them in our first little apartment for a little while and they are perfect for Paxton’s room! I made the flag on the wall from a scrap piece of tin from my grandparents farm a few years back.

When we moved we needed a place to store toys. I didn’t want a traditional toy box since they are so big. We picked up an $18 galvanized tub for toys which goes right along with the farm touches in the room!

The most expensive part of the room was the rug. We wanted a 100% natural rug and were looking for a wool rug {which are expensive}. After a few months of searching, we still hadn’t found one we loved. We decided to go with a cow hide rug which is natural and incredibly soft! This was not a cheap purchase, we spent $150 on it but it’s a rug we love and will use for many years to come.

When we went to Ikea several months ago, I picked up 6 red frames for $12. I purchased them so I could finally display the farm animal wall art I had made before Paxton was born using old scrapbooking supplies. Often when I get Paxton out of his crib, he’ll point to the animals!

We were given a changing table before Paxton was born. It was a wood color and we painted it white so it would go with the rest of our nursery furniture! It cost around $20 for  paint and supplies. The ‘P’ was $5 at Hobby Lobby and painted with the same spray paint from the mirror and dresser knobs.

Paxton’s room is my favorite room in our home! I love that it is put together and that it is not too babyish and will be able to grow with him (and little brother one the way!)

Cost:

$25 Paint

$1 Cat in the Hat book

$5 ABC book

$18 Galvanized tub

$150 Cow Hide Rug

$12 Red Picture Frames

$20 Paint for Changing Table

$5 ‘P’

Total: $236*

And Paxton loves his nursery, especially reading in there!

{*$256 seems like a lot of money and it is! When you take out the $150 cost of the rug, the makeover was only $86! That’s quite frugal in my opinion! Plus, frugality to us is fewer quality items we love over cheapness!}

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A few weeks ago, while my husband was out of town, I kept myself occupied with several small projects! One of the projects was painting the bathroom vanity.

Since we moved into our home back in April, I’ve been thinking about a mini makeover in the bathroom. I finally decided that I wanted to paint the vanity and mirror black!

Before ::

After ::

This project really turned out better than I expected it would! I was so anxious for my husband to get home from his trip so I could show off my work! He told me probably 5 times that it looked really good and that he really liked the black!

Close up of the cabinets ::

This project cost me nothing since I used leftover black paint.

I simply cleaned the cabinets and let them dry and then painted! I applied two coats of paint. If I had to do it over again, I probably would prime the cabinet first.  {I’m thrilled with how it turned out and I’m just hoping it will hold up since it wasn’t primed!}

We love the new look in the bathroom!

Have you thought of painting your bathroom vanity? 

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Last week I shared our messy office/guest room. As we unpacked, everything that didn’t have a spot was tossed into this room.

It was messy. I hated going in there because it was so bad! So I decided to use nap time wisely and do something about it.

Making progress with books on the bookshelf and using the bed for some sorting. {Notice the cheerios in the floor…evidence of a toddler!}

I did all of this in about 30 minutes time and took a break. Then I decided to keep on going and was able toget the rest of it cleaned up in about 30 more minutes. That hour of work made me a happier person!

Huge, huge, huge difference! Doesn’t this room look so peaceful? I must confess that the closet in this room is full of stuff that needs to be gone through and organized but the room looks good and I am happy having a neat guest room/office.

For now, this space looks amazing to me. {I do have big plans and dreams of turning this room into an office/playroom/schoolroom in the not too distant future.}

Do you have a messy room that is draining you? I challenge you to set a timer for 30 minutes and get to work. It’s amazing how much can be accomplished in such a short amount of time when you are focused on getting a job done!

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Moving is fun and exciting! I tend to romanticize the positive parts of moving, like a new kitchen, organizing and decorating differently and forget the reality of a move and the stress, hard work and chaos that comes with it.

Moving day was quite peaceful – I was the calmest I’ve ever been during a move and my husband definitely noticed!

The hard part is settling in with an active baby! Not to mention we’re moving into a smaller home with smaller and fewer closets and cabinets. And quite frankly, we still have too much stuff!

This past week has been chaotic but peaceful at the same time. The house is becoming more and more of a home each and every day and we’re working in short bursts while Paxton naps or while he is content playing or snacking!

This was the scene last Monday morning as John David was putting in the last of the contact paper (my husband is awesome!). Paxton was completely content watching daddy while eating breakfast!

{New pearly whites!}

Over the course of the week we’ve managed to organize almost every room in the house. They all lack those small touches that make a house more cozy but it’s coming together and really starting to feel like home!

What about you? Do you really love moving? Or, are you like me and romanticize it but don’t really like it?

 

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I had our entire weekend mapped out in my head. Close at 2:00.  After closing swing by and get the electric transferred, call about the water, pick up our Crock-Pot of Chili and carry to the new house so we can stay there late and paint Paxton’s room and some trim. Then on Saturday, more painting and cleaning!

Those were my plans but things don’t always go as planned!

Thankfully, I woke up Friday morning and told John David that I was letting go of my expectations about the weekend and was going to be flexible! I am so thankful I made that decision!

{A peek inside! This is the front door and small bit of our living room. The front of the door is red, I love it!}

We closed at 2:00 and from there our plans went south! Both the water and the electricity were turned off. We had to go out to the house within 30 minutes of closing to get the water back on and we didn’t make it in time to have the power turned on!

That’s right, we had no power!

It’s pretty much impossible to paint walls and trim with no electricity, especially when it is dark and gloomy outside.

We stayed positive and were able to knock out a few projects like spray painting fans, painting exterior doors, putting matching door knobs and keys on the exterior doors and switching the handle on the fridge around.

We were incredibly excited that there was enough light Sunday afternoon to allow us to paint the first coat in Paxton’s room.

You don’t realize how convenient electricity is until you don’t have it! I also was amazed at how much we were able to do without it. If I had to chose between running water and electricity, I’d chose running water over the electricity because it is possible to function and be productive without it!

I’m learning that letting go of my expectations really helps me to remain positive when things don’t go as planned!

I know we’re not the only ones with crazy house closing stories! What are your house closing adventures?

 

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