Interiors – Page 4

Powder Room: Product Selections

January 19, 2022 by jessica Leave a Comment

SOURCES: medicine cabinet / light fixture / light shades / pedestal sink / faucet / toilet / toilet seat / towel bar / toilet paper holder / tile / hand towel / lidded wastebasket

Our renovations are coming up with work scheduled to begin on Feb. 15! We’re starting with our powder room, which is on the main floor right off the kitchen. This project is scheduled to take roughly two weeks before our contractor moves to our main bathroom on the second floor.

We decided to do our half bath first to give us a functional bathroom on the first floor while our main bathroom is gutted. We do have a shower in our unfinished basement that we can use during the renovation, but I really didn’t want to use the basement bathroom longer than necessary. It’s kind of gross down there and not exactly the ideal location to get ready for the day!

Knowing that we’re in crunch time for making final decisions, we placed a lot of product orders over the past couple of weeks. One of the items I asked for feedback for on Instagram was the faucet. I didn’t realize that sinks have two different standard widths for widespread faucets: four inches and eight inches. Had I realized this before buying the pedestal sink, I would have gone with the eight-inch widespread version because I fell in love with this faucet. We already had the sink delivered and I didn’t want to pay for return shipping, so I had some stress-induced tears and searched for an alternative, coming up with these:

The faucets are both by Kingston Brass and essentially the same design, aside from the knobs. I was originally leaning toward black, but 75% of those who voted on Instagram preferred all brass. I figured I’d give it a go since the faucet I originally loved was also all brass. It’s scheduled to be delivered on Monday. Assuming the color of the brass is similar to the fixture on the right, then I’ll be delighted. I’m hoping it doesn’t read too 1980s-faux-brass-yellow. I suspect it’ll be fine, though, considering all of the fixtures on the brand’s Instagram page look beautiful. (The towel bar and toilet paper holder are by the same company. Hopefully all of the brass hues match.)

We also had to pivot from the floor options I talked about here. I really wanted to go with color for the flooring. I liked the blue a lot, but couldn’t get past the jagged edges of the tile. I stopped by a local tile shop (Malony Tile for those in Madison) and found this tile:

The color is very similar to the tile in the opening photo here (which is the tile I originally wanted to go with), but I prefer that it’s not concrete so it’ll be easier to clean. It also brings in some of the deep blue-green of our stairwell paint. I also love that it makes the room feel more fun. The main bathroom is getting those marble hexagon tiles that you can see here and it’s going to be much more traditional and refined. The house needs a bit of fun that still leans classic.

We are waiting to purchase the medicine cabinet. I really want hidden storage in that space for things like Tylenol, but we need to wait until the wall is open to see where the plumbing stack is. Assuming it’s not right where the mirror is going, we’ll go ahead and order this one. I don’t have an alternative wall-hung mirror picked out, so keep your fingers crossed!

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Progress Report: New Outdoor Sconces & 12 Options Under $100

October 6, 2021 by jessica Leave a Comment

I feel a little embarrassed posting this photo since our house is in desperate need of a power wash — but, I like documenting our progress. So, today’s post is about the small-but-necessary updates we’ve made to our front porch recently: new sconces and an outdoor outlet!

The outdoor outlet is definitely an eyesore, but it’s a small price to pay to be able to hang Christmas lights outside. I had been using these socket adapters with our old sconces and they’re great in a pinch, but an outdoor outlet is really a necessary upgrade. We have an outlet on the interior side of this wall in the same spot, making it the easiest placement for the outlet. I would have preferred to have it less obvious, but it doesn’t really bother me that much. I’ll put a potted plant in front of it next year.

The more exciting change was swapping out the old sconces. As a reminder, this is what we were starting with:

I don’t mind the farmhouse shape of those sconces, but they didn’t work with our aesthetic. Beyond that, they were flimsy and were starting to rust. (I don’t know about you, but rusting electrical fixtures don’t give me peace of mind.) You’ll also notice that the canopy is circular and the siding trim behind it is a rectangle. There’s an overhang, so I don’t think much moisture made its way in, but it was a haven for insects. We had a hornet nest under the one on the right, which was thankfully abandoned when we took down the fixture.

My main priority for a new sconce was one with a rectangular canopy that would fit within the existing trim. I have the biggest crush on this sconce from Schoolhouse, but the canopy wouldn’t work and, well, $300 per sconce simply isn’t in our budget with an upcoming bathroom renovation. (We have two sconces in front and one over our back patio door.) I strongly considered this one from Rejuvenation, but after measuring the sconce plus the globe, I discovered that the top of the globe would be in line with the very top of the door and that seemed too high. I eventually came across these. Are they my favorite sconce? Not by any stretch of the imagination. However, the canopy was correct, the size was spot on, and the price at $40 each was enticing enough to place an order. I figured I could always return them if I hated them. They ended up being far better quality than I expected for the price. (It’s also worth noting that we did not want a light with an integrated LED; we wanted to use our own smart bulbs to set the automation.)

Since I’ve done a lot of sconce-searching over the past few months, I thought I’d put together a roundup of outdoor sconces under $100:

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Here’s a sneak peek at the materials we’re using in our main bathroom remodel!

October 1, 2021 by jessica Leave a Comment

Our contractor is selected, deposits are paid, and our remodel begins in February! We’ll be doing both our half bath on the first floor and our main bathroom upstairs. Here’s a peek into the direction of our main bathroom:

Polished nickel fixtures – I like the warmth of nickel over chrome.
Marble hexagon floor tile – Just wait for all of the “shoefies!”
Subway tile in 4″ x 12″ inches instead of the traditional 4″ x 6″. We’ll be going up to the ceiling in the shower/bath and 48″ up the wall around the rest of the room.
Paint in Sherwin Williams “Riverway” that I painted last year and am still in love with. We’re completely gutting the bathroom because there’s water damage and the previous owners put the tile up higher than what I’d like to go with, so we’ll have fresh drywall to work with.

I’ll link the materials eventually, but I need to place my own orders first with the supply chain issues! 😉 This weekend, we’ll start looking at bathtubs, toilets, and faucets. Our contractor suggested that we start selecting all of the materials and ordering them as soon as possible to avoid delays.

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9 Fall Throw Blankets to Buy Before The Season

August 20, 2021 by jessica Leave a Comment

This time of year always makes me excited for fall, despite the hot and humid weather outside. I can’t resist the upcoming season’s darker colors and cozy textures, which makes autumnal throw blankets impossible to resist. The best ones do sell quickly, though, and I’m glad I snagged the one above before it sold out. Below, I rounded up nine of my other favorites if you’re also craving a pre-season update.

LIVING ROOM SOURCES

Blanket: Target
Decorative Bowl: CB2
Coffee Table: West Elm
Drink Table: West Elm
Curtains: West Elm
Curtain Rod: Pottery Barn
Sconces: Schoolhouse Electric
Leather Chair: EQ3
Sofa: Younger Furniture
Rug: Loloi (also here)
Credenza: Ekais (no longer available)
Record Player: U-Turn
TV: Sony (and TV stand)
Soundbar: Sonos

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12 Home Decor Ideas for a Springtime Refresh

March 18, 2021 by jessica Leave a Comment

We had another round of snow earlier this week, coming right after a string of 50-degree days that melted everything that was on the ground previously. Hopefully it was the last winter blast before spring because I am so ready for warmer weather after being cooped up during a pandemic winter (and, you know, the rest of the year). Since it’s not quite warm enough to spend much time outdoors, I’m setting my sights on making the indoors spring-ready with lighter colors and plenty of fresh green hues. I’ve already picked up a pair of those striped pillows, which are a steal at $20 each for a zippered pillow and insert. I also recently placed an order for a new lamp! I almost went for that green one above, but decided to go with a different statement-maker instead. I can’t wait for it to arrive next month!

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