A Tale of Shame, Hope and Shabby Chic Bathroom Remodeling...

I have a secret...

And it's a dirty little one...

I have been living in shame for some time with something I dared not mention...

For fear of being shunned and the subsequent social isolation...

But it's time to come out of the closet with my pain...

Please don't judge me too harshly...

I really need your support in this desperately embarrassing time...

I... have lived with... *gulps* Please be gentle...

Carpet in the BATHROOM!!

There I said it...

And not for a short time either... I'm sorry to say. Yes I've been living with the dreaded toilet rug *shudders* At least it's just my "crap"... pun intended.

Please don't think I'm trying to make light of people who are really suffering. Prayers being sent to all those in real need. I'm very very blessed to have a roof over my head and ~~enough~~ (Way too much) food to eat... and I know it...
And this bathroom in question is all my own so I'm the only one who had to know...
But whenever people come over and ask for the house tour I DE-tour them away from my bathroom.
Only a man who had never cleaned a toilet in his life would put CARPET in a dang bathroom! What was he thinkin'??!!

Well I've had a few bloggers ask me if I was ever going to put up any pictures of my bathroom? (You know who you are)
So now I have... Don't say I didn't warn ya!

If you are living in bathroom carpet shame (Or ever have) please let me know I am not alone.

So the little thing that I've been working on for the last couple of weeks was my mini bathroom remodel... I know it was way beyond high time!

After all this waiting I hope you weren't expecting something fabulous?
Sorry it's pretty minimal. And when it comes to DIY? It's DN'T for me as in DON'T! There isn't any granite or inlaid marble or pretty much anything that costs much of anything. In fact the whole shebang was under $200... But the carpet is GONE!! Oh HAPPY DAY!!! Thank you Jesus!! God bless sub floor!! Because even that was an improvement! *winks* I just shopped around my house for little this's and thats so you'll recognize quite a few of my recent flea market finds.

I re-purposed this little guy from my Living room. He's parked on the reproduction Victorian fern stand I found for $9.99 at the Value Village.

Are you ready for the befores?
I'm cringing as I write this...
I think our builder must have gotten the "super deal" on a gazillion yards of beige carpet.
I suppose I should be happy it's not in the kitchen...

Builders grade and blah...

In process...

And here is the AFTER... Sorry you're going to see lots of shots of this chair because this room isn't very big and I LOVE this chair!! *winks* The floor is done in Traffic Master Allure flooring from the Home Depot in Country Pine. It's vinyl flooring that has a 25 year warranty and is totally waterproof AND REALLY AFFORDABLE!!... But the best part of all is that even I could put in this floor (And I did) This is THE easiest floor to put down in the history of the world!..OK I do tend to exaggerate, but it was really simple and foolproof! It's so soooo much better in here!

Then I Annie Sloan'd the joint in old white. I couldn't just start my first AS project small and easy... Oh NO! I went the BIG kahuna! Lol! I'm still working with it.. and it's still a work in progress. I'm waiting for new faucets to arrive. They sent me high pro glow silver ones instead of bronze. So I'm stuck with the Miami Vice (Deco wannabes) for the short term. I'll share my new ones as soon as they're in. Sorry about the dark pics. It's raining again here in the Pacific Northwest... That never happens... says no one who's lived here EVER!

We didn't want to put major money (Or any actually truth be told, just sayin') into this remodel because this house is destined to be a rental in the next couple of years. So simple clean and user friendly was the ticket.

This French chair is one of my favorites despite it not being terribly special and the silk is rotting and falling off... The arm rests are gone. I still love it! It's truly shabby chic! *winks* I'm just glad this bathroom is actually big enough for a chair...

Much better... but it still really needed some drama and a "wow" factor... Sooooo I purchased two of the most beautiful shower curtains EVER from the Victorian Trading Co. HERE And I asked my sweet Mother in law if she would sew the two panels together top to bottom? I thought this would be a nice simple task... Alas it was not! My poor MIL worked on them for two days! And she's a very talented seamstress! She's also a perfectionist and the grommets at the top of one curtain had to be eliminated. Not simple at all as it turns out... However she did a beautiful job!

So now I had my gorgeous 12' shower curtain drape and I was all ready to attach it to the ceiling. (Cuz I'm a blonde) I didn't even think about the issue with the varied ceiling height. Or the fact that the ceiling is 14' high and the shower curtain 12'... Sometimes I really wonder about myself *sighs* How to put the curtain up and keep the ruffle lines straight and have a nice little drop on the floor? The hubster pondered a few minutes and then went out to the garage and found some chain, hung it at varying heights and VOILA! Now my curtain droops and drapes just right!

This shot is to give you an indication of the ceiling height. This bathroom may not be very big but it does have a lot of vertical space.

The chain gang solution *winks*

I found a home for one of my large plaster urns ($15) Still doing the happy dance over these babies!

On top of this towel cupboard

I moved this pretty portrait from the gym to here in the bathroom.

My little bombe cabinet is looking so much prettier now!

I found this architectural piece on ebay for $28 with shipping and I mitered and painted it to create this window valance. The Austrian drapes were $4.99 for three and the Austrian valance was $2.99 at the Value Village. The lidded blue urns are Dresden. The ribbon barometer is antique and German. The candle chandelier was $75 at a local auction.

This cute little chubby cherub made of marble dust was a find at a local antique store. And if there's a cherub in sight I'll put a crown on it!... Actually pretty much anything that stands still! Lol!

The two gold framed prints came from the Goodwill for $3.99 each. The sconces were an ebay find from years ago. They actually have holes for crystals, but when I added them it was just too much... You'll probably never hear those words from me again!

A close up on one of the Dresden urns with hand painted courting couples.

The water closet has a matching sconce to the one over the tub. The nekkid lady with cherubs print was a find from an antique show years ago.

Maidens and cherubs get me every time!

I put this plateau mirror in here from the bedroom to hold my perfume bottles.

And that's all for the bathroom tour!... Are you still speaking to me after my revelation? What took so long you might be asking?... I don't know. I really wish I had done all this years ago, and more recently the toilet broke when my hubbs was tightening it down so I had to wait for a new bowl... The (aforementioned) faucets came in the wrong finish. The shower curtain took longer than expected. The cabinets needed (and still do) what seemed like a bazillion coats of paint... But all said, I like it all so much better! It's starting to feel like my own little escape from the world *winks*
So if you'll just follow me out through the bedroom I'll make us a nice hot cuppa in the kitchen (No carpet there ever I promise *winks*)... I've got freshly baked banana bread too... (Whole wheat with egg beaters so you can indulge in an extra piece *winks*) and you can tell me what you think? And what you would change?