This is probably what we’ll end up doing in the room. Somewhat boring tile floors that are readily available at the hardware store here in town, with grey or black grout (we learned our lesson with bright white grout in the upstairs bath, that no matter how clean it is, it shows EVERY FLAW and EVERY SPECK OF EVERYTHING, cripes), shallow pedestal and toilet, corner shower stall, and white walls. We’re going simple on the lighting fixture, and there will be a little nook alongside the shower where I want to hang bare pine board shelving for towels and toilet paper. We’ll also need a hook for the hand towel (I love this octopus one), and I’d like to go with a wooden bathmat to carry over the shelving theme. Cute, but a little boring.

If I had my choice, I’d go with a nice punch of color on the floor, like these vivid Mexican cement tiles in a bold graphical pattern. Sigh. Kevin will veto, I’m sure of it.

Also, I’d like to do a large, interestingly-framed mirror that’ll run the length of the space behind the sink and toilet, so I’d better start junk shopping for one. Brand new will be outrageous.

On one of many (many) recent trips to our favorite little Iowa City junk shop, Artifacts, we came across a Lightolier sputnik-style pendant lamp. I passed by it at first, since it’s hard sometimes to just SEE everything that’s in the store, there’s so much to go through. As I was heading towards the front to leave, I spotted it and new it had to be mine. Kevin even liked it, and sometimes it’s hard to convince him to like anything. We got it for a very fair price and ran right home to trade out the old fashioned (and not in a good way) light fixture in the part of our living room that would normally serve as the dining area.

I only have two issues with this light:

1. Four of the globes were missing, so we’ll need to figure out where we can buy more, and then decide if we want the new globes to be smokey and transparent or the translucent white
2. The stickers on the light don’t offer much information, and I’m having a hell of a time researching the piece. Does anyone know anything about Lightolier sputnik lamps?

I think I’m in love!

I decided on the Kassett boxes to fill the bottom row of our glorious Expedit bookcase in the living room, to hide the more cluttery stuff that we still wanted close at hand, like magazines and cds. I picked up a few plain white curtains to be used in the bedroom, where my colors are grey, white, and a soft blue. I also got an accordion mirror for the bathroom, and a bunch of frameless picture frames for use in displaying food pictures my friend Alice sent me to decorate my kitchen.

Isn’t it great how buying new stuff motivates you to finish projects around the house? Expect pictures soon!

Not those kinds of plans, you dirty birds! Improvement plans. Painting plans. Decorating plans. Well, the painting might wait until the weekend, so that the room has time to air out before we try to sleep in it again, but the paint will be purchased, at least.

To buy
Valspar’s Filtered Shade
Valspar’s Bleached Slate
(2) Poster frames in unfinished wood
(3) Pleated or cellular shades in white, 31″ wide
White curtains (or bed sheets)
Curtain hardware
This kit, possibly, for an interesting pop of color

I should probably also buy some paint and curtain hardware for the bathroom while I’m out. That room needs to get finished up, and if we’ve got all of the supplies on hand, we won’t have any excuses not to do it. Right? RIGHT?

Edit: The colors in those links don’t appear to go very well together, but they look a lot better in the palette from Valspar’s site below. I’ve added in the approximate color in my bedspread, along with the flat black of the bed frame to see the contrast, and I really love it. Let’s hope it looks good!

My friend Alice (of food blog Bread and Honey fame) is trying to build up the experience and funds in order to go to tattoo school, which is required to work in a tattoo shop in Portland, OR where she lives, instead of the usual apprenticeship. To help herself accomplish both of these tasks, she’s set up a website where you can commission drawings for the low, low price of $10! She does most of them in pencil and on brown grocery bags, and her illustrations are gorgeous. Go check out her site and if you’ve got a great idea for a drawing that you’d like to have appear in your home, commission something!

Probably more cabinets than we need

From the looks of it, this sink is probably cast iron. Also, over five feet long!

I'm digging the hardware, too.

We’ll be getting a Dishmaster kitchen faucet, which are awesome retro faucets that are actually still in production and made in the USA. You can read about a tour of the factory and a little about the company’s history here.

Now, I know I was talking about fancy stone countertops here, buy why spend thousands on rocks when you can spend hundreds on period-correct boomerang laminate with stainless steel edges?

Fabric	Wall color

Why is it that they’re always out of the fabrics I like the best? Boo, hiss. We’ll have to stop by Home Ec Workshop to see if they’ve got any cute fabrics before I go crazy and order a bunch online.

We spent too much time last night, browsing at Bed Bath & Beyond and discussing what kind of look we want for the room. Originally, I had it in my mind that I’d like the walls above the tile to be some sort of misty grey or blue-grey, to give a serene counterbalance to the stark white of the tiles, floor, and fixtures. This, of course, sort of requires that the shower curtain either incorporates one of these colors, or at least complements them. By the end of the night, I felt a little desperate, and while we were at Sears returning some Christmas gifts, we impulse-purchased a black and clear checkered curtain that I’m not very keen on. Kevin pushed for it, and we bought some soft grey hand towels and a bath rug to go with them, but when he hung the curtain later last night, he agreed with me that it wasn’t right.

The room definitely needs color. For a day I was really into this one from Target, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that it’s not quite right for the room. Plus, Kevin didn’t like it. Surprise, surprise.

I’m thinking that I might just need to find some good fabric and make a cute curtain myself. That might be the best option.

As far as window curtains go, I’m not terribly keen on cafe curtains, and was instead considering doing a single panel statically affixed to the top edge of the window, with a hook on one side so that it could be pulled to the side to let light in when the room isn’t in use. I was overruled on that, so maybe some Emma Jeffs window film? I rather like her Clover design, which might also appeal to Kevin’s Irish heritage obsession.