Improvements

We are in a little home improvement spurt. I wish I could tell you we are doing all the work ourselves, but we're not. We saved our pennies so we could get capable and talented professionals to do it all. It's better that way, trust me.

First it was replacing the front wood railings with iron railings. That's been on the to-do list for, uh, six years.

Then we replaced the back door. Again, a must-do since we moved in.

Next, the white kitchen back splash. It is such a huge boost for the kitchen, and so easy and affordable... not really sure why we waited so long on this one.

Now we move to this - the tiny powder room. I couldn't get in here fast enough today to get a 'before' photo, but just take my word for it - it was interesting. The previous owner had built a sort of vanity, the bottom was plywood (I covered it with a fabric skirt)... it needed *lots* of help.
There will be a pedestal sink, a new mirror and light fixture (and toilet, of course). Oh, and the red will be replaced by something much, much better... just don't know what it is yet.

I really love this tile, but now that it is lying on the floor I'm feeling a pretty nervous it's not going to work. That rug in the foyer is not helping matters either. These kinds of things make me avoid projects - projects that cost money and have a certain permanence to them. Deep breath. And another.


Thank you to my friend Jessica for talking me through the drama.

Now to make me feel better I will focus on this soothing space.


Yep, it's the hall linen closet that I cleaned and organized today. I was going to take a 'before' photo, but I just couldn't. It was really, really ugly. Funny, there are very few actual linens in this closet. We don't have a lot of extras around here. The extra towels were in the wash, but there are only two, and the guest stuff is all in the basement. When I wash sheets and towels they go right back on the beds and towel bars. This closet is more of a medicine cabinet - boxes hold extra toiletries, nail polish... you know. The really exciting part of this project was what I found! You see that top left box - it's full of sunscreen and pool toys that *I* dumped out of the pool bag at the end of the summer. Well, in all that I found my husband's missing sunglasses! I'm pretty sure I had a comment about how he always loses things when they went missing... probably accompanied my a big annoyed sigh, too. Oops.