Splish Splash in the Master Bath

Brad and I made our second dream house purchase yesterday (actually we've purchased a ton of things, but I don't count soil samples and perk tests because you can't decorate with those) at the Love of Jesus thrift store.

This $80 buffet came home with us and will be transformed into the master bath vanity. To refresh your memory, here's the floor plan:

As you can see, the design doesn't waste any space, so we will need to be creative to find maximize storage. We will do some custom things to help us cheat some extra storage out of the plan, such as using the buffet as a vanity and adding recessed shelves in the shower, behind the tub, and in the potty closet. I couldn't resist throwing together an idea board to show you my plans for the room.

All images (and more) from my pinterest bathroom board. Check there for source info.

1. This gives you an idea of the overall feel I'm going for. We will be cladding the side of our jetted tub in bead board and will probably clad the back of the built in shelves behind the tub in bead board as well. The walls will be a light blue/gray/green.

2. This is the finish I'm thinking of trying to recreate on the buffet. I really like the idea of a washed out driftwood look. I'm slightly terrified of trying this, but if it doesn't work, I can always just paint it white!

3. We are going to go with two vessel sinks to transform the buffet into a double vanity. This is my favorite so far. It's clean and simple without being overly modern or cold.

4. We also hope to add some extra cottage style touches to the room. I like the idea of the charm and extra storage this would give us.

5. Subway tile is a must in the shower! I also like the idea of this hexagon flooring, with a Dash and Albert rug to warm it up a bit.

6. This is very close to the style of shower we will have. Ignore the colors and focus on the rain head shower and built in bench and shelf.

7. Brad really wants some colored tile to break up the white in the shower. We might go with something in this style, but not this color.

8. This is in the color range I'd like for the accent tile in the shower.

So, what do you think? Are we crazy to mix the different patterns (subway, bead board, and hexagon flooring)? What would you do if this was your future bathroom?

<3
Hattie

July Kitchen

Given my love for red, I had to add a little white and blue and make my kitchen patriotic for the 4th.

Of course, I wanted to do this on the cheap, so I shopped the house and spent zero dollars on this mini holiday makeover.

I created a bunting banner in Word (letters in 300 font cut into rectangle strips with a wavy bottom and folded over a piece of twine) to drape over my framed flour sack.

I grouped a red, white, and blue pitcher and filled one with daisies from the side of the road. The white is a Pottery Barn wedding gift, the blue is an Ikea birthday gift, and the red was on super sale at Hobby Lobby and purchased with a birthday gift card.

For the table, I layered some vintage linens and added an extra pop of red with our camping lantern.

I had a lot of fun changing things around in the kitchen. I feel like I can justify a cabinet of little decor doodads, so long as I rotate things every once in a while!

I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July. God bless America!

Linking to this fun party

<3
Hattie

room snooping

My parents just finished putting an addition on the back of their house. They added a garage and with a large room and bathroom over top. My mom calls the new room her vacation room, because she wants to feel like she's on vacation when she walks in the room.

I think she succeeded! The rest of the house is very colonial, but this room has a vintage meets beachy feel that is nice and relaxing. The sofa, tables, and pillows are ikea and the recliner is lazy boy.

Behind the half wall are stairs that lead down to the garage.

The rooms gets a lot of sunlight that makes little nautical touches seem right at home. I have a serious crush on the ikea lanterns!

This glass front cabinet is my favorite thing in the room. The paint color is perfect and my mom's collection of vintage globes looks great displayed behind the wavy glass.

Her shell, ruler, and pencil collections look great in vintage glass containers.

Another view of the room. The runner leads to the breezeway that connects this room to the kitchen/dinning area.

Extra storage is built under the eves. This room is a pretty and practical addition to my parent's house. It makes me itch to get started on our own dream home!

Dream home update: Our second appraisal came in much (like around $100,000) higher than the first appraisal, so if all goes well with the rest of the process we are on our way to breaking ground. Still sending up lots of prayers that we have wisdom during all of this!

<3

Hattie

sunny day necklace

I made a fun fabric stash-busting necklace over the weekend.

This is super easy to make and will likely cost you zero bucks - ya know, if you happen to have a ridiculous amount of scrap fabric hanging around your craft room threatening to overrun the entire room like some kind of fabric kudzu vine. Not that I have that problem or anything.

Gather fabric, a few beads, scissors or a roller cutter, a button, and a needle and thread.

Start by cutting nine looooong and skinny strips of fabric and braiding them into three braids of varying lengths.

Next, add your beads (please pardon my tea cup rings! this is real life people)

On each side, braid the very ends of the three braids into one thicker braid and knot.

Leaving one long strip on each end, cut the other strips short, close to the knot. Sew the short, loose ends down to keep the knot from unraveling. On one side, sew the long strip into a loop.

On the other side, sew a button to the long strip.

Push the button through the loop to create the necklace closure.

Easy peasy! The braiding takes a bit, but it's the  kind of thing you can do while watching netflix.

Enjoy your cheerful sunny day necklace!

<3
Hattie

Just popping in...

To let you know that I've joined Pinterest.

And yes, it's just as addictive as you've heard. I've been pinning inspiration for cooking, sewing, decorating, and projects.

I'd love it if you followed me - that way I can follow you back and repin all your awesome ideas!

My summer to-create list is now miles long, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

<3
Hattie

Farm Life

I snapped a few pictures of ordinary life around the Roost the other day,

My Dad made this awesome sign. Weather and time have given it a lovely rustic look.

The farmer who rents our fields cut the hay,

I love the tractor and fresh bales of hay - my allergies aren't so thrilled, but my eyes love to drink in the scene

I wish I had a picture to go with the "only in the boonies" experience I had this morning. When I walked out of the house to go to work, I found myself face to face with a groundhog, happily enjoying my potted basil plant. He wasn't just casually munching on a leaf or two - oh no! He was actually sitting in the planter, feasting on the basil like he was at an all-you-can-eat salad bar. We looked at each other in awkward embarrassment, as if to say, "Oh, I didn't expect to see you here. Well, um." The second after we made eye contact, he froze in  lawn ornament mode, fully expecting me not to question the sudden appearance of a groundhog garden statue in my basil plant. Once I got over the surprise of the whole situation, I realized I owed Whole Foods an apology for complaining about the poor quality of the basil plant - I was unaware that it had been serving as a critter buffet.

Ah, country living! You have to love it!

<3
Hattie

rope me in

I'm embarrassed to admit how long it took me to figure out how to make these rope bracelets. I had the idea of criss-crossing fabric around rope to create a nautical look, but I had no idea how to create a clasp to hold the bracelet together. I tried weaving elastic through the rope, creating a hook closure by wrapping wire around the rope, and even creating a loop closure with ribbon and a button. I couldn't hit on anything that worked and looked good, so I set off to Hobby Lobby. I wanted to find a large bale finding that I could crimp around the ends of the rope, but they didn't have anything large enough. I picked up some E6000 glue and simple toggle clasps, hoping I'd come up with something. Right before I fell asleep last night, I finally figured out a solution. Why do all the best ideas come to you right before bed or in the shower? Maybe it's just me! Anyway, If you're still reading this and want to make one of these cuties, here's how!

You will need scrap fabric strips, a piece of rope long enough to reach around your wrist, a clasp, needle and thread, and duct tape.

Start by cutting two small squares of fabric, just big enough to wrap over the ends of the rope. Securely sew a clasp to the middle of each square of fabric.

According to the package directions, glue each fabric square to the ends of the rope.

I wanted to make sure the clasp wasn't going anywhere, so once the glue dried, I also used a needle and thread to sew the edges of the fabric square to the rope.

Next, criss-cross your fabric strip down the rope, and knot at the end.

I took a needle and thread and sewed the fabric to the rope on each end to keep it from unraveling.

To finish things off, take two small strips of colored duct tape and wrap them around each end of the rope to hide your stitches. If you don't want to use duct tape, you could probably cut extra strips of fabric and use fabric glue to hold them down.

I went ahead and made three bracelets so I can mix and match them.

I really liked how these turned out, so I'm glad I kept searching for an answer to my clasp conundrum!

What's the best idea you've come up with while half-asleep?

<3
Hattie