Before

After

I’m finally done with the cabinets! It took me about three different setups to find something I like. I switched to blue towels, as I hated the brown and they were shredded anyhow. White baskets hold small towels and laundry supplies. Extra bed on top. My vanity on the bottom. Here’s a close-up:

I apologize again for the bad lighting in my bathroom. There’s no natural light…

Regardless, I’m finally completely pleased with my vanity shelf! Here’s what I did:

• I trashed my clear organizer idea. It still looked too cluttered. I bought white drawers from Target and stored my makeup in there.
• I added picture frames to personalize the space. I think they were $2 from IKEA. I printed two illustrations: owls and a blue dress. I’ll likely change this often just to change the space up.
• I decided to put my nail polish on display, because it had more uniformity compared to my make up collection. The spice rack was $5 at Bed Bath and Beyond.
• My brushes are still in a coffee cup with rice to hold them upwards. I just tossed my old brushes and purchased a new collection from ELF. (Review coming soon!) I bought a blue make up sponge from Sonia Kashuk for $10 and keep that in a tea light glass.
• I moved my skin care to the another shelf.
• I made sure I had enough of a U-shape to pull things out, set up my mirror, and create a masterpiece on my face. (Sarcasm) When I’m done, things go back in their spot.
• Something I’d still like: lights. I may invest in a battery powered vanity mirror for better lighting when I put my make up on. But then…where will it go? Hmm, still to decide.

Before

After

Again, out with the brown towels and in with the blue. I also got rid of the brown (also broken) rugs and added blue and beige toned rugs. I’m not crazy about them… But they’ll do. I was pushing for white but the weird dude I live with said they’d get dirty too quickly. So that idea was thrown out. You may notice the huge contraption on the counter. I like to keep things simple and clear but I had no choice with this thing. It’s a towel warmer, and my mother-in-law-to-be gave it to me for Christmas. It’s been the best part of  the cold weather around here… I love it, even though it’s large and obnoxious!

Before

After

This is the bottom of the cabinet where I put skin care and miscellaneous things. Much better! You don’t even want to see that bottom shelf in the before picture…

It’s not perfect and I may change a few things here and there, but for the most part…Bathroom Project: Complete!

To take a look back in time, there’s also Part 1 and Part 2 for your amusement.

I grew up in Germany for the first couple of years of my life and I love seeing pictures where I’m hip deep in snow wearing a ridiculous parka during the winter. Right now I’m in Florida for the holidays and it just isn’t the same…

Fall and winter are my favorite seasons. Nature starts showing off my favorite neutral shades and the weather allows for layering fun with clothes and my favorite boots. It’s also easy to take winter colors and use it for interior design inspiration.

Here are a few examples of how to take your favorite season and decorate your place to make you feel happy all year round!

Image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

If you’re a frequent reader of the blog, you may remember my quest for a bathroom overhaul. While I will soon update with progress on the bathroom, I’ve been so happy with the changes that I decided to go ahead and begin with the kitchen.

Before

After

My goal with the kitchen is to make things easier for me while I’m in there. I moved my spices out of the cabinets and installed a picture rack from IKEA near the oven. Using my spices has never been easier! I frequently forgot I had spices, so having them visible is a huge plus and has allowed me to experiment. Not to mention, more free counter space is always wanted… So having them off of the counter makes it easier to clean.

I was able to purchase a white ceramic utensil holder from Bed Bath & Beyond, since the utensils I had didn’t all fit into the old bamboo holder I was using. I was then inspired to move the knives off of the counter to have even more space.

The bar area received the biggest change. I thought about what to do with that space for the longest time… It was the number one space for Josh and I to throw our knick knacks onto. I had to figure out how to give the space a purpose to prevent us from doing that. I ended up buying two placemats at IKEA, which instantly took up the necessary space and gave the sitting area purpose. I grabbed a decorative (but also usable) ceramic pitcher, white ceramic pot, and an artificial plant.

I tried my best to do real plants in my apartment, but they die within three days because we rarely get natural light through our window… Which makes me sad. However, even the illusion of plants makes me happy and can make a room look so much better!

So I’m much happier with the kitchen, especially considering it wasn’t that expensive to overhaul the space. Now that I look at the before and after, I realize the little things make a huge difference!

It’s hard to take a progress shot. I kept waiting until I fixed one more thing, until it got to the point where I realized I had to suck it up and just take the progress pictures! Here’s what I’ve managed to get done in this space so far.

Before

After

What I Did

• Bought that matching soap dispenser.
• Bought a tray to put all the items on. (Except that aromatherapy candle.)
• Printed a light blue “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster and framed it above the toilet. I love it!
• Towels were moved from the shower rod and put on a behind-the-door hanger out of sight. Much cleaner and now guests have somewhere to put their towel as well.
• Installed a little drying rack we had above the towel rack for when I do laundry.
• Removed the ancient electric toothbrush taking up so much space and went with a manual brush.
• Completely reorganized the drawers and they look epic. Sorry, no pictures at the moment!

Still Need To Do

• Use the empty space on the right to put a hand towel holder. Still hunting for the right one.
• New towels, as the current are threading apart. Still can’t decide a color. Light blue?
• New rug. This one is gross and blends into the wood floor. I’m set on a big fluffy white one!

Before

After

The bathroom closet is still a far way from finished. I added bins and removed about three trash bags worth of junk to donate. Still trying to figure out the vanity shelf. I’d like to add some sort of decoration to it and I need more clear containers. The laundry shelf is okay, but I’d like another one of those white baskets to put the laundry supplies in. The top shelf had junk on it and now it has everything for a visitor — air mattress, extra sheets, and the machine to blow up the mattress. I’d like to replace those huge, clear containers with white baskets.

The medicine shelf is not pictured, but I’ve managed to put everything out of sight. Maybe I’ll add a picture of that in the next progress post!