Being 15 weeks pregnant, I haven’t done much for myself lately. I finally got the green light to dye my hair, but it only made me feel good about my appearance. I work hard to feel physically good every day by walking the dog and doing prenatal yoga, but I still felt like I needed to do something for myself. Sometimes self care doesn't always mean physical or mental, but care for your soul. I have only been working on my client’s furniture day to day since I have been feeling so sick. The nausea and headaches keep me from wanting to go anywhere or do anything. I listen to my body as much as I can when I need to rest, but frankly, moving around all the time helps me stay positive and forget about feeling sick. I was cleaning the bathroom the other night I had an itch to be creative. Little did I know I had been missing this feeling for quite sometime.
I have been focusing on spreading out my work responsibilities as to not overwork or overwhelm myself. Thankfully, I have the best clients who are understanding and so very kind. I thought I was going to do our bathroom for this Spring Season's One Room Challenge, but I knew that making a space in the closet for our Baby Girl on the way was needed more. Plus, renting this one bedroom apartment with a newborn baby and all of the accessories that are required, we definitely needed a defined space. But I was still itching to do something to our plain, off-white bathroom.
I loved the spa-like feel that I already made in the bathroom. I placed a few warm textiles in the bathroom over this past year like a wicker basket for the waste basket, macrame hangers for real and faux plants, and a basket to hold our bath towels. However, one thing about me you see, is that I HATE white walls. While I was cleaning the bathroom, it dawned on me that I still had leftover paint that I used in our bedroom and on our DIY linen cabinet that we made over the winter. I had decided to use the same color as our bedroom on the target hack linen cabinet we made since you saw the shelving unit in the same sightline as the bedroom. I liked to reiterate the same color. I figured I could do the same thing for the feature wall in the bathroom.
I also used the leftover wallpaper from last year’s hallway project (never throw anything away!) I had JUST enough paper to piece it together. Although I did not follow the pattern, the busy-ness of the Tropical flowers allowed it to look natural. I wanted to mirror the same colors, textures and patterns from the hallway to blend the two spaces together. It also helps that you're saving money when you do a project with existing materials. However, my poor paint can wound up freezing outside in the winter since the rain had come in through the cabinet outside and the lid wasn't sealed on tight. So I did wind up spending 15 dollars on a small quart of Salamander by Benjamin Moore. Home Depot was able to color match it since I was too lazy to take a trip to another store!
For the bathroom feature wall, the leftover paper was a tropical print wallpaper from @target’s Opalhouse brand. The peel and stick nature makes it super easy to apply since you're constantly moving each piece to make it straight (I don't care how good at it you are, you definitely don't get it perfect every time!) It's also super easy for a renter to take down when leaving an apartment as well. With the help of my new @freeform brushes, I painted the one wall quickly which definitely helps when your growing belly makes it hard to bend. I separated the spaces with the same trim I used on the DIY linen cabinet for some cohesiveness, a 28-inch piece cost me $3. The bare wood of the trim complimented that dark green so well.
The one piece I added that made the tropical print wall stand out is the wood sunburst mirror. I had bought it from Home Goods last year for our bedroom during the One Room Challenge. Shopping from other parts of your home is the best. Once again, it doesn't require you spending more money, and it gives the piece of decor a new life in another space.
I love showing my clients and friends that making spaces special to you, does not require much money or effort. I look at the bathroom now, and the small changes I made, make a huge impact for the space. Even the tiniest details make a big difference and changes the feeling of a space. Mini-Makeovers are my favorite type of makeovers. They don't take more than a day or two to do, and they allow me to satisfy my hunger for a project, especially when you're living in an apartment and cannot do any structural changes to your space. Cosmetic changes are the best for a renter, paint can transform, and easily be put back to its original color (although it's safe to say we're ok with not getting our Security Deposit back lol)
Mini- Makeovers definitely do a body good. Feeling sick was temporarily put on the back burner when I finally saw my finished space. The black and white accents, wood, greenery and deep green color I love made my soul feel full again. Small changes can help you breathe again. What are you going to do to help you feel whole again?
xoxo- Jacqueline
