Guest Bathroom: Before and After

Our guest bathroom was the second main project that we tackled in our home.  We started with a functional bathroom... and that was about all.  The flooring was a cheap vinyl sheet with random stains from the prior owners.  The color was a drab brown that made the room look small.  The vanity was just dreadful.  The room was ugly, and it needed some love.  We decided to tackle the project ourselves.  So we painted, laid new porcelain tile, changed out the vanity, installed new hardware, and hung a few floating shelves to display pretty accessories.  Here's where we started:

 

I hated that paint color.  It reminded me of something that would belong inside a Diaper Genie, not on your walls! 

And you had to love the builder grade vanity cabinet with white chipped laminate counter and almond above mount sink.  Just beautiful.

Laying the tile took a lot of patience, but Lee and I figured it out pretty quickly.  We chose a brick pattern for our tile, and were impressed with our results (even if it isn't perfect).

 After adding all of the finishing touches, like quarter round, decorative accessories, etc., we ended up a great new bathroom.  And we did it for a reasonable price since everything was done ourselves.  We are so pleased with our final results!

These floating shelves are one of my favorite parts of the room! 

It is still a work in progress, but I am much happier with our hall bath now.

DIY Rope Mirror {Ballard Knock-off}

Lately, rope has became pretty popular in home decor magazines.  Pottery Barn and Ballard Designs both have several pieces made of either rope or jute.  I decided to follow trend and add a rope mirror to our dining room, but after browsing online, I was disappointed with the prices I found.  I don't think I have ever spent more than $50 for a mirror in my life, so I definitely wasn't going to spend $259 for this Ballard Designs beauty.

Ballard Designs - $259

We have had a round mirror hanging in our dining room since we moved in.  I bought it a few years back when we first moved into our home.  It was $29.99 at HomeGoods.  At the time, I wasn't crazy about it, but I was looking for something to fill the wall space above our buffett, and it was such a good price. So I bought it, and hung it up, and every few months, I would try and find another cheap and better looking mirror to replace it.  But I never found anything I liked.  So the mirror stayed.

After finding the Ballard Designs mirror that I loved, I decided to try and knock-off their jute rope mirror using my gold, granny floral mirror.  I bought a bag of 50 ft Manilla Rope from Lowe's for $8.29.  I convinced my husband to spend an hour on a Saturday afternoon helping me hot glue rope onto the round mirror we already owned.  I wasn't concerned if it didn't look great - I already didn't like our mirror.  Worst case scenario: I could take a trip to HomeGoods and find something else! 

We moved in a circle around the mirror, creating a new starting and stopping point with each loop to stagger the ends so they wouldn't be as noticeable.  10 mini glue sticks later, we were finished!  

The mirror isn't perfect, but I think it turned it pretty well!  I later found this mirror from HomeDecorators for $199, and I think our versions is a dead ringer (not to mention for $160 less)!

Home Decorators Mirror - $199

And for a comparison: