Elizabeth Holcombe ~whimsies and words~

Bathroom Remodel~~Reveal!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Our bathroom remodel is complete! Would you like to see it? Yes? Well, come on in. It's a small space but I think we'll both fit...

Let's get a closer look...

Here's our shower/bath with twin nifty niches!

Tile detail (I love it!!!!) with new large shower head and detachable sprayer.

Our soaker tub with a plastic Tigger which was given to our son by my mother before he was born!

Double towel bars on the back of the door.

A detail of the sink with wonderful crazy kitschy cool aqua boomerang formica which echoes the year our house was built (1956)!

Counter drawer and cupboard details. Love the chrome hardware!

Angular shelves and a floor nook for the bathroom scale!

 
Our wonderful vintage-inspired light we ordered from Rejuvenation Hardware of Portland, Oregon. Our medicine cabinet came from there too!

That's it! We are SO happy! The remodel exceeded our expectations!~~~XXOO, Beth

 

You!

Hello, My Friends!~~

I just love vintage school text books from the the 1930's to 1960's! The illustrations and text just make me laugh!

I have a few on my book shelf that I actually used in school (in the 60's, not the 30's!).

I recently found a book called "You" from 1954.Don't you love the sweet kids on the cover? The illustrations are wonderful!

I guess the idea of the boy running into the garden gat is wrong...duh!

"Why we need baths" is one of my favorite sections!

I have read it cover to cover and really thought about keeping it, but decided to "release" it to someone who might enjoy as much as I did. I ahve listed "You" in Dime Store Chic today!~~~XXOO, Beth

Celebrate!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

I've been feeling Patriotic lately in the studio!

Vintage sparkly mercury glass beads and ornaments and aluminum stars rival fireworks!

And sweet Betsy Ross puts a stitch or two into Old Glory!

These and other goodies are available here today!~~~XXOO, Beth

Bathroom Remodel~~Reveal SOON!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

I would love to show you our lovely new bathroom but there are details that need to be completed this Thursday. THEN I will show you the finished bathroom! But I have to say that the tub is useable and I used it! I have one word to describe our new bathtub...BLISS!

Today I enter Area 51...well age 51. It's my birthday and I am going to celebrate by going to work for my dear friend Debbie who is having one heck of a successful 1/2 Price Sale at Bayberry Cove and yours truly packs ALL of the orders! Then I will celebrate with family and friends with a take-out dinner from the fabulous Peking Gourmet Inn! Again...BLISS!

Hope your day is magical too!~~XXOO, Beth

Bathroom Remodel Day 12: Knotty No More

Hello, My Friends!~~~

I am simply amazed at the attention to detail our guy and his very capable crew have given to our bathroom remodel. I just marvel at the little things such as the tiny piece of quarter-round trim cut perfectly with a corner piece added and inserted into an inch wide nook between cabinet and door frame. Amazing. But what I want to show you is our beadboard, before and after the primer paint...

Now, I know there are you out there who are wood purists and would never ever paint wood preferring to leave the knotty pine exposed in what I think is Scandinavian-inspired. But this look doesn't work with the general design scheme of our bathroom. Hence the primer covering the knotty pine board...

The white is primer and the paint soon to be applied will be a cream to echo the tile color in the tub surround.

The medicine cabinet frame will be painted 
white to match the sink and light cover (to come!).

I must confess that I originaly envisioned the medicine cabinet as cream to match the bead board, but once again our super clever fabrication guy was right on the mark when he suggested that white would be better for matching the sink and light cover. I thought about it and had to agree. Dang! He's too clever!

Now, let me show you my idea of luxury...

Drawers! We've never ever had drawers in a bathroom before! And actually there are more drawers to come up above on the counter cabinet! Isn't that a silly thing to be excited about? Well, I am sure I'll show you more excitement for us in our bathroom remodel in the days to come...I look forward to seeing how the paint color will look on the beadboard---knotty pine no more!~~~XXOO, Beth

 

Bathroom Remodel Day 11: Beading and Green

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Day eleven brings us color and a fabulous accent to our bathroom walls!

Topiary Green paint from Sherwin-Williams put on expertly by our great fabricator and his very able crew. We chose the paint and were so happy to see how wonderful it looks on the walls!

And did you notice the bead board? This will be painted a cream white after being primed. The board comes in small sections that fit together. Sine our floor is not perfectly level each section has to be measured and cut separatley. Thank goodness we have the most talented and capable fellows woring on our bathroom! A finished piece of chair rail will top the bead board.

And...

We got our floor cabinet! The one before was just a cupboard with 2 doors but this one has FOUR DRAWERS! I am So excited for this nifty storage in our bathroom!~~~Until tomorrow...XXOO, beth

Bathroom Remodel Day 10: Grout Love

Hello, My Friends!~~~

(Oops! Natasha Burns made me think twice about my phrasing of this post. I was substituting the word "caulk" for "grout". So I'm fixing it before too many of you think I'm nuts! Thanks, Natasha!)

Day ten of our bathroom remodel brought something that I never thought I would adore---grout! Our super clever tile guy suggested the colors of the grout and I am SO glad we took his suggestion!

It may be hard to tell from the photo but the grout for the tub/shower surround is buttercream--yummy!

And I can't help but marvel at the way the design we came up with turned out--fabulous!

Check out this detail around the heating/AC vent hole. Delightful!

And our tile guy suggested an off white grout for the floor. I am so very pleased! Tomorrow will bring BIG changes as this bathrrom remodel is in the home stretch! Til' then...XXOO, Beth

Bathroom Remodel Day 9: Floored!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Please do me a favor and cross your fingers that our bathroom remodel will be finished by the end of this week. One never knows...but I really want this to be done!

Yesterday, our guy laid down our nifty retro-inspired tile floor!

I just LOVE this!

I think this pattern fits our "vintage spa" theme quite well! Do you?

Have a great day and stay dry, as we are apparently having a monsoon season here in Northern Virginia!~~~XXOO, Beth

Bathroom Remodel Day 6-8: Tile, Mud, and More!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

It has been busy busy busy time here in the bathroom remodle saga! Our super skilled and detail oriented tile guy fabricated our vision and design beautifully!

Now, the tile still needs grout and the "bullnose" edging but I just love this! And the niches are perfection!

I came up with the design which was inspired by a 1930's bathroom photo I saw in a magazine. The border is a dusty aqua blue and the diamond shaped tile is a dusty jadeite green. The rest of the tile is off white with a touch of cream.

And a very skilled drywall "mudder" filled the seams of the new drywall beautifully! Little sanding required thank goodness!

While all of this was going on, I spent time in the studio down below in the basement making a few things:

Sweet Jenny the Burro coloring book tote! And more!

And a sweet mermaid pin cushion! And more!

Who knows what Monday will bring?!~~~XXOO, Beth

Bathroom Remodel Day 5: The Hagia Sophia

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Our guy spent day 5 standing in our tub placing wall tile. He is an expert at this and the wet saw he uses (which is on our deck off of the kitchen) is one slick machine! Here is his progress...

The main body of tile is off-white leaning toward very pale cream. Our guy calls it yellow, but it is a very very subtle yellow. The thin band of blue is part of a deisgn that yours truly designed and our tile guy will fabricate for us.

I just love this tile! Our guy is orginally from Turkey and I told him that, to my eyes, his tile work in our bathroom rivals that of his homeland's Hagia Sophia...

Well, that may be a stretch...but I think his work is beautiful. Our guy is quite meticulous and careful.

He still has more tile to go. Perhaps today he will be near finished with the tile work. Of course it took almost six years to build the Hagia Sophia. I really need our bathroom done before that!~~~XXOO, Beth