whitlock and co pillows

I'm upgrading the pillows on our couch since the old ones are fugly and came free with the couch.  Thanks, Raymour and Flanigan but....no.  Fabric choices are overwhelming but the old pillows were even making me dislike the gallery wall, which is also a work in progress.  Enter the lovely Becky from Whitlock and Co.  Her geometric print pillow cover has single-handedly restored my faith that this couch can someday be cool.  Love the gray David Hicks-esque pattern.  Perhaps I'll buy a second one so the Hicks can be the "anchor pillows."  Hmmmm.  Thanks, Becky!

antlers reveal

After much scraping and pulling and soaking, I finally got down to the bare skull on this 50 year old rack.  And....it was yellow. Very yellow.  Probably stained from 50 years of decaying grease since the fur and skin were LEFT ON this thing.  Gross.  I tried all kinds of whitening techniques - baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, bleach.  No luck.  Finally I threw in the towel and decided to dry brush flat, white ceiling paint over the skull to brighten it.  Good enough for me!

The screw holes were already there from the skull being mounted in the shed all those years, so I used those to screw it to the wooden plate, then put wood putty over the screws and the screw holes and painted over the putty.

I bought the wooden plate at AC Moore, stained the front and painted the edging BM Hale Navy (a sample I had laying around).  Coated it with spray poly and we were done  Not too bad.

The gallery wall is still a work in progress....

dark powder room

Like the itch you can't help but scratch, I finally caved and painted our half bath.  The color was BM Bronzed Beige that I painted about 7 years ago.  It's not bad but somehow felt blah.  I also had practically no art on the walls and wanted a darker, more gallery look to this tiny room.  It's really tiny, like 5x8.

A glimpse into our pantry/laundry area and the kitchen.  And the paint samples on the set of cabinets that will soon come down in lieu of open shelving.  More on that later.  The ugly white tile you see there extends into the bathroom.  We'll deal with that later as well.  Probably going to cover it in Trafficmaster Allure faux wood vinyl.   

Back to the bathroom - I decided to go with a dark blue, inspired by some of these rooms.

apartment therapy

design sponge

I chose BM Mysterious and here's the progress so far...

The gems above the toilet slay me.  I downloaded them from Vintage Printables and had it printed out at Office Max.  Gotta get it framed and matted better though.  Lots to still be done in this room but wanted to give you a sneak peek....

in progress

it takes a long time to get a room the way you want it. and I have a feeling that once most of us get that room the way we want it, at that point, there are new things we want to change. a great example is the rug we bought for the living room last year. I now hate it and want it to burn in hell. here's the rub: it wasn't cheap but we bought it before we had a clear vision for the living room. so we feel like a-holes getting rid of it. sigh, thank you universe for craigslist.

anyway. our bedroom and living room are our current "project" rooms (that is a lie, every room is a project room in my eye). and we still have so much to do. but. we got our complete bedding (sheets took months to get here) from dwell studio about two weeks ago, and as you know, we bought a couch for the living room. it looks superb next to the peacock blue (galapagos turquoise) bookcase.

I took some crude photos yesterday to show you how it is all shaping up.
we still need to paint the living room and work on the artwork. we also need to figure out a headboard or artwork situation for above our beds. I am liking the idea of this, maybe with one of our wedding photos? (not any of the smoochy, barfy, love ones but one of the more artistic, scenic shots)

brooklyn limestone

City of Steel and Stone

...and prisons. This past weekend my husband and daughter flew to my hometown of Joliet, Illinois for the first time. I was too sick to make the journey - don't ask. It was hard not being there, but I'm glad everyone got to meet June.

My mom's siblings came in from all over the country to go over my grandparents "affairs." (They both died this summer). I lived with my grandparents growing up, so they essentially raised me. It was grandpa who helped me with my homework (he taught math on the USS Caldwell) and Grandma did all the discipling and showed me how to make potica, a Slovenia tradition.

Joliet is quite an interesting place. A gritty, post-industry steel town outside of Chicago. With a recent history of gangs and unemployment, but some gorgeous old homes, a great history, and even more recent progress. It also has the second largest Slovenian population in the US (only Cleveland has more). Both my grandparents were 100% Slovenian and their families immigrated to Joliet to work in the steel mills.

Joliet is mostly famous for the Blues Brothers. The prison that Joliet Jake is released from in the beginning of the film is near my grade school downtown. Our bus route went past the prison for a couple years there. Joliet Prison was built in 1858 with convict labor and limestone quarried on- site. It closed in 2002 but has since been used by the TV show Prison Break.

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Joliet Prison was very slow to modernize and that's what ultimately closed it down. This was not a prison of comfort. It didn't get running water or toilets in the cells until 1910. The first electricucian in Illinois also took place at Joliet Prison.

There is another prison down the road in Crest Hill, which is often confused with Joliet Prison. Stateville Correctional Center is interesting for two reason. One, a kid who grew up a couple doors down from my mom is there on a life sentence. And two, Stateville has a roundhouse design. Based on the panopticon concept by British social theorist Jeremy Bentham in 1785. The idea allowed guards to observe all prisoners without them knowing they were being watched. It was also supposed make them behave better because of that surveillance.

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Can you believe this place???

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Joliet is also home to the gorgeous Rialto Theater with it's Greek, Roman, and Byzantine architecture. It was used in the Kevin Bacon movie "Stir of Echoes" and for the wedding reception of that Top Model/Brady girl. No offense, Adrianne Curry, but if you didn't go to grade school downtown with the hookers outside the public library and bums peeing on the side of your school....then you ain't from Joliet, girl.

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Union Station in downtown Joliet was also used in Stir of Echoes...

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Here a smattering of other Joliet gems.....

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These great photos were taken by Katherine of Chicago (found on her Flickr site)


Stefanich's is next door to my grade school



And here is my church, St. Joseph's - my grade school is behind it

eucalypus bathroom

Bridget's friend Jill is adding a master suite addition to her house and has asked us at Green Bicycle to send some inspiration her way. First up, the bathroom! She's looking for soft green or aqua colors....and no subway tile, as per her hubby's request. No problems - beadboard or (even better) painted wood paneling add texture and character.

Look away, I'm about to make out with this bathroom...the cream paneling and marble floors are to die for!

And the shower - wow!

house of turquoise

Vintage console sink

this old house

Lime green paneled walls and ceiling

rare and beautiful treasures


southern living

love the paneling around the tub. mmm, mmm, mmm cozy.

house to home

paneling can have a little personality too - different textures at different points in the room.

channel4

along with paneling to add texture, furniture can also add character and personality to your bathroom.

dresser turned into sink and armoire with chicken wire turned to linen cabinet can give an antique feel:

country living

exposed brick, aluminum dresser and cabinet with a pedestal sink all create an industrial feel:

country living

the more research we do for ms. jill the more I realize just how much fun you can have with your bathroom. bathrooms are like that wild night you had while traveling in madrid the year you studied abroad in london. you have this wild side that you generally only flaunt in foreign countries at the age of 21, or maybe those two hilarious nights in grad school when you filled a kiddie pool with pudding (ahem, erin), but it is there. this inner creative, carefree, daring soul. you may not be willing to take chances with furniture and color combinations in the living room or god forbid the upstairs hallway, but in the bathroom ... that inner quixotic hero can reign.

lime green, raspberry, thick wainscoting:

decor-medley

painted white ceiling, terry cloth shower curtain, distressed cabinet, wainscoting:

country living

distressed furniture, halfway wainscoting and pale blue hues:

lowes

midnight blue and deep, espresso brown, crisp white trim (while this may seem heavy, I find it bold against so many fairy garden type bathrooms out there):

the nest

clean white, peacock blue, crystal chandelier, floor plants:

sour apple and antlers:

clever use of a corner, garage sale bottles, painted gold mirrors and vintage wallpaper:

country living

peach and green with blue accents and *twinkle* lights!:

anatomy design

burnt orange, finished wood, coat rack, leafy shower curtain, striped sink skirt, paneling:

home renovations

black and white stripes, hot pink accents, roman shades, paneling around the tub:

need spark

Some more modern looks...

apartment therapy



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under a paper moon

These bathrooms are all from Katy Elliott, who has an amazing blog!


Phew....that's a lot of bathrooms. Jill, we hope that helps with some inspiration. Keep us posted on your progress.