{hollywood regency meets palm springs}

can't get enough of all the color and pattern kate schintzius, of m. design interiors, brought into her hollywood apartment.

avocado green accents in her bathroom makes old yellow tile feel fresh.

{see these and many more photos of her space on design*sponge}

{mom, what do you know about plumbing?}

lately we've been hard at work in our master bathroom (finally). and let me tell you, i had no idea how much unglamorous prep work goes into a bathroom remodel before you can even begin to think about tiling. so far we've spent at least four full days and quite a few nights just getting the space ready for the tile. i really had planned on waiting to post anything about it until we were able to start tiling (because who wants to hear about repairing holes in the subfloor or tacking up insulation?).

but then we lived scene two in this commercial.

yeah.. there's nothing like a water geyser in the bathroom wall to provide some excitement on a random wednesday night.

things had actually been coasting along rather smoothly the past few weeks --and let's give us some credit, really since we started this project that is the bungalow-- but things get a little hairy when you introduce a screw to a water line... and how might that happen, you ask??

ok let me back up a little bit - when you start with a blank space like the one above and the goal is to have a custom built, walk-in shower, you have to become best friends with a material called hardie backer board which you have to cut to size to cover the entire area where you plan to tile using special screws to hold it in place. sounds easy enough but what you can't see from the pictures is the fact that it weights a TON because it's made of concrete, so it's heavy and cumbersome and difficult to cut into smaller pieces, and sometimes breaks where you don't want it to or doesn't cut at the angle you needed it, and often crumbles or moves or buckles. thus, causing lots of fussing and yelling and swearing. starting to understand why the prep work takes f o r e v e r ??

and things were going great until last night when one of the screws just grazed a water line (see those bright red pipes on the right side? problem is, you can't when you cover it with hardie board). so in a matter of seconds water was spewing out all over the hardie board & the insulation & the floor & the us & the gh (who, we discovered, is also not a fan of water spewing out of walls, and in sensing the urgency of the situation proceeded to run up and down the stairs, surely in hot pursuit of the off switch to the water line, and for that we thank you, bella).

call in every single beach towel/dish towel/bath towel/bathmat in a very measly attempt to keep water from leaking through the ceiling (which it did anyway, sigh.) while a frantic search begins to figure out how the hell to turn off the water. (come to find out --in case you need to know/note to self -- flip the breaker for the water pump and go to where the water pump actually is and turn the red knob connected to the pump horizontal. advice from the plumber this morning: also turn on the kitchen sink to relieve some of the pressure).

so 25 towels, a bucket, a roll of camo duck tape and a late night phone call to rickythecontractor/bff we were informed of the above steps and finally gained control over the tsunami in the bathroom.

and i can't really handle showing you the aftermath of the floor but let's just say the floor of the sunroom studio (which is directly underneath the master bedroom) had a sizeable puddle/small pond by the time the water stopped.

us: 0 bungalow: 500000

lessons learned: 1-how/when/where to turn off the water to the bungalow & 2-why plumbers make more than attorneys.

on the upside, one of the red pipes feels real special with it's new outfit.

more to come about the clean-up and triumph over the unnatural disaster to hit the bungalow in the [somewhat] late hours of the night on 10.6.10...

{herringbone bath}

huge strides this past weekend in the downstairs bathroom at the bungalow. here are a few before pictures. the first two i know don't look so bad really, but you can't see that the peach walls are peeling sheets of wallpaper.

but the old linoleum floor was by far the worst. if you could zoom in you would also see the grime and built up dirt in between each tile.

so up it came. {tools: hammer + chisel + scraper + put your back into it...easy enough.}

but gross subfloor. not only with black mold but this corner was rotted through.

so we bleached the mold & pulled up the rotted portions of the subfloor.
{note the new tool introduced in this photo. yes that is a pink crowbar. gift when i passed the ga bar exam - thanks e! ...and no you can't buy one in stores}

annnnnd here's where it gets really exciting - mapping out the floor. {!} we weren't ready for the expense or commitment of tile, so for $30 you can have a big ol box of linoleum that looks like wood. yes, yes, could be tacky & cheap. BUT with just a few cuts & the right placement, it's amazing how high-end linoleum can look. {note - you only need to score the linoleum & it will break cleanly on the line. works for curved lines and corners too!}

finally ready to lay the pattern. also you can see the subfloor b replaced all around the bathtub. and don't be concerned, the black mold has been killed with numerous treatments of bleach, but unfortunately it stains the wood. but once it's bleached, the stains do no harm, so easily can cover them up.

annnnnd *ta*da* ...not too bad for $30 + a weekend's work. {also did you notice the new faucet?}

once we tackled the wallpaper & repaired the walls {quite the unglamorous task}, charcoal paint moved in with the herringbone floors.

now all we need is to paint the trim, make a shower curtain, add a ceiling light, oh and reattach the door {in the process of switching the direction the door hangs, & apparently that's a little more involved than initially thought}.

more to come, as always...

{flecks of a golden romance}

{photos via :: make room for living, carolyn quartermaine, country living, elle decoration france, design fragment}

{color the bungalow}

:: a palette for home ::

seafoam marble candlelight.

dove grey linen emerald.

aquamarine wisps.

cerulean stormy midnight.

pale petticoats with champagne.

aubergine robin's egg picnic basket.

{images via :: once wed, dwellings & decor, desire to inspire {3 & 9}, this is glamorous {4 & 6}, domino, sweet space, easy living magazine}

{la bungalow bath}

soon on the agenda: bungalow bathroom design

here's the progress so far...

: before : a dark & narrow, uninviting cave.

: current state : punched out a window where the old shower stall used to be and are framing a new walk-in shower (no bathtub, but there will be a bench & two showerheads (!!)) on the right. b & i are doing the tiling, but to make sure we have a proper foundation on which to tile (diy = leaks?), we left the framing/plumbing to ricky the contractor. the toilet will go underneath the window and the vanity/sink will essentially stay in the same spot where it was. oh and the hole in the wall of the shower will be covered back up, it's just open now for the electrical work to be completed.

still planning on this project for the vanity & hoping to scope out an old dresser or sideboard this weekend to transform.

now that we're out with the old...

sometimes having a blank canvas can be a little overwhelming...what will come in as our new?

subway tile grey grout vintage inspired

black & white retro

serene seafoam gold glamour

neutral & natural

modern wallpapered elegance

a circus of stripes

bold ebony velvet

photo pop collage

cottage vintage romance.

have a favorite?

{photos via :: desire to inspire, chris barrett for house beautiful, apartment therapy, desire to inspire, marie claire maison, dwellings and decor, house beautiful, jenna lyons for domino, domino, sweet space}

{seashell shower}

still thinking about tiny mosaic tiles in the bungalow bathroom.

:: in creamy confetti & subtle sheen ::

:: shine up a barnacle ::

:: sea foam froth ::

:: a coral conch :: sand dune underfoot ::

:: cerulean blue bubbles ::


escape to the seashore? i wish today i could. someday: everyday.

{images :: design sponge, fired earth, living etc, desire to inspire}