DH and I were thinking of renovating our combined family bathroom/laundry.
It's the guest loo as well and we have friends coming to stay, which of course always makes you look at things with a fresh eye.
Everything just looked dusty and sad and although it was clean, it really looked like it needed a facelift.
So there's DH, bless him, measuring and pricing stuff at IKEA and Bunnings like there's no tomorrow, until we added it all up.
Um....at least $1000, and probably more like $2000-3000, knowing what we do about how renovating always gets out of hand. He was imagining basic, and I of course, was imagining French or Scandinavian inspired, so there was also going to be a clash of wills somewhere along the way too.
Anyway, the plastic loo seat, that we'd promised ourselves was temporary, 11 years ago, definitely had to go. No amount of bleach or white vinegar and bicarb, or SS Miracle cleaner were going to make an ounce of difference to that sucker.
So a trip to Bunnings on a busy Saturday morning and a viewing of the selection of just 20 or so loo seats, and we'd made a choice. Whilst there was some allure in the squishy padded one, and the resin one with the spiders in it was certainly eye catching, we settled for a plain wooden one, with brass fittings as it matched the bathroom cupboards.
We then emptied the bathroom of anything that didn't belong in there.
This was harder as it masquerades as a sort of utility room and the washing machine, dryer, clothes airer and clothes basket, as well as a laundry tub, all share the space. But everything was rehomed or tidied up at least, the laundry tub was scrubbed and bleached, and a pot plant housed in it, and I got rid of the piles of clean folded washing that hadn't yet made it from there to the cupboards.
I vacuumed everywhere including the air vent, and the windows of our front loader and dryer, and wet wiped all surfaces with microfibre cloths.
The shower recess got the onceover, and the shower curtain got tossed into the wash with some oxy bleach powder.
The mirror was polished and some clean hand towels folded into a neat pile with some guest soaps, lip balm, breath spray, and odds and ends of perfumes that are nearing the bottom of the bottle were laid out to use as room freshener. They look prettier and smell nicer anyway. Er....that's the ironing board behind it. It's wedged between the vanity and the shower screen, so you see the problem. But at least it has a sort of Spring floral pattern on it so it's not all bad.
I then found some old padded hangers and put vintage brooches on them. Both are pale pink hangers, with baby blue rhinestone brooches, which is a delicate and pretty look. I then dug out a vintage baby pink nylon bedjacket that was in my wardrobe, bought on eBay some time ago, and ironed a French silk nightgown edged in hand crocheted lace and hand embroidered. My Mum bought me this about thirty five years ago, knowing that I had in mind to decorate in a French style somewhere along the way. Those went onto the padded hangers and were hung on the side of the shower screen and on one of the towel rails.
Well, what a difference. It looks like we've had a renovation, and all we did was spend fifty bucks on a toilet seat, and tidy and clean.
It's been a real lesson and more inspiration for me personally, to declutter and beautify the rest of the house before the Festive Season.
Who knows how much we'll save on renovating other parts of the house, just by cleaning, tidying and repurposing what we already have!
