The Ol’ Bathroom Shelf Switcheroo

We’ve had this floating shelf in our master bathroom since we moved in two and a half years ago. Holy cow, two and a half years?!

I’ve really been loving small, inexpensive changes around the house that, to me, make a big difference. House tweaking, if you will.

So when I happened across a beautiful shelf at TJ Maxx, I decided to grab it to fancy up the guest bathroom. Other than staining the cabinets and putting in a pretty shower curtain, we haven’t done much in there.

This is where the floating shelf used to live in our bathroom.

    

We’ve had a giant bathroom shelf behind the toilet in the guest bathroom, and it’s secretly been driving me crazy. For such a tiny space, there just isn’t room for such a large shelf.

But I knew that we still needed some storage in there, too. So this new shelf seemed like the perfect idea.

I tend to think that I have perfect ideas all of the time…

And guess who the lucky bugger was to get to make all of my perfect ideas come true today?

Already, the space feels so much bigger without that large rack.

But I should have known this would happen. I bought a new shelf and loved the look of it…and I’m never in the guest bathroom! So I decided to steal the new one for our bathroom, and then give the old floating shelf to our guests.

Maybe I’m mean. But it makes sense to enjoy it more on my side of the house.

Right? Guys, right?

So we took down the old shelf and got the new space ready for it. Yippeeee! This is going to be awesome!

The old storage rack that we removed had been anchored to the wall, so I filled those up with some nail filler. It will dry white and then get painted. I’m not going to sit to watch it dry, but that could be fun, huh?

Once the holes were filled, it was time for my shelf installation expert to get to work putting up the “new” floating shelf in here. Hubby is really good with a level.

The holes for the new shelf have been drilled with drywall anchors in place. The metal holster can now go up, on which the floating shelf sits.

Holster…check! It’s probably not even called that, but I will call it that from now on!

   

Now the fun part…actually seeing the shelf go up. I won’t miss this guy in our bathroom. I’m so tickled with the new one!

I don’t normally show pictures of toilets on this here blog, so you are in for a real treat today. Toilets galore!

So now we can put up a towel basket and some purdy flowers. It still needs a picture hanging above, but I found just the frame at Goodwill a few months back.

If it ever warms up again, I will spray paint it and get it ready to go up. At least you know that today won’t end all of this toilet fun!

So I’m really happy with how the new floating shelf turned out in here. And I love having that giant storage rack gone. It makes this area feel so much more spacious.

Now for the really fun part…a new shelf in our master bathroom!

Hubby is really good at being patient and ensuring that proper measurements are taking place to hold this shelf up through a nuclear blast. I tend to get so excited to see the end result that I am not as careful when measuring.

We make such a good team. I can’t think of how I help in the equation, but he is really good at making my projects come to life!

Here is a sneak peek at the new shelf! It’s totally unlike anything else in my house. It’s almost rustic, I daresay. But I know with the right modern accessories, it will make a nice, eclectic addition to our bathroom.

Who knew that the words “eclectic” and “bathroom” could ever be used in the same sentence?!

These are the two best-looking things in our master bathroom…a new shelf, and that hot Hubby of mine.

What is this yellow thing he keeps checking? I would have tossed that out the window hours ago. And the shelf wouldn’t have stayed up for long, either, but who’s counting.

Ta da! What do you think? Yes, I love it, too. But I agree with you in that it needs some proper staging.

Ahhhh. That’s better. You can ignore that broken clock. It was a casualty of this new shelf being installed. Luckily. I have another clock in a drawer just waiting to live its life mission in our bathroom. And it’s silver, so it makes the whole wall look even cooler and intentional.

I bought the basket at TJ Maxx, too. It was bright purple, but it was the perfect size. I’ve never let the color of something keep me away from giving it a good home. I knew that a quick spray of paint would make it the perfect towel basket on such a narrow shelf!

Done and done.

And the plant…well, let’s just say that it was a very successful day at TJ Maxx. Man, I love that store!

I don’t buy things there very often (no, really, Hubby!), but when I do, I really love whatever I get.

The pot has a fake succulent inside that doesn’t look fake. And the beautiful aqua teal pot didn’t need any paint from me to make it look better. I fell in love and knew that it would be the perfect way to update our bathroom shelving situation!

The wire basket is just so cool. I love it. With a satin nickel finish, it rounds out such a rustic shelf perfectly. And you know that I love bursts of color! I am in love with this plant!

Green and blue? Sign me up!

The present clock being silver ties everything in so well. Maybe I’m glad that this guy got broken?!

Yippeeeee! I love it. I don’t know if I should tell you about spilling some milk, but I found the coolest fish and painted him bright, glossy yellow. He was going to be properly named and put on this shelf as well, but he was too slick when I tried to pick him up. He fell, crashing to the floor in a million (or seven) tiny pieces.

We still can’t talk about it. And the past few weeks have been unsuccessful in my search to find a replacement animal for this shelf. For some reason, I think we need something “living” there!

What do you think of the changes? I love them. A little work goes a long way for me (or, more properly for credit, Hubby)! Now I smile every time I walk into the bathroom. But that was probably too much information, huh?

Urban Home Love

For work not too long ago, I found myself once again at the Sherman Oaks Galleria Mall for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. Fate was on my side, because the restaurant didn’t open for another hour. And right across from my favorite place to eat is now my favorite place to shop for home things.

So I helped myself to the store. Here’s a little tour of their current selections.

Why oh why isn’t there an Urban Home in Phoenix?! Beautiful, affordable looks for the home with which I am in love!

I loved these little fishies for bowls of candy or whatever. But probably candy at my house.

The store is easy for people to peruse because things are grouped according to color. If you love green in your home like me, then this section is rather appealing indeed.

And let me just say this. I purposely didn’t sit in this because I know they would have had to close the store to get me to leave it. And it was too big to fit on the airplane flight home, so I knew that it couldn’t come home with me.

Despite my greatest wishes that it could…

I am so excited for the awful summer months to come to a close. We have big plans this fall to use our outdoor patio furniture, and this store only helps get me even more tickled about that! Look at the lanterns hanging underneath the umbrella!

I love the texture of the wicker on these end chairs. Who says that chairs have to match to look good?

Maybe I love this store so much because they make it seem so effortless to create a beautiful room. I love this furniture because it looks like it’s straight out of the fifties…and I love me some mid-century modern goodness!

The combinations of old and new was so pretty. Here, a modern couch paired with a seemingly-ancient coffee table. Brilliant! And I love the colorful vases on top.

Sectionals can be massive, but I really love the compact size of this guy. Just because you own a sectional doesn’t mean that it has to take over your house. I also like this hammered-top round table, too.

I’m trying to think of things in this store that I don’t like…and failing!

I loved the old-fashioned vases or candleholders or whatever they are. You could use them for anything! They are probably candy holders. I love the color, but I also love that they look like antiques.

This may have been what gave me the idea to overhaul our bathroom this past month. A really tall mirror over a vanity just makes sense. I’m not a huge fan on this Asian-inspired table, but don’t tell the store that I said that.

Once again, a neat mirror over a vanity. I like the mirror, but I really like the pretty blue vases on the shelf to the right. Surprise!

The entire store is packed with goodies, and I love the prices. It’s like they combined all of my favorite things and then put good stickers on them.

Please come to Phoenix, Urban Home. Please? Pretty please?

Speaking of cool accessories, look at these nifty little typewriters? What a fun idea…and they would make staging a bookcase or console table a cinch. Again with an old antique-y feel that I love!

If you need to decorate your kitchen, this is also the place. Look at all of those bright, beautiful colors to put on a table! The selection of placemats and table linens in this store is overwhelming. I also love the giant vases displayed on top.

It’s almost like Urban Home was made for OCD-inspired people like myself. You can color-code all of your kitchen tools? Sweet! (I don’t, just so you know).

I really loved this mirror. I bet if I wait long enough, Homegoods will have something similar in no time.

This is further proof that my desire to have green chairs instead of the brown leather ones that we bought two years ago would still be in style. Despite what everyone else thought. See, everyone else?

Though it is somewhat impractical, I really love the idea of a big, comfy bench (with a back, of course!) as two of the chairs to a dining set. The only concern that I have is how difficult it would be to get in and out. Maybe that would be a good option for kids so I could trap them in for their meals?!

More fun accessories, including some nocturnal ones.

And if I didn’t already have oodles of nightstands and end tables in my house, these definitely would have come home with me today. I love the rustic yet modern look. What a beautiful idea!

Somewhere, somehow, Hubby breathes a sigh of relief.

The escalator to the second floor (two floors of this goodness!) gave a great view of lots that Urban Home has to offer. Seriously, when can I move in?

This is the mirror and rug section, apparently. Round, exotic mirrors are really the thing right now. It just so happens that I have three weird ones hanging on my wall. I’m glad that these guys could finally join my mirror party.

These subtle and modern accessories were pretty. Really, you could decorate in any style from this place. These were sleek and elegant, and I like them. But not enough to bring them home.

I’m neither sleek or elegant. And I’m OK with that.

But I really loved these bookends and probably should have brought them home!

Again with a compact sectional sofa. I love how cozy all of the staged rooms are in this place. And the round ottoman doubling as a coffee table is a great way to use a piece twice.

Again, an eclectic collection of furniture that just works so well together! None of us ever needs to fear about things “matching” properly again, because they apparently don’t even have to be close to look awesome!

They even have affordable pleather headboards that would really help make a guest room complete. I’ve been wanting to make another headboard lately…

But it would probably look more like this. Fun curves and a bright pop of color! Isn’t this pretty? I could totally make something like this.

I think that this room was made just for me with the mid-century loving going on. I love the shape and style of the sofa, chair, and coffee table. Right up my alley, wouldn’t you say?

Can you imagine the neat light coming from these at night with a candle lit up inside? I almost bought a few, just to try that neatness theory at home. They could also house candy, probably. And that always lights me up!

I actually did buy something today! We love the green ottoman so much from my last visit, that I came in hoping to find another one. For $19, you really can’t beat it. So I brought this little guy home, and now I don’t have to share with Hubby when we both need to put our feet up!

That’s what we refer to around here as a win-win. Especially because I got the last one in the store.

Not everything is affordable in this store…they have clearance sections where things are exceedingly affordable! I loved these lamps that were looking for a new home. At about $30 a piece and coming with a shade, these were a great steal! And so pretty!

This is a wide shot of part of the upstairs section of this store, just to give you an idea of how much fun can be had in here. I love colored glass vases (and just scored some in New Jersey this past weekend for work), so these round ones right in front are certainly pretty.

But not bright enough for me, since I have a thing for pops of color, yo.

Last but certainly not least, I fell in love with these beautiful tea light candle holders. You could group these guys together for a centerpiece like they did here, or spread the love and have them in different areas throughout the house to unite a space. I thought they were so pretty for fall, too, which I’m told has arrived.

I don’t believe it, since we will still be triple digits this week.

So there you have it! Another visit to one of the best stores in the west. But I am truly hoping that they come a little further east for me…

What did you like? Do you like these home store tours, or do they lack enough airplanes to wet your whistle?