Paint Samples Galore

I've been busy trying to get a few additional things done.  I've got eight different white paints to test so today I'll be painting splotches over our walls so I can see how each looks in different lights.  Faves so far are Benjamin Moore's OC-17 White Dove and Ralph Lauren's Cove Point, which is an exact match to Restoration Hardware's Sanddollar (if you ever want an RH paint, RL is the manufacturer).

Meanwhile, our hardwood has been loaded on a truck and is on it's way.  Our washstands, however, are now on back order until the end of January.  I'm okay with this as it'll give us a chance to get back from Mexico and install wainscotting in the evenings (we're doing the finicky trim installation to cut costs - it's easy but labour intensive).   I was not looking forward to installing it behind already-installed sinks.

I also stumbled across a fantastic idea in a back issue of House and Home magazine.  This fall, when we were going through my grandmother's house, we found a massive collection of doilies.  Some were one's she'd made, some were made by my Auntie Donna and others were from my great grandmother and great, great grandmother.  They're beautiful but I was at a loss about what to do with them.  I'm going to frame them in black frames on black matting and then display them as a collection.  I don't have the picture from H&H digitally but here's another I found that does the same thing.  I don't quite like the presentation as much, though.

(The Newlywed Diaries)

My future bathroom...

Of all the rooms we're doing, right now what has me most excited is the bathroom.  I really, really, really hate our existing one.  It's cramped, ugly and features some hideously ugly faux Egyptian hieroglyphs.  Right next to our existing hideous bathroom is an equally hideous laundry room.  It has red, painted wood flooring, striped wallpaper that wouldn't be out of place in a gas station bathroom and sponge painted ceiling tiles.  It's also a nice size with a big, gorgeous window.  So, it has possibilities!  The plan is to gut both rooms and turn the bathroom into a powder room and the laundry into a spa bathroom with separate tub and shower.  I haven't yet decided to create a pass-through between both rooms.  Pros... improved functionality.  Cons... less attractive.

I'll post a before photo when I can also post a progress photo.

For now, here's our fixtures and a source guide.  We purchased the toilet and pedestal sink for the powder room five years ago from good ole Canadian Tire (we had a gift certificate). So, no pictures of those items...

Wolsely Kitchen and Bath Classics (Shannon is awesome!)

Rhapsody Soaker Tub (Old Fashioned Faucets)
Space Shower (Bains Neptune)
Catalina Faucets, Slide Bar and Diverter (Price Pfister)
Rainshower Head (Aqua Brass)

Restoration Hardware
Park Collection Rounded Metal Washstand
Traditional Drain Traps and Supply Lines

Parkland Carpet One
Floor Tile Chloe Satin White and Gloss Black Tile (American Olean)
Wall tile in the shower Rittenhouse Square 3x6 Subway Tile in Matte Arctic White (Daltile)

Rona
Simonna Vanity Light

Urban Outfitters
Indigo Velvet Curtain

Anthropologie
Tea House Door Knob

All that's left is to source out are black framed mirrors, a large piece of artwork to hang over the soaker tub and a black and crystal chandelier!  Oh, here's one that's pretty through Elizabeth Embelishments.  I wonder if the store ships to Canada as the price is right, too:

Paint Colours to Test

I've been doing some research on the best whites.  This weekend, I'm heading to Benjamin Moore with this list of paints so I can get tester pots.  Then, I'll be painting swatches of my walls to see what whites work best in our light.  Here is the list of the best of Benjamin Moore white paints by Apartment Therapy:

Benjamin Moore Super White
Benjamin Moore Linen White
Benjamin Moore China White
Benjamin Moore Ballet White
Benjamin Moore Cloud Nine
Benjamin Moore Decorators White
Benjamin Moore White Dove
I'll also need to track down my April 2009 issue of House and Home as there is a great article on Lynda Reeves favourite whites!  In the meantime, here are a few other House and Home white paint pics.

Benjamin Moore
Floral White (OC-29)
White Dove (OC-17)
Cloud White (CC-40)
Oxford White (CC-30)

Ralph Lauren
Picket Fence White (WW57)
Poncho White (WW58)
Mother of Pearl (WW21)
Studio Cream (UL01)
Sail White (WW49)

Inspiration for the bathroom...

I am having issues making this particular post behave.

The first photo is obviously not a bathroom but we are thinking of carrying a ledge around the entire room to cap off a moulding detail on the walls.  I'm not sure if we want to go shaker-style for the moulding as seen here or do picture frame moulding instead.

The second (from House and Home) and fourth photos (Elle Decor via Urban Grace Interiors), I LOVE the look of the black framed mirror with white wall and chrome sconces.  Our room is primarily going to be white on white but we have black accents in the floor tile and chrome fixtures.  I think we will have a heavy black framed mirror above the vanity and these sconces are an exact match to the ones we bought at Rona.

The washstands in the third photo from House and Home are very similar to the ones we have on order.  I can't wait for them to arrive.  I love the moulding detail on the walls, here.

We will be adding pops of colour with accessories like in the 5th photo I found on Decorology.  I love the white and black scheme with hits of vibrant colour.

We are running a pony wall along the exerior wall to house the plumbing, very similar to this.  We'll be capping it and doing decorative moulding underneath.  I'll use the pony wall to display artworks.  Above our tub, we'd like to hang a black and crystal chandelier.  We've also purchased a clawfoot tub.  It's been sitting in our basement since early spring and I can't wait to finally be able to enjoy it!  Again, I love the moulding details, the crisp, clean look, the vintage accessories and the gorgeous tub.

Like in the photo below from Desire to Inspire, I'm collecting crystal vases and decanters to hold bubble baths and whatnot.  I'll display everything clustered together on a old silver tray on top of the book shelf that will flank both sides of our window.



















































































(Desire to Inspire)