Updating a bathroom when you can't afford a renovation

We've been slowly working on the two bathrooms in our house, making them a little more modern as we go along. We put in some new hardware a new light fixture and mirror in our half bath and in our full bath have painted the walls, the cabinet, added a new light and mirror. Eventually we would love to remodel the full bath, though that's not in the near future. I wish I had taken some shots of the bathroom before we removed the old mirror and light and before we painted, but this is half way through our budget makeover. I went with white for paint on the cabinets, to try to make the blue counter less bold.

Below is the after, which cost under $500. Hopefully one day I can do a real renovation and rip out the sink and redo the tiling, but for now this is a huge improvement.

I used Pure White by Benjamin moore for paint on the sink cabinet and the wall cabinet, which paired  well with the Distant Gray I used on the walls. The new hardware is from Schoolhouse Electric, the Mission knobs in polished nickel to match the new light fixture and existing faucets. The mirror is the Kensington mirror from Pottery Barn and the new light fixture is from Birch lane. The watercolor is a custom portrait of our Lakeland Terrier Ailsa by A Lost Feather NY.

My toddlers calm and cozy bedroom

Since we've moved I've been going from one room to the next in our new house, painting, installing new lighting, moving furniture around and so many other little tweaks along the way. My 20 month old boy's room is finished (for now).

When we moved in it was green, which I love, however the original green was a little more lime than I would have liked so I painted it a softer shade using Benjamin Moore's "Palest Pistachio". I plan to eventually switch out the blinds in his room, they function just fine for now, and with the recently added curtains which I got for a steal from target, it feels plenty cozy.

We took out the old wall sconce in the room which resembled an outdoor lamp post and replaced it with a simple sconce from Cedar and Moss. Although I've kept the books and toys to a minimum, (because let's be honest, he would rather play with an empty box or the remote to the tv) he still has a few things that I wanted to tuck away. We created a reading nook where we read before bedtime and put two baskets with books on either side at reaching distance for him. I installed an ikea wall shelf above with the books that he isn't quite ready for and a few stuffed animals and games.

Dining Room makeover

We closed on our house on Thursday last week, and by Friday at midnight I had painted our living room and dining rooms. I painted over a burnt orange in the living room, that I honestly thought was going to take 5 coats, and a yellowy/orange in the dining room.

 Here are images of the before and after for our dining room. I'm really happy with how it turned out. It cost under $100 as the only things I needed were paint supplies and new curtains, which I picked up from target. I'll be posting the before and after of the living room and kitchen in the next two weeks on my website www.JuliePiddingtonDesigns.com .

Just need one more pair of curtains for this window.
I wanted to be sure I loved the ones I bought before committing
to two pairs.

The dining room before painting and changing out the light fixture.

I used Benjamin Moore's "Patriot White" and installed our vintage Louis Poulsen PH pendant.

Small deck ideas

I thought moving out of the city would mean we would have this huge backyard and deck area to entertain, but of course the house we landed on has a back deck that is no bigger than our old balcony. The one big difference is that this time around we can have a grill, and I can't wait to grill up some veggies this summer.

Warmer weather has been on my mind as I am both writing summer knit patterns , and knitting the first few pieces. It's cold, and wet here in Syracuse today; and I can't wait to sit out on my deck and knit in the warm sunshine. Stay dry CNY!

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Line the deck with lettuce/kale
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I'll be stacking my herbs and plants like this
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Home office and playroom

I have a small space that will need to function as Christians playroom, my office, and my crafting room ;and I have some ideas for how that will work. The room that is going to serve this purpose is  a sunroom, which means lots of natural light. It is about 11' x 8', which is not huge, but I think big enough for my needs.

On one end of the room I am going to hang his swing from the ceiling, and place his toy baskets on the ground with his sheepskin. On the other end of the room will be my desk,  and my new hanging planter from the ceiling. I will install some floating shelves to place photos, my design magazines and books and maybe another plant. Next to the shelves beside the doorway out, will be my pie cabinet, which is currently housing Christians clothes, and cloth diapers while we use his dresser. There is also a door leading outside above the garage, flanking the doorway I'll place my two large plants that need plenty of light, and between his play area ,and my workspace will be the vintage rug I brought home from Morocco.

So Excited to start taking some before and after photos this spring.

My Portica desk from Room and Board

Wearing many hats

   Life has been busy recently and I'm not complaining. I'm one of those people who is most productive, and happiest when I have about 17 things going on at once. When we moved to Syracuse I had to give up my dream job as a Buyer at a luxury modern furniture company, and have been struggling with what to do outside of the home since then.

    I am in the process of registering a freelance business in order to be able to do design work on a consultant basis for interior designers, and private clients in the Syracuse area; as well as provide buying advice for small shops in the area who can not afford a full time buying team. In addition I am  working on more knitting patterns (knitting with a broken finger is much harder than I thought) for my etsy shop for the summer in soft and breathable cotton. The last project in the works is working on ideas for some small swap outs, and updates on the house we are buying, to make it more modern and cozy for my family.

 Now I just need to figure out how to get Central New York on board with Danish modern design.

Little changes for a big impact in the Kitchen

Things are progressing with purchasing a second home. Being the design obsessed person I am, I'm looking at what little changes I can make right away with a tiny budget. The first thing is to get rid of the pendant over the sink in the kitchen; it is incredibly outdated. The next is to put in some open shelves on the blank wall like we did in our apartment in the city. In the city we installed Vipp shelves, because the kitchen and apartment were much more modern and we had a bigger budget then, this time we'll go with some Ikea shelves. Below the shelves will be a free standing island or a hutch with a piece of wood or stone on top to use as a work surface. Last but not least a runner to warm up the space. Okay time to start cranking on writing up those summer baby knit patterns.

Shelving
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Love this pendant
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This runner to warm up the space
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Bunny Love

Easter is at the end of next month. Though we have no religious affiliation to the holiday, that doesn't mean that we don't still love getting together as a family as well as a good easter egg basket, and hunt. Here is some Bunny love for the little ones.

One of my favorite Childhood books
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For our collection
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The bunny vest on my etsy shop

Need to make this Bib
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Lounge Chair love

When we move we will have space for another chair in the living room. Though I would love to trade in our sofa, I think it still has some good years left in it, so adding a chair might be the next best thing. A couple of lounge chairs for the living room that I am loving right now.

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Valentine's Day Breakfast or Brunch

Valentine's Day is in a week. Over the years we have kept this day pretty low key, with the occasional fancy meal out. This year with a toddler running around, we will spend it home together. Breakfast is a favorite for the both of us, so a special breakfast sounds like the perfect way to spend Valentine's Day morning. A couple of table top items for a Valentine's Day breakfast or brunch.

Tumblers

A beautiful vase your flowers

If you need to light some candles

Morning Bubbles

Anything Elderflower

Ariele Alaska cutting board for bread

French Press

This Teaselwood Mug for a big cup of Coffee

These Plates from Stileben

Hanging Planters

I just ordered a hanging planter as I have some plans for it in the new house, and always like to slowly pick things up before a move. My new planter, some inspiration and some other beautiful hanging planters.

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I picked up the last KVL hanging planter from
Totokaelo