Master Bath Remodel

So happy to share this wonderful master bath remodeling project done by Elizabeth Tanny of etanny design. If you are not familiar with Elizabeth, she uses a collaborative design style which is classic, simple and elegant.

Elizabeth said after completing a renovation of their kitchen and family room, her clients decided to tackle their master bath. The issues which needed to be addressed included bringing the overall feel of the room up to date with a bright and clean cottage look, adding an additional sink, increasing the size of the shower, and providing more storage space. Here is the bathroom before:

And here is the completed masterbath:

The first step in achieving the goals of this project was to remove a wall to incorporate the space of an existing closet. Once the wall came down, enough room became available to include a large 5 foot x 4 foot tiled shower as well as floor to ceiling open shelving (not shown), a double vanity with more storage space and additional lighting completed the room.

I will be posting more of Elizabeth’s remodeling projects soon. To see more of Elizabeth’s work now click HERE.

Say Hello to Bento

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know that I was born and raised in Japan. When we were first married, I was a little worried about how we could combine our two different cultures. My optimistic Mr. layed back said, "Don't worry, we will just take whatever is good from either culture and make it our own."

One of the things our family loves from Japanese culture is "Bento". Bento is a single portion takeout or home-packed meal in a box, and very common in Japanese cuisine. Usually, bento consists of rice, fish or meat and other side dishes.

Normally, I pack sandwishes, fruit and a light snack for my husband's and kids' lunches. (Because it is easier and quicker!!). Every now and then, when I have time I pack a Bento. (Being a night owl, I don't like mornings.)

This morning was the rare occasion. I packed a Bento for each of them.


Inside the bento, there was...

Rice with Furikake(flavor flakes)

Hanbagu (just like meatballs, but I used ground turkey and chopped veggies with teriyaki sauce)

Tamago-yaki (Thin layers of egg rolled into a rectangular shape)

Little sausages (I made two slices from one end to the middle to make it look like flower.)

Sliced apple (looks like a bunny)

Some lettuce.

They loved it. Oh, and I will show you how we wrap our bento box (you know...just a final touch).

1. You can use any square fabric. I used napkin this time. Put the lunch box on the fabric diagnally.


2. Fold the front corner to the other side, cover the container and fold the corner under the container.


3. Bring the opposite corner over the box to the front.


4. Take both right and left corners and tie them together using a square knot.


5. You have Japanese style Bento!



A tip to make bento is to put three basic colors. Red, Green, Yellow in the container. That way it not only looks pretty, you can also get a balanced meal in one box.

Multi-Tasking

I'm almost too tired to type. We put in another full weekend converting the old sauna into our home gym. But due to my inability to focus on just one project at a time, I also managed a few other side tasks. One task was a five minute bed makeover...explanation to follow.

Hubby worked every second of the weekend putting in fir floors.



While he cut, I pitched in by installing some of the boards. The paint on my jacket is from painting this room last weekend.



The tongue and groove fir flooring went over the concrete floors. It was surplus from the wraparound porch. Some of the boards had been pre-primed and some had not, but for our purposes, it doesn't matter because we plan to paint the floors grey. These boards are mostly seconds, so the paint will cover a lot of the imperfections in the wood.



I took advantage of Hubby's every pause, and wandered inside where I replaced our old beige quilt with the above antique popcorn quilt.



I also managed to repair an antique frame (a piece of the rounded detail was missing).



After the spackle was dry I touched it up with gold paint, which I need to finish.



Lucy provided the supervision needed to accomplish all of our tasks (even my multi-tasks). She is still wearing the bright yellow bandanna she received when she had her hair and nails done at the beauty spa.

I like the brightness and the old-fashioned charm the popcorn quilt offers. I also think it defines the bed better than the beige quilt did against the jute rug.

And of course the detail of the crochet is just beautiful.

As you can see, I haven't yet reupholstered the Victorian chair. I ordered some velvet samples but none of them were the right color. And after the bench upholstery job I did for the closet vanity, I know I will have to take it to a professional. No doubt about it.

The lovely and talented Brooke over at Blueprint Bliss did a post on our farmhouse last week. She has a beautiful, inspiring blog...go check it out!