Repurposed decorating: bathroom edition

Every since I can remember, I've been finding gems at Goodwill. My dad calls them junk, but with just a little bit of love, an eye for design and some slight repurposing, you have amazing one-of-a-kind items to decorate your home!

Decorating your home is an easy way to start being more "green" and avoiding new manufactured goods. Going to Target, Walmart, or Bed Bath and Beyond, and buying crap that is mass-produced for decorating doesn't do it for me. I just don't see character in those kinds of things. I've always thrifted to find my wall hangings, candle holders, furniture, all the littles things one needs for the home. Sure, there is a lot of crap at thrift stores, but there is also amazing things you can't find anywhere else. People buys things, they sit for twenty years, never used, houses get cleaned out, those things are donated, and you find them for ridiculously low prices at thrift stores. 

As I've mentioned before, I recently moved into my apartment in downtown Augusta. It's a two-bedroom, one bath, approx. 1000 square ft apt, the entire second level of a house built in the late 1800s. Located in Olde Town, this is the original neighborhoods when Augusta was founded. I spent weeks looking for the perfect apartment. I walked into this one and I knew within a minute that I would call this home. High ceilings, huge rooms, 60" wide windows, a winding staircase, room for kitties to run, and downtown. Sure, it's not perfect in terms of quality, it's old, the plaster on the walls isn't perfect and I occasionally find creepy bugs (but this is the south). It's historic, restored, but it's home. And I love it.

The only thing I didn't like about my apartment was the massive white walls. Huge white walls. I felt like I was in an old hospital. I've so far painted two rooms, my bedroom and the bathroom. I'll eventually showcase all my thrifted finds, converted rooms, and beautiful apartment, one room at a time. I'm starting with the bathroom!

Before I even moved into my apartment, I found these at the Goodwill in Evans. Three plastic wall hanging from the 1970s. A bouquet of flowers, a bunch of roses, and a bustle of grapes. Originally gold, they are poured into a mold, hollow plastic, and so awesome! Someone, somewhere along the way painted them white. The paint was chipping off but immediately I saw and them and snatched them up.

Only painted on one side.

Slightly chipping.

Made in USA. Copyright 1971. $1.51 each.

$4.53 + $5 spray paint = less than $10 project

So with a can of pink spray paint, my wall hangings, and a gallon of mistinted paint from Sherman Williams, and ta-da:::

My bathroom

High ceilings

The main inspiration around decorating my bathroom was this vintage shower curtain I bought at Goodwill in Michigan for $3 before I moved down here. It was still in it's original packaging, never used, and from the mid 1970s. It's clear with a white and peach flowering bush all over it. 

Matching towels, repainted wall hangings.

Finger hooks purchased on Etsy for my headbands. I painted the fingernails red.

My favorite wash cloth. Purchased at a thrift store in Lansing, Michigan about 5 years ago for about 25 cents. It's an oxpecker bird sitting on top or a hippo. These birds survive by eating the parasites and bugs off the hippos back. It's screen printed on the super soft washcloth. I mostly use it just for display. I don't feel right getting it super dirty cause it's so cute.

Still has original tag. It had never been used with I bought it. Came with price tags still attached. Copyright 1975. And it was made in Georgia!

Vintage hand mirror. Finger hooks. The soap dish mounted on the wall acts as a little towel holder. Vintage glass canisters. Soap stand from an estate sale ($1!), prescription glasses in polka dot case I made, makeup pouch I made from an old placemat, recycled hand soap dispenser. It's hard to find new things in my bathroom. Everything has a history. Notice I broke the faucet handle. Oops. Need to get the maintenance man to fix it.

Cute little speakers for when I take a bath. Old candle tin for odds and ends.

I love how this color turned out! One gallon of mistinted paint covered all the upper walls. You can find mistinted paint at most paint stores for a fraction of the cost of normal paint. It's discounted since it wasn't originally mixed properly, wrong color, or wrong finish for the customer. Instead of throwing it away, it's sold for about $5/ gallon. The only drawback is you can't get more. So you'd need to paint smaller rooms or coordinate different walls, different colors.

New haircut. I have baby bangs. It's been years since I've had a bathroom with an exterior window. I'm in heaven when I get ready in the morning. 

No makeup, hair not brushed. Oh well... hello everyone. 

Due to some family things back home, and the Navy not sending my sister off until September/October, she's moving in with me for a few months. I moved most of my sewing stuff into my room and she's moving into my sewing room. She'll have to live with a wall full of fabric though. But the rooms are massive, so there's plenty of room. It's silly for her to stay in her three bedroom house all by herself for three more months with a huge rent payment, crazy utility bills when she can just stay with me. Four cats in one place though... hmmm.. we'll see. Clementine isn't going to be happy.

We have to go back to Michigan soon, and it makes more sense to have everything here in one place. I was going to go yesterday and come back by Wednesday, but couldn't arrange travel plans in time so we're moving Rachael out of her house instead. We'll probably go home in a few weeks. It's all so up in the air right now.

Hope you all enjoyed a little peek into my home. I can't wait to finish the rest of my apartment! It's a slow process since I work too much but it's coming along nicely. Most people think it's silly to paint if it's only a year. But I'm an artist and I need to enjoy my surroundings. I can't function with white walls. It makes such a difference to love where you live and love what you have. I am so happy here.