A Cheerful Hue

It all started with A Cheerful Hue - the perfect yellow... the color I've been wanting to paint the guest bathroom for quite some time. Yellow because, although yellow is not my favorite color, it's a cheerful color, and I like cheerful, which is why I had my heart set on yellow in the first place (after all, shouldn't bathing be a cheerful experience?). And so what better choice than a hue that was named the exact mood that I'd been aiming for? I mean, really, I'd been planning this little makeover project for a long time, but had never found the right color - nor did I have such an important event looming in the very near future, an event that means lots and lots of company staying at my house for an extended period of time (I can hardly type that without doing a happy dance! My family is coming to visit - YEE HAW!) - therefore, I had clearly not rushed into this project, which explains what I have been doing for the past two weeks, because what started out to be a little painting project, turned into a whole lot of sewing, with the the painting becoming secondary.

I know.... painting... how boring... but first there was sewing, which is a sub-subject to the main-subject of this post, which is actually about what I've been doing for the past two weeks. And I know I said I was putting the sewing machines away (2 machines because I use Alyssa's for quilting and my beloved Baby Lock Ellure for the actual sewing), but I lied. I didn't put the machines away. For some reason, I left them sitting on the dining room table. I also left the ironing board in the kitchen (much to Alyssa's disgust, dismay and embarrassment). Subconsciously, I must have known that I couldn't complete a project without adding a little touch of me to the mix. And that is exactly what I've been doing for the past two weeks - adding pieces of me to the bathroom that my mom will be using while she is here. The only problem with this was that a project that should have only taken three days ended up taking over two weeks. What can I say? I'm slow - I tend to enjoy the journey as much as the destination.

This is the color swatch that I began with. The yellow did not scan as "yellow" as it actually is... but as you will see in a bit, YELLOW is exactly what I got!

From the start, I knew that I wanted yellow walls with blue accents. And, like with the perfect yellow, I also knew exactly what hue of blue I wanted to use. Well, as often happens when I have a specific color in mind, I am unable to find that precise color when I go shopping for the coordinates, which is what happened with the blue. Everything I found was either dark blue, gray blue, ceramic blue, or baby blue, none of which tickled my fancy. And so off I went to the fabric store. I mean, seriously... how difficult can it be to make a shower curtain? Well. I'll tell you how difficult it can be: very difficult! And for all those times I've questioned the exorbitant price of a shower curtain, I was wrong. Shower curtains require gobs of fabric (seven yards, to be exact). Shower curtains are also a bugger to sew because of all that fabric. Additionally, fabric does not come wide enough or long enough to make a shower curtain in one piece, so there are panels that have to be made. Add a HOLE (yes, a freaking hole that I didn't discover until the dang curtain was half-way sewn!) in the middle of the fiber, and... well... a simple shower curtain project turned into a four day nightmare. Had I not spent so much money on all that fabric, I seriously would have thrown in the towel and gone with a plain, white curtain. But because I purchased an entire bolt of the perfect blue, I was bound and determined to make it work. In the end, it turned out lovely, and all is well in the world of shower curtain creation.

So... when I finally finished the shower curtain, I was ready to slap some paint on the walls and call it done. Not a big deal. And thankfully, the paint went on the walls without a hitch. Unfortunately, as you shall see, A Cheerful Hue is very cheerful indeed. Alyssa claims that a person needs sunglasses when entering the bathroom. Oiy. Too yellow. Another glitch in what was supposed to be a three day makeover.

And so after sitting on the cold, tile floor and staring at the bathroom walls for two hours, I decided that the yellow needed more contrast... more color... more cheer! And so off I went to dig through my quilt patterns, because a quilted wall hanging would surely solve the problem of walls that were too yellow. What I soon discovered was that I had no patterns that fit the measurement requirements for the wall that needed more cheer. Which led me to my sketch pad/grid paper notebook, because I am nothing if not determined when it comes to making things work. And so I started sketching out an idea of something that just might work. Here is what I came up with after an hour of sketching and measuring (written notes were added throughout the process):

And here is how it turned out:

And here is the end result - two weeks of work, one gallon of paint, eight yards of fabric, and hours and hours of sewing - a bathroom makeover that is now known as A Cheerful Hue (before and after photos):

And that, my friends, is what I have been doing for the past two weeks. Next on the agenda: a makeover for John's old room because my sister Jenny deserves a special place to stay as well, and after two weeks of hit and miss, I figure I'm on a roll when it comes to making a room over with some paint and fabric.

Whew. If I disappear again, it means more glitches in another [not so] simple project. I've got exactly one month before my family begins to arrive... one month to makeover another room... one month to whip this house into shape... and barely a month until Alyssa graduates. To be honest, the reason I'm keeping so busy is because if I stop and think about her graduation, I will break down and cry, because I'm still not ready for her to grow up. And so I'm keeping busy - too busy to think about it, because in the end, that is the only way I am able to cope with this transition.

Comments

[Brandy]

That looks really fun and happy. :)

[Helena]

That is awesome! What a difference.

[Keely]

love, love, love it!!

[Kim Flados]

I just LOVE the wall hanging! I'm a big cat lover and quilter.

[Barb]

It's gorgeous, Kelly! Man, I've missed you. And I miss your Grey's posts. Now I need to catch up on your blog. :)

[mary]

I doing a makeover of my kitchen in two weeks. Can you come over?

[Francesca]

Love the colors! Beautiful and definitely cheerful. Your shower curtain is gorgeous!!! Wanna make one for me? ;)

[Kim B.]

What a great bathroom makeover! It looks awesome.

I totally can relate to your feelings about Alyssa's graduation. We are down to less than three weeks. I am not ready for this.

[May]

that does look bright- but beautiful! LOVE the cheerful bathroom dear friend.

[Chiara]

wow absolutely gorgeous

[slammie]

that is freaking awesome!!!

[heather]

Loving what you can do with some paint and fabric! Turned out great.

Now I'm going to have to take pictures of the kids' bathroom -- let you see how yellow those walls turned out! I'm still trying to figure out how to tone them down. ROFL

[Donna]

Glad to have you back and to see the Cheerful Hue! I look forward to the next transformation.

[Amy Sorensen]

Kelly, I am so glad to see you updated your blog! I have been worried but also not wanting to bug. Hope you are doing OK during these last transitional weeks.

But the bathroom? Holy cow! You did a GREAT job! That shower curtain is amazing!!!

[becky]

Great to see another post. Love the bathroom can't wait to see what you do with the guest room.

[jenny]

It is beautiful. I hope my room turns out so Cheerful:) I am counting the days until I get there.

Love,
Jenny