The English Maximalista

Remember the other day when I was telling you about how we went to Re-Store in Colorado Springs looking for travertine tiles? Mr Maximalista and I did not find tiles, but we DID find a Toto toilet?

Well, this is the guest bathroom I wanted those tiles for. [The Toto toilet is ear-marked for the primary bathroom, and will be the subject of another blog on another day…]

The previous owner of this house ran travertine tile in the guest bathroom shower stall to about 7’ high; the ceiling is 9’ high, and I think the stall would look better if the tile ran all the way up to the ceiling. Hence our visit to Re-Store. And well, we all know how THAT went.

I still don’t have any new tiles to fill that annoying gap up the wall. Rest assured, gentle reader, that I shall be on a vigilant lookout until we find The Ones. In the meantime, I went ahead and painted the pesky gap as a temporary salve. You have probably intuited by now that I cannot Just Leave Things Alone.

Yes, yes, I know it is BLACK. Before you start wigging out at me, listen:

1. Black IS my favourite colour, after all
2. It matches the wallpaper
3. I’m valiantly trying to use up the supplies we already have on the shelf in the garage
4. It is a temporary fix until I find the right travertine wall tiles
5. You are being judgmental. Cut that out.

The only money I spent on redecorating this bathroom was for the gorgeous mural I found on Amazon.com. Even then, I ended up paying about a third less than the $159 retail price, because I had accrued a few points which, when applied, brought the price down to less than $100! Weee!

This particular bathroom is on the lower level of our new house, built into the hill. There aren’t any windows, so I had a bright idea about somehow bringing the outdoors IN: why not do a nature mural?

Unfortunately, my artistic talents are kind of pathetic, so I was limited in my scope. Hence the wallpaper mural.

Only “wallpaper” is a misnomer. I know wallpaper. I love wallpaper… this wallpaper mural, I discovered upon opening the packaging, is not actually paper. 

It’s more like vinyl. Which I don’t know. And it turns out, I don’t love.

The result, yes, I love… The PROCESS of attaining that result, not so much. It was a beast to put up, and a beast to keep it up: it was slippery, and it was heavy. I ended up employing my trusty old hammer and nails on a couple of the sheets, just to hold them in place until the adhesive had cured.

Crude, yet effective.

Once the paint had dried and the mural was up, I again “went shopping” around the house, on the hunt for things to decorate with. Sadie, my faithful canine companion, assisted by inserting her snout into every cupboard door I opened. 

This was really helpful. Except for when it wasn’t.

The pictures were stashed in a closet, waiting until I found the perfect spot to hang them. I pulled some toiletries from the upstairs guest bathroom [oribe.com]. The white-and-pink Treccia bathmat and towels, and the B&W Tre Righe hand towels are Pratesi that I’ve had for years. The Oriental watercolour was purchased from an estate sale here in Colorado.

The only new item is the darling little tray I bought for $16 last week from TJMaxx, as I felt the room needed a little Je ne sais pas to marry the dark wood picture frames with the granite-topped vanity.

I LOVE how everything is cohesive and harmonious. Now I just need some guests to come and enjoy their new space!

Lots of love,

M xo