paint, 3 foot piece of wood and concrete and this mailbox is not going anywhere. Visit my blog for the details that led us to this decision!

and proceeded to tear everything out down to the studs, including removing two poorly placed closets. We moved plumbing, added electrical, and rebuilt the space ourselves from the drywall and subfloor to the tile and trim.

Most of the components were found through big box retailers, except for the antique claw foot tub (affectionately referred to as Clementine, who was an eBay purchase for $150 and that we refinished ourselves as well) and the pedestal sink (which was a salvage yard find). We had to special order the free-standing faucet for the tub, but with the genius of a local plumber, we were able to maintain the look I was hoping for without sacrificing function, as our tub didn't have holes to accommodate a traditional standing waste component.

This project was nearly five years in the making, from the purchase of the tub when we closed on our house (lofty goals, I have them) to the completion this past summer. We ran into a few issues with the plumbing placement -- where we wanted the tub has duct work that runs directly underneath it, so as I mentioned before we worked with a local plumber to make everything work out okay. Also, because our house is 115 years old, the floors aren't even, so we had to bolster one side of the tub with a marble threshold to make it flush enough to drain. We found ourselves often cursing the previous homeowners, because every time we went to remove or change something, we found that they were prone to taking the easy way out of the "improvements" they made, which only added more work for us to fix. Other than that, it was mostly just getting the labor done and making sure that everything was not only pretty, but practical.

The hope for the bathroom was to help create an oasis for my husband and I to enjoy without having to step over our kids' bath toys, or go all the way upstairs to the other side of the house just to use the restroom. Our bedroom has a very dramatic look to it, and since we created a slightly more open floor plan in the room, we wanted the bathroom to echo that same drama while maintaining its own character. What it may lack in square footage, I think it makes up for in beauty, and that's perfectly fine with me.

I honestly love the space and am so happy it turned out as awesome as it did!

actually kill succulents.) So I crafted my very own succulent garden out of pistachio shells. I'm pretty sure I can't kill this one. :)

#Bestof2012

because that's where the need was at the time. Now I get to see it every day in our upstairs hall, and it's jam packed with things I've collected over time. Before loading it up, though, I cut some foam board to size and covered it with fabric I picked up at my local fabric store. That small little change made all the difference in changing the display case from black hole to vintage show off. The cat thinks it's a good place to hang out, too.

decided to use this shelf next to the shower to store things I wanted within arms reach. You can open the shower door and literally grab a towel or a fresh bar of soap without stepping foot on the floor. Also within reach are q-tips, a basket of wash cloths and a basket of hand towels. It has been very handy, and by sticking to the all white formula, pretty as well. To visit my blog and see more stuff like this click here: http://farmhouseporch.blogspot.com