The Upstairs Bathroom

This is my upstairs main family bathroom which I have just finished - well almost!! 

Not that I had too much to do as you can in this before photo from the estate agents brochure - the bones are all there, just some cosmetic finishes!  I loved the bath, fittings and tiles so it was really a matter of painting.  When it comes to colours in my home I love soft, muted tones.  The more faded and subtle the better, so the red had to go!  I only 'do' red at Christmas!

So, I just painted this room - Farrow & Ball Off White on the upper part of the wall and Farrow & Ball French Grey on the tongue and groove paneling on the bottom part. I ADORE Farrow & Ball paints, I have tried other paint brands but nothing compares to the matte finish of F&B!   I really wanted this room to be calm and serene - somewhere warm for indulging in a little pampering and taking long, hot, baths.  We also put up the shower rail although looking at it here I think it would look better in a dark brown/black metal like the table - I don't think I've ever seen one in that colour though - have you??  I suppose I could paint it . . . The roman blind is from Ikea.  The shower curtain with a linen -ey fabric layer is from B&Q.

The flowers are scented stock and are soooo heavily scented - divine . . .

You must be really tired of seeing this mirror, as I've mentioned before I have two of them - I love them.  Now, I have one in my office which you can see from the Living room and this is the other one which was in the downstairs bathroom but I just moved it to here as I put another mirror in it's place  Show you pics of the downstairs bathroom soon!  Anyway, this mirror is staying here as I think it suits the feel of the room and fits perfectly into the angle of the ceiling.  The upstairs of our house is in the eaves so we have a lot of slanted ceilings - which I love as they're cute and add much needed character into our new build house - though difficult for mirror and furniture placement!

The dressing gown and matching nightdress are 100% cotton perfect for Spring and Summer!  They were another find at Penney's (Primark).

Below some artwork to dress the walls . . .

I think these two framed floral botanicals are so sweet!  I found them in a charity shop in Edinburgh, Scotland when I visited for a weekend a few years ago.  They were only £1.50 each!

I found this print in a framemakers in Cork city, I went in to collect another print and while waiting spotted this piece.  I couldn't get over how similar the boy in the painting is to my eldest son Aran when he was that age and the woman looks a bit like me!  The resemblance is uncanny!  It's as if someone captured one of our strolls in the woods with their paintbrush.  I love how the light falls through the trees . . .

Below is a little something I put together for Valentine's Day for fun!  It's a portrait of Darcy (Colin Firth) that I scanned and printed from a magazine!  The frame is a very heavy iron piece that was actually a broken Christmas decoration that I found in a bargain bin in a department store - I knew it would come in handy!!  My fascination with Pride & Prejudice and Jane Austen will never abate - I'm a hopeless romantic . . .

The marble vanity unit is an antique given to us by our Aunty B!  We were talking to Aunty B at Christmas and she had heard that we were doing up the bathrooms in an old world/vintage style and she said to me, "I have one of those old fashioned marble vanity units for you but I don't know if you'd be interested in it . . . "   Interested??? Did the woman say marble? old?? of course I was interested!!! I told Aunty B I would take it before I'd even laid eyes on it and two weeks later it travelled from Dublin to Cork in the back of our car to come live with us.  I think it's happy here!   I love it - the beige marble is streaked with cream and the wood is a lovely warm dark brown.   It's not ideally placed in the bathroom, I'd prefer another two foot between it and the sink but I love it - so it's staying!!  I also love that it was a gift from our wonderful sweet aunt - Thank you Aunty B!!

The wooden box with the cute clasp was a presentation box of wine we received as a gift many years ago!  I use it as a jewelry box!

The heart shaped soap and the scented linen bag are all from Mathilde M a french soap company.

This is a scented (lavender) ceramic piece with a cherub detail and a cute little bow (from Mathilde M).

This room is very still, very quiet.  When the blind is down, the sunlight filters through washing the room with a soft glow . . . it's my little place to unwind and relax.   A rose scented candle, a few drops of lavender essential oil in the bath and a little glass of wine -  heaven!