bathrooms . . . keeping it simple

All of our bathrooms are very simple.  White walls, white subway tile, white painted brick and white cabinets.  I've always loved it this way and never tire of keeping it simple.

I knew I wanted a large sink, maybe two, but when I saw this I fell in love with it.  It's a little shallow, but we've adjusted.  The storage cabinets on each side are way more storage than I could ever dream of having.  The top door actually has outlets for hairdryers, etc.  I am used to having a shelf behind the door from Bed, Bath and & beyond to hold everything that doesn't fit into a standard size medicine cabinet above the sink.  So this was a huge improvement.

Our contractor talked us into medicine cabinets on each side of the sink...they are low and therefore not easy to access.  I think I could of put that money to better use.

The open shelving and cabinet below are great for storing towels and sheets in the cabinet.  My idea was to make storage shelves inside the toilet room behind the door.  We did this on the other half of where the open shelving is, but I think it would have been fine to use the entire space for hidden storage.

We used all one panel doors throughout the house with black Emtek hardware.  I have used Emtek for the last 10 years and love the look and feel.  It's very reasonably priced and we have never had a single issue with it.  Also, it's available within a few days of ordering.  I used very traditional Emtek hardware in our Connecticut house, but was very happy with their new modern, more contemporary line which we used on the cabinets. (shown below).

Emtek Hardware in chrome.  Emtek has a lot of fun little pieces that are perfect for cabinets.

This is the storage behind the door in the toilet room.  We store light bulbs, upstairs cleaning products, paper products.  It's a great use of space and no one has to ever see it.

Boy's Room

Patrick's room....not the suite that his sister has, but boys need more space than the confines of  bedroom.  We have a three car garage that accommodates lots of boys and activities like ping pong and of course a big screen TV (which came with the house).  How convenient is that?    Bed is from West Elm, Saarinen night table and IKEA lamp.

His closet doors open out...I hate sliding doors because you lose that space in the middle.  His bathroom is painted almost black (the 2nd to the darkest shade at Restoration Hardware) and the floor is black and white.

Part of keeping everything organized is having a place for everything.  Behind his door there are shelves and drawers.  He has a mini monument collection...what kid doesn't, right?  We added an outlet for the shelf which holds his Yankee Stadium.

We've had these IKEA locker cabinets forever and I just can't bring myself to get rid of them because they provide a lot of storage.  Under his window seat are three deep drawers.  One for school uniforms, one for sports clothing and one for t-shirts and shorts.  No need for a dresser.

I chose an old fashioned sink, all white subway tile and hooks.  I always go with hooks over towel bars.  I found the biggest ones I could in hopes I would find his towel on it and not the floor.  These are the Sophia hooks from Pottery Barn. 

Yep...that's a urinal.

a sweet suite

This is our daughter, Madeline's room.  It's actually a suite combining two little rooms, a bathroom and a walk-in closet.  Her friends call it her "doll house" and my husband refers to it as her NYC apartment, only in California.

This sitting room is using space above the garage.  It has three windows on the side and three windows in front which is her closet.  You can see the space here on House Exterior - Before and After.

This little corner of her room is a great spot to keep her magazines.  She loves magazines as much as I do! 

Looking into her sitting room from her bedroom.  There are two steps down which provides extra seating for her friends.

This little hutch is from Room and Board.  It's great for storage, but she never liked that you could see what was inside before we added the fabric on the inside of the doors.  We have yet to make pillows with all the beautiful fabrics we found at http://maisonnetteoceanside.com/.  We cut two pieces of fabric and attached them inside with bright pink tape.  No sewing involved, but problem solved!

Her desk is from West Elm, chair is from IKEA.  When I started to photograph her room I took a look around and hardly changed a thing.  This is how her room looks most of the time...she's amazingly neat for a teenager.

She loves her inspiration board and keeps finding little spots for new things she finds.

Her bed is tucked into the corner.  I had given measurements to our contractor, but when the furniture was moved in we had a bit of a problem.  The bed did not fit the space.  We tried to move the furniture around, but there was no place large enough for the bed.   The contractor had to add wheels to the bed so that it can be pulled out to make.  There is a little cubby that holds a small lamp, book and glass of water.

My husband built this piece when we were first married.  It has been painted a creamy white distressed finish in the shabby chic days.  Then it was in our living room painted black as a bar for years.  Now it has found its way into Madeline's room and holds her books, perfume bottles and inside the drawer, her jewelry.

We lined the drawer with pink construction paper and placed all her little bowls and plates to keep her jewelry safe and free from tangles.  Each has a story of where it's from and why it's special.  The blue stripe one is from her 8th grade Latin trip to Rome, the one next to it with the pink rose is from Melissa's adorable shop, Bixby & Ball.

Her bathroom is tiny too...so impossible to photograph.  We added white painted brick on one wall to give it an old feeling.    She has some storage to the left of the toilet with pullout drawers.  The tub/shower is all white subway tile.

I designed board and batten walls for each room in the house.  I love the texture and warmth it adds.  The photo was taken with a cheap underwater camera when Madeline, age 10 was snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef.  I almost didn't process the film thinking it would not be worth it!  I was so surprised!

Some day I will have a painting made like this by Jane Mount for each of my kids.  I know Madeline's list of favorites will include a few of these.