Painted vintage tubs in the colours of the rainbow

How often now a days do you see a tub in any colour other than white?

Pretty rare right? And if you do see a different colour, chances are it's a "safe"

colour like beige or grey or eggshell or black. (I'm not going to mention all the

leftover pink, blue, gold and olive green bathrooms from the 60's & 70's).

So when you come across a bathroom with a splash of colour it really

stands out. That's why I think it's so fun when people take vintage ball and

claw footed tubs and paint them in fun colours like these:

Ok, if you want to paint your tub black, I won't be disappointed, I actually

think it's quite chic. You can check out some black tubs in this post.

If you had a vintage tub what colour would you paint it?

images via: living etc, living etc, house and home, homes and gardens, down and out chic, country home, unknown, unknown, old house online, elements of style

Yachting in the jacuzzi

Yachting in a hot tub? Yes please! This is one tub with a view I could really

get used too. Don't you just love those purple leopard buddies pillows?

image via: ad

Martha Stewart's Bathrooms Weekly Cleaning Checklist

Saw this bathroom cleaning checklist on Martha Stewart and figured, who better to get organization tips from? I'd also like to add:

• Restock toilet paper rolls
• Remove hair from brushes & drains
• If you have fake plants in the washroom run water over them (I'm not a big fan of fake plants to begin with, but there are a few nice ones however, most of the time candles, silk flowers or plastic plants in bathrooms have dust on them, I say throw out any that you can't just run under the shower to get the dust off!)
• Wipe bathroom scale
• Wash bathrobes
• Restock your hair elastics & clips (by the end of the week all mine wind up at my desk, in my robe pocket, in my bag or on a tray on my night stand, then when I need one in the bathroom they are all gone)
• If you have more then 2 shampoo bottles in the shower remove the rest
• Throw out the itty bitty piece of soap that's left and replace with a fresh bar (because it will wind up slipping out of your hand and float down the drain anyways on the day you are in a rush and running late and then you won't have a spare bar in the vanity so you will have to rush out of the bathroom naked to the linen closet when your husband has friends over but you hadn't heard the doorbell because you were under the shower, not that this has ever happened to me, I'm just saying....)
• Add to your grocery list to watch for sales anything you are running low on (ie. toilet paper, feminine products, nail polish remover, shampoo, conditioner, soap, cleaning products, etc...)
• If your bathroom looks like a magazine stand, remove 3/4 of them

Anything else you would add?

You can check out the rest of Martha Stewart's weekly cleaning lists here.

image via: martha stewart

Suzanne Somers Palm Springs home`s romantic bathrooms

I was blown away by how utterly romantic Suzanne Somers` bathrooms are.

Her bathrooms are so feminine relaxing looking that they could

easily belong in a spa retreat.

What's interesting, if I read it right, Suzanne is offering to sell her home completely furnished. Part of me gets the idea of selling all your furnishings so that you can start fresh in a new place, but I have so many memories attached to our furniture, artwork, lighting, etc..from hunting them down to funny things that happened at home, I don`t think I could ever do it. Sure I`d get rid of a few pieces but I don`t think I could sell a house fully furnished. Hmmm...unless I just bought all new stuff with the intention of selling it as a furnished house and packed up my own stuff! Looking at Suzanne`s place, there is no way I would leave that carousel horse, the zebra rugs, some of her ornate mirrors and that gorgeous crystal and green glass chandelier in her dressing room (see the last photo in this post).

If you love her black claw footed bathtubs, check out

this post where I feature a bunch of them.

And how can I resist taking a little peak in Suzanne's bedroom & dressing room:

Don`t you just love the vibrant pop of green of these drapes combined

with the delish pink of that throw?

 

Suzanne really seems to love zebra rugs, she`s got them in 3 of her rooms!

Her dressing room makes me think of Paris, I`d love to relax in here eating

macaroons all day long, oops, I mean healthy organic fruits and veggies!

Here`s that crystal and green glass chandelier I mentioned:

If you are curious to find out more about her house, here`s the listing information:

Listing Detail

Primary MLS #4179231

Web ID #539403527

Price(USD)$17,500,000

Year Built 1928

Set on 73 acres of prime Palm Springs mountainside, this one-of-a-kind residential estate offers 10 bedrooms 9 full bathrooms in 7 villas. Only 3 owners since built in the 1920s. Set in surroundings of raw outcroppings, these are but a few of the... ...(read more)

Set on 73 acres of prime Palm Springs mountainside, this one-of-a-kind residential estate offers 10 bedrooms 9 full bathrooms in 7 villas. Only 3 owners since built in the 1920s. Set in surroundings of raw outcroppings, these are but a few of the amazing features; indoor/outdoor living dining spaces, 5000 bottle wine cellar, numerous fireplaces fire pits, swimming pool, multiple spas waterfalls, the latest in lighting, security, video, HVAC, a master suite with separate sleeping chamber, double offices, huge dressing room spa bath. Offered Furnished w/Caretaker House Jet Hangar (Jet Hangar!!!! I need one of those and a jet to zip around in!)
Click here to go to the listing of Suzanne Somers home

* I'm also going to save the rest of the photos of her house on my blog's Pinterest account, so that we can still Ooo and Ahhh over the photos once Suzanne`s house sells and they are no longer up.

Have you read any of Suzanne`s books? What did you think? I have

never read any and am curious to see what people think and which one

you would recommend I read?

images via: real estate book, suzanne somers

Tub in a basket

I thought this was such an original idea for a tub base.

It looks like the tub is inside a giant basket. I can just imagine all the different

variations you could do on this look, from changing the colour of the basket, to the

basket weave style and design, to adding decorative elements such as handles, glass bead work, etc... this look could work in any number of different bathroom styles. It would be
so fun to design different tub bases that look like baskets!

image via: habitually chic

Decor steal: Sea animal furniture for the bathroom

COIFFEUSE HIPPOCAMPE 

I flipped out when I saw this photo on Coco&Kelly. Instant love. Some may think it's

kitschy, or Jonathan Adler on steroids, but I'm crazy about it.

This gold seahorse makeup table would be so fun to use as a bathroom vanity. It's practical too! Look at all those drawers to store your stuff in. If I were to use it as a vanity I would have to go over the top and use this seashell sink on it and turn the pink wall tuff into a door like this yellow one (scroll to the bottom of that post to see it) with a glass ball knob. If you are going to go over the top, why not go all the way!

So of course I needed to investigate further. I was not disappointed. I found a bevy of fun,fabulous pieces that would look insanely good in a bathroom. Sure they would add a touch of whimsy to any room, but I think the sea theme would look particularly good in the bathroom. I bet Kelly Wearstler has used some of Vincent Darré furniture in her designs, his stuff looks right up her alley. 

Wouldn't this guy look cute as seating next to a stand alone tub? I'd
replace the bench in this bathroom with him.

DIVAN CROCODILE

  Or for a narrow bathroom in need of some his and her storage to store all the

extra towels, these lobster brothers could handle it:



COLONNE A’ TIROIR ECREVISSE



Not sure how many towels you'd be able to fit on this fish shelf, maybe a few rolled up

on the top shelf, but how pretty would it look to have jars of bath salts stacked up on the other shelves?

BIBLIOTHEQUE POISSON

This furniture has got me dreaming of Disney movies. I almost expect these pieces of furniture to start dancing and singing. Now how fun would it be if when you opened a drawer the music to Fantasia started to play, well maybe the first 2 times, then it
would probably get a bit annoying, especially in the morning!

I love the rolly polly bellies on these frog night stands (they look more like

turtles to me). If they fit, I'd store spare rolls of toilet paper in their bellies.

Here's a closer look at these guys.

Aren't they just adorable?

GRENOUILLES TABLES DE NUIT

The key to making a chic bathroom would be to use just one of these

furniture creatures and keep everything else sleek and modern looking, and let

the furniture be the only ornate piece in the room.

What do you think? Too over the top for you or just right?

images via: ad magazine, maison darre

Monday morning escape

Monday`s are hard enough to get going but with the dreary weather outside it

just makes me want to curl up under the covers.....unless of course I had this infinity

tub with a view then I`d be saying hurray for Mondays!

image via: saved on my iphone, does anyone know how to see the source from photos you`ve saved on your iphone? cause now I don`t remember where this drop dead gorgeous photo is from.

Celebs in tubs: Bradley Cooper

Time for a Celebs in tubs post.

So why not have a photo of one of People mag's sexiest men alive I say!

 Also, don't forget to check out:

- this week's Celeb bathroom post: Heidi Klum & Seal's former Beverly Hills estate here

- the Celebrity bathroom Game featuring Mega Female Popstars here

Hope you're having a great weekend! 

image via: crushable

Heard of the Divorce toilet?

I was reading the latest issue of marie claire magazine and came

across a really interesting little story:

Japanese women used to travel to Mantokuji temple known as "the divorce temple", an ancient Buddhist temple in Japan to seek refuge from a bad marriage as only men were legally allowed to divorce. Originally, women would go to live in the temple convents and more recently (up until the divorce laws changed) unhappily married women would do a pilgrimage to the temple to write on a piece of paper that they wanted to end their marriage and would flush it down the toilet in hopes that the deity of the toilet - Kawaya No Kami would answer their prayers. btw, there are only two "divorce temples" in
Japan and in the whole world.

So did Kawaya No Kami lose her job when the divorce laws changed?

Nope, check out what they did next. This is one smart toilet deity....

People are praying to Kawaya No Kami for other reasons. Here`s what some

people have been praying for:

- to overcome obesity

- for the economy to improve

- to help their career

- to have a happy marriage

There are two different color toilets: the black toilet and the white toilet. Here`s how 

Tadashi Takagi, the temple museum director explained it:

There are two traditional squat toilets in the temple - the white toilet is used for the

"enkiri" i.e - to cut ties, while the black toilet is for the "enmusubi", i.e. to

strengthen or tightening ties.

So if you wanted to stop craving sweets or you want George Clooney to break up

with Stacy Keibler for you, you would write your message and flush it down the white toilet. If you wanted to increase your chances of winning the lottery or wanting George Clooney to fall in love with you then you`d throw your wishes down the black toilet. So for the George situation, I guess you would have to throw a paper down the white toilet then flush another down the black toilet. That`s my take on it, Takagi didn`t mention George Clooney, however, I do think Takagi should send some brochures to Hollywood.

"So the idea today is that people get rid of the bad things in their life and become happy."

Takagi pointed out that the ritual revolved around the power of the 

"kawaya no kami" toilet deity to cure illnesses and help in childbirth.

He said: "There [have been] people who take it for a real lavatory and actually use it.

"But since we have put a sign indicating that the toilets are for praying, almost

nobody makes that mistake anymore." Hilarious. Wonder if he has heard of

Hankey, the Christmas Poo.

Want to read more about it? Check out this article here. And this case study here.

Know someone who might need to go? (no pun intended)

Here's the address:

Mantokuji temple

3-2-57 Nagano, Inazawa, Aichi Prefecture 492-8142, Japan

             tel: +81 587-32-0068     

ps. I was curious to see what Kawaya No Kami, the toilet deity looks like, but I had no luck finding a picture.

info & images via: google, marie claire telegraph, psych central, trip advisor, j stor, weird asia news, one india news, panoramio, china daily

Heidi Klum and Seal`s former Beverly Hills mansion bathrooms

Back in 2005, in the days when Heidi Klum and Seal were happily married they

bought this Beverly Hills mansion and owned it till 2011: 

The house, well if you can call a 6,794-square-foot mansion sitting on 2.485 acres a house, has 6 bedrooms and 9.5 bathrooms. Heidi & Seal bid it Auf Wiedersehen in 2011 to move into a 12,300 square foot Mediterranean mansion they bought for $14.2 million. When Heidi and Seal divorced they said that they had grown apart, hmm... could living in an almost double the size home have added to the problem? Maybe they could never find each other;) If I find photos of that estate, I`ll do another post on them. Even though Heidi and Seal are now divorced, it`s still fun to see inside their old homes. Hope you think so too!

So what are we going to look at? We`ll take a peek inside Seal and Heidi`s former master bedroom and master baths as well as into 4 of the other bedrooms and bathrooms, a powder room, massage room and their backyard (cause the pool is pretty, pretty sweet).

This was Heidi & Seal`s master bedroom:

A two sided fireplace seperates the sleeping and lounging areas: 

Now lets take a look inside Project Runway`s boss` bathroom suite.

Click the `click to see` more to check it out.

(There are too many photos so I thought I should put in a page break)

Teak furniture in the bathroom

I spotted this teak bathroom and thought, hey that would be great for my tub base posts.

This is the bathroom of fashion designer Beth Blake  and her family. The red Chinoise wallpaper would definitely wake me up in the morning.  It is such a bold, vibrant look. I really like the combination of the bright red in the wallpaper with the rich teak color of the tub encasing and vanity.

Using teak in the bathroom is a great idea. My parents have a boat and I can remember each summer of my childhood watching my Dad going thru the ritual of oiling all the teak parts. So whenever I smell the scent of teak oil it brings me back to the carefree sunny days of munching on watermelon & dangling over the side of the boat feeding chips to minnows. The teak still looks good today, so using teak in the bathroom is a great choice it can withstand all the splashing. Teak looks fantastic and is pretty easy and inexpensive to maintain.  Here's a link on how you to can make your own teak oil: here 

(My Dad makes his own, it's super easy to do).

This teak tub encasing looks custom made. I like how they added some built in storage to hold all the towels. Same with the fantastic teak vanity - look at all that storage! This bathroom is in a TriBeCa loft so space is probably at a premium. With the amount of space in this vanity I doubt they need a linen closet to store extra towels.

If you like the look of teak, but can't afford the cost of getting custom made furniture, you are in luck. Just hop on Craigslist or head out to pretty much any flea market, vintage shop or used furniture store (you can even often find pieces at Salvation Army shops) and you will find a bounty of mid century modern teak furniture such as vintage teak dressers, old record player cabinets, desks, you name it. You can easily repurpose most of these pieces to use as a vanity. It's best to go with a bowl or vessel sink (like the white bowl sinks in this post) and you can slap on a piece of Caesarstone, marble or granite as the countertop (or leave it bare) and you've got yourself an inexpensive, original vanity that will look great for years to come.

Since there doesn't seem to be windows in this bathroom, the designer, Steven Sclaroff ,came up with a great solution. He lined the back of a bookshelf in the adjoining room with glass. So now

"daylight filters through the translucent bathroom shelf unit".

Here's a peek at the other side of the book shelf:

Bathroom details:

Designer Steven Sclaroff

Jardin Chinois wallpaper by Christopher Norman

Classic rectangular tub is by Waterworks

Industrial Luxe fixtures also by Waterworks

images via: house beautiful

Gold faucets - giving your bathroom the Midas touch

Are you head over heels about gold faucets?

I think they are beautiful. Super pricey, but beautiful. Gold faucets definitely

increase the glam factor of any bathroom. Here's a photo of one of my favourite

gold faucet bathrooms:

I love the shade of blue on these walls. The muted tones used in this bathroom such as in the pretty bath mat and bathtub wall tiles makes the shiny gold accessories and bathtub fixtures pop even more. It is simple and chic. I also like that the stool legs are a deeper shade of blue to the light blue walls and the simple and great artwork. They really put a lot of attention to detail in this bathroom.

(details re this bathroom: designer DD Allen, Waterworks Classic Undermount tub, custom watery blue polished Venetian plaster walls by JJ Snyder Studio, Architecture by
Michael Pierce)

Same thing here, similar colour palette to the first bathroom and some

great Moroccan details in this bathroom. See how the gold bathtub faucet

really pops against these colours.

This vanity wouldn't look half as elegant if silver sink faucets were used:

The one thing with gold faucets is that they can look dated compared to silver

ones, so be careful when choosing your fixtures.

I think the best place to use gold faucets is in a powder room because you only need to buy a sink faucet. When you look into buying separate shower and tub fixtures in the gold colour your costs really go up fast, so by using gold faucets in the powder room you get the Wow factor without the worry of them looking dated in a few years or not being appreciated by the future buyers of your house plus you save alot of money.

I'd love to know what you think. Would you put gold faucets in your next bathroom?

images via: jimmy choo, house beautiful, country living, unknown, david collins, houzz, szekelyrobi, new ravenna