Monday, December 14, 2009

The White Elephant Renovation

In the US there is a tradition of giving "white elephant" gifts from time to time. This means that the gift's cost generally exceeds its usefulness, and generally the recipient didn't want the gift in the first place.

One of our Rendezvous friends was garage sale shopping this summer and found a sad little room box hat had been decorated for display in a bathroom. She decided I should have it and thus brought it to me.

Of course the last thing I needed was another miniature project so I stashed it away until I found it while cleaning.

It was a sad little room that had way too much green in it.
Now I do like green, but this was just too "bleh." If you look carefully you can get an idea of what I thought about the room via the mirror. ;-)

The robe seemed to be suspended by magic since the hanger had fallen off the peg. Those towels didn't look like an person, mini or otherwise, would want to dry their skin with them. The shelves were ok, but too plain. The mirror needed to go.

Lucky for me I received some bath accessories for Christmas this weekend, so between those new treasures and some things in my stash and supplies....
The walls were repainted a brighter shade of green and the frame was repainted bright white. I happened to have the yellow tile stashed and the floor is a scrap of life-sized wallpaper. I reclaimed the white baseboard from another project that got renovated.

The sink and shelves all got repainted a bright white and I added some floral embellishments to the shelves. I did away with the robe, original towels, and the too-large mug but I kept the hairdryer.

I put together all the bottles and jars this morning. I can't find the beads I bought to make nail polish bottles. I know they are in my work room somewhere. Once I find them I will open the room again to add them.

And if you're wondering, the towel bar is made from that errant hanger that the robe was supposed to be hanging from. The robe was too covered in glue to salvage. I had considered making a hand towel and/or wash cloths from it.

Until then this room is hanging in the perfect spot:
The guest bath is a bit more cheerful now. :-)

13 comments:

Alice said...

Wow! From dreary to cheery! From blah to hurrah! What a transformation! I agree with your choice of deletions. I like how you changed what you could. Purple painted posies never hurt anything! It is great that the bath accessories you received found a home so quickly. The cat was an excellent addition too. :-)

Caseymini said...

Kat, it looks great. I like what you put in and I also like what you deleted. Do you have it recessed in the wall? It looks like it is. Just curious?

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Whimsy!

MiniKat said...

Alice: Thanks! No room seems complete without a mini critter of some kind. This particular cat looked the best. I just wish he could have fit under the shelf. I think that would have looked more natural.

I may have to find something to stick under there. That space is begging to have something peeking out from under it. ;-)

Casey: Glad you like it! :-) It's not recessed into the wall, although when we own a home sometime in the future I'd like to have a space built for it...and several other rooms for that matter. ;-)

The box is about 1 and 3/8" deep and it screws onto a bought picture frame with the help of two L-shaped brackets. The glass is loose in the frame so I made myself a note on the back of the box to remind me before I open it again.

The sawtooth picture hanger thing is on the back of the box. It's an older one that hammers directly into the wood, as opposed to fiddling with those tiny brads for the new ones.

MiniKat said...

Pamela: Our house is full of whimsy. :-)

Jill said...

Wonderful makeover-- you worked your magic! It looks so much better with the fluffy towel, color changes, and detail you added (& subtracted!).

Sans! said...

I like the new box much better now. People will take more time staring at the box than the mirror I suspect!. :)

rosanna said...

So cute. You have done a miracle with that room. it's so much happier now. hugs Rosanna

beyondbaffled said...

I love your improvements on the bathroom scene. I have to admit your scowl in the mirror did make me laugh!

TINK - SONIA said...

Hi,You have changed the roombox in such a way that is much more happy now.Minigreetings from Spain,Sonia

Crafts From The Stash said...

Its al lovely stuff as per Kat and by the way you won my give away. Get over to my blog and send me your addy LOL
Debie xxx

Tallulah Belle said...

oooohhhh what a clever idea. I have never thought about displaying mini scenes in the house like this.

I love what you did to it as well.

Anonymous said...

What a difference! Boy what you can do with White Eleaphants.