Who needs HGTV when you have EEK?

For about the past 6 weeks (ever since Olivia wouldn't go to her ballet class anymore) our family has been going to the Y to work out on Saturday mornings. We drive an extra few minutes to go to the Y that has personal tv's on the cardio machines.
Because we don't have cable at home this is a treat. I've been watching a show on HGTV called Sell That House and its all about getting a house ready to sell while spending not much money.

Since then, I've gotten a bee in my bonnet about re-doing our bathroom. It seems the big buzz word on these types of shows is "spa like feel." That is not exactly the kind of feel you get when you're in our bathroom. And since we have a house that has one full bathroom, we need to up the curb appeal if we want to try and re-sell this thing.

So right after Christmas we hit some post-Christmas sales at Bed Bath & Beyond and bought a new shower curtain, bath rugs and towels. After 7 years, our towels, mats and curtain definitely needed a make-over. And personally, I think you can never go wrong with a line from Nautica. We also added that little brown stool you can see in the corner from TJ*Maxx.

This is our new shower curtain and the colors we're going with. I wish I had thought to do a before picture while the old stuff was still up, but I was so excited to hang the new stuff, I didn't even take the time to get a picture. Just imagine lavender, light blue and sea foam green. It wasn't as ugly as it sounds, but I like this much more.

Our bathroom is a very odd shape. It is a bit of an L shape. When you walk in from the one side of the upstairs you come upon the shower first. Then you round the corner and see this. The sink and toilet.

Since you can't make it a true "spa experience" by just adding new towels and throwing up a new shower curtain, we decided we needed to get a new medicine cabinet and sink/cabinet.

This current thing has been repainted about 3 times and now that the paint is beginning to peel, you can see several layers.

The week after Christmas we made our first trip to Ikea and picked out the vanity. Its really cool and I'm pretty excited to get it up and replace that current mirror.

Yesterday we went to Lowes and got a new light fixture for above the new vanity. In case you can't tell, this current one is brass... and ugly.

We are going to have to rip out the medicine cabinet that you can see in the mirror that is on the back wall. It will require dry wall b/c there will be a hole once its gone. Gulp. We don't know nothin' about no stinkin' dry wall.

Then, finally, we also picked out some paint while we were at Lowes. It's a pretty light coffee color that should tie it all together nicely. Currently, the entire bathroom is white (except the counter top of the sink that is that sea foam green color.)

I get so bunged up when I decorate. I really become paralyzed. But hopefully, spa feel, here we come!

At first, Steve was thinking about doing it himself (ackhem... remember we know NOTHING about dry wall) which made me a bit nervous. Even though he was going to get help from a good friend who used to re-do bathrooms as a profession. But when you only have one bathroom with a shower/bathtub, you can't afford to have it be out of commission for too long.

Now it looks like we might call in some outside help. Get 'er done right and get 'er done fast is my motto. (who knew I had a home improvement motto?!)

This is us at lunch TODAY at Ikea. We went back for the sink/cabinet/spicket. Hopefully the last need for our spa.

If you've never been to an Ikea its a real hoot. (Yes, I just said hoot.) We'd go occasionally when I lived in NYC and then again when I lived in China, but its been a long time since I've stepped foot in one. And never since I've been a "grown up."

Its forever big and thanks to our 3 hour debacle the first time, we figured out how to do our research at home and get in and out (lunch included) in about an hour and a half.
I'm going to try and update with pictures as we go. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished project. Who knows... I just may not want to move out of my very own home spa!