Planters and Art in the Garden

I don't think I told you, but at the end of April I broke a couple of bones in my hand and in my elbow. My husband is suggesting -- only half in jest! -- that I be wrapped in bubble wrap for awhile. Actually I just need to pay more attention when carrying things around two large and very enthusiastic labs, who want to be in on the action -- whatever it is!

Of course that was prime gardening season, which I missed out on. So for Mother's Day Miss J took me to the nursery to select flowers and annuals which she then planted in containers for me. We bought small-sized plants, knowing half the fun is watching them fill out and grow.

Come along on a short tour of container gardening!

A New Look for the Master Bath

I want to invite you in to have a look at our new master bath! You may recall that we renovated our kitchen last fall/winter. What I didn't mention is that we gutted the master bath at the same time. I know! How crazy is that? We did it to save on labor costs by bringing the various trades to the house fewer times. (At least in theory... with renovations that lasted from the end of October through the beginning of April, it's hard to tell.)

To start at the beginning, we built our house 22 years ago. We loved our bath from the start. It was spacious and boasted two vanities and a closet for each of us. Our house was semi-custom, in that we were able to modify some aspects of the house including placement of walls and expansion of the back of the house with changes in the roofline. We also specified the flooring and cabinet choices.

Nonetheless, 22 years can take quite a toll on rooms as heavily used as bathrooms and kitchens. The bath had reached the point where it was no longer functioning, and we were using the guest bath instead. So a complete renovation was in order, and we thought long and hard about the features we wanted.

Now onto the photos! We chose large porcelain tiles that mimic marble for the floor. What you can't see is that the floor is heated! The bath is above the garage and was unbearably cold in the winter, even with the portable heaters we dragged in each year. We replaced the wall-to-wall mirrors with smaller, prettier ones, and flanked them with sconces.