Ma salle de bain...Les autres coins...{the other corners}

For those of you who have chosen to follow along during my corner-to-corner decorating journey, here are the other romantique corners of our salle de bain. Click here to see the previous post of ma salle de bain.
Recognize the white flower arrangement in the vintage white soup tureen??? That was the centerpiece I created for my sister-in-law's surprise party inspired by Ladurée.
A couple weeks ago, I moved this arrangement from the garden tub ledge to the vanity. Now, it seems as if the vanity and the flower arrangement have finally met their perfect match.

_{a vintage dresser converted to a sink & vanity}
Some of you may remember my post about this vanity that my husband and father and law created for this bathroom. Click here to see more.

I think that I've decided that no matter the design scheme I choose for this bathroom (from season to season), the elements on top of the vanity should remain in an all white palette~very serene and clean.

_{tall bathroom cabinet built by my husband. Click here to read more.}

The elements above this cabinet need a major overhaul.
It wasn't until I photographed this picture that I realized the large DREAM garland is not even centered! I'm also a little embarrassed to admit that this garland was the first thing I hung up in our bathroom upon the completion of the renovation...eight years ago and I haven't moved it since! It's about time for a change.
I've also decided that the décor above this tall cabinet will be on a revolving door; I will change them from season to season.

There's something about these three vintage silver hand mirrors that I love. Perhaps it is the romantic in me; I can't help it.
I also love the sweet little vintage hat adorning the center mirror.

_{view behind door}
Behind the door that opens to the bathroom is a simple, long vintage mirror and a brushed nickle hanger for hanging towels (one of the only store bought items in our bathroom). My sister-in-law bought this sweet vintage dress for Amelia when Amelia was 1.5 years old, and it is just too sweet to put away, so I have it on display.
This space may be a good place to change out vintage dresses (girls or womens) for coordinating with design changes.

And while visiting ma salle de bain, you mustn't forget to look up!
A white pressed tin ceiling spans the entire bathroom ceiling~the most beautiful thing to stare at during a hot soak in the garden tub.

And for the chandelier...that is for the next post!

_{images by à la parisienne}

Corner to Corner: Ma salle de bain

Well, I'm finally back to blogging now that everything has finally settled down around here!

I don't know about you, but when the new year starts, I always have so many new ideas and plans swirling in my mind that I run in place for a few weeks before I actually move forward (cue blurred feet in motion and cartoon music).

This year, I have so many new goals and new creative ideas, and I would like to accomplish all of them and, of course, share them with you!

One of my goals this year is to focus more on completing each room from corner to corner (making every room wholly functional and adding those finishing touches).
When I was teaching full time, almost four years ago, my favorite past time was to spend the weekends decorating and making new vignettes throughout the house. Somewhere along the way, like every hobby's ebb and flow, my passion for primping our home was replaced with blogging and making handmade items for my Etsy shop. Now I plan to put more of my creative energy into feathering our nest.

By sharing "my progress" with you, I hope that I adhere to this goal.

_{view of master bath from our bedroom}

So, I will begin my decorating journey with our master bath~my absolute favorite room in our home. Here is one corner of our salle de bain.

a romantic gilded mirror in front of the large garden tub~


a garden-style urn filled with soft whites - tulle, sand dollars, and a handmade box by Fanciful.

a very special angel that makes me *smile* every time I see it~

a wide shelf that spans the width of the garden tub bolstered by two ornate, antique black metal brackets~

I have yet to find the perfect items to place upon this shelf. Usually the groupings look cluttered or incohesive. After I removed all of the items from the shelf for the photoshoot, Zena seized the opportunity to nap there where the sun shines in...

_{So far, she is the best adornment~precious and oh so charming~and she definitely promotes relaxation!}

_{Up next:}

_{~les autres coins de notre salle de bain {the other corners of our masterbath};}

_{~a few design mood boards for our salle de bain that will help promote more cohesion from element to element.}

_{images by à la parisienne}

My Romantique Parisienne Salon {in the making}

When it comes to decorating our home, I move at the pace of an ambitious snail.

Completing a room in our home takes years mostly due to the lack of resources and our tight budget. And that's the reason my parisienne salon, which was renovated six years ago, still needs quite a bit of attention.

Every piece of furniture in our home is vintage or antique. It is not my practice to shop at Pier One or some furniture mart to furnish our home. I am too frugal to buy new furniture, and it would not coalesce with my romantic style. Besides, my 113 year old home would feel quite awkward if she had to hold loads of newly mass-produced furniture.

(However, Ikea rocks and if I lived closer to one, I am sure little Ikea pieces would make the cut in my furniture selections here and there, especially Amelia's room and the kitchen.)

Since I rely on flea market, antique store, yard/estate sale finds, furnishing a room completely can take years, and it requires a patient, resolute mind.

The true age of the chandelier in our livingroom is still up for question~antique or reproduction???

_{a stack of my favorite home decorating books}

This glam vintage telephone, which I recently picked up at a local yard sale, actually still works._{a goofus glass vase, in unique colors of rasberry and silver is accented with plumes, dried hydrangeas, and bleached peacock feathers}
I always pick up a handful of feathers whenever I find them, I just can't ever have enough fluffly plumes.

So here are my goals for "completing" my parisienne salon:

*Replace the obtrusive TV with a small flat screen and scrap the atrocious TV cabinet. The television is only used 45 minutes a day when Amelia gets to watch one special show, usually in French.)
*Make new floor length gold silk curtains for all five windows -YIKES, that won't be cheap!

*Roll up the large brown rug and store it away in the attic (We bought it to give Amelia a comfortable place to play when she was a baby.)
*Make the double window a better focal point with new curtains and create a more symmetrical design by hanging similar sized objects/pictures on either side of the window.

*Enhance the existing color palette of aged gold, brown, and rasberry or dusty pink (depending on the season) by adding more coordinating accessories.

I hope you enjoyed your visit. I'm hoping by sharing these ideas with you, I will stay focused and complete this room! I'd love to know any ideas you would have for this space.
_{images by à la parisienne}

My Parisienne Boudoir

_{We'll call this the before shot. The bed still needs to be dressed with wonderful vintage and new pillows!}

Since I began my blog almost two and a half years ago, I've been waiting to share my parisienne boudoir with you~my friends, my followers, my constant source of inspiration and encouragement.

I guess intimidation has been the major factor in my delay in sharing, along with waiting for a better camera, lens, and tripod. (I used the better camera and lens but no tripod.)

So, welcome to my parisienne boudoir.

_{A stack of new and vintage books near my dusty pink lamp.}
This picture above is a great snapshot of my boudoir's color palette:dusty pink, peachy blush, and tea.

_{an antique bookshelf from Budapest, Hungary-that's what the dealer at the Canton, TX flea market told us anyway. It was a birthday gift from my sweet husband.}
When we {my husband, father-in-law, and I} renovated our home in 2004/2005, I spent hours pouring over magazines and books for inspiration. Although my taste has evolved since then, I would have to say that our bedroom represents my style even better now than it did seven years ago.

_{a stack of vintage hat boxes in my favorite shade of aged gold}

This photograph tells quite a story of my taste:

*I love old botanicals, and the very best ones are expensive and rare.

*I hang most of our pictures in our home from a thin wire from picture moulding.

*Hat boxes are quite parisienne, n'est-ce pas?

*The wall treatment in our room was inspired by Madeleine Castaing's boudoir in Paris, which can be viewed in the book Paris Rooms {pg. 26}

Notice the vertical stripes on the righthand side of the picture. These stripes were fashioned to mimic the dusty pink striped wallpaper in Madeleine Castaing's parisian bedroom.

So far, you've seen 1/2 of our romantique, parisienne bedroom. Of course, it is not complete by any means, and it is always work in progress. For example, I still hope to find the perfect fabric to make gorgeous pillows for the bed.

The other 1/2 of our room is my workspace. One of these days I will share it with you. It still needs a bit of "primping."

Up next, my parisienne salon.

_{images by à la parisienne}