Creating A Beautiful Home~Alexandra Stoddard Bathrooms

It's already Wednesday and what have you done to the house?

Me either...but I would like to inspire a small change in your house--whether a new rug or maybe even a change of curtains. My friend, Alice, regularly changes her comforter for a coverlet or a bedspread. She adds a lamp to match and Voila! a new look to the room. And on that she's more industrious than I am. Changing summer to winter looks can create a nice lift to the room.

But today, I simply want to give you a few ideas for the bathroom. I chose this picture because most of the bathrooms were too luxurious for real people. And Alexandra Stoddard suggests white fixtures. So here is a list of suggestions that she makes in her famous book "Creating A Beautiful Home" for bathrooms. These are Grace Notes:

1) I encourage my clients to select all-white appliances. The deeper the color, the more dirt shows.
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2) If you are tall, raise the height of the sink counter to approximately 34 inches.
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3) Select clear Lucite towel bars with simple brass brackets.
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4) Select a tall brass goosenecked tub and sink faucet on a swivel.
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5) Towels help set the color scheme. In my daughter's blue and white bathroom, the towels are bright blue. The walls are white tiles with hand-painted blue clover leaves. When you limit the colors in the bathroom, the effect is striking.
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6) Twelve-inch white ceramic floor tiles are ideal for almost every bathroom because they're easy to clean, don't discolor, and can be livened up with colorful area rugs.
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7) Don't hide away all your colorful towels in the linen closet. Keep a generous stack of terrycloth towels and washclothes on a low, small white wicker table.
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8) For everyday use, a selection of kitchen towels folded and rolled in a basket on the sink counter is colorful and practical. Unlike most cotton hand towels, they won't require ironing.
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9)A basket with favorite soaps, bath salts, lotions, and powders is nice to have next to the tub. 
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10) If your bathroom needs renovation and you want an old-fashioned 20-inch-deep porcelain tub, housewrecking and salvage businesses carry them. The outside of this tub can be painted any color with regular high-gloss oil paint. If the tub itself requires resurfacing, it can be sprayed with a special epoxy porcelain paint.

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Surely you can find one thing you think is a good idea for your bathroom! If not, maybe a hint of something for the future. I have again included my bathroom jacuzzi tub filled with a sudsy bath and ready for me to jump into. I DO enjoy a good soak. I couldn't resist putting my shells from Florida on the side. And in the basket are washcloths, a foot scrubber for heels, and packets of AHAVA Dead Sea Mineral Mud, which is for aching backs and sore muscles. I also have large jars of epsom salts and baking soda--both for sore muscles and aches. 

It's important to give thought to your house and how your family moves around in it and uses it. Sometimes a small change can make a big difference. The children are usually the happiest about your attention to their bath or their room. They love change and freshness, I think.

So have a good Thursday with your family. Thank God for indoor bathrooms!

Blessings...Mimi