bath mats

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As usual, the smallest details are the very coolest.

How about a bath mat that turns bright red when wet to freak out your guests?! Or one made of moss that is fed by your post-shower watering? Brilliant! 

New bath mats all around!

{everything, nothing}

Good morning, I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

This quote perfectly describes my life lately. After months of little activity and few expectations, I have bouts of intense challenge and busy-ness. This last week was one of those incredibly busy and challenging weeks, and I'm afraid the trials aren't over yet. I feel incredibly emotionally drained and exhausted, but I have to keep moving because there are still a lot of things I need to accomplish. But I guess I can be comforted to know that I'll probably go back to the challenges of my boring life soon enough ;) 

I am comforted, though, by the knowledge that "in all things we are overwhelmingly conquerors through Him who loved us." Rom. 8:37

Happy Monday!

Under the stairs

images via pinterest

I currently have a coat closet under my stairs. But these images make me wonder....what if I didn't?!

What do you keep under your stairs?

Plate Walls

I have quite a collection of blue and white porcelain: new and vintage, plates and platters, jugs and candlesticks and tiles, I have it all. I decided to try to put it all in our downstairs half-bath. I have been seeing millions of plate walls pop up in the design world for quite some time, and I don't know why I never realized that my blue and white plates and platters would look so much nicer on a wall than they do stacked up on top of my refrigerator! Here are some plate wall photos to tide you over until I can buy more plate hangers.  You might not be impressed with the three I have up there right now, but you will be when I get it finished!

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What do you think of plate walls? 

Bathroom Inspiration

This week I got a message from a reader of my blog (ok, my cousin. but I didn't know she even read this!) asking about painting the trim in her bathroom. It was the biggest compliment ever to have someone ask me any kind of design/decorating advice. I answered her question to the best of my ability, and was inspired to make these bathroom inspiration boards on polyvore. I was going to send them to my cousin as inspiration, but I figured I'd just post them up here for you all to see. Since she lives far, far away and I have no idea what her house looks like or what her decorating style is, I put together two different bathrooms that I thought would be pretty with white trim (the only thing I know she wants!).  

This first one is a little like my master bed/bathroom. I really love black and white and green together!

Green/Black/White Bathroom by DaniellaHouk on Polyvore.com

This second one is much girlier. If I had gone with purple in my guest bedroom, I would be all over this for a guest bath.

Purple/Ivory Bathroom by DaniellaHouk on Polyvore.com

So what do you all think? What do your bathrooms look like?

PS Sorry about the odd formatting, Polyvore doesn't seem to like my blog very much!

Bath Glamor

via Plush Palate

via From the Right Bank

One summer, I stayed in the ancestral home of some of my dad's great grandparents. The sweetest old couple, distantly related to my family, welcomed us with open arms and glorious showers and soft beds after days of camping in the wilds of Wyoming. Their bathtub was exactly like the one in the second picture above. It felt so old fashioned and glamorous to bathe in that old family tub. But basically, I just really love baths. Tonight I'm hoping a hot hot bath will ease my shin splints enough for me to be able to make it on my run tomorrow. I'll just keep telling myself its not glamorous if I'm not skinny ;)