Monday 19 January 2015

the WC before and after



Recently I had ten days off work and without the where withal (or perhaps the inclination) to go away anywhere, I chose to spend my time in the water closet, the WC, the loo, the lav, the littlest room !

Regulars here will know that I decided to decorate the hall, stairs and landing just before Christmas.
Well it's almost done, apart from the floor. In fact it was all almost done before Christmas.................apart from the floor.
I'm procrastinating.
Bending down, sitting cross-legged on the floor, kneeling.....it all hurts, so I diverted my attention to the WC.

I'll show you part of the hall first, the chalkboard wall. The hall is so narrow that I couldn't stand back and get a better shot.


I've had blackboard envy for a considerable amount of time, and when I did this (and my friends wrote over it and the neighbours children drew all over it) I loved it so much, that I decided to paint the loo walls (and ceiling) black too.

 
I also took up the carpet and painted the panelling and door frame in brilliant white.
 
I seasoned the blackboard paint with chalk.
 
 
I've always loved this picture that I put on my Pinterest board Wall Displays, where a collection of cameras is highlighted by putting them against blackboard walls and I realised that if I had some blackboard walls of my own, I could try and replicate it a little.
I have loads of framed photos of friends and family, but they were in the ex old geezers loft, so I got them back and painted and distressed most of the frames with black and graphite, leaving a few gold ones in their original state.
I went through a massive trunk full of photos (an afternoon that was spent reminiscing) and found some more and painted yet more frames.

And now I have a blackboard photo gallery in the WC, with names of friends and dates of days gone by, memories of travels in far off places, and memories of family also gone but not forgotten.



The ceiling worked out way better than I imagined, when I found the perfect quote to wind round the light.

 
From quiet homes and small beginning
 
out to the undiscovered end
 
There's nothing worth the wear of winning
 
but laughter and the love of friends
 
 
- Hilaire Belloc
 
At face value it seems to fit because I wanted the words to spiral out to the ends, and I've been to the 'ends' of the earth, and also the water closet is all about friends, but I think it's a great quote with a great meaning.
 


 
As you can see I painted the floor white, but this is the only section I've done, so that it would be photo worthy.
 


I had no plans for putting up the pictures, I didn't lay them on the floor, I just put my favourite photos on either side at eye level and just let the gallery grow randomly.


I don't really like pictures of myself but this one I can cope with. It was 25 years ago exactly that I went on an amazing overland trip from London to Kathmandu and the best thing about visiting the Taj Mahal was that we were the first people there at 6am and we had it to ourselves at first and you have to take your shoes off, so walking on the cool white marble made it even more special.





 
 
 
 
 
I've been spending a lot of time in the water closet, and now you know why.
 
linking up with
 
Make it pretty Monday @ The Dedicated House
Show and Share @ Coastal Charm
Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life
Wow Us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style
Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage
Silver Pennies Sundays Link Party @ Silver Pennies
 

38 comments:

  1. Love it! I love all your pictutes. Fab job as always.

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  2. Amazing! You managed to create a wonderful gallery in the smallest room! I have to redo my loo next summer as right now it's very cold and to insulate it I need to get rid of the drywall... Yours is an inspiration!

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  3. Woah!!! This is the coolest thing I have seen in a long time. And is that a little wire Taj Mahal to complement your photo??? Did you get dizzy and fall off your ladder when you were writing out the saying around the light fixture?
    It's all brilliant!!!!

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  4. It's absolutely gorgeous; no wonder you don't want to leave it!

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  5. I just LOVE it! It is probably the most wonderful WC I have ever seen. No joke.

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  6. I can't believe my eyes, I have never seen anything like this before. It is totally amazing. You must have put in hours on this. I'll bet when visitors come they never come out, who needs a magazine. LOL I've got to PIN this one! Jo

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  7. It is wonderful! Amazing art gallery in a small space!

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  8. Fiona, how amazing is this?! My goodness, so much work and dedication...and danger - how ever did you manage that inspiring quote without getting dizzy?! Your ceiling looks quite high, giving you lots of space to exhibit the display. You have created such a beautiful gallery of art, photos, and memories. Spectacular!

    xx
    Poppy

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  9. Cool idea!

    The word "Tasmania" caught my eye as I was scrolling through. I live in Tasmania!

    Kathy

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  10. That is absolutely the best chalkboard wall/gallery EVER! So cool that it's full of memories and even better you can change them out and add new ones with captions any time! Awesome project girl!

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  11. your room is just fabulous, fiona! i love chalkboard walls, and the pictures look awesome! really great idea for a small room!

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  12. I think you need to sell tickets to your art gallery in the loo! Your walls look amazing and tell the story of your life. You've done a fabulous job transforming the smallest room in your house, but you may have to set a timer when you have guests! Well done, Fiona! I like your inspiration photo, too.

    I've been off almost full week, but tomorrow it's back to work again. I'm glad you had a great vacation at home!

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  13. WOW! It looks so grand!

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  14. You have blown me away with this one. Love how hanging the pics on a chalkboard wall allows for writing who, where and when the picture was taken! Are you kidding me the toilet tank is hidden behind a wall? Cool. I was also wondering how your neck could stand writing that (wonderful by the way) quote on the ceiling. Pinning this.

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  15. I am over the top in love with this idea. I wish I had a spot in my house to do this. Our hallway would be too dark with the black walls.

    If I ever drop by your house, I will spend a lot of time time in the loo.

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  16. OMG!!! This is the most unique and creative idea that I have seen in a LONG time. I love it!!! I admit that I would be squatted on your toilet fora real long time! ;)
    Pinning this one Fiona... You are a genius.

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  17. What a positively brilliant idea - I love it!!!! You definitely have created the most interesting and unique loo ever!!!

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  18. Fiona, you have outdone yourself! This was such a terrific idea! It really makes a trip to the loo much more enjoyable than the typical most of us have. Well done!

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  19. I love how personal and touching this is. I'll bet your guests start spending a lot more time in the loo!

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  20. Wow! You are so, so clever and creative, Fiona. Your wc is fabulous! I love what you did! Well done! Applause, applause. xxx ~ Nancy

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  21. This is AMAZING Fiona! It's magazine worthy! Love, Olga

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  22. Oh my word, this is fantastic. I love this idea. The walls are so perfect. Great makeover. Thanks tons for linking to Inspire Me. Can't wait to feature this next week.

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  23. I love it. I feel like I should send you a photo of me as a tot sitting on my first potty. My uncle took the photo and teased me about it every chance he got. You could caption it in chalk, "here I sit......".

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  24. P.S. Are you the dark haired beauty sitting next to the handsome guy?

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  25. Hi Fiona! Bliss told me about you so your secret is out! I LOVE LOVE LOVE your WC...is that too fresh?! After all, we've just met but if you're friends with Bliss, I wanted you to know that you'll be stuck with me as well! Love your blog, so glad that Bliss helped me to find you! xo, Kimberly

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  26. Holy crap Fiona! This is fantastic! I already have a black bathroom, maybe I should add some more pictures and quotes so I can try to be as cool as you! Beautiful! Just beautiful!

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  27. Love it! came over from Marty's. We had a black wall in the guest room of our old house, and then a very large shelf unit on that wall that my hubby built. Everything popped beautifully on the unit off the black wall. I have to do one in this house.

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  28. It really is just as cute as can be...you did an amazing job...and I like gallery walls willie-nilly MUCH better than ones all planned out (if there's room).

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  29. This is so great...you'll never have to answer the question, "Who IS that?"...love it and pinned it.

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  30. Hello I am a New comer to your blog from Bliss Ranch. She spotlighted you and it sparked my interest - and so glad I took the time to stop in .. Perfect O - I love this idea of your gallery and it's like a wonderful history in plain sight...with names and all. Totally caught my eye. I will be adding this idea to my book - thanks for sharing!!
    Hugs

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  31. Hi Fiona, I'm a new visitor to your blog, and I gotta tell you, I couldn't love your WC more...AMAZING vision. It's the epitomy of creativity, my friend. It's absolutely fantastic!!

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  32. Very original! I love how you did it!

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  33. Absolutely LoVe it!
    Thanks for sharing the creative fun!

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  34. Words fail me! I can't begin to tell you how much I love your WC. Painting half the walls and the ceiling black was a great idea. Hanging the framed photographs was absolutely brilliant. Chalking in the names and dates around the photos was unequaled. But chalking in a quote around the ceiling light fixture must have truly been death defying! I can't remember when I've enjoyed viewing artwork as much as I've enjoyed this. Thank you.

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It's always a pleasure to receive your comments. I really enjoy reading them, and a huge thank you if you are following as well !