Bathroom Makeover

I've been living in my house for over 12 years now. In the time that we've been here I've grown up and started to influence the way in which the house is decorated. I live with my dad and sister, with all 3 of us being extremely busy people and so our house has been rather neglected in terms of its appearance. 

  A few years ago I redecorated my own bedroom with the help of my friends and I have also helped decorate my sister's as well. The next room I felt needed to be changed was our downstairs bathroom. It is quite a small room, with only a toilet and sink in it because we have the main bathroom upstairs. 

  So at the end of last year, one day I decided that it was time to remove all of the purple striped wallpaper that filled the room and make the place look a bit more natural and welcoming. I also wanted to incorporate a beach styled theme into the bathroom, but not make it too overpowering. 

Once I had removed all of the wallpaper from the room, which took a rather long time as it was so difficult trying to get it out from behind the toilet, life sort of took over. No matter how often I tried, I just didn't have the time to finish off the half started job. Fast forward 12 months and I've found some time to get the job done. 

Unlike when I removed the wall paper and just left the job, this time I wanted to finish the bathroom completely as soon as I started it. I didn't want this to be a start-stop project and really didn't want to be spending a long period of time doing it either. This meant that I had to be efficient and effective. As the wall paper had already been stripped off it was just the case of repainting the bathroom and then adding the finishing touches before cleaning the entire place from top to bottom. 

At the end of the day the project was finished. I started around 11am and finished around 4pm. In this time I had painted all of the walls in a lovely creamy colour which was not matt white yet not too yellow. Each wall needed around 2 coats and this made sure that the paint was applied evenly and covered each wall so the original paint could not be seen. 

  As the sink was still in good condition, I just rehung the mirror onto the wall and then cleaned the sink out. The small window also allows some natural light in and the colour of the walls make it look much brighter and bigger than before.

To make the bathroom a bit more personalised and welcoming, my sister decided to paint a canvas to be hung on the wall. We found the quote together online and loved it so she painted a beautiful background and then added the quote. It fits in well with the blue beached theme of the bathroom as well and it adds a bit of character to the room. 

Above is a picture showing the bathroom and the wall canvas in its place on the wall. I think it breaks up the wall really well, but doesn't make it look overpowering as it is essentially quite simple, yet effective. Again the features are the same, such as the sink, radiator and toilet roll holder, but they look much better with the new paint. 

This is another view of the bathroom, which just basically shows the furnishings and the paint, as well as the floor which had already been laid a few years ago. It has made the whole room look much brighter and fresher, which was the main aim for this redecoration. 

To add a bit of detail to the wall above the toilet, I added these photo frames which contain inside them photos of dolphins. Not only do they tie in with the theme, but they are also quite personal because we brought them whilst we were on holiday in Tenerife one year so we know that they cannot be brought in the UK. These black frames match the black frame of the mirror as well, so there is consistency throughout the room. 

Finally, on the window sill, to add to the theme of the room I added this small beach hut which brings some character and interest to the room. Again it adds a bit of colour to the room and it matches well with the rest of the features. 

I've really enjoyed decorating my bathroom and I'm really looking forward to my next decorating project, as I know that we want to decorate other rooms in our house.

Majorca 2013: Part 2

The view from our hotel, looking down over the pool and sea

Once we had arrived in Palma, we quickly made our way to the baggage reclaim section of the airport and waited whilst our bags were put on the conveyor belt. Typically our bags were one of the last to come out, but we managed to find all of them. We then had to find our coach to transfer us to the hotel. 

  After a lengthy journey I think we finally got to the hotel at 4pm local time. We then checked in and collected our wrist bands from reception, which were a good indication to how tanned we were by the end of the holiday. By this time I had been awake for nearly 30 hours and so we were pretty tired! Luckily we were on the fifth floor instead of the ninth!

The view from the fifth floor lobby

 The location in which we stayed was beautiful. The views were amazing and really relaxing. We walked along the cliffs to the beach a few times and this was when I took the majority of these images. They are mostly taken during the evening too, which shows just how beautiful the place was. 

The main swimming pool in our hotel

 We spent most days just chilling out near the pool or the beach and it was just lovely to not have to think about all the stress and worries at home or during normal life. It was a chance to just relax and enjoy our time away for a week. 
  The main swimming pool was always busy and we often watched people wait around the pool at 8am waiting for the man to unlock the sunbeds. After about 10 minutes the pool would be packed full of occupied sunbeds and towels.

View from the hotel grounds of the cliffs and walkway 

 We also spent some time walking to the little shopping centre about 10 minutes away from the resort and brought souvenirs and trinkets which you wouldn't buy at home. I think most of us came away with sunglasses and t-shirts, a total novelty shopping trip!

Flowers found in the hotel grounds

 As well as the amazing views and scenery within the resort, there was also a wide variety of beautiful flowers and plants. There was a tree with lots of roots growing from it's trunk and hanging from the branches as well as some gorgeous flowers such as the ones above. 

Views from the hotel grounds

On our last evening at the hotel, a few of us went out to get some last photos of the island and we realised how much we were going to miss our holiday and how we did not want to leave. The scenery here was a complete contrast to the views that we are used to at home. 

Views from the cliff-tops near the beach

 I love this image taken near the beach. Although it looks like a panoramic shot, it is indeed just a single shot and the way the land is shaped makes it look like a panorama. The beach itself was beautifully sandy and the sea was so clear and blue, a complete change from the sea and beach in our home town. One day we enjoyed pizza on the beach, played bat and ball in the sea and some of us even explored some of the coves.

The swimming pool which we regularly went to

 Although the main pool in the resort was always packed, the hotel had many other pools which guests could enjoy. On our first night we discovered the pool pictured above, which was located near the second of our two rooms. This was also our usual sunbathing spot and we found that you could always get a sun bed at this pool whenever you went down to it. One day the entertainment team brought down a water carpet and allowed the adults to attempt to run across it which was extremely funny to watch!

The entertainment team performing their rendition of 'Grease'

 In the evenings we typically went down to watch the entertainment. Whilst we were there we watched a circus act, played bingo, watched the entertainment teams interpretations of 'Mamma Mia' and 'Grease' and some of us were even forced to participate in the children's disco! The entertainment team there works extremely hard and are thoroughly entertaining, making sure that everybody gets involved and they happily chat to you whenever you see them.

The main pool at night

Sunrise on the last morning

 We awoke on the morning that we left at about 6am because we were being picked up at 8.40. We had time to finalise our packing and take a few more photos and it was amazing to see the sun come up over the horizon. The photos do not do justice to how red the sky and sun was when they first appeared. We knew that it was likely to be hot that day, and knew we wouldn't be experiencing any of it.

The sun rising on our last morning

We left our hotel, boarded the plane and soon arrived back in England. It's been nearly a month since we went now and it was one of the best holidays I have been on. Not only did I get to experience a beautiful resort and island, but I also got to spend it with my closest friends that I will not necessarily see all the time next year. Going on holiday was one of the best decisions that we made and I would do anything to go again because it was truly a brilliant week. 

Oh and if you're wondering what happened to that group of lads that went to Magaluf... On the flight home one of them was sick, and they said that they 'were never going to Magaluf again' because 'it was a total sausage fest' according to them. Sounds like they had a brilliant time!

Part 1: http://tammypenton.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/majorca-2013-part-1.html