Have you ever had a picture in your head of how something’s supposed to turn out but the actual execution was much different? Of course you have; life rarely turns out exactly like we envision or plan. But that’s okay. Sometimes things turn out better than we could imagined, but that picture that we have in our head, of “how things are supposed to be,” gets in the way of appreciating reality. Lately I’ve been struggling with this with this bathroom remodel (I’m still in the process but, the room is functional again!). I fell in love with an inspiration picture and so far, the makeover is really nothing like it, at all…..

The creative process for me is like a trail run through the woods. There are unexpected hills, tree roots, it’s mentally draining. At the same time the end result is usually this amazing high that makes it all worth it. Sometimes I’m winging it, pulling everything together piece by piece as I go. This was the process for the guest bathroom makeover.. I had no idea about colors, style or anything when I started laying tile. It all unfolded magically. I was in LOVE with that bathroom (I still am). It was unexplainable how everything just fell together; nothing was forced. To a certain extent I’ve learned to sit back and let things flow. It’s hard when you have a starting vision and then things simply won’t go in that direction.

The creative process for the master bathroom makeover was completely different. I fell in love with that inspiration picture above. Teal is one of my favorite colors. I like the clean lines, the white walls, and the contrast with the dark mirror and floor design. But so far the final design for the master bathroom is nothing like that picture. One wall is dark blue, the mirrors are very industrial looking, and the cabinet is NOT the muted teal I was swooning over. I’m not saying that I don’t like the remodel. The difference in my inspiration picture and my design execution is preventing me from going with the flow of the creative process and falling in love with this room.

To say this makeover has been a struggle would be an understatement. I bought 9, yes 9, paint sample cans for this room. Two for the dark blue accent wall, 4 for the vanity, and 3 for the rest of the walls. Ugggh. I got to the point where I said “F it!” “You’ve got to pick a damn color.” I have a hard time walking away sometimes when I need to regroup. I tend to push forward, which is not always the best thing to do. But at the same time it’s JUST paint and I needed to make a decision. The chaos of my house from this project also got the best of me. I was getting tired of having drop cloths everywhere and using the guest bathroom.

The bathroom design has grown on me more and more each day. At first, it was difficult for me to really get on board with the direction the design was taking me and appreciate it in its own right, because it looked nothing like the picture I had in my head. All too often life does not turn out as planned and it’s hard to let go of “how we thought things should go.” And because we can’t let go, we can’t fully be happy and relish in the reality that has unfolded. Now that most of the drop cloths are up, the piles of trash are in the dumpster, and I am actually living in the space, I love how things turned out. It was meant to be this way. Here’s a sneak peek at the progress since my last post update.