Most would look at this image and just see a shelf…. But I look at this image and see a new beginning!
Through the struggles of my anxiety, depression, pre and post natal depression I’d developed a hoarding personality, to the point where it was completely destroying what was left of my sanity.
No room was calm and peaceful. There was no room which I could just relax in. There was no “safe space” for when things got too much. For all of us, not just me. Although since Boe’s playroom was finished, that was a room I’d sit and have a brew in from time to time and escape the madness. Often I’d just go in, lie on the floor and stare at Bug and practice deep breathing.
But I needed something…. I craved a little relaxing space… I craved something pretty.
As part of my self care routine from the beginning of the year, I’d been having more frequent baths… Not a 10 minutes whenever I can grab it, but a long relaxing bath with either bubbles or essential oils whilst Mr Plinky was putting Boe to bed. It was my switch off time to help me transition from being mama to wife, from stressed to calm… It gave me the space to let everything go that was troubling me… So where better to start reclaiming our home from my mental illnesses than the bathroom!
We didn’t have the time to do a full on bathroom make over, or the funds as we were starting to save up for our new kitchen, so I had a quick in depth search on Pinterest for bathroom ideas and then the most simplest of ideas hit me – a pretty shelf above the toilet ? we had toyed with the idea of a tranquil picture at the end of the bath for me to get lost in, but quickly remembered how much splashing a toddler makes while they’re having a soak, so this was the best and quickest option. The toilet is in my sideline when I’m in the bath anyway, so it made sense.
So we quickly measured up…. The real driftwood type shelf that I craved were insanely pricey, so that idea was canned. The width of the space was too small for a trusty Lack from Ikea, so we checked out Argos and found the perfect sized shelf in an almost perfect style ?
I’d got our wall art from Dunelm when we first moved in, but there was never anywhere perfect for it to go…. Until now!
Our new look bathroom also needed some greenery, and as I’m currently still shit with real plants, we decided to fake it with two of Ikea’s trusty plastic plants. Sorry, environment…. maybe next year we might go real!
Next were some battery operated candles, again from Ikea (they automatically switch off after 6 hours, which is perfect for my forgetful brain) and a glass bottle for my muscle soak bubble bath and Epsom salts ?
It’s so pretty, and a great starting point for what will probably become the longest bathroom make over on the planet – we’d sorted this shelf back in February of this year ?
Since then, we’ve been adding little extras like a wooden grey under sink unit from B & M and a mint trolley from Hobbycraft (similar to the raskog trolley from ikea but a nicer colour (currently) and half the price!
In time we will be stripping the walls from this very flowery wallpaper and getting some cladding put up (or a fresh coat of paint) and getting a new floor, but it’s going to be a while before that’s done – especially seeing as the shower in our en suite started leaking through the kitchen ceiling before we had the work done, so it’s been bumped down the list a bit more for the time being….
So what do you think? I know it’s just a shelf so not a massive change, but I think she looks pretty and calming, and she comes with a great reminder of that sometimes we have to make our own sunshine ☀ and she signifies the beginning of a new chapter in our lives… A tranquil, uncluttered chapter ?
Happy days
Plinky xx