cause I can’t get it on Polyvore any other way

breaking it down…

Looking through Traditional Home mag… cause everything else is gone…

Want
 
here

Hate

here

Vicariously Embarrassed
 here

That’s it.

My 1.5 seconds of fame

You may find this hard to believe, considering how naturally and brilliantly blogging has come to me, but there was a day, not too long ago, when I didn't understand what a blog was, much less why one would "follow" a blog. 

That is, until I discovered Design*Sponge.  Grace Bonney instantly became the go to girl for all of my decorating and style questions and inspiration.  While I have since cultivated a complete obsession with regularly pouring over about a million and a half design blogs, Design*Sponge is still the standard by which all are measured. 

So today is a happy day for me, my blog, my store, my kids, my dog and anyone else that will listen to me, since our little floor remodel was included among the other amazing before and afters on Design*Sponge!!!! 

You know you're jealous that I have email in my inbox from Grace, herself.  Control yourselves.

Oy, The Floor

Step 1
remove/clean old flooring

Step 2
We used Novalis Vinyl 4” x 36” planks in Timber Natural Oak from Lowe’s found here.  We cut them exactly in half.  Measure, then score on top with straight edge and utility knife.  Just snap, and stack. We did one, and then used that as the measuring and straight edge for the rest.

Step 3
Decide what you want to line up with.  We decided that we wanted the points to meet in a line centered on the toilet.  Obviously, this will depend on the room you are doing.  Also, when we laid the planks in the toilet area, it was removed for repair.  Much nicer outcome than trying to cut around the toilet, and not really a difficult thing to do.

Step 4
At this point, it’s mostly just peel and stick.  So easy, and SOOOO satisfying, because you see the transformation so quickly and easily.  Don’t worry if there are tiny gaps.  It lends authenticity, ala Exquisite Surfaces. 

Step 5
After you get your first 2 rows done and start on the 3rd, you will have some that don’t quite fit.  It’s sooo easy to fix.  Just use your straight edge and super sharp blade and trim where necessary.  Use your next piece to measure and mark, then cut right through.

Step 6
When you have laid the body of the floor, take your scraps and go around the edges and fill in the smaller bits.  It’s so easy to cut, if you have curves, just use heavy duty scissors.  I think I spent about $60 on this project. 

Our 1st (and best yet) Before and After

The Scavenger Home bathroom left quite a lot to be desired when we moved in, but were we daunted? No, (yes), and it’s a rental, (not to mention the high failure rate in retail, crappy economy, etc…) so we had to do it on very little dime.  Honestly, I really think this is the coolest project.  Check it out.
 
Yikes, right?  Ok, so here goes.
Paint, change mirror, cover disgusting water heater, new lighting, replace the sink, no wait, that’s too expensive, well, fix it somehow, and then there’s the floor, oy…

Paint – Benjamin Moore in Hale Navy High Gloss – “OMG” best paint color ever!
Change Mirror – Bad mom. Totally stole it straight off the wall of my kids bathroom.  Nobody wants vain kids anyhow, right?  Originally from Urban Outfitters, but I don’t think they carry it anymore.
Cover Water Heater – scored totally gorgeous sample from F. Schumacher at design center for 20 bucks.  Yay!  By the way, also rebuilt wonky little table over it with wood cut to size at Home Depot.
New Lighting -  took down ugly plastic thing.  Bought only slightly less ugly brass/glass thing from craigslist for $20.  Sort of like this before I removed the etched glass panels and the brass “wheel” that the glass hung from.

Fix Sink – didn’t want to replace the sink in a rental, even though it was leaning off the wall in a precariously forward position.  And here is why being a pack rat sometimes pays off.  Finally found a use for a chrome sink stand that we didn’t use building our house.  Dismantled it and stole it’s legs.  Wedged them under front of ugly, institutional sink.  And voila!  You can turn an ugly, institutional sink into a silk  purse.  Should have replaced the faucet, but too lazy.
The Floor – ok, here is the part that makes me all shiny and happy.  The floor was really nasty lino tiles, dirty, broken and finished.  Removed, cleaned, then what?  Inspired by this post on design*sponge, we put our own spin on it.  I will do a detailed how to post on the floor, but I can say this.  It’s like giant stickers!
The Result - 

Ok, now, as usual, it looks so much better in person.  I can’t even tell you.  The blue is much richer, blah blah, bad photographer, blah blah blah.
 

What do ya think?

Where to Fynde us now!

We are super excited to now be a part of the growing community at Fyndes.com.  Fyndes was said to be the "best vintage shopping on the web" by the LA Times, and now that Scavenger Home is there, it's true! 

Actually there are a ton of other crazy fabulous, beautiful things listed on there.  Mostly in LA, but that's ok.  It's our first step toward market dominance.  First LA, then the world! 

Ok, we would settle for being successful enough to keep doing what we are doing for a long, long time.

Santa takes a political stand.

This is a picture of my living room after “the holidays” last year.  Seriously.
 
image via green.thefuntimesguide.com

Not this year.  Nope, not gonna do it.  All due to Santa’s new “Committee on the Environment”.  That’s right, it’s all very bureaucratic, and there is a lot of bickering across party lines, but they managed to get at least something passed before the holiday recess.  The new pilot program is as follows.  If you put a stack of reusable bags next to the cookies and milk on Christmas Eve, presents from Santa will hence forth be delivered in said bags.  The efficacy of this program and it’s impact on the deficit will be up for review in 2015, but by then my kids will have outgrown it so I don’t care. So, in order to appeal to the public’s overwhelming support for a green option, Scavenger Home is now carrying Living Ethos Gift Bags.  Amazing patterns and colors for year round giving, ribbons made of recycled pop bottles (yeah, I say POP, what do you say?) and 4 sizes, to fit jewelry, wine, a new phone and a yummy, fuzzy, but NOT terry, robe.  Or, I guess other things of those approximate sizes, if you and I don’t have the exact same Christmas list. And in my usual fashion of being totally timely, I will mention that for those of us that do give gifts all 8 nights of Chanukah, might I recommend using the same bag every night!  I swear it’s brilliant, just throw a little something in the bag before you light the candles, and voila, your the Jewish equivalent of Martha.