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Violet or Chartreuse?

Where mercy, love, pity dwell, there God is dwelling too.

-William Blake

After God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, (check out Exodus) He chose to live with them in the desert. However, He required a particular space, so He called and equipped a few men to build a portable sanctuary. These craftsmen followed specific instructions from the color of the curtains to the measurement of the frame.

The theological implications of God's building plan far surpass the intricate design details. Imagine, a perfect, powerful God willing to dwell with His people?

He lived as close as a Holy God could possibly be to His messy people. In fact, only the high priest could enter through the curtain into a special place called the Holy of Holies where God dwelled. But years later, the moment Jesus died on the cross the massive curtain miraculously tore allowing sin to no longer separate all of us from God. Can I get an "Amen?"

But beyond God longing to be near us, the instructions for the tabernacle’s beautiful design astounds the decorator in me. The tabernacle and later the temple's precision, artistry, and craftsmanship, reveal God as the Creator. As I think about my role as a designer, I often wonder if I rationalize my desire to create beautiful, comfortable spaces for families. I mean, deciding between mosaic versus subway tile is a textbook first world problem. Can you imagine God vacillating between violet or chartreuse for the temple veil? "Well, Abraham I have always appreciated the purple in the sunset- but chartreuse, I mean... wow."

So, through this bathroom remodel I learned to keep decor in perspective. I chose pieces I loved without getting too caught up in expensive trends. I am starting to understand the irrelavancy of the veil color- God simply longed to be with us. Similarly, in the end, our homes provide a space where we too can be close to the ones we love. To help them feel safe, loved, and known.

Before:

The previous owners of our well-loved colonial indulged in the pink/mauve trend of the '80s. This house rocked the pink, shell sinks, washed light pink cabinetry and pink walls. In its day, this room was Insta worthy. But, to bring it into this century and to make better use of the space, we extended the vanity to the wall and added the towers on either side to anchor it. We chose a quartz countertop,polished nickel faucets, fixtures,and pulls. I debated black cabinets but decided they would be too heavy for the space, so I added black accents like these mirrors.

Counters: MSI Quartz in Babylon grey

Before:

The old bathroom had the most exciting niches--- the perfect places for hide and seek. But we decided to open the area up. We removed the nook by the shower and the toilet and used it to create this doorless shower. Our water pressure is weak, so the actual shower space remains about the same size-- but we included this convenient dry-off area. We added the black trim all the way around the glass to incorporate the black penny tile shower floor.

Tile: Flooring- Tabular Cencere-rectified

Shower wall- Expressions Daylight

Shower Floor- Black penny tile

Before:

The Tub-

Yes, those are stairs leading up to our elevated tub, and yes, it is mauve, and the tile is pink. Barbie's dream house irl. When we started the project I designed it around my black, claw foot, dream tub (Michelle's dream house). However, the more I looked at the claw foot, the more I wondered if it was too traditional for my taste. So I found this tub with an art deco foot that compliments the arched window detail.

We removed the wall separating the vanity from the tub. It opened up the whole space. Finally simple wainscotting, extra shelving for storage, a bench for my girls to sit and chat, (We have some of our best conversations while curling our hair) and of course plants!!

Wall Paint:BM Pale Oak

Trim- BM Decorator's White.

Shelving Unit-Spring and Thyme

Baskets- Target

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