Guest Post: Maury from Life on Mars

Hi! I’m Maury (Mars for short) from Life on Mars. Last year, my husband and I moved into a definite fixer-upper and we’re moving room to room and updating them. The trick is, we’re trying to do most of the work ourselves and on a VERY tight budget.

So far, we’ve tackled the Family Room, Sunroom (for just $400 total), Master Bedroom, Guest Room and just last week we finished up our Master Bathroom.

Here’s a trip down memory lane and what she used to look like…

I don’t know why there’s an ottoman in this picture. Your guess is as good as mine.

Anyway, before, the bathroom was dark, lacked serious privacy (that window looks out onto the fairly busy street in front of our house) and I really hated the hunter green color and the lighting fixtures in here:

We bought the vanity lights at the Habitat Restore for $4.50, spray painted them and purchased new globes on ebay for $7 each. For $37, I think that was a huge improvement. We (and by we, I mean my husband, John) also moved the overhead light to over the tub and installed a chandelier.

Please note: I do not recommend putting in a chandelier over your tub since it’s not “code”. When and if we sell this house in the future, we will probably have to change it. But oh, it does look so pretty.

I don’t know why the chandelier looks off center in this picture, but I promise, it’s not.

Obviously, we also painted the ceiling and vanities blue (Valspar’s La Fonda Mirage), painted the walls Benjamin Moore Linen White and added crown molding. I updated the tower with some spray paint and fabric behind the shelves:

We also added privacy to the windows with Wallpaper for Windows and made a custom valance (for $30):

Overall, I think it’s a pretty huge transformation:

These pictures were taken around the same time of day (but I will say I’ve learned how to use my camera better so that helps a lot).

We’re about to tackle the kitchen with a new backsplash and countertops, so be sure to stop by Life on Mars and check out our progress!

Thanks to Elizabeth for letting me guest post today! I can’t wait to see her new house and see all the changes that she’ll be making!