Feng Shui-ing my bathroom (Part 1)

So as you likely know, if you have been reading about this whole feng shui-ing process...seems my bathroom is where my career area is located...career down the toilet? well, a little...silver lining? Water is the element for this area and let's face it, there is no shortage of water in my bathroom!
My idea, after creating and totally loving our Cave de Snooze was to continue with the cave-ish, cozy, den-like feel of that area, since the bathroom is right there!
You know, just as an aside here, it's funny, I have never, in all my years of apartments, houses, places I have lived, North America, Europe, city, burbs (UGH YES, don't get me started) have I  EVER painted walls in a dark color...I have always gone for the airy, white, clean look of white! (NOT BEIGE, I did say WHITE! or close to it) but I am loving loving LOVING the charcoal gray of the bedroom alcove...you might want to give it a try...I am not trying to push you or influence you, but it's only paint right?...you might be pleasantly surprised!...which leads me right on back to the bathroom...

I had this high drama idea of very very high gloss navy blue...wouldn't it look great? the dark wood doors, the charcoal gray walls the navy blue curtains leading into the...TA DUH....high gloss drama bathroom...
Well, unfortunately the only drama was my kid, insisting on hanging out in the small bathroom with me, while I painted and basically placed herself in between my legs the whole time! (that includes when I was standing on the toilet seat to reach high places or on the edge of the bathtub)...yes, therein lay the drama!...the navy paint? not so much.
Let me also take you back one step...Home Depot.
My local Home Depot has this "fabulous" and I mean "FABULOUS" paint department guy...I call him "Cage aux Folles"(and up until this moment, only to myself) (need I say more? oh really?, ok, if you insist).
He's hilarious and flamboyant, skinny and fierce, black and wonderfully gay and a breath of fresh air in the very orange and big box Home Depot...I love that he's there, that he is oh so comfortable about being himself in a very power toolish kind of place...I love it!
Plus, no matter what I need there, I know that I will get a little wink/comment or maybe a finger snap as I give him my "hey you fierce guy, I get and appreciate you look".
So there I was with my deep dark navy paint color swatch and as I handed it to him he gave me one of those "oh jesUS, what is she up to NOW" looks...I grinned and simply and confidently announced
HIGH GLOSS!
He raised an eyebrow, gave me a little grin and then said, (a little under his breath)..."oh LOOK, I can see myself in my walls!!!!" then he snickered, ok...Cage Aux Folles, 1 point for you...damn, I hadn't thought about seeing my reflection in my walls, in the bathroom, OY...I was deeply ensconced in the whole drama thing, not the reflection thing.
Whatever.
I explained in my sarcastic and smart ass-ish way (which he APPRECIATES!) that this was pure and utter glamour, it was high drama, something HE should understand, and it is going to look fabulous...I told him that I was going to take some photos and that I could guarantee he would be running home to do the same thing in his bathroom. OK..."well, here's your can of drama darling" he muttered as he handed me the can of paint in his fabulous way...
I got home, cleared out the bathroom and got to work.
Hey, have you ever painted with high gloss?, Woah, kind of a drag (so to speak)...very liquidy!
That combined with putting navy over white?...Meh, not so enjoyable.
One and a half coats later, Tess knocking over the paint TWICE...Tess wanting desperately to be IN BETWEEN my legs the entire time (what's that about?)...I wasn't loving it...I REALLY wasn't loving it..the color I mean!

 (you should know that these photos make the navy look MUCH better than it actually looked!)

And you know what? All I could think of was La Cage! He would ridicule me! Sheeee-it!!!
I slept on it, I looked at it in the evening, in the morning, mid morning...I decided it wasn't horrible, but basically, the state of the walls was not smooth enough or good enough to really pull off high gloss...of course it was after the fact that my very BFF (who also happens to be an interior designer extraordinaire) messaged me that high gloss can look cheap if the walls are not absolutely perfect...great, a little late Kir!
Back to the ridicule of La Cage Aux Folles...
Then I had this genius idea...I still had leftover charcoal gray paint, how about if I went right over the navy with it? I flip flopped a little about painting the bathroom the same color as the bedroom, even though they ARE connected, but I wondered to myself whether it might look like I was just too lazy to pick another color or make another trip to the Depot, you know?
Screw it, I went for it...I kept thinking, "En suite" yeah, which really means nothing in the grand scheme of things, but whatever, "En suite" was my twisted rationale for painting it the same color.
I started, and yes, it looked lovely! (thank god!)
Unfortunately, I quickly ran out of paint...FUCK!
I mustered up my courage and went back to the paint department of my local Depot, after all, I could deal with Cage right? I am a grown woman, his ribbing is fine, he's hilarious actually...I can do this...
IT WAS HIS DAY OFF!!!!! 1 point for ME!

(and let me just say, he will NEVER know about this whole high gloss flop!)

stay tuned for the charcoal En Suite!

before and after...the sleep cave...aka "La Cave de Snooze"

Coincidentally, before my whole Feng Shui overhaul began...I was really spending an unhealthy amount of time thinking about wall painting...Jenna Lyon's home (yes, her fabulousness, of J Crew-ness) , featured in every fabulous magazine imagineable was etched in my brain and frankly, driving me a little curazy! (specifically her bedroom, since mine was driving me nuts)
Here's a peek at my inspiration: (via http://habituallychic.blogspot.com/ )

Interestingly, I learned on http://habituallychic.blogspot.com/ that in fact her bedroom is NOT this gorgeous deep charcoal gray, but rather, this:

Black chalkboard paint...now, I happen to LOVE black chalkboard paint, but I prefer the charcoal gray version! (plus, if you use matte finish paint, guess what?  you can chalk it up all you want!)
Now, getting back to my place...as you likely know by now, it's a loft (just about 1000 sq feet), it has brick walls on both the east and west walls, windows on the north wall and the only actual wall walls are in the alcove/(slash)bedroom and leads to the small wall that is the front side of the open kitchen.
The alcove, is not anything other than a bedroom...it is the bedroom, and up until now, other than brick walls, the few walls we have were white...I kept feeling like I needed more color here, more warmth, honestly? (and this hopefully won't come back to bite me in the ass but), a little more interior drama!
Here is the before:

let's face it, do we EVER really make an effort in our BEFORE photos...nope!
(laundry basket, baby on bed, stool as bedside table...oy!)

and now...(drum roll please...) here is the AFTER!

...but you didn't think I was going to stop there did you?

heck no...

(notice that my lovely friends chalked a "happy birthday"

message onto my newly painted charcoal walls above the pillows...)

now it's becoming a true Cave de Snooze!

ok, so I didn't just paint...because once I had painted, I thought, hmmm how to go even further????

I had been thinking about separating La Cave de Snooze from the rest of the loft somehow and it all came to me, at once, in a moment of dramatic navy blue Ikea curtained brilliance (if I must say so myself)...

Ta Da! the curtains of LIFE! (as I lovingly refer to them) I am loving them!

(and you can imagine that napping is great for Tess in this plush, dark and cozy Cave de Snooze!)

I also switched out the old circa. 1993 big puffy pillow/santa fe-ish style covers for some simple gray velvet ones (yep, it's all about the velvet this week!) (perhaps my many years in the theatre?...hmmm will delve deeper when I have a minute...)

Anyhoo, gotta say, Snoozing in La Cave has been bliss...(and yes, maybe one day the crib won't be part of La Cave's decor, but for now, sorry Elle Decor, it's my reality!

So, what do you think?

Je L O V E it!