Let’s Polka!

When I was much younger, my parents decided my older brother and I should take music lessons.  My brother got a brand new shiny black and white electric bass guitar.  I got my grandpa’s accordion…. true story.  And maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if I had learned some romantic Parisienne melodies or even  some funky zydeco, but this was not the case.  Jaunty Polka.  Oh the injustice.

But polka also refers to dots, and polka dots always make me happy! I don’t care if they are on clothes, home accessories, artwork or food, I am a big fan. Good segue, no?

You’ve all been so patient about the washroom transformation, so here it finally is!

Here’s how I got to this point:

  I bought a Fiskars circle cutter and some black vinyl used to laser cut quotes in one of those cutting machines crafters use. I tried the giant circle squeeze punch Fiskars also makes, but after about 3 sharp cut circles, they were raggedy and unusable. The circle cutter has directions you download from their website.  They really need to reconsider those directions.  Not so good.  But I figured it out and blew through that vinyl roll in no time. These dots are 2″ in diameter. The vinyl and cutter came in at around $50.00. There is a company called Urban Walls where you can purchase pre-cut dots and other shapes who have a great website, but I really wanted to give DIY it’s fair shot. In hindsight, I don’t know that I saved much money my way, but it was fun doing it, so whatevs.

  

Next was figuring out how many circles, how far apart and how to apply them straight and in corners, etc.

You would have been so proud of my math skills on this one! Or maybe I’m just finally getting the hang of math. Or it was just a plain old miracle. ANYway, I measured out the first wall, and taped off the size on my floor.  This allowed me to play around and see how it would look without any commitment.

As I started transferring them to the wall, I only peeled back part of the backing, so I could move the dots how I needed without having to fully peel them off constantly. Under the picture of the single dot you can see a light purple line. That’s water colour pencil I used as a guide to line them up properly.  It wiped away with a damp cloth when I was done.

After the first wall, I was able to go around the room with the pencil lines as my guide and BAM! it was completely finished in about an hour.

The finishing touches:

 I forgot a before pic, so this is as good as you’re getting, but you get the idea anyway.  Teal ceramic stool.  Gold spray paint on the top portion, high gloss white on the bottom, sealed with spray high gloss sealer.

  

Next, the dilemma of what to put over the toilet to hold T.P., soap and washcloths. I looked for ages and although I never found exactly what I wanted, I found exactly what I already had.  It’s a planter from outside, spray painted gold (Rustoleum from the Home Depot)and will do just fine until I happen across the ideal piece. The art above it is a vintage flash card from the 70’s. (Are things from the 70’s vintage?) The chandelier art was moved from the front entry.

  

So there it is in all it’s polka dot glory. I will say here and now, there will be no accordion music to accompany whatever goes on in there, unless it’s playing on Songza, and I guarantee it won’t be a polka