The Dressmaker's Cottage: Bathroom Progress

I've been playing with the bathroom for the last couple of days.  I started by making a faux roman blind for the dormer window.  I cut a section of fabric with lace trim to fit the window from an old handkerchief, and glued a short piece of white-painted trim (skinny sticks) either side of the top.  I added a couple of folds, which I glued in place, and then glued the blind to the top of the dormer.

Next, I used most of the remainder of the hankie to make a shower curtain.  I folded the top down and threaded 4mm jump rings (in antique bronze) through the lace to act as curtain rings.

The heaviest gauge wire I had in my stash was only 20 but I used it anyway! I cut a length to fit and painted it with tarnished brass distressing paint. Then I threaded the curtain onto the rod, and glued a jewellery spacer on either end.

Using pins, I pleated the curtain roughly and sprayed it heavily with hair spray and left it to dry overnight.

Here is the dormer blind and shower curtain in place - please excuse the dark photos as it is over cast today :(

Of course then I had to check how the curtain looked with the bath tub!  The bath tub as is, is pretty boring and uninspiring:

I used the tarnished brass paint again on the taps, and the legs but the outside was bothering me.

I only have acrylic paints on hand, which obviously won't adhere to the porcelain so I was stumped for a while, until I remembered that I have a porcelain pen in my stash.  It needs to be baked on to ensure a permanent finish - which I didn't want to do for fear of ruining it! - but I think it will be OK as long as it isn't handled too much.  I was pretty happy with the shabby, mottled look of one rough coat with the pen.

I felt it needed a bit more aging though, so I went over the dry ink first with a Walnut Stain distressing paint dabber, and then a Weathered Oak (grey) paint dabber.  Not too bad?

I also added a bit of staining to the drain ;-)

And here it is in situ.

I think it is coming along OK, considering that Shabby Chic is NOT my thing at all, lol!!

This is the bathroom with the sink and toilet from the set the tub came from added in.

I'm not happy with the boring toilet as it is, but I am not sure what to do with it to help it tie in with the bath tub?  I was originally thinking of painting the seat pale pink but perhaps that would clash with the black tub?  Although it would probably clash less than the timber seat does now! 

I will also age the sink taps with tarnished brass to match the bath taps, and possibly mount a shelf above the bath for storing toiletries.  I also need to hang the mirror above the sink.  Then, once the stair railing is complete, the bath room will be ready for accessories :-)