The Old Art Switcheroo

Last you saw our bathroom, it was darn near finished except for the tub surround. Needless to say, that's still not done. The shared roofline angle poses an extreme challenge, so I'm calling the room finished -- with that very large asterisk.

But, something else has been nagging at me every time I've entered the room. It's the first thing we see, and I made it myself. You'd think I'd like the thing, but nope.

Vertical. Horizontal. All bad.

I blame my beloved shower curtain. It's damn near impossible to match.

I added some deeper orange awhile back to try to get the art to work, but, try as it might, the little painting that could...couldn't.

It's been a year since I created this little beauty, so it's been staring at us taunting us for awhile. I've been hunting for ideas for just as long. Vintage botanical print? Framed scrapbook paper? Cheeky phrase or graphic? Buy, print, or DIY? 

I searched online for every variation of my ideas. Nothing worked.

Then, while Dave was sitting in the car with a napping Hadley and I was in Target running an errand in the frame section, I found myself perusing the wall art. Most of the time, regardless of the store, I run into art that doesn't suit our taste for one reason or another, but I tend to look, anyway.

On this particular day, I looked quickly, assuming there'd be nothing. Then I saw these two, and skeptically sent a picture to Dave to see which he liked.

Initially, I liked the one on the left, but in person it's a bit busy. I wasn't sold yet, but the more I described them, the more I liked the juxtaposition of the large graphic cochlear shell against the faded map and linen lining on the right. Plus, the teal blue looked like it just *might* coordinate, if not match, the curtain.

I think it does. It's the same tone family as the lighter blues and even plays well with the cornflower blue (looks navy, but it's not). It all goes to show you that you needn't have a matchy-matchy room to have a nicely put together one. And, sometimes you can't tell until you bring a piece (some art or an accent pillow or new sheets or anything) into the space whether it'll work.

About $15 later, it was more than I wanted to spend, but still not much even in DIY standards. Plus, I don't want to pull my hair out anymore when I walk into the bathroom...which helps.

Now, if only I could get some guidance on my tub's wall surround (it's getting worse; someone did something wrong way back when). Otherwise, I'm calling the bathroom D-O-N-E! I'll share a final reveal soon.