Got any DIY projects planned in your future?  Well, if you want some free money to get ’em done, you should apply to True Value’s DIY True Stories Contest and win $2,500!  Since the Holy House has about 734 projects that need to get done (give or take), you can bet your sweet booty that I applied to the contest.  Fingers crossed, right?

The contest asks you to identify one DIY project that you want to tackle, and making that decision was pretty tough (how do you pick one out of 734?).  But since I’m a relative novice when it comes to DIY, I figured I’d start small . . . that is, in the smallest room in the house: the half-bath.

The wallpaper, tiles (not asbestos, thank goodness!), tan-colored low-rider toilet, faux-wood vanity, and Superman-shaped mirror have all got to go!!  Luckily, that’s the only wallpaper in the entire house (a true miracle considering the home doesn’t seem to have been updated since the 60s, and those hippies were crazy into their wallpaper back then), so hopefully removing it won’t be too awful . . .

Here’s one last shot from the front hallway (the entryway to the house is to the right).

So what’s my inspiration?  Again, I’m not totally sure.  I loved the bathroom at the Cosmopolitan . . .

But maybe more for our master bathroom?  Since the half-bath is such a small room, and has no windows, I think it might be fun to do something dramatic in there.  Maybe a large-print wallpaper?  Something like this perhaps . . .

Image from YHL

With some old-fashioned hex tile and a streamlined vanity?  Here’s a little mood board I made up over at OlioBoard to start the thinking process . . .

I’d like to maybe try using a wall stencil (Royal Design Studio has some nifty ones), or maybe I can DIY my own like Kathryn over at Little Nanny Goat:

That way it’s less permanent (and more DIY-friendly) than actually hanging wallpaper.  What do you think?

Alright, that’s all I got.  So go on and start hunting for your own True Value Treasure (by applying here–hurry, you only have until August 15th), and good luck!!  Oh, and if you want sources for any of the items in my Olioboard, just click over and they’re all listed right under the board.  BTW–I just discovered the Olioboard tool and it’s a pretty rad way to try out different room ideas (although be warned: it’s a major time suck).