suburban renewal

My first Knock Off Wood project

2010-05-08T05:36:00.000-07:00

This week I tried my hand at furniture making. This cute little step ladder style table was for my dear friend's birthday. It's a knock off of one sold at Pottery Barn Kids. It would make a great bathroom accessory, holding bathtub goodies, or a great back porch side table.

The plans for this table can be had for free at Ana's fabulous Knock Off Wood. Man that woman is a major player in DIY world!

She was nice enough to choose my little table to feature on her site. It's so fun to see what other people are making with her never ending supply of plans. You should check it out. It's one of my favourite places to keep up on.

Happy DIY'ing!!

finding luxurious supplies on the cheap

2010-02-10T05:49:00.000-08:00

cell phone included in photo to show scale
I popped into Homesense the other morning looking for a particular picture frame size. It was to no avail, but like a good little hunter, I immediately headed over to the department which contained the things I currently lack: decorator pillows. I bypassed the regular price pillows mind you, because I couldn't justify the prices. I headed straight to the clearance aisle.

No, I'm not looking for finished pillows that will do the trick. I want to make my own pillows. You see, even an ugly pillow could be a gem undercover. It wasn't hard to find pillow after pillow which contained feathers for it's stuffing. This week's find were 2 tacky (at least in my books) little accent pillows. They were $10 each, which is a little pricey since you can find a large reduced feather pillow for the same price, but these were rare finds. I've noticed little pillows on Etsy.com lately that I'd love to use for inspiration for my own little wonders, and why shouldn't they be feather pillows like all the others.

If you're into sewing, or at least equipped to sew pillow covers, there's no reason why you have to resort to synthetic stuffing...unless of course you have allergies.

my retro front entry was featured on Apartment Therapy!

2010-02-09T05:42:00.000-08:00

I'm a little excited, being that I'm a seriously random and inconsistent blogger, and yet found myself being asked permission to post my latest interior design endeavor (a.k.a. making my house look purdy!). Beth Zeigler, a contributing editor for Apartment Therapy Los Angeles e-mailed me the other day to do just that.

I know i love my new front entry, but it's nice to know that others appreciate it as well.

I was featured here: Using Fabric to Transform a Cabinet

Take a look at your own stuff and see if you've got something ready and waiting to be brought to new life with a little bit of designer fabric or paper!

Cabinet makeover originally blogged here:

My Tribute to Early 70's

chair makeover

2010-02-08T05:42:00.000-08:00

My hubby's grandfather gave us this chair eons ago. I once found a slipcover at a thrift store that fit this thing like a glove. I loved it so, but it was well loved when I got it and eventually fell apart. I can't find it now and could slap myself at the thought that I may have thrown it out! I could have used it as a template for a new one. Perhaps it'll turn up some day.

This chair had been sitting unused in the basement, so it was time to give it a makeover.

My sister put me onto Tonic Living, a store in Toronto that sells fabric online. I ordered a sample of this "retro-geometric must have" and was very happy with it.

I'm not over-the-moon about the final look. To me it says "masculine", and is a little formal looking. Maybe me and black just don't get along. Still, I can't deny that the chair has improved 100% even if I'm not head over heals for it.

my tribute to the early 70's

2010-02-05T05:26:00.000-08:00

This piece belonged to my husband's parents, and although I've always liked it, I wanted it to really make a statement in my front entry. It's a record album holder from (I assume) the 60's or early 70's. I wanted to do something fun and little daring, at least for me. I chose the paint colour first, and then got the notion to do something different for the sliding doors. Over at Tonic Living I poured over all of the fabrics and found a Sandi Henderson design that looked like it just might be the ticket. I ordered a sample and it matched perfectly! The paint colour by the way, is Behr's "Bronze Green 350D-6".

I used spray adhesive to attach the fabric to the doors. This way if I ever grow tired of it, I can peel it off. I put new stainless steel knobs ordered from Lee Valley. They also turned out to be perfect replacements for the hum drum ones it originally had.

that thing on the wall is the original door chime cover, but i like it!
The painting that hangs over it is by a Montreal artist, painted in 1970. My adorable owl was a find at Winners/Homesense.

Needless to say, this area in my house is a tribute to the 70's. :)

{before}

put on a happy face!

2010-02-04T19:12:00.001-08:00

put on a happy face!, originally uploaded by hyggelig happy.

Is this not completely adorable??!!!!!

thermostat in middle of wall

2010-02-04T07:45:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to figure out my gallery wall for behind my couch. A gallery wall is the perfect solution to my problem on this wall. Can you see what is right smack dab in the middle of that wall? It's a freaking thermostat! How incredibly dumb is that!!

In the first photo, I had a small white frame taped with painter's tape stuck on the wall. I realized that I would do better with using a bit of a larger frame. This de-emphasizes it, at least I hope it does. Using a larger frame enabled me to re-arrange frames around it, using less frames and eliminating all the small ones. I think the second arrangement is much nicer.

I'm going to do something with the thermostat itself though. My daughter guessed right when I asked her to guess what I would do. She said "pop art?". I think I might make that old thing look like a print itself. I see a robot face when I look at it, but we'll see. Whatever I do, the thing needs the air to circulate around it so it senses the temperature in the room. Some day we'll have the darn thing moved to the doorway!

before

after
Now to figure out what colours the frames will be. I think all black would be too harsh and formal for my taste, and all white would be too predictable. I'm going to mix it up.

All I need now is more art to put in the frames!

pillow envy

2010-02-03T19:30:00.001-08:00

Pillow for....., originally uploaded by flossyblossy.

I have GOT to learn how to quilt!!!!!

pillows

2010-02-03T13:54:00.001-08:00

WIP-washing line, originally uploaded by monaw2008.

First off, this isn't mine, but I'd love to make something like it (minus the buttons - i can't help but see buttons and think "country style"). It's a pillow cover. Recently I've felt driven towards dusting off my sewing machine to make decorative pillows for the inadequately adorned couches in my living room.

I've ordered some fabric off of etsy and have plans to make some pillows. Not applique mind you, but this certainly has piqued my interest!

Spring inspired shelfs

2010-01-31T18:35:00.001-08:00

Spring inspired shelfs, originally uploaded by Craft & Creativity.

Well done don'tcha think?! I found this while surfing for shelf ideas at Flickr. Nice.

designer paper

2009-10-21T03:42:00.000-07:00

I've been admiring some designer gift wrap paper over at Luxe Paperie. Wrapping presents is not what's on my mind, not after admiring it's use in furniture makeovers over at Design*Sponge. Think drawer fronts and small table surfaces.

Here are a few of my favourites. As soon as I'm willing to pay the $20 shipping fee for $3 paper, I'm good to go. Sheesh!

Tonic Living fabric samples on their way

2009-10-07T04:01:00.000-07:00

Late last night I was determined to choose and order some fabric samples from Tonic Living. It's my interior designer sister over at Just Beachy that put me on to them. They offer "a fresh collection of retro inspired fabrics for the designers, diy-ers, craftsters and collectors".

This first sample is a possible candidate for embellishing a retro 1970's record album holder cabinet. Yes, I mean a piece of furniture and not the kind that is upholstered. I have a plan and who knows if it'll work. Should be interesting. It's a slight departure from what I would usually choose, but I'm trying to learn to expand my horizons and not default to what seems safe.

This next sample is even more of a deviation from my personal status quo. I'm thinking of introducing this pattern into the dining room by reupholstering the chair below. My inspiration comes from perusing photos of furniture makeovers over at Design*Sponge. Oh how I drool and swoon over the stuff over there.

A big thanks to my sister for letting me know about such a great and affordable online resource for diy'ers! Their prices are affordable and their shipping costs are just as impressive.

how utterly lovely!

2009-09-29T05:08:00.000-07:00

Meg, over at her whatever blog, posted pics back on Sept. 5th, 2009 of her toy room slash guest room makeover. It's to die for!!! Seriously! Makes me think I need way more colour in my life.

a little vignette

2009-09-28T04:23:00.000-07:00

I was going to paint this jelly cupboard* a new colour to spruce it up. It was looking kinda boring against my pale green wall. I spontaneously dug out my cherished antique tool chest** and placed all this stuff on top of it and now the jelly cupboard looks quite grand!

To me it kinda says "country", which isn't my goal, so I'll just consider it my little homage to beach cottage style.

* this was found in the basement of an old farmhouse we were renting while we had our previous house built. It was an aqua blue but not a nice aqua blue. It also stunk and had mouse poop in it. I had a vision for it though and we offered to buy it from the owner of the house. We paid a whopping $60 for it. I love the thing.

** this was on the covered porch of the formerly mentioned farm house, partially cover in snow!!! I asked to purchase it but they just gave it to us. Sweeeeeet!!!!

new white lamps!

2009-09-25T04:56:00.000-07:00

Jon bought us some new lamps. Goodness knows we need more lighting around here. I espied these 2 lamps at Winners/HomeSense a couple weeks ago. We went there yesterday and lo and behold they were still there. Musta been waiting for us.

My hubby bought them as a thank you for my hard work in bring home extra bacon (figuratively speaking) from my new part time job. We've been able to use my paycheques to pay some bills. Yay!

The shades are a stark white, which would work great for some interiors, but my creamy coloured couches clash with said shades.

The bases on the other hand are dreamy. When I first saw them, I ran my hands all over their nubbly glass surface. Divine! They have what I assume is acrylic bases which add a touch of contemporary'ness.

My plan is to recover the shades in a neutral light brown tone. To that I will add some white or pale ecru embroidery of some sort. A pillow in this month's copy of Canada's Style at Home magazine provides the inspiration for that idea. I snagged some $5 per meter fabric in our local fabric store's big clearance section today which will be perfect.

Though the shade of brown in this pillow is much darker than the fabric I chose, and the embroidery isn't what I'd choose to mimic, it gives a general idea of what I'm thinking. Should be a fun project!

glimpses of dining room progress

2009-09-24T08:26:00.000-07:00

As previously mentioned, I don't want to give away too much in the way of how my dining room makeover is going. I will instead provide proof that progress is being made, in spite of work and busyness getting in the way. Lately that progress seems to be collecting things and not my DIY recessed paneling, but progress is progress.

Here are some teasers:

100% cotton table cloth made in India (where else?!), cut in 2 to be used for drapes
single place mat purchased at icky Walmart for $1.00 on clearance. i may use it in the center of the table for candles or something
i now have a gallery wall of original art! this is a little watercolour i picked up in Old Quebec City's outdoor gallery that runs from Rue Ste-Anne to Rue Buade
a new piece of furniture that i painted, preserving it's original worn look.
bottles of wine in reserve for sharing with friends
What's interesting is that the room has taken on a colour scheme that I did not pre-plan, let alone strive for. More about that in a future post!

A few of my favourite things

2009-09-23T04:01:00.000-07:00

I don't have a lot of decorative things. I do have some favourites though. Here's four of them.

aqua blue clock. it turned out to be painted metal and not plastic. nice. (HomeSense)
mr. owl. he's actually a tea light candle holder. he's a throw back to the 70's, no? (HomeSense)
i seriously adore this mirror. (Pier 1 Imports)
my favourite original painting. i love it!! doggy digging a hole. this is the artist's original watercolour. i think she still sells the prints. (Ebay)

couldn't find a place for it!

2009-09-22T04:14:00.000-07:00

I bought the following cool retro nightstand off of kijiji. I got it for a song. The song went something like "oh lady, would you take $25 for this". I didn't pursue it right away since it came up before payday. Now it's mine and I was delighted to have it. The problem is that many retro pieces are short. I had visions of a 70's shade of green on it, and perhaps even a glass top added to top it off, but the reality is that it looks seriously dwarfed beside my big couches. Whaaaa!

It may end up as my daughter's night stand. Sniff sniff.

skinny wall shelves and decorating style identity crisis

2009-09-18T04:02:00.000-07:00

Oh I'm a nasty poor excuse of a decorating blogger. Lately I post "other" people's photos. I've decided I'm going to keep my dining room makeover under wraps and unveil it's final state when she's all done.

In the meantime, I'll keep posting photos that inspire me or give me ideas for what the heck to do with my poor unadorned walls and spaces.

My latest pre-occupation is with skinny shelves, as in those with a shallow depth in regards to it's profile. Something to place various objects for display. The more eclectic the better. I get the feeling I'm a wannabe eclectic-retro-modern-design kinda girl, but one has to work with one's current possessions and work with what one has (or has access to and can afford).

I don't live in a big-city-converted-warehouse-loft and so I must work with my little bungalow rather than against it. It's funny, sometimes I wish I lived in an old adorable farmhouse, other times I wished I lived where you could fall asleep to the sound of passing traffic and people. Twelve foot high ceilings, conduit, and walls of high windows. And brick. A gallery wall on brick.

I blame it on the movies.

sprouting shelf

2009-09-17T04:41:00.000-07:00

Design*Sponge 'Kate's Sprouting Shelf
Okay, this is my final Design*Sponge project post. I love this shelf! At least I think I do. It's like a sculpture. I'm just not sure whether I could do the painted styrofoam pieces and not think "solar system science project". Maybe I could scour Michaels for something colourful and organic to use.

Another fun girlfriend DIY project, dontcha think?

pretty coat rack

2009-09-16T10:42:00.000-07:00

Design*Sponge Pretty Paper Coat Rack
Another future DIY project I'd like to do. Considering the fact that I'm not the kind of girl to go shopping much (if at all...lack of funds you know), the trick will be to find some great paper. Poop! Where to hunt?!

This would be a great project for friends to do in an afternoon. You could share supplies like a can of spray adhesive and a protective spray. Would be fun!

fall decorating - floaty minimalist style

2009-09-15T04:48:00.000-07:00

Design*Sponge Leaf Mobile

i like this better

2009-09-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

Design*Sponge Embroidered Headboard

Love this idea, though I think I'd almost rather just paint it right on the wall. I think the shutters headboard posted below is a little, too, um, country-bumpkin.

I started cutting in on some of the recessed paneling in my dining room. It's not all done, but while waiting for payday to buy more MDF, I thought it would be fun to get to the painting part. Wrong. I hate cutting it. Hate it. What I can't wait for is the rolling part!!!! Cutting in sucks!!

more gallery walls

2009-09-08T04:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, more gallery wall photos. The results of a little late night googling. I have quite a few walls that would be great for such an artsy display. I'd like a wall of my own photography, one of our photos of our trip to Old Quebec City, and a quirky eclectic wall, just for starters. I've discovered I have a couple of vintage floral prints that seem to be perfect for a starter collection for a wall in the dining room. It's really not my style, but its funny how some rooms take on a personality of their own and maybe I shouldn't fight it. Jon reminded me that I've always wanted a house where each room said it's own thing.

Enjoy the inspirational photos below. I've collected them for future reference.

gallery walls

2009-09-07T03:21:00.000-07:00

i've loved this photo for years
I still have gallery walls on my mind. In a new decorating mag I recently bought, they showed a room makeover where they made a gallery wall with thrifted frames spray painted white for continuity. Spray adhesive was used to make new custom mats using bristle board and linen. I don't know if I'd be so inclined to have it be that "predictable" since I'm an eclectic girl at heart. Somehow I need to start amassing a collection of cool little images to scatter all over a wall.

It's actually pretty difficult to find gallery walls that are well done. Here are a few over at Flickr that are interesting (beware-o flickr...I nearly got "lost" in a sea of decorating groups I could barely resist joining...like I need another reason to get online more than I should!):

here @ flickr

here @ flickr

cool!

another neat idea

hmmmm?

LOVE this image!!

Okay, I MUST step away from the 'puter and do something more productive than drool over interior shots at Flickr!

shutters headboard

2009-09-03T06:09:00.000-07:00

I sooo do not have time to be checking out decorating blogs today, let alone be online at all, but here I go. Over at A Soft Place to Land they have compiled over 100 links to people's latest DIY projects! The first one I clicked on led me to a blog called Shanty 2 Chic that has this great idea posted below! They even include a tutorial. Though mine would probably end up being white and not have a scrolly frou frou thingy (t'is cute but not me!), I love that I have hope of having a headboard some day. Now to track down some shutters!

photos of benches

2009-09-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

Though none of these are necessarily "me", I thought I'd post some inspiration pics of the very few benches with pillows that I could find.

The last photo is a window seat. Though I've tried, I don't think I can incorporate that into our house. Whaaaaa!

dining room makeover progress & pondering over a bench makeover

2009-09-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

I'm ashamed to say this, but almost one year ago I removed the original hum drum trim from my dining room and never put up any new trim. It was great for the purpose of repainting the room (no trim to worry about getting wall paint on), but that's as far as I got. I'm am determined to now remedy this situation. I decided to trim it up "Chris style", Chris being my amazing decorator sister. You can find her here (click on the photo). Prepare to be met by pages and pages of eye candy:

Here's the style of trim it used to have and that still exists in every other room:

yes I have 2 blinds up...one looks good, the other cuts out the light when you're trying to watch TV, and I have yet to make a final choice!
Here's our progress so far:

Here's my sister's dining room's faux recessed paneling which serves as inspiration for my own dining room makeover:

a previous era in the same room
On another note, I was down in the storage room pre-drilling holes in the half-round molding and saw this bench below. I thought, "hmmmm, we have a bench. we have a little bench. hmmmm." This bench is actually one that was my mother-in-law's but I've really come to dislike most unpainted wooden furniture. Besides, it's style is, well, a little meh. I know for her, she has an admirable love for stained wood and I can appreciate that. I have the notion to paint it black, perhaps distressing the edges, and making a long seat cushion for it along with 3 varying small pillows. I like the set up I have in the front entry now, but I really desperately need lamps in other rooms and wouldn't mind having the Pier 1 one below for another room!

this space is currently housing some stuff while my daughter's bedroom is it's own state of makeoverness
how the front entry usually looks...I need that lamp in my family room I think!

inspiration for dining room makeover

2009-09-01T05:16:00.000-07:00

dining room inspiration by lilibethsgarden on Polyvore.com

This is my first polyvore, so don't laugh. My dining room walls are about that colour, and we're in the process of doing DIY recessed paneling. That's what the "thing" is behind the dresser, in case you were wondering. I already have a grey'ish dresser in there too. I'd want wicker chairs that are a leeetle more subtle in colour, but I do like the punch of happy green. The thing that scares me the most is securing a decent sized area rug that isn't hundreds of dollars, let alone ONE hundred dollars. I have a table I need to paint black, and I'll need to track down 4 chairs as I no longer like the ones that came with the table.

It's fun to create a vision for what I want to accomplish, even though it'll be a slow process.

gallery walls

2009-02-18T05:19:00.001-08:00

I adore this wall done by sfgirlbyday.

I'm going to do this behind my couch in the living room, though I'm sure it'll take some time to collect enough framed art to start something. Time to start scrounging, thrifting, and painting.

retro record album holder finally has a place

2009-02-17T09:41:00.000-08:00

We've had this piece of furniture for a couple of years now. It was in Jon's parent's family room when I first met him. It must have been an old piece back then. It's never found a place of it own other than being put into a spare room. I dragged it out of the den the other night and plunked it down in the front entry. Voila! It makes this space feel like it's a room all on it's own.

Now I need to thrift/buy something cool to sit on it besides the lamp and a few shells.

a happy wedding ~ serving no. 3

2008-06-14T19:04:00.001-07:00

Here are a few more wedding pics:

a happy wedding ~ serving no. 2, the flowers

2008-06-13T14:22:00.000-07:00

The flowers that were arranged for my mom and Lawrence's wedding were a disappointment. My sister to the rescue! She's done flowers for weddings before, so this was no trouble for her. The flowers came from the Superstore, where variety and price made her job easy.

a happy wedding ~ serving no. 1

2008-06-11T17:48:00.000-07:00

My mom and her fantastic man Lawrence were married this past weekend. We trekked across a province or two to be there. It was a short visit, that's my only regret. I'm also missing the hot humid weather. I'm missing my family most of all.

Here are a few random pics. I'll be posting more, especially of our 3 hour stop in Quebec City. I could have stayed all day taking pictures and walking around the beautiful historic city.

click on the photo to see the look on her face, and his obvious big smile. I love it!
my nieces!
a gang of cousins
the weather was sheer perfection
yes this was the food served, I was impressed!

isn't it lovely!

2008-06-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

This is a quick post. We recently returned from my homeland (Ontario, Canada) where we thoroughly enjoyed my mom and her man Lawrence's wedding (I'll post pics soon). It was a very fun visit, but a very short one, sniff sniff.

Here are a few pics of my sister's magazine article worthy place where we stayed. Next time we're staying longer than 2 1/2 days!

a crown moulding virgin no more!

2008-05-19T13:02:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning to tackle the kitchen cabinets. I can't dive right in because too many other things are on my plate, but I try to sneak in some progress here and there. Today, for the very first time, I put up crown moulding. Just me, an old swear-word inducing miter box, a saw, a drill, finishing nails, and a ladder resulted in a pretty fair job. I'll use some painter's caulking to neaten up joints etc. I'm going to paint the cabinets right up to the moulding to give the kitchen some height. You can see a previous blog entry here where I found a good before/after example.

Off to fill the holes with wood filler I go...

inspirational and eclectic walls

2008-05-12T16:05:00.000-07:00

I love this wall!!! I wish I had the capacity to do something like this, it's so lovely and eclectic. I guess I'd better start hitting the yard sales, and thrift stores. You can click on the image to be taken to it's original source at Flickr.

This is cool too, by the same person. Love the retro furniture. I have a similar lamp.

pillows and tables

2008-05-08T07:54:00.001-07:00

I popped into Winners this morning "just to look". I don't really shop there much, heck I don't really shop anywhere much, but I do love Winners. I found some pillows I had admired a week or so ago and they were marked down to half price. I couldn't leave them there. I also found the cutest side table for $39.99tx and I'd have been a fool to leave that behind too!! With my fireplace makeover and these new colourful additions, this is beginning to look like a very joyful room. I need to start prepping the walls to receive their nice new green hue.

fireplace progress pics

2008-05-07T08:52:00.000-07:00

Before I say anything, I must give credit to my sister for helping me narrow down the colours I used. I had initially planned to use a much lighter tone with a white mantle. Here's a pic below that I sent her when I was trying to figure things out. Ah technology! I copied and pasted the colours from the photo of the paint chip below.

My sister suggested colour #3 but without a white mantle. We decide 2 shades lighter than the main colour would work better. Here's proof:

BEFORE:

(owner's stuff, not mine!)
AFTER:

Big difference no?! Next up: painting the walls Glidden's "Ionic Green".

fireplace makeover

2008-05-06T11:34:00.001-07:00

I posted about my ugly propane fireplace quite awhile ago, which included a great makeover plan from my genius decorator sister. Since then I decided to take the simple route and paint it. My sister could pull off something much more significant, but alas I'm not my sister!

Here's a photo of the fireplace as it was with the previous owners, as it was primed, and now with one coat of the main colour:

I'll post more progress pics as I, well, make more progress!

finally picked some paint colours

2008-03-29T16:04:00.000-07:00

I've finally found my living room colour. I was going to go for a grey-blue but I think it would have fenced me in decoratively speaking. I was flipping through my vast collection of paint chips and found a Glidden paint colour called "Ionic Green". Turns out it's a colour on Sarah Richardson's list of all-time favourites, her signature pallette as she calls it. I guess I have great taste, LOL!

Here's where she used it in a kitchen, though all you can really see here is the wall over the window. It's a very neutral colour:

I went around with the paint chip and no matter what piece of painted furniture I held it up against, it didn't clash. I found the opposite problem with any blue paint chip. Everything seemed to clash! See the grey/green piece below? It so goes with the Ionic Green.

I've also chosen the colour for the dining room called "Chelsea Fog". Strange thing is it's another colour that Sarah Richardson uses. Damn I'm good. :oP

Here it is being used on the cabinets. Yes, it's a very pale blue but happens to compliment my grey/green dresser in that room.

let's get this show on the road

2007-09-11T06:28:00.000-07:00

This is for you Chris! Last night I started to work on transforming our front sitting room with a lovely shade of green paint. It's Debbie Travis's "Delicate Moss", but I got Glidden to tint their paint for me.

Usually I obsess over choosing colours of paint (who me???), but this time I chose quickly saying "this will do". I LOVE it! The biggest problem with the room before was that it was a sea of beige. Beige walls, beige carpet, beige couch (which I adore by the way!!!!).

The coffee table is something I salvaged from our collection of useless items stored in the basement. It used to hold wood for our woodstove. I'm going to paint it a gray green.

Here are some before shots of the room, plus a video, plus some progress pics from last night:

(edited to add that I really dislike those lamps, so I'm going to paint the bases black, and replace the shades. a witty friend of ours dubbed them 'the laura ashley look', and that is NOT what I'm going for)

sears lighting, and killing time

2007-08-29T18:03:00.000-07:00

It's Wednesday evening, and it's 2 more sleeps until we move. So of course the time is crawling by, and it's driving me batty.

I'm at the Sears website checking out lighting fixtures. The house we're buying needs some lights updated. So I thought I'd have some fun posting pics of the ones I'm admiring.

This one has seagrass shades, which I love. I love it because it's a natural organic element. This one is $129.99tx. I'm thinking for our dining room. It may be too big though, our dining room is only 10 x 10.

This one may be installed at 9, 21, 33 or 45" heights. I'm thinking for the kitchen, mounted at the shortest height. I'm hoping the 9" includes the light itself. A great price at $54.99tx.

Whoops, I guess that's it for chandelier types. Oh well, that killed about 7 minutes. ;o)

if i could start ALL over again....

2007-08-28T17:47:00.000-07:00

My lovely friend Alli put me onto the urban outfitters site (sorry no html until I get back onto the pc where all my html codes are conveniently recorded). Anyways, I thought I'd have fun and post some pics of all the things that made me go "Oooooo". Yes they are quirky and eclectic, and they'd be perfect for my fantasy loft apartment in a cool big city.

coffee table before and after?

2007-08-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

When you are house sitting, you have a lot of time on your hands. So you end up sitting at the computer a lot...at least if you are anything like me. This is my big accomplishment this evening, and that is seeing if our new coffee table could be de-contemporaryized through painting. The colours aren't quite right, I'd use a more gray green. All the same, it helps to see the potential. What do you think??

more pictures that inspire

2007-08-26T06:42:00.000-07:00

I'm still on the hunt for pictures that inspire me. I realized last night that I'm a little obsessed at the moment, with this decorating thing. It stands to reason though. We're not in the house yet, we're house sitting, so I really have nothing else to occupy my mind. I'm restless. I want to get in there and start making it a home!!! Only 5 more days until we get in, but it's these last days that are going by the slowest!

Here's our new coffee table. It's birch with a dark stain. I found this picture online. We got it for a really good deal, it was marked down for clearance. It was my hubby that really wanted it, and it grew on me quickly. I usually don't like furniture with glass in it, but I love all the levels for displaying some things. I'm not sure if I'll leave it with the dark stain, I might end up painting it, but maybe not. I do want to add some fine lined dark accents to our decor (now there's a word you won't hear me say often!).

our latest aquisitions

2007-08-25T05:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we picked up these used pieces of furniture for a pretty good deal. The table and chair set was $200 (Canadian), and the dresser was $80. Both pieces will be painted.

I'm not sure if i'll use the table in the kitchen or not, it's pretty sturdy and it's small size is perfect for the small eating area. It's way too small for the dining room, only because it wouldn't fit all our lovely friends!!

As for the dresser, I'm hoping it will fit in the dining room...it would look so purdy!!!

painted furniture

2007-08-24T10:41:00.001-07:00

Don't mind me, I'm just collecting inspiring colours for painting my furniture, old and new.

what's my style??

2007-08-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

I'm having a style identity crisis!! My previous house was very cottagey. I'm not so sure that's really a good reflection of me and i've suddenly realized that i feel the need to reinvent myself through this new house. Moving into a new place is a great chance to do that, providing you can recycle your old stuff through paint or modification.

I've found the perfect couch and love seat at Leons, and i'm sooooo tickled that my hubby has actually agreed to buy them. Yay for delayed payments!

So, now i have the fun of searching out pictures of interiors that make me stop and go hmmmm. Here are some at pottery barn that did just that, though i require a definite touch of eclecticism, and more splashes of colour. I think i'm seeing a trend....organic:

bulkheads

2007-08-04T08:31:00.001-07:00

I'm taking a break from packing. We have bulkheads over the kitchen cabinets in our soon-to-be new house. I found some pics online where people added crown moulding and matched the colour to the cabinets. The kitchen is going to be painted a creamy white, and the walls a nice pale green, an old Martha Stewart colour in fact.

Here's the kitchen we're getting:

Here are some pictures I found online, the progression of a kitchen makeover. Could I do the same???

ugly fireplace

2007-08-02T19:32:00.000-07:00

Look at this thing. I adore our new house, which we take possession of August 31st. There's just one thing that really bugs me. The propane fireplace. I've let go of the fact that it's a natural gas stove, and not a "real" fireplace for lovely crackling wood fires. :o( I won't miss the mess and the soot though. But this fireplace is UGLY! And so not a colour that is condusive to my taste.

Look at this idea below. It's from none other than my brilliant sister, an unofficial interior (and exterior) designer. She took into consideration our lack of funds. Check out her link on the right side of this page, called 'Just Beachy' (yes I'm too lazy to do it right here!). Some day she'll be official for sure. Thanks sis, for giving me hope!

initial thoughts for kitchen

2007-07-30T08:07:00.000-07:00

Yup, I'm already preoccupied with what I want to do in this house once we're in. I should be packing right now, but I'll just take a moment for a little post.

I love this area in the kitchen. It's sort of set apart by the fridge on one side, and a deep pantry style cupboard on the other side. I am going to be painting the kitchen cabinets a nice creamy white which will bring it up to date. I'll be using antiquey black hardware. In this area I'll be taking off the doors to give me some open shelves. I have open shelves now, so I couldn't live without them. They are pretty, and very convenient, and things don't get quite as dusty as you imagine. At least not the items used on a daily basis.

My sister suggested painting the inside a different colour, so I'll definitely be doing that, probably a very lovely warm pale blue of some sort, maybe something different, who knows. I feel like I'm rediscovering myself right now, so I don't want to make too many colour choices at the moment. Who knows what the "new" me will choose.

We'll have a small microwave too, but it will be an under cabinet model on the other side of the kitchen.

I'm thinking of buying this light kit at Home Depot for under the above cabinets. It's perfect, 3 lights, and they plug in. Plus they are only $39.99.

Funny, normally the "decorator" in me is locked in a dungeon somewhere in my being. It simply not something I'm passionate about.....until.....I move. Then she's released and overtakes everything because she figures if she's gonna be free for awhile, she'd better make a party out of it!

a little slice of heaven

2007-07-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

Well it happened. 2 1/2 weeks before our closing date we found ourselves a house. If you've been following my laments in the past over enduring 18 months of trying to sell our place, you'd understand what a big relief this is. I always knew in my heart of hearts that God had a plan and even though his timing wasn't preferable, it was productive. We will now have much more of a house than we dreamed of. We also got it for a very reasonable price. It's in an area with superb market value, so it's also an investment into our future. But the most important part is....I LOVE THE FREAKIN' HOUSE!!!!!!!! I love love love it!! Not more than my family or friends mind you, but it will be a fun place to live and enjoy friendships.

The house had been on the market since early spring, though I'm not sure exactly. Wendy, do you know? Anyways, nobody bit, so they had to lower their price...twice. We got it for $29,000 less than their first listing price. This is something that makes my hubby squeal with delight, which is great since he was not keen on the idea of moving at all 2 years ago when I first "presented" the idea to him. Now I catch him doing little dances of joy, over the house, and how great it is, and how everything worked out so well. We are truly humbled because it's more than we ever expected.

The location is so perfect it's not funny. Seriously. Easy peasy access to the highway, and walking distance to where all the action is, and most importantly, our bestest friends (who happened to have found the house for us in the first place!).

We get in the end of August. Here's a few pictures that were taken in early May (which around here looks like late March or early April where I come from). It looks like an autumn house, which is funny because I'm starting to think that's my favourite season...maybe.

That's all the peeking for now!