Canadian Cottage

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T19:19:00.000-08:00

For to us a child is born,
   to us a son is given,
   and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
   Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
   Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Wishing you all the wonder and joy of Christmas!

Christmas Tour

2011-12-17T11:38:00.000-08:00

Some more Christmas pictures and details...

Our stairs have come a long way from here:

That was a faux paint finish on the treads...

Advent calender, Layla loves her "special treat"

(from Etsy)

Paper chain inspired by my dear friend Courtney... can't wait to show you her home!

Cutting our tree down was so fun, there was even a light dusting of snow!

I thought the tree was going to be small, I was worried I might have to stand it on a table for height.

Apparently they can look deceivingly small in the field.

I love the fresh smell of a real tree! It is not shaped exactly like a typical Christmas tree but I think that makes it look more old-fashioned.

And the tree skirt...

My friends Courtney and Jen and I spent many hours making these! We had seen a similar one on Etsy that no longer seems to be on there, but was inspired by another one that Garnet Hill used to sell.

Anyways the price was way out of our budget, so we decided to make one. It was so much fun to do together. The skirt was made on the sewing machine out of wool and a natural cotton liner and each individual flower (which is made from ten fabric circles!) was hand sewn.

Jen has called this "The Year of Our Tree Skirts!"

Courtney even hand embroidered our last names on the seam.

Layla loves to look at the "Christmas House."

A Pinterest idea also from Courtney... special papers curled inside glass ornament ball..

That is all for this first year in our new house...

Linking here

Christmastime

2011-12-16T19:52:00.000-08:00

I remember a small tile spoon rest my Mother had in the kitchen at Christmas. It said

Christmas is a time of warm remembrance

I think it was my very favourite decoration.

It holds a lot of truth - each celebration, tradition, and joyful memory adding a layer to be unfolded fondly as the years pass.

And now it has even more truth for me, remembering her at her favourite time of year.

Beginning traditions with my own daughters, that they may someday stop and smile to recall.

And remembering the greatest truth of all.

I hope you are well, dear reader, thank you for following along!

Victorian Farmhouse Kitchen

2011-12-13T14:11:00.000-08:00

Our Kitchen!

You might remember the before, from the real estate listing:

Yellow walls, red floor, plain cabinets in need of work. But still cozy I thought!

And now...

I really wanted a Victorian Farmhouse sort of feel... whatever that means!

The makeover involved getting the cabinets sprayed professionally and adding molding and some glass doors, adding a backsplash, changing the countertop and sink, new lighting, painting walls and floors, new fridge and dishwasher (new stove to follow someday, but the old one is fine for now!)

We had a contractor do almost everything.

The island was made by a carpenter I found on Kijiji, the top is maple and the corbels and furniture legs were from Home Depot. I just showed him a picture of what I wanted and he delivered it to our door!

Already well-loved oven mitts.

I really don't think you can go wrong with a white subway tile backsplash. It is so affordable, classic, and clean looking.

I think I mentioned before both chandeliers are Home Depot, they deliver in Canada to your door for free.

Walls are Ballet White by Benjamin Moore, floors are Grey Mist, and cabinets and trim are White Dove, also Benjamin Moore. White Dove was recommended by a friend and I love it! I wasn't sure about how to match the white with grey undertones of the countertop, but it seems to work well. I didn't want to pick a grey white because I still wanted it to feel warm.

It is still a little sparse, but I know I will find the right things in time.

I love that there is room to gather, prepare, and serve.

I love the design in the transom window.

And of course I still love farmhouse sinks with skirts!

****

In other news... you might notice the blog looks different! Thank you to Cinnamon Girl Studio!

Soon I will show you our Christmas decorations! Hope you are all enjoying the season.

Christmas Dinette

2011-12-01T13:20:00.000-08:00

Here is our dinette ready for Christmas.

Or sort of ready. We haven't yet been brave enough to make holes in the wall to hang anything.

These Ikea chairs are quite comfortable and easy to wipe.

The slipcovers are washable and made by the same lady who did our wing chairs.

A red poinsettia reminds me of my Mom. She always had one at Christmastime...and beyond. She was so good with plants that they lasted until the spring.

I love the pattern these lacy curtains make on the wall.

The painters sprayed some of our old radiators and I love how they have turned out.
Radiant heat actually feels quite nice!

We used the same chandelier in our dinette that we had in our old master bedroom.

This room attaches to the kitchen, which I will show soon. I love the white floors, although they encourage me to mop everyday:)

My husband surprised me the other day with a replacement camera (the old one was stolen). All of these pictures are straight out of the camera except for hitting the "enhance image" button in i-photo. I have no idea what exactly the button does but the pictures usually look nicer. And if not, you can always hit "undo"!

I'm so excited to learn how to use it.

This sideboard and the clawfoot table are from a local consignment shop. We brought the table to another local business that sprays furniture.

The pretty table runner was a wedding gift from one of my Mom's best friends. It is beautifully quilted with many tiny pieces, and reversible to another lovely pattern. She is so talented!

So that is all, a simple eating area...

Thank you for following along!

Family Pictures 2011 and A Winner...

2011-11-19T12:17:00.000-08:00

This year I was determined that we would take some family photos. We asked our wonderful wedding photographer, Anne to do them. Anne has a photography business in Cambridge, Ontario.

In some ways it is hard to believe it was four years ago.

Yes, some things have changed. Or everything has.

(I'm so happy to have pictures of Maddie in this coat, which was a treasured gift from her Grandpa, originally to Layla)

Matthew 19:14

But Jesus said, "Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children."

Someday my hands will no longer be filled with the daily tasks of motherhood, although my heart will be no less a mother.

And I'm sure these pictures will bring me joy!

Oh and of course, the winner! A day late, sorry!

The random selection was #19 - Erin from Carolina Country Living.

I just looked at her blog and it is lovely! And she makes candles, this one looks wonderful for Christmas...

I am waiting on a replacement camera, but will be back with house photos once it arrives!

**all photos except the last, but including two header photos of girls courtesy of Anne Edgar Photo**

The Cottage Co...

2011-11-13T11:28:00.000-08:00

I have been very absent, and while I don't think blog authors must necessarily apologize for absences I will say life has been full, of babies and other good things.

I hope this finds you all well!

In the late summer my husband and I (with baby) had a date weekend to do whatever we wanted. One of the things we did was to take a little road trip to The Cottage Co, a store I had been wanting to visit for a long time.

As you might notice it is exactly my style:)

Madeleine and I wandered around for well over an hour looking at everything.

It was so wonderful to finally meet Julia (the owner) in person. You can see her pretty and inviting home on her blog.

I got to hear some of her stories of helping clients decorate their homes over the years.

Julia was so welcoming and generous. She sent us home with some little gifts, and one for one of you!

She is offering a fifty dollar gift certificate for the store, and is willing to ship worldwide.

Just leave a comment here so I can enter you in the giveaway. As well she is including some Barefoot products...

The store has recently moved from Barrie to Toronto. They are now at 2199 Queens Street East in Toronto.

I will be back to announce the winner on Friday!

(all pictures except the last courtesy of The Cottage Co)

Switching The Living Room

2011-08-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

So in the next chapter of our new old house there has been an exciting twist - we have decided to switch the living room and dining rooms!

I was at first hestitant to do this because I wanted things to be in keeping with the original plan for the house, but we have been trying to figure out how to fit a couch into the old living room, and it just wasn't working. And we really want to be able to seat the maximum amount of people comfortably.

Here is the living room from the house listing pictures:

There really isn't room for a couch on the wall where the piano was and it didn't make sense to block the light. Here is that same room that we will now make our dining room:

I would love to get a long white harvest table that seats 8. A seven foot table will work perfectly in the space.

And here is the living room (which was the old dining room) in the house listing pictures

And now as our future living room:

I love the bay windows. I can't decide if I would like two chairs or a small loveseat in that area. A bigger couch will go on the right wall.

Also, I know I want simple white roman shades for those windows but I don't know what to do with the dining room window. I don't want to block the transom but I can't think of any other options other than sheers that have rods at the bottom and top like the previous owner. Would just one rod at the top look better maybe? If you have any ideas I would love to hear them!

Here is the before picture of these chairs from Kijiji before I got them slipcovered. I think they were cute like this too, just not exactly my style.

I have found the most amazing lady who sews slipcovers in our area and she did a wonderful job.

Layla wanted her baby in the pictures too, and held her up to the camera, saying "say cheese, baby!"

Paint Colour and A Sink

2011-08-26T17:59:00.000-07:00

A couple questions answered...
Just wanted to post a few of these answers on here since I have had a number of emails about them!

1. Living Room/Dining Room Paint Colour - This is a pretty blue-green colour by Valspar (found at Lowes in Canada) called Clothesline Fresh. I even love the name! To me it is a perfect country cottage blue/green, and pretty much acts almost as a neutral because every colour I put against it seems to look nice! I also used it in our new bathroom.

2. Our Old Kitchen Sink - I'm not sure why but I have suddenly had a lot of emails asking about our old sink, and I'm happy to say it is the Domsjo from Ikea. We now have it in our laundry room in this house. It is a wonderful, big, sturdy sink, and very well priced!

More house pictures to come and a giveaway!

A Living Room Fireplace

2011-07-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

So! We are here!

The major part of the renovations are now complete...

And I know some day soon...even now... we can look back on the days of using a cooler as a fridge and smile.

There has been much scrubbing, painting, weeding, washing, and unpacking. All while attempting to remember none of this really matters.

"Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things" (Colossians 3:2)

A shot of our fireplace before....

And now.

Oh the joy of picking my first bouquet of hydrangeas!

More to come... for now a glimpse of the kitchen!

In The New House

2011-05-25T18:20:00.000-07:00

So we have the new house! But we are still in the old one while the major renovations are underway. The bathroom and kitchen are the first priorities.

Here is the bathroom as we found it...

But Dave has already finished the destruction and the building has begun! We are not doing the bathroom ourselves so I think it will progress quickly.

And while I'm on the subject of bathrooms...welcome to our new master bathroom!

It needs a little work... some walls perhaps. But it will be lovely one day I hope. It has two skylights!

The other thing that is happening right now is the floors. Dave ripped up the carpet that was previously in the entry and family room:

(pictures from MLS listing with previous owner's furniture)

And we discovered painted floors which are being refinished. The wood is actually maple, which I love because it is so light. I plan on keeping the floors as light as possible. I hope they will go nicely with the painted floors we will have in the kitchen and laundry room (yes I will have a main floor laundry room, I'm SO excited about this!)

I have so much to say about each room! I will have to split them into multiple posts.

One of the best things is the backyard, and seeing Layla run free. At our current house we share the driveway and don't have a fence so she is not able to play in the yard.

She has even been helping in the garden!

Oh and I have to ask, does anyone know what this plant is? it is climbing all over our fence and a wooden awning ( I think that's the right word.. it's a wooden structure that can house a hammock)

It looks like it is going to bloom:

Of course there are stressful moments, and not everything is perfect and a lot will have to wait, but overall I'm so excited for our dream home.

The main bathroom is going to have a heated floor with this basketweave tile:

This light (Pottery Barn):

There will be plain white subway tiles around the bathtub. Hopefully we will be able to reuse the original beadboard and paint the wall above cream or light blue... I can't decide:)

I'm trying to balance the more expensive items like the tile and light with plain and simple choices for our tub, tub surround, and faucets.

Thank you all for following on this journey. I'm sorry if I haven't gotten back to your question if you asked one recently. I will be doing a FAQ post soon so feel free to send it to me again:)

I can't wait to show you more. Oh and one last thing:

My favourite spot.

On The Day You Were Two

2011-05-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

"There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again. " ~Elizabeth Lawrence

On the night you were a day old, we brought you home

and cuddled you on the rocking chair,

where so many nights I had sat, dreaming of your

arrival.

On the day you were one, we celebrated you with the lilacs in bloom

On the night you met your sister, it seemed you had suddenly grown big!

On the night you were two, I thought about the past year...

I used to think I would be sad when the baby days slipped away and you became a little girl...

I was wrong!

There is so much joy in watching you grow..

This year we have helped teach you to walk, talk, eat, sing, kiss, play, count...

And you have taught us what it means to delight, to be joyful, to forgive easily

You lost your beloved "Gaga" this year

And I'm sad for all the beautiful things about her you will never know

But you have not forgotten and I'm so thankful for the love you shared

On the night you were two, I remembered the big moments in your two years...

But also the many other ordinary, perfect ones...

I have loved them all.

Happy Birthday my darling girl!

The Kitchen

2011-04-28T12:35:00.000-07:00

So we sold our house in less than a week, which was such a blessing for us. It is not easy trying to keep a house in show-ready condition with babies!

I have been busy planning away for the new home. One of our first projects will be the kitchen:

I really want to say that I think the owners did a beautiful job with the entire house. They obviously took great pride in the home. We are changing things to make them more functional for us, and to suit our personal style.

The kitchen is a nice size with a dining area at the front.

I have always wanted a window over the kitchen sink! I hope to plant a rose bush outside of it, unless there is already something there. That is one great thing about buying a house in the winter - it will be so exciting to see what pops up in the garden this summer!

I like the use of the round table in this room and will be looking for a similar one on Kijiji, to paint white.

The kitchen in our current home is my favourite room and so I hope to replicate a lot of the elements in our new kitchen. Our plans are mostly cosmetic, as the cabinets seem fairly new and the owners will be leaving the appliances.

The current plan includes:

1) Paint over the floors (they are currently painted red), in a warm white and the walls in Ballet White by Benjamin Moore

2) Remove the cabinet doors and get them sprayed white as well, then add corbels underneath

3) Replace the sink with the Ikea farmhouse sink and put a sink skirt underneath - I just love the way they look!

4) Add glass knobs like these (from Anthropologie)

5) Find an antique piece to use as an island

6) Add a simple white subway tile backsplash

7) Add chandelier over island and smaller version over kitchen table... can you believe these are Home Depot? We currently have the small one in our bedroom and love it.

8) Replace countertops - I would love a combination of marble for the main part and butcher block on the island

I have a sample of the marble-look laminate counters... and it is actually much nicer than I thought. However it does not have the same "glow" of real marble... Does anyone have any thoughts on laminate vs butcher block vs real marble? I don't mind some maintenance or some minor stains and scratches but I don't want to have to use a coaster on the counter either!

I also might try to change some of the upper doors into glass doors. I thought about maybe using a glass door from Ikea sprayed the same colour if we could find one the right size... or possibly altering the current ones.

I can't wait to see it come together!

Looking Forward

2011-03-25T11:13:00.000-07:00

So we are putting our house on the market to sell this week. It is a lot of work to get ready for an open house with babies to worry about too!

I'm glad you liked the first picture of our House of Dreams. Of course we have lots of plans for it...

Changing the bright blue paint and red door on the outside is one of them:)

Around here I have been taking some pictures for the MLS listing.

Taking photos to sell a house is a lot different than taking photos for a blog. It seems like creating an image showing the space is the key for listing photos, whereas the things in the room are the focus in blogs and magazines.

I don't think I showed you a picture of the bedroom updated for winter. (Obviously I'm a little behind as it is now spring!) I made the toile blind, I think I will post a tutorial on how to do that if you are interested.

And even though it is spring we woke up to this the other day:

I'm really looking forward to the warm weather... and my new garden.

Although we have not yet seen the garden in bloom it is apparently very old-fashioned - with peonies, lilacs, and hydrangeas, all my favourites. But other than that I'm not really sure what is there, so it will be so exciting to watch everything grow and see what we have.

The backyard in our new house... there will be a lot of blue to paint over!

I have many more pictures of the interior to show you soon.

Have a wonderful weekend:)

House of Dreams

2011-03-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

Where we love is home,
Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., Homesick in Heaven

I always dreamed of living in a farmhouse in the country. A pretty, red brick, front porch swing kind of house. At the end of a dirt road, surrounded by cornfields. You know the kind. Of course, the details were somewhat flexible... would it have cherry trees or an apple orchard? Either would be acceptable but it most definitely needed to have room for a tree swing. Would there be a barn? That would be nice if it was pretty.

I always identified with Anne of Green Gables when she talked about her and Gilbert moving into their "House of Dreams." The house they would raise their children in - children who would one day leave home only to come back and be surrounded by the warmest memories.

And when I met my husband I was delighted that he shared the same vision. And so we planned and dreamed for our future country life.

And then... several months ago God began to change something in our hearts. At first it was just a whisper... a gentle voice suggesting that maybe our plans were... well just that - our plans. Not God's plan for us.

And whispers are easy to ignore... especially when a beautiful farmhouse life beckons you from the future.

But the gentle voice got stronger, and a few months ago I found myself sitting across from my husband, who was saying "I think God is leading us to live in the city."

My heart sank a little when I heard him say this. What about my clothesline full of freshly washed sheets flapping gently in the summer breeze?

He pressed on, explaining the call to live where our church is, to serve the people in that area, to live where we would work. Dave reminded me of a quote from a Tim Keller sermon, "God loves people more than trees." And I couldn't argue with that.

I let the idea wash over me, and slowly began to let go of my dream of country life. A few more months passed. We were not actively looking for a house in the city, we were content in our current home until the right opportunity came.

And then a friend called and said - "There is this amazing house you should see."

Again I was reluctant - it wasn't a good time, we weren't ready...it didn't fit into my plan.

Dave showed me the pictures and I admitted it was beautiful... it actually looked a lot like my dream farmhouse... and there were trees... even a cherry tree.

And then it all fell together - God's plan. Not ours. And now I find myself preparing to sell our little cottage, and planning for our new House of Dreams.

And I'm beginning to realize that God's dreams are so much better than my own.

***

Thank you all so much for your condolences about my Mother. They were a great comfort to me.

A Mother's Love

2011-03-13T18:52:00.000-07:00

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39

Have you ever read The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein? It's a beautiful story about a relationship between a tree and a little boy. The tree always provides the boy with everything he desires: branches on which to swing, shade in which to sit, apples to eat, branches with which to build a home. As the boy grows older he requires more and more of the tree. The tree loves the boy very much and gives him anything he asks for. In the ultimate act of self-sacrifice, the tree lets the boy cut it down so the boy can build a boat in which he can sail. The boy leaves the tree, now a stump. Many years pass, and then the boy, now an old man, returns. The tree says, "I have nothing left to give you." She is sad that she feels she has nothing left to give. The boy replies, "I do not need much now, just a quiet place to sit and rest." The tree then says, "Well, an old tree stump is a good place for sitting and resting. Come boy, sit down and rest." The boy obliged and the tree was happy.
The tree derived so much joy just from taking care of the boy, she seems to define selflessness. The book to me symbolizes the love of a mother, the laying down of your own life for your child's benefit. Since becoming a mother myself, I am slowly starting to understand this love - maybe the closest thing resembling Christ-like love on earth.
We lost my Mom this week.

She loved just like the tree - selflessly and joyfully. I will miss her always.

Our Madeleine Rose

2011-02-23T17:43:00.000-08:00

We prayed for this child

and the LORD granted us what we asked of HIM....Samuel 1:27

She is finally here...

Our

Madeleine Rose

Born February 20 at 1:25 in the afternoon

She has changed everything, again...

And we are full of joy.

Waiting, and Some Pictures

2011-02-16T04:07:00.000-08:00

There is nothing quite like waiting for a baby to arrive... excitement mixed with fear about the process of actually bringing that baby into the world.

It's bittersweet to know these are the last few days that I will ever be pregnant with this baby, that soon she will begin to grow up, almost imperceptibly, in a million tiny ways that I only notice when I look backwards.

Layla is actually quite in love with babies lately, so the timing seems to be perfect that way. She is constantly pointing to pictures of babies with an exclamation of "baby!" and real life babies elicit squeals of excitement.

Since our new baby will sleep in a bassinet in our room for the first months I have not really changed around the nursery very much yet. I don't think Layla is quite ready for a real bed (she's only 21 months) so we will keep her in the crib for awhile.

I did, however, change up a couple of things so far.

I love, love this rocking chair and ottoman that originally was my Granny's. When my Mom said I could have it I knew I wanted it to be white. At the time, I had never read a blog and had no idea what a slipcover was. So we actually got it reupholstered in white... which looks beautiful but is difficult to clean. The men at the reupholstery shop warned me it would happen, but I was not to be swayed from my dream of a beautiful white rocking chair like the ones I had seen at Pottery Barn. I just didn't realize those ones were slipcovered:)
So I have been sewing an ottoman cover as well as covers for the arms and seat. I wanted to reuse fabric I had and there was not enough for the whole chair so I decided just to cover the parts that seem to get dirty.

The pink blanket was a thrift store find.

Layla's bear, from Grandma and Grandpa.

I love vintage things in baby rooms, but of course the main furniture (the crib) has to be new! So I try to balance that with little things like this old wicker hamper.

The new crib skirt is actually a single size skirt that I can reuse later when Layla has a bed. I just folded it to fit the crib for now. It is a discontinued pattern from Pine Cone Hill, I got the last one online at a great price. If you are looking for Pine Cone Hill linens in Canada (actually I think she ships to the US as well), Chania at Razmataz sells them and she is so pleasant to work with.

So this is not really a nursery makeover, most of the work was spent washing and folding all the tiny clothes, and rearranging the drawers to make room for two little girls.

Tonight I hope we can set up the bassinet.

And then more waiting...

Have a lovely Wednesday!

Sharing this for Transformation Thursday at the Shabby Chic Cottage

Adding Colour

2011-02-05T13:11:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone is well... We are doing better now... and baby is only a few weeks away! I have been busy organizing every single drawer and closet (well the closet part didn't take too long since we actually only have two) to get ready.

I've also found myself adding just a little more color to most rooms, like our dining room for example.

I painted the background of the hutch a light blue to bring out the white dishes.

I love this runner, it was from The Shabby Chic Cottage on Etsy awhile ago. She makes the nicest things!

We also finally hung some things beside the hutch - two picture frames from antique tin tiles on one side and a thrift store mirror on the other.

I like adding colour in small ways like this, where the basic things stay neutral. I like to know I could easily make this an orange and green room if I suddenly decided I would like that better (not that I see that happening any time soon!)

This is the other view in our dining room, which has stayed pretty much the same.

Has anyone else been using more colour lately?

We are still working on the nursery but I hope it is finished before the baby comes (due Feb 23!)

Bathroom Part 2

2011-01-05T17:34:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

For us the season did not really feel the same.
My Mom has been very sick and we have been worried about her. She loves Christmas and still somehow managed to spoil us with gifts even though she has been in the hospital the whole time. We are praying for her to recover soon.
Since having my own daughter I am beginning to realize the extent of the effort and thoughtfulness that my Mom put into our childhood Christmas. I hope someday I can replicate that for our family.

I found some pictures that I haven't yet shared of our bathroom, so here they are:)

I debated about a patterned shower curtain but knew that ultimately I wanted a high quality curtain that was long and wide enough for our tub, and I knew that I would never tire of plain white cotton. It is from Simple Linens, found on Etsy.

The hutch was found on Kijiji, but is actually from an antique store in Wheatley, Ontario called Finders Keepers. The owner was lovely to work with and held it for us until my father in law could pick it up. It had great original paint but with a baby and another on the way we decided to clean it up with a fresh coat of Oxford White, the colour of the beadboard in the bathroom as well. We (um I guess I mean Dave) painted the inside a soft green for contrast.

I originally worried that our tub might be too small for showering or bathing, it is only 54 x 26 inches. But I knew I really wanted to use the extra space for the hutch, to add character and storage. The previous owners of the tub (it was an antique cast iron tub for $65 found on Kijiji) had used it as a shower as well, so that was somewhat reassuring... although they were replacing it...In the end we couldn't be happier - the size is perfect for both showering and bathing.

The sink and mirror were also both found on Kijiji. The only thing we bought in a regular store was our toilet!

The sink was brand new for $50 because the previous owner could not fit it in her bathroom. I had actually considered ordering the same sink from the big box hardware store here but it was almost $500. I was so glad to find this one!

I'm still debating a sink skirt - for now I am enjoying the clean look.

One of the benefits of the bathroom being a long process was that it provided the time to look for deals on the major pieces - bathtub, sink, hutch. Contrary to the way a lot of people invest money in a room, I tried to keep the major pieces simple and inexpensive and splurge more on the details, like the taps and shower curtain.

Our floor is white hexagon marble tiles found on Ebay, and we were able to use floor heating cables from EasyHeat.

This little feature is quite luxurious, without them marble tiles can be very cold!

I still have some more details I want to add in time, but I'm so happy with how all the pieces have come together. I know I will be satisfied with these choices for a long time.

When renovating a room the options can seem endless, and I find it so easy to like many different styles. I find it best to be disciplined and stick to my original instincts - like white fixtures and marble tiles - things I knew I wanted before looking at any inspiration pictures.

Anyways, that is all I can say for now on such a tiny room:)

You have all been so supportive even though I have been very busy and not able to post much lately, or answer emails promptly.

Here is a quick peek at the most recent project around here - a playroom for our girl... soon to be girls:)

More to come!

Christmas Decorating 2010...

2010-12-12T15:29:00.000-08:00

Wreath I made at our church Ladies night...

Here are some pictures around our house this Christmas...

View of the dining room

Vintage doilies on the tree for 25 cents at the thrift store

Small tree also from the thrift store last year, it even had lights...

Family Room...

Button garland I made last year - would not recommend this unless you are very, very patient! It tangles so easily!

I love this vintage snow scene

Well that is all that I was able to photograph... the light was not the best today because of the storm but it is nice to have the photos to remember anyways. I hope you are enjoying the season!

Linking to the Christmas Tour of Homes

Bathroom!

2010-11-08T15:10:00.000-08:00

I thought I would show a few pictures of the bathroom so far.. I still have a few details to add but I love how it is coming along...

I will post about all the details soon but long time readers (and I do mean long... this bathroom has been a process!) will remember we got the claw foot tub and sink off Kijiji for $60 and $50 each...

Dave's brother Scott did an amazing job with all the beadboard and trim.

I love the light from Barn Light Electric

So just a few pictures for now but you remember where we started (above)... a space so tiny I could barely brush my teeth when I was pregnant! I'm so grateful we were able to expand the space and change the old fixtures. Hope you enjoy it so far I can't wait to show you more!

Plans

2010-10-12T16:03:00.000-07:00

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11)

We used the above verse in our wedding and it has been with me throughout the challenges and joys of our three years of marriage...

I am happy to tell you all that we are expecting another little girl in February!

I'm so excited for Layla to have a little sister...

Oh and I haven't mentioned to my husband yet but I do have some plans for the nursery that the girls will share... I think he might think that since it is another girl we will keep everything the same... But after all the thought we put into Layla's nursery that just wouldn't feel right!

Will be in touch soon.. just received our shower curtain and I love it. I think this might be the slowest bathroom renovation ever! We are just waiting on one more thing, an antique hutch to store towels and things. Then finally I can show you...

Have a great week!

Home

2010-09-11T08:18:00.000-07:00

We are finally home. After being away all summer we are back. I haven't been very good at updating over the summer, but thank you so much to everyone who has emailed me to make sure we were okay! I hope I got back to all of you but if I missed someone I'm very sorry!

Our bathroom is still very close to being finished, but there are a lot of little things we are working on completing before I can show you. So instead of showing that today I thought I would show you some changes we have made around here for fall.

Here is the guest room. When we knocked out the wall separating the guest room and the bathroom it made the guestroom a little smaller but you can hardly notice. And Scott was able to put in a beadboard ceiling to replace the terrible ceiling tiles! More details to come but here is another picture for now.

The rug is Dash and Albert from Razmataz, I love that store:)

I also made a new sink skirt. This is one of the easiest things to sew so it is fun to change once in awhile.

Finally we found a new set of slipcovers for our Ikea couch on Ebay. They were a great deal and look a little more "fall" than the white.

One of my favourite things about slipcovers is that they can be easily changed for a new look.

We also switched our white coffee table for this old trunk that brings more warmth and storage for toys!

So there are some of our fall changes. I hope you all had a great summer! I promise to update more now that we are back:)

Summer...

2010-07-23T13:30:00.000-07:00

Image

Hope everyone is having a great summer! Just wanted to let you know that we will be back soon. Thank you to all of you who have emailed me to check in on us. Our bathroom is almost finished and I am excited to show you!

Bathroom Progress

2010-06-27T16:14:00.000-07:00

Hope you had a great weekend! I had to start with this picture of Layla in the swing the other night, I can't bear not to include one nice picture in this post!

Some of you have been asking for pictures of our bathroom progress... I'm not sure this is exactly what you had in mind... it looks terrible to the average person but to me it represents a lot of hard work!

This is what we started with. A teeny tiny bathroom with a leaking sink, tub with plastic surround, and fake tiles on the walls. I painted it Ballet White by Benjamin Moore to see us through until the renovation.

Storage was a big problem. The cabinets you see on the right are literally 3 inches deep.

My husband's brother Scott is working on the bathroom for us. Dave and Scott worked very hard this weekend to destruct the entire thing.

You can see the sad state of our guest room here... but it will be better soon! There will be a new beadboard ceiling to replace the old tiles, which came complete with a hole patched with paper towel of all things. We are making the guest room a little smaller to accommodate the new bathroom.

Here is the bathroom all cleaned up and ready for construction:

Scott really knows a lot about old houses and he is a very hard worker. He and his wife Hannah have been renovating an older home and I can't wait to share the beautiful transformation with you soon.

Thank you Scott and Dave, for working so hard!

I will post more pictures soon, even though they are not pretty I want to remember them.

Have a wonderful week!

Thoughts on Living With Renovations

2010-06-24T14:46:00.000-07:00

First of all, yes, the peonies are still blooming here! I hope you aren't tired of them:)

I thought I would write out a few of the things I have learned since we started renovating our house. Mostly to remind myself as we are in the midst of our bathroom project!

($15 antique market planter on our new front porch)

Living with renovations can be exciting, fun, and satisfying as you see a room coming together. It can also be unsettling and stressful if you feel as though your cannot really live in your own home.

For me, the best thing I have learned is to not let the renovation of one room take over the entire house. Before we start the project I store all the items from the room to be renovated neatly in containers in the basement. It is really easy to be tempted to just move all the stuff to another room, but then suddenly you have two rooms that have become less functional. This is a really good time to evaluate what is actually useful and what you want to go back into the finished room. I donate all unnecessary items.

(If you look closely you will see a paintbrush drying - this is a common site here!
I need to get a matching basket on the other side of that cabinet too)

The next thing I try to remember is to keep cleaning! It is also tempting to just stop cleaning and wait until it is done, but this just makes for a very unpleasant house. I don't think it is pointless to clean a room that might get dusty again, it is just less to clean next time. I try really hard to stay on top of the laundry and continue to cook homemade meals, which is another thing that helps you to feel as if your life is not being totally disrupted.

As far as tools that my husband tends to leave around the area he is working on, I just use a big laundry basket and pile them all in to contain them.

I think that is all... I'm sure many of you are much more experienced with this than I am and I would be happy to hear any advice you have to offer! This particular project is even more complicated since we only have one

bathroom... but I know the results will be worth it!

I can't wait to show you our progress...

Hope you have a lovely weekend!

An Outside Makeover

2010-06-17T09:43:00.000-07:00

I hope you are all doing well, we have been busy! I thought I would show you what we have been working on.

We have been working on the front of our little house. When we first moved in we weren't able to do anything on the outside because of a lack of time and, of course, money. We had to focus all our resources on the inside.

This is what we started with:

It is just a simple little 1 1/2 story cottage bungalow. We were certainly not under any grand illusions of creating an elegant manor! We did, however, think we could make it look a little prettier - with a small budget and a lot of effort.

This is what it looks like this morning:

The very first thing we did was to remove the metal screen door and let the original door shine. We also took out the big shrub on the left to make room for my garden. I showed a picture to a worker at the local nursery and she told me that shrubs are simple to remove and that it should come up easily, just like an onion, so I came home and enthusiastically suggested we remove it.

Needless to say my husband did not think it was just like an onion.

Anyways, I think this is an example of how removing something can often make a huge improvement before you even have to buy anything.

(The lantern is from Home Depot)

We added homemade shutters to the window as well as $15 corbels from Rona to the sides of the porch.

My husband rebuilt parts of the porch including the stairs and the sides where there was previously lattice. We could have torn up the whole thing but it would have been wasteful since the overall structure and floor are in good condition. We did, however, remove the concrete steps.

Even more than indoor renovations, exterior renovations can be very expensive if you do not do it yourself. So, a week ago our poor neighbors tolerated my husband doing this to remove the old concrete:

I have to include these pictures because I know someday we will look back on this and smile.

To create the cottage style look I have always dreamed of for the front of our home, my husband thought we should make the steps out of stone. I love the results! We found the big stones on sale at a local nursery and the flagstone was $50 on Kijiji.

The wicker furniture was also from Kijiji and I sewed the seat cushions.

Working on this project really was fun. Even our neighbors got involved, donating perennials, extra soil, and muscle for lifting rocks.

Nothing teaches patience like a garden. I cannot wait for ours to grow! This is the first garden I have ever had so I did my best to create an English Country look. I lined the pathway with lavender - it should bloom soon! Someday it will spill over onto the pathway. In between the rocks I used creeping thyme. It smells so pretty mixed with the lavender. There are two David Austin rosebushes, one is a climber that we will create an arch for next year. I love old fashioned flowers so there are also peonies, foxglove, and delphiniums.

A few of our donated perennials were diagnosed as having gone into "shock" by my neighbor. I hope they revive soon!

(My husband built the planter boxes at the edge of the porch)

More than ever, I now feel like we have truly made this house ours. Putting actual roots into the ground creates a more permanent bond with a house than painting a room ever could. I hope I can enjoy this garden for years, and when we are no longer here I imagine another woman taking a similar pride in their fleeting blooms.

I hope you enjoyed the outside of our little home!

(I'm linking this to Frugal Friday)

On Paint Colours

2010-06-07T14:25:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be a good idea to answer some questions I have been asked here, just in case anyone else was wondering the same thing.

The first one is about paint colours. I think it is kind of funny for me to be writing a post about choosing paint colours, because I have great difficulty with this! I am definitely not a colour expert, but I will share what I have learned and the steps I follow.
1) Ask yourself, what do you want the room to feel like? While this is a somewhat vague question I do think it is really important in creating a room you love. Words that I sometimes think of are beachy, farmhouse, cozy, airy, clean, pretty... This is where inspiration photos can be helpful as well. I don't think there is any shame in seeing a magazine photo and wanting to create a similar feeling in your room. It involves really looking at the photo and analyzing what you think the overall feeling is, and then using your own furnishings, ideas, and style to bring it together. Also, I don't think the feeling has to be exactly the same throughout your whole house. I wanted our family room and dining room to be cozy, but our kitchen and bathroom to be clean and airy.

I wanted our bedroom to be pretty and airy.
2) Decide if you want white or another colour. I think that whites can achieve virtually any feeling you are going for depending on how you pull it together. A clean white with light blue and pink accessories can be pretty. A warm cream can be cozy and comforting in a room that has lots of texture.

White provides a backdrop to let your furnishings and accessories shine. Of course there is a reason that Pottery Barn and other catalogs use white backgrounds to display their furniture. With a white background furniture becomes almost like art or sculpture.

In this photo the books and flowers really stand out against the white backdrop.

To select a white decide if you want a pure white or a warm white, depending on the overall feeling you are trying to achieve. Don't forget to consider what you already have that will be going in the room. If you have natural wood furniture, especially if it is darker, I think it is safer to go with a cream colour. White and dark can go together nicely but there needs to be some mid-tones to bridge the gap.

In our kitchen I selected a warm cream to bridge the gap between the darker floors and bright white cabinets. Texture in the form of the sink skirt and breadboards also helps to add some mid-tones.
However, sometimes you just want to have a little bit of colour. In this case I would decide what colour, for example, light pink as I used in Layla's room. If you stick to light colours I don't think that your whole house needs to be 'warm' or 'cool' colours, I think that light colours flow together nicely regardless of their temperature.
3) Consider the amount of natural light in the room. White will often appear grey in a dark room, which can be a beautiful look, it just needs to be taken into consideration. I discovered (after painting our staircase ceiling the same shade of blue as our bedroom) that a light room will enhance a light colour and the true shade of the colour will be seen. In a dark room, such as a hallway, a light colour will often appear white or grey. To select a shade I always avoid the middle section of the paint chips, which are way too Crayola-ish for my personal taste, although some people do a great job with these! I go straight to the whites and neutrals and then I find the general colour I am looking for. For a room with a lot of natural light I then choose the colour at least one shade lighter than the colour I am trying to achieve. For example, I wanted a pretty, airy blue for our bedroom, just like Ocean Air:

But our bedroom gets a ton of light so I chose Sea Foam (which looks white on the paint chip in real life) and it looks like this:

I wanted the hallway ceiling to be the exact same shade. But when it was on the ceiling it still looked white, since the hallway is so dark. So I chose Ocean Air instead and it looks like the same blue:

I think the key is that for a room with lots of natural light, the shade you choose should look white in the paint can. It is really surprising how bright the colour will be once it is on the walls.

4) The final step would be of course to paint a sample pot on your wall and make sure that you like it in all different kinds of light. But if you do all of this and paint the room and still don't like it?
Well I personally think it is worth doing it again, after all, choosing colours is very tricky! You don't have to pretend to like the colour if it is actually not what you envisioned, I think it must happen to even the best designers! And to save money the paint store can retint the colour for free as long as you are not making drastic changes. I believe it is easier to go from a light colour to a dark one, so again I would encourage you to pick a shade lighter than you think that you will like.
And finally, since some of you asked, here are the paint colours in our house. I almost always use Benjamin Moore colours but often get them mixed wherever paint is on sale.
Guest room, living room, dining room above beadboard - Ballet White by Benjamin Moore. This is a lovely cream, not too beige or yellow.
Guest room, living room, dining room, below beadboard, nook walls and all our trim - Oxford White by Benjamin Moore. A clean and crisp white.
Layla's Nursery - Benjamin Moore Pink Cloud #887. A cotton-candy very light pink.
Kitchen - Benjamin Moore Devon Cream
Bedroom - Benjamin Moore Sea Foam
I hope this helps some of you, I know I am not a colour specialist. Let me know if you have any more questions!

Friday Thoughts

2010-06-04T19:03:00.000-07:00

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. I have a few random thoughts to share today!

Right now my we are working on the exterior of our house, improving the porch and landscaping. I am beginning to love gardening. It is so fun to see how the plants change every day.

My peonies and roses are in bloom right now, although there are only a few flowers so I haven't been able to bring them inside. My Mom is so generous and gave me some from her garden!

We made this frame out of some old wood we found in our garage, left by the previous owners. The picture is from Kimberly of Mimi Charmante.

I am also including this picture of my window mirror for the Saturday Night Special theme of old windows. I know it is a typical use for an old window but it is something special to me because my husband and I worked on it together and filled it with family photos.

But by far the most exciting news I have to share is that I am now an aunt!

I am so proud! My sister is such a good mother already.

Isn't she a gorgeous baby? It was so fun to photograph her today.

Welcome to the world little Charlotte!

The Nook

2010-05-31T09:35:00.000-07:00

The nook is finished! And the staircase too.

For anyone new to this story, we decided to remove the closet at the top of the stairs and replace it with a dresser instead. I have always loved the old-fashioned approach to storage.

This is what we used to see at the top of the stairs:

And this is what we see now!

I could not ask for a more enthusiastic and hard working man than my husband. He is so supportive of all my ideas, even if they mean a lot of extra work for him. He tore out the old ceiling tiles and the closet and then he built the plank walls and ceiling all by himself.

Here are the old ceiling tiles.

We painted the ceiling a light blue to add some color and prettiness to the space. It matches the blue in our bedroom which is to the right of the stairs.

Reducing our storage forced me to further evaluate the things I needed, and to donate the extras. I think that extra storage can often lead to keeping unnecessary items.

The old pine dresser is from a farmhouse near where we were married. I found it on Kijiji of course:) We are going to make a white barnboard frame to go above the flea market chair.

Here is our family photo gallery. I love this wall! I really wanted a classic look to the photos and I think using all black frames helps achieve that.

We could not afford to change the carpet, but it is in good condition and is neutral. I think that a lot of people avoid renovating and decorating spaces until they can make them absolutely perfect. However, it is so rewarding to look at a space and think of all the things that you can do now with a little effort (or a lot of effort from my husband as in this case!) Cedar plank paneling like this is very affordable and added character to a space that had none previously.

I found this simple vintage-inspired light at Lowes for $30.

The view going downstairs is much nicer too!

Our approach to doing any room in our house is to first concentrate on the "backdrop." Generally, for us this means adding beadboard, painting, replacing ceiling tiles and flooring. When you have a textured backdrop it makes everything in front look prettier. We could have invested hundreds of dollars in a brand new dresser or armoire, but instead we chose to spend the money changing the architecture and buy used furniture instead. I really don't think the furniture is as important as what is behind it and how it is displayed.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of our nook. Today is hot, with a sweaty baby and without a working air conditioner I am very glad someone invented fans!

Have a wonderful day:)

I'm linking this to the Shabby Chic Cottage Transformation Thursday
and Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Night Special

Bathroom Planning

2010-05-26T21:57:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a wonderful week! I have been very busy with my little girl so I thought I would just share with you our bathroom ideas. I hope somebody will find it interesting! Our renovation is set to start very soon so we are finalizing all the plans as much as we can now.

We were very excited to find this pretty sink for $50 on Kijiji brand new. It retails for over $400 here.

I think it will go nicely with our tub that we found for $65. We are painting it white of course!

There will be white marble hexagon tiles on the floor, white plank walls, and a light blue plank ceiling.I read once in a Country Living magazine that in the south in the U.S. the porch ceilings were painted a light blue called haint blue and it was said to ward against wasps. We don't have a wasp problem but I love the idea!

We hope to have some built ins that will incorporate architectural salvage and have a light blue beadboard backing to match the ceiling.

We haven't decided for sure on the light but I love this one from Barn Light Electric.

I can't believe we are finally going to have a new bathroom! I'm so excited. It is our only bathroom and it is very tiny so we are going to knock out a wall to give us a few more inches in the bathroom. Which will mean a few less inches in the guest room but I think it will be worth it! And with all the destruction the guest room might get a little updating too...

I will keep you posted!

Thank you all for following along this little blog!

A Painted Hutch

2010-05-24T05:50:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend, it is still happening here in Canada! Today we are going to work in our garden and have a barbecue.

I thought I would show you our newly painted hutch. While I loved the natural wood I felt that there was a little too much wood for such a small room. I have wanted to do this for awhile but I was a little nervous to do so since it was a pretty new piece in great condition, but I knew we would love the painted result. And we do!

I love the look of painted furniture mixed with natural wood.

I know from your emails that there are some of you that love painted furniture as well but are afraid to 'ruin' a good piece. I would encourage you that unless you have a priceless antique (made before the industrial revolution) then you really cannot devalue a piece by painting it.

I don't think we should take these things so seriously, if you want to paint it go ahead! It's just furniture. As long as your husband agrees of course:)

I used Farrow and Ball's Pointing, a wonderful warm white that looks great with other whites and creams. It is their most popular paint colour. It would not look as good in a room that you wanted a more beachy feel with cool blues and bright white, like our bedroom.

I filled it with white ironstone from thrift stores. Each plate cost between 25 and 75 cents. While it is hard to find antique ironstone platters and bowls at thrift stores I always see plates like these. I think they look great grouped together since they each have a different shade of white.

I am always inspired by readers and other blogs. I put a starfish in between the plates like I saw Melanie do on one of my favourite blogs, Pretties and Posies.

I also finished another chair cover, just two more to go!

Have a wonderful day:)

I Love This House

2010-05-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

Today I was spring cleaning. Honestly, I actually sort of enjoy cleaning. I love fresh sheets, sparkling floors, and folded laundry.

When I was finished cleaning and saw the sun pouring onto the warm barnboard floors I was struck by the thought that I love this house.

Not because it is perfect or beautiful or in a premium location. There are many flaws, some that we are slowly working on replacing, like the ceilings. Others that we have just come to accept as part of this house, like the lack of closets. Some of the flaws I have even grown to love, like the layers of paint on the old trim that lend a warmth and sheen in a way that new wood never could.

I think that blogging and magazines can influence us to think a little negatively about our houses. We are often focusing on the flaws, on what needs to be the next project.

Today I was reminded about the best things about our house, and about what makes it our home.

I love how I know exactly where to step to avoid creaking floorboards once I set Layla down in her crib. I love the afternoon sun in the back rooms and the old front door. I love the old tree that has grown a little wild in the backyard.

I love the lilacs and how they remind me of Layla because they bloomed the day we brought her home.

In the spirit of being content and grateful for what we have, maybe you could think about why you love your house/apartment/rental. I would love to hear about it in the comments if you wanted to share, or keeping it to yourself is okay too:)

It is a long weekend here and there are firecrackers happening right now. I have always loved firecrackers but now that I have a sleeping baby they seem so loud!

Have a wonderful weekend!

A Spring Table Setting

2010-05-18T14:22:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I have been busy looking after a certain little girl who had shots yesterday. She is much happier today though!

My weekend find was three vintage mason jars at a garage sale down the street. I like their lids and I plan on using them for display in our bathroom, once it is finished. We are hoping to have a wall of built-ins, and I am imagining all the possibilities for decorating them!

I decided to use them today as part of a spring table setting.

I cut two geraniums from our front yard, since my beloved peonies are quickly fading.

I do like setting a nice table, even if it is just for us. After all, I think I should be most concerned with making things beautiful and special for my family, not just for guests.

I also wanted to let you know that I added a "Tutorials" page to the blog, right below the title. I thought this might be a good place since not everyone is interested in the "how-to" information. I will be adding more as I go along. For now I have posted about how to sew the ruffled skirt chair covers. It is really meant for beginner sewers, I am a little nervous to put it up since I just started sewing and I'm not sure if I am doing everything properly. If you are more advanced (like my Mom, Aunt A., or Mrs. M) please feel free to let me know if I should do something differently or if you have any tips! (Thank you Mrs. M for the tip about using good thread, it has made a big difference).

I will be back soon with more updates!

I'm linking this to Tablescape Thursday

A Few Thoughts and More Pillows!

2010-05-14T14:46:00.000-07:00

Since starting this little blog I have met so many other women who enjoy the process of creating a home.

A few weeks ago I was blessed with the opportunity to win two giveaways from two wonderful bloggers. I was so excited! I sent Dave an email that started with "I won!" and he said he thought I had won a car.

The first giveaway was from Deb at Cappuccino Cottage

Deb is so generous. I won two beautiful white Pottery Barn pillows. I put them on either side of our sofa with some other linen pillows I made. For now I replaced the top cushions of our sofa with these down filled ones. I think it is a nice change. There is no rule that you have to use sofa cushions!

I have been moving them all around the house and they look great everywhere! Thank you so much Deb! I love my new pillows.

I made the burlap one in the centre too because I thought it looked slightly more masculine and my husband loves to use lumbar pillows. Although, I didn't think about how scratchy burlap could be, I might have to make him a new one!

The other giveaway was from the lovely Jillian at The Virginia House. I won a display boat! But I have to wait to show you it in it's new home that is not quite finished yet. Thank you Jillian I love my boat!

Finally, I wanted to introduce you to Jojena from the new blog Secret Garden Cottage

Her house is gorgeous, wait until you see her kitchen.

Oh and before I forget, reader Mary correctly guessed the last photo of my previous post, it was taken in our new nook! I can't wait to show you more.

Have a wonderful weekend!

My Favourite Flower

2010-05-12T15:13:00.000-07:00

Peonies are far and away my favorite flower. I'm sure many of you will agree. They were the first thing I planted in our little garden. So far there are three buds on our plant this year. I couldn't bear to cut them so today Layla and I went to a local flower shop and picked out five of our favorites. It was a special treat I have been saving for; I haven't bought flowers in well over a month.

I love how they look even prettier before they are in bloom. I love the anticipation of their opening.

I once saw a picture of Martha Stewart's garden in a magazine and she planted a whole field of peonies, could you imagine!?

I arranged them in my sap bucket from the White Flower Farmhouse.

I was wondering if any of my dear readers might be able to guess where I took this picture (the last one)?

Thank you all for your comments on my chair covers, I will have the tutorial ready soon. Right now Layla is asleep and I am having a tea and enjoying my peonies. I hope you have a wonderful evening!

Ruffled Skirt Chair Covers

2010-05-10T15:05:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to get started on my dining chair slipcovers. Here is the first one.

I used an antique linen thrift store sheet I found for 75 cents. I sew a lot of projects out of vintage linens, mainly because I find it is very easy to find good quality fabric like linen for a great price.

I will be able to make two covers out of this sheet, probably more except I will run out of hemmed edges. And the hemmed edges are the second best thing about using vintage sheets for fabric! It makes sewing so much quicker. I started this during Layla's naptime and I was finished before she woke up, and I even managed to eat lunch too!

The ties at the back are my favorite part!

I found those hatboxes at Ikea. I'm always looking for pretty storage options.

These are very easy to make, even if you only know how to sew a straight line. I took some pictures as I went along so if there happens to be anyone who is interested to see them just let me know in comments/email and I could do a tutorial.

Have a wonderful day!

I am linking this to Transformation Thursday

Budget Party Decorating

2010-05-09T16:24:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and Mother's Day. I thought I would share how I decorated Layla's birthday party for $6. Of course this was for a baby girl but I think the concept could work for many different parties; baby showers, graduations, rehearsal dinners, etc. I wanted to keep it very simple but pretty.

First I used dollar store tissue paper to make the tissue pom poms, following these instructions. They are pretty easy but I do have a few additional pieces of advice if anyone wants to make them.

1) I used 10-12 pieces of tissue for each pom pom and found this helped make for a fuller effect.

2) When it says "crease" take this seriously and make a very good crease, it makes the finished product much prettier!

3) Instead of floral wire in the middle I used clear thread and left the ends long enough to hang it from the ceiling. Otherwise the green floral wire can be noticeable at certain angles.

Next I used a roll of tulle I found at Michael's for $2 with a coupon. I made bows around our bench and chairs and used more as a table runner. Tulle is just so pretty and airy looking.

I sewed twelve pink napkins out of a recycled sheet. I wrapped the cutlery and napkins with more tulle. The pink confetti I also found on clearance at Michael's for $2.

Finally I brought in all the flowers I could pick from our garden and scattered them around the house. Even flowers that look sort of plain in a garden can look really pretty in the house.

Here is the cost breakdown

1) Pom Poms - $2.00 (4 @ $0.50 each)

2) Tulle - $2.00

3) Confetti - $2.00

4) Fresh Flowers - Free

So that is all, not very elaborate but I enjoyed preparing everything. I think a good way to keep the cost down is to focus on one room (the dining room in our case) and put most of your efforts into there. Think about things that will have the biggest impact for a lower price, such as the tissue pom poms.

The best part about all of these decorations is that I will be using them again next week to decorate for my wonderful sister's baby shower. So I guess that means I really only spent $3!

I will post an update on the nook very soon, I have some more ideas:)
I hope you have a beautiful Monday!

I'm linking to Frugal Friday

For My Layla Grace

2010-05-08T17:25:00.000-07:00

To my baby girl...

Today we celebrated your first birthday.

The lilacs were in bloom.

There were cupcakes, decorations, and too many generous gifts.

You loved your cupcake!

It was a little rainy but it didn't matter.

When you arrived one year ago a lot changed.

Some things stayed the same though...

You are still the most beautiful thing we have ever seen.

You are the best Mother's Day present I could ask for.

Thank you for making me a Mommy.

Happy birthday my sweet girl.

Love Mommy.

Staircase and Maybe A Nook?

2010-05-03T14:57:00.000-07:00

This is the before shot of our staircase. My husband took these with his iPhone before he started tearing everything down. They are not the best quality but you get the idea. The ugly ceiling tiles were in pretty rough shape as was the old trim so we decided to use more cedar planks to cover the walls and ceiling.

I love seeing the layers of vintage wallpaper that we found under the old trim. Some very wild patterns for such a small hallway! I wonder about the women who lovingly picked them out and the men who patiently hung them (okay so maybe it wasn't quite like that but I like to think so).

My husband has been working very hard at this and I'm so happy with how it looks already. Of course I can't wait to paint them!

You can also see there is a closet at the top of the stairs. We might be removing the doors and creating a little "nook" as I like to call it. I would like to put a big old dresser there instead since the closet is filled with almost all folded things on shelves anyways. It would really open up the space. Also... wouldn't it be so lovely to say that you had a nook at the top of your stairs? I think so.

Hope you are all doing well, and thank you all for reading about our little home. I will keep you posted on our progress.

Thoughts On Making Ordinary Things Pretty

2010-04-30T15:16:00.000-07:00

Our home is pretty simply decorated, and I really like to make the most of the ordinary things we use everyday. I like them to be both pretty and functional. This allows the normally plain or even ugly things that have to be hidden in closets to instead be on display.

There are a few reasons why I do this, one of them being that we have very little closet space. We are actually tearing down the only closet on the main floor to make room for our new bathroom. And although we have a basement, it is too scary for me to go down there on a regular basis. When my husband reads this he will deny that it is scary and say that it is just a typical old house basement with concrete walls and tiny windows, but personally I try to minimize the time I have to spend there!

Also, being on a tiny budget does not allow for purchasing tons of meaningless accessories, instead I have a few favourite ones such as my driftwood sailboat. Therefore, my everyday things become the things I decorate with. A stack of white dishes that are used all the time can make for a very pretty display.

Today I made this ruffled cover for my ironing board. Our laundry is in the scary basement so I like to do my ironing in the kitchen, which means that our ironing board is always leaning against the pantry. So I decided I might as well make it pretty and help it contribute to the overall look.

If anyone ever wants to try to make an ironing board cover it is really easy, just take your old one, cut off the casing and sew it to your new piece of fabric, pull the strings and you are done.

Another example of simple things I love is the old mason jar in the first picture, tied with a scrap of fabric leaning against our breadboards, more things that we use all the time.

I often hear the quote by William Morris "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful" but I personally think that it is nice to have both function and beauty in one!

Above The Hutch

2010-04-27T07:31:00.000-07:00

I like to decorate 'forgotten' spots, such as above doorways or tall furniture. I think it adds an extra layer of interest and detail to create the environment of a pretty and well-loved home. That is not to say I believe in decorating every blank surface - in fact the walls on either side of this hutch are bare.

Above the hutch is the piece we found for $15 at the market. A little sanding and fresh paint was all it needed. The white dishes my husband won in a golf tournament! The pretty carnations are from our good friends.

I like the way the moulding sort of 'frames' the hutch.

The sun is shining here, I hope it is where you are too!

A Few Bedroom Details

2010-04-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

Thank you SO much for your comments on our bedroom. It is so nice to hear from all of you! I thought I would share a few more details of the room.
I found this old piece of trim with hooks in it at the flea market, and we hung it behind our door. This would be easy to make and we are thinking of using a horizontal piece to create towel hangers for our bathroom.

Here is another shot of the old piece of molding above our bed. I really love using inexpensive pieces like this to add character. I don't use a lot of artwork because personally I don't like the idea of matching artwork to the room, but at the same time I like everything to match! So mostly I love architectural salvage, photographs, and mirrors on walls.

Here is the bedskirt I made. I am a very beginner sewer and I know this is not perfect but I'm really happy to finally have a bedskirt. We have a very high bed so I needed an 18 inch bedskirt, but these longer ones are very expensive, plus I really wanted it to be linen.
I searched everywhere but I could not find one for less than a few hundred dollars! So I created this one out of a thrift store linen sheet for the part that goes under the bed and this wonderful linen/cotton fabric from Ikea. I find that Oxy Clean and sunshine is the best combination for washing antique linen, I have not yet met a stain that it could not remove.
The Ikea fabric was exactly 18 inches, and it was already hemmed! So for about $30 I got the linen bedskirt I was dreaming of. I think this fabric would be perfect for so many uses, I am going to use my leftovers to make ruffled tea towels for the kitchen. You could also use it for a table runner, napkins, or small pillows. When I put the effort into sewing something I really want it to be made out of natural fibres like linen or cotton.

That's all, I hope you aren't sick of these pictures already! We did manage to go to the antique market yesterday and I can't wait to show you what we found for $15.

Have a wonderful Monday!

Beachy Master Bedroom Reveal

2010-04-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Our master bedroom is finished! Well for now, of course there are a few more things I have planned for it...
Here is the before:

And the after again...

I tried to create a sort of beachy look combined with a farmhouse feel. I wanted the room to look pretty but also comfortable. We painted the walls Sea Foam by Benjamin Moore. My husband put a lot of effort into the beautiful beadboard ceiling, I love it so much! You can see the before of the ceiling here. Of course we were on a small budget so the carpet had to stay, but I don't mind it because at least it is new, clean and neutral. We bought our bed and dresser when we first moved into our house. I love how the wood warms up the room.

I was initially going to look for a nice bedside table but once we decided to do the ceiling we had no money in the budget so we took this old drop leaf table from our basement and painted it white. The vintage mirror was a $5 Kijiji purchase, hung with ribbon that was used to wrap the package containing the driftwood sailboat below, from White Flower Farmhouse. Even their parcels are beautiful to look at!

These built-ins were one of our favourite features when we first saw our house. We painted them a bright semi-gloss white and changed the hardware to glass knobs. I was initially looking for glass handles, but knobs are much cheaper and I think they look just as pretty. The milk glass vases were $1.50 for all three. The baskets are from Ikea.

We moved this mirror from our living room into the bedroom, I think it fits perfectly here and I love how it reflects so much light from the window. It is from the lovely City.Cottage store.

We also moved this little table from our living room since Layla has been able to lift it! The chair is from the Ikea as-is section. I spent a few Monday mornings in January looking for this chair in the as-is (Monday is the best time since all the weekend returns are stocked then).

We found the piece of salvage above the bed for $20 and painted it white. I was so happy with how perfectly it fit above the bed. The chandelier is from Home Depot and the duvet cover was a Christmas gift from my husband. It is the Pottery Barn Ruched Duvet, but he purchased it less than half price from Ebay. I made the bedskirt and euro shams myself, more on that and the other details in another post!

I hope you all have a great weekend, the Aberfoyle Antique Market opens this weekend and we are hoping to go!

Linking this post to Donna's Saturday Night Special

Summer Living Room Update

2010-04-21T05:26:00.000-07:00

First of all, I want to thank everyone who read, commented, or emailed me about my last post. I really appreciate all of your support, and I am working on getting back to each of you.

I know it is not summer yet, but I thought I would get a little head start! Recently, my mother in law and sister in law and I were able to make one of our semi-annual trips to Pottery Barn. My husband doesn't understand how we can make a whole day out of going to a store that is only 45 minutes away. I told him that to us, it is sort of like a museum. We walk around the whole store a few times, intently studying all the different displays and new items. And then, if we are going to make a purchase, deciding actually what to buy is a whole other ordeal!

I love Pottery Barn pillows! They are well made and easily interchangeable. Usually I buy them off of Ebay, they are often much less expensive. In case anyone is looking to do the same thing, I recently discovered that the reason you can find so many brand new Pottery Barn items on Ebay is because when something is returned to the store it goes immediately to the Pottery Barn Outlet, even if it is in perfect condition. Then Ebay sellers buy the item at a deep discount and sell it online. Since we are in Canada the Pottery Barn Outlet is a magical place I have only heard about, but I would love to go someday!

Also, to my fellow Canadians, in my limited Ebay experience I find that often sellers in the US are willing to ship to Canada, so even if they have not specified it in the ad I always email to ask and usually they will.
Anyways, I was lucky enough to find these two blue striped linen pillow covers on our recent trip. They were marked down since the last time I was there so I had to get them!

The old blue sap bucket is from White Flower Farmhouse, my favourite place to shop online. Lori and Megan have amazing taste and their prices are so affordable. The beautiful white carnations are from my Mother in law.

I hope you are all having a wonderful week!

It Blooms Every Spring

2010-04-16T01:38:00.000-07:00

I realize that this is a decorating blog, and I intend to keep it that way, but some of what we do to our home has a deeper significance to me than simply looking pretty. Our homes are just boxes until they are filled with little pieces of our lives... scuffs on the floor, little pencil marks on the wall tracking the height of a child, family photographs lining the staircase...
We recently experienced the early pregnancy loss of our second baby, thus I have entered a terrible club of motherhood that no one wants to join. I am certain some of you have experienced this same loss and I am truly sorry if you have.
And so, we are planting a tree. A flowering tree. It blooms every spring, marking the short season that our second baby lived.

Pictures of Home...

2010-04-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a glimpse of what is happening around here...

Most importantly, a certain little someone just turned 11 months! In some ways I can hardy believe how fast the time has gone. I know everyone says it but I am beginning to see how true it is. I'm always a little sad that she is growing up but mostly excited to see what the next stage holds. Right now her favourite game is peek-a-boo.

The painting continues in the master bedroom...

And I am very happy to introduce the newest addition around here... In my last post I talked about how we will be renovating our bathroom. I was looking on Kijiji for a claw foot tub. Our only bathroom is just 35 square feet so it needed to be a special, very rare size, 54 inches x 26 inches. Well, finally all the looking has paid off! We found this beautiful antique tub for only $65. The inside is in good condition so we don't need to refinish it. Of course the outside will take some work... you should see the other side...it is painted purple! If anyone has any tips on how to clean up an old tub I would love to hear them.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

How to Shop Kijiji and Craigslist

2010-04-06T06:07:00.000-07:00

(set of 4 Queen Anne Chairs in perfect condition, $100)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend. We had a lovely weekend visiting family! We still have more work to do on our bedroom before it is ready... so I thought since I have had some questions on how to find things on Kijiji and Craigslist, I would outline some of the things I have learned. Throughout the post I have included pictures of things we have bought on Kijiji, and where possible, what we paid in Canadian dollars to give you some idea of pricing.

(Dishwasher - $40)
First of all, Kijiji is an online classified site similar to Craigslist except the pictures are listed down the side which makes it much easier to scan through multiple items, instead of clicking on each ad to see a picture. (Edit: You can actually download this to let you see thumbnails on Craigslist - Thanks Linden Townhouse!) Of course location is key, it helps to live in or near a bigger city. Here are some tips I have to share.

1) Be Patient - I think this is the most important thing. Almost anything you are looking for will eventually come up, it just may take a few weeks or months. We looked for our sofa for two weeks, our dining room chairs for two months, and our front porch wicker furniture for a whole year!

2) Key Words - I think knowing how to search is very important. While you could spend hours searching the "Furniture" category, it would be much more effective to type in "Antique Dresser". However, keep in mind that someone who labels their dresser as antique probably recognizes it's true value and the price will reflect that. You may have more luck finding a deal by searching "old dresser" or just "dresser." You can also search for descriptive words such as "vintage" or "Pottery Barn."

3) Email Function - On Kijiji there is an email function where you can have items with key words emailed to your account. For example, right now I am looking for a claw foot tub for our bathroom renovation (so excited about this!) So any ads with "Claw Foot Tub" are sent directly to my email. This works for items that are pretty rare, since you don't want your inbox filled with dozens of ads.

(Jenny Lind Change Table - $40, retails $130)

[Ikea Lenda drapes $5 per panel (retails $30 per pair), matchstick blinds $12 each, Ikea ektorp Sofa $100 (retails about $600) Pottery Barn Chunky Wool Jute Rug $130 off with discounted gift card]

4) Timing - Timing is key in getting a good deal. To find something that is initially underpriced you have to be quick, as I was with this dresser and chair. Alternatively, you can search for items that are a couple of weeks old and offer the seller less than what they are asking. You are taking the chance that the item is no longer available but you might just get a good deal. Our dining room chairs were posted for $200, which was more than I could pay, so I offered the seller $100 and told her she could contact me if she was unable to sell them for $200. A couple months later she emailed me and said I could have them for $100.

5) Pricing - My opinion is that any used item should sell for 50% of the original price, with adjustments made higher or lower for the condition of the item. Of course antiques are a whole other category, but this is a general rule I follow when trying to determine if something is a good deal.

(Vintage stool, $10)

6) Be Flexible - If you are going to get a good deal you will most likely have to act quickly. Unfortunately, this often means dropping everything to go pick up the item NOW. People are usually selling stuff because they are moving, need space, or are replacing the item with something new so they want you to pick it up now, not in a week. I have gotten better deals by offering to come pick it up right away.

(Pottery Barn Manhattan Leather Club Chair and Ottoman, $600 (our most expensive Kijiji purchase!) retails around $2500 in Canada)

(Antique Dresser and Chair, $20 for both)

7) Gift Cards - This is one of the best secrets of Kijiji. People will sell Gift Cards and Merchandise Cards for significantly discounted amounts if they are not looking to purchase anything from that store. I have seen great deals for Home Depot, Ikea, Restoration Hardware, and many others. We purchased our living room rug after buying a Pottery Barn gift card that was discounted $130. The best time to look for these is after Christmas but I do see them all year round.

8) Be Creative - This means looking at Kijiji first before making almost any other purchase. You would be surprised at what can be found. In addition to furniture, we have purchased window treatments, kitchen appliances, a hockey jersey, baby toys, baby clothes, and baby accessories.

(Baby clothes $5 for outfit, Pottery Barn Wagon and Blocks $10)

I hope this helps some of you. I think shopping Kijiji is a great way to recycle and save money, and it is really not that time consuming once you know how to search.

More Progress...

2010-03-30T06:12:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to report that the master bedroom is taking longer than anticipated... because we are installing a beadboard ceiling!
(That bucket is not in our master bedroom, it is in our guest room, I found it at a salvage yard and painted it a light blue).
Almost our entire house has these ugly ceiling tiles installed over the original plaster ceiling. I'm not exactly sure why someone thought this was an improvement:

The other night we had dinner at my sister and brother in-law's house. They have beautiful beadboard ceilings in their guest rooms. On the way home I mentioned to Dave how pretty that would look in our bedroom. I was thinking maybe I could try beadboard wallpaper. Well, five minutes after we arrived home I heard the sound of ripping tiles! My husband decided we should do it the proper way which made me very happy. We thought we would use the sheets of beadboard but the next morning Dave went to Home Depot and came home with real cedar planks! Apparently it was only $20 more than the sheets, so it was definitely the better option. Our budget for the room is $200 and half of that is going towards the ceiling, but I think it is a worthy investment. So far it really makes the room!

My husband has been doing all the cutting, measuring, and installing. I have been whitewashing the planks so they are white but you can still see the knots and grain. They even smell nice! This morning I woke up to this...

I am working on some more projects to show you soon. I hope you are all having a wonderful week!

Master Bedroom In Progress

2010-03-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

Just a little update to say we are painting our master bedroom today, and I'm very excited to show you the results next week!

Here is part of our bedding...

Have a great weekend!

Our Living Room

2010-03-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

It's starting to feel like spring today!
I thought I would post our living room here. This is the before from the house brochure.

It was so fun to work on this room together. My idea of the perfect date is spending time fixing up our house, talking and listening to music. It took us a whole weekend to do this room and the dining room.
We added beadboard wallpaper. My husband did the wallpapering and I did a lot of painting. Layla encouraged us from the sidelines! I love the result. A lot of our guests cannot even tell that it is not real beadboard. I think the lighter wall colour really brightened the room.
We found our couch on Kijiji and the old cupboard we won at an auction. One afternoon we drove past a sign for an auction and decided to be spontaneous and see what it was like! It was lots of fun, and what a great place to find inexpensive furniture. My husband was bidding against just one other woman, I think she was an antiques dealer, but the crowd seemed to really be on our side since they knew it was our first auction!

The leather chair is also from Kijiji. My husband really wanted a leather chair and it is very cozy. The coffee table I found at a thrift store and painted.
The mirror I was lucky enough to get from the City.Cottage store. If you are in the area you should really visit, everything is so pretty there!

Since it felt so springy today I set a nice table for our dinner. I found four of these pretty blue glass bowls at the thrift store.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful spring-filled week.

I'm linking this to Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Night Special and Transformation Thursday at the Shabby Chic Cottage

How to DIY Barnboard Floors

2010-03-21T17:43:00.000-07:00

I have received lots of questions about our floor so I thought it might be helpful to post a tutorial here. I am certainly not an expert in this kind of thing, I had to ask my husband to outline every single step for you! I am so proud of my husband for doing this, would you believe he had never done any home renovations before this kitchen? He has a very busy job and it would have been easily justified for him to ask me to choose a more standard type of flooring. Instead he spent his vacation sawing and gluing down these boards.
We did look into having the boards installed by someone else, but it was just too expensive for us. So here are the steps we used:

Steps:

1) Measure your room

2) Find a source for your barnboard - We used 100 year old barnboard from a salvage shop, but I have since seen ads for barnboard on Craigslist and Kijiji

3) Inspect wood - Ideally the wood will have minimal cracks - some cracks are okay but they will increase the amount of waste if they cannot be easily glued. We used different lengths and widths of boards which I think adds to the interest. Look for pieces with interesting features like big knots.

4) You will need a good table saw that can rip boards and a sliding mitre saw would be helpful for corners and to cut the boards at a perfect right angle. Don't forget the proper safety equipment like goggles and a mask.

5) DRY the wood very well. I cannot emphasize this enough. I know it is hard to be patient but it needs to sit in the room it will be used in for at least a few days, the longer the better, especially if it has been recently outside. If you do not dry the wood properly you can experience shifting and gaps between the floorboards.

6) Almost any type of subfloor that can be screwed into could work, ours was an old tile floor.

7) Plane all boards to approximately same height. We were lucky to find boards that were already planed, but perhaps this could be done at a lumber store? I'm not sure.

8) Lay all boards on floor to envision the final placement. Take into consideration colour and knots. We placed the least attractive pieces under our cabinets and appliances and left the most beautiful ones for the centre of the kitchen.

9) Number the placement of the boards with a pencil. Measure and cut boards to required length. This requires some trial and error. My husband would make an initial cut erring on the side of being too long, and then bring it into the kitchen and make the final adjustments.

10) Glue boards down with heavy glue such as PL 300.

11) Immediately after gluing a board screw the board down. Use a drill bit to sink screws and place two at approximately every 3 feet to prevent lifting.

12) Use wood plugs to hide the screws. We did not have the tools to make this so we got a local wood shop to make them all for about $30. You will need to know the size of your countersink.

13) Put glue on plug and tap in with a rubber hammer.

14) Use a floor sander (we rented ours from Home Depot) with different sand paper qualities. Start with a rough paper and then finish with a smooth one. Do not oversand! This could ruin the character of the old boards.

15) Wear a mask and clean the floor very well with paint thinner.

16) We used four coats of Waterlox Medium Sheen Tung Oil to finish. It has been extremely durable and we can always apply another coat if needed.

I hope this is helpful to somebody, and please email me or comment if you have any questions.

Thank you all so much for your comments and support, I have only been blogging a few weeks but have felt so welcomed by your encouragement! It was so nice of Maria at Dreamy Whites to include me in her post today, it made my day!

Have a wonderful Monday!

I'm linking this to Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Night Special!

2010-03-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Just wanted to let you know that Jenny from Simple Casual Living is featuring three examples of Canadian Cottage Style and she was kind enough to include me! You can check it out here

Favourite Finds

2010-03-19T17:52:00.000-07:00

I thought I would show you a few of my recent finds. For me, having patience and a clear criteria of what I'm looking for are the keys to shopping at thrift stores and flea markets. I almost always have my favourite sidekick (my little daughter Layla) and don't usually have time to browse through every single item. I scan shelves for things in my colour palette. I am very selective and only buy things I absolutely love. Our house is very small and our budget is limited so I have to have some idea about where I will use it.

I found most of these ironstone plates for 25 cents at thrift stores, except for two of the platters from a flea market. I really love the bluish one.

I like using architectural salvage in decorating. This old piece of molding caught my eye because of its chippy blue-gray paint.

I love the old paint on this vintage chair.

This old clock face I found for a few dollars. I am hoping to find enough to display as a collection someday.
Did I mention patience is important?

This old leather suitcase was $5. It was at the kind of antique store located beside a big antique mall, the kind of place that is run out of a house, only open at random times, almost not worth bothering to check out. However, I often find the best things at these places.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

A Ruffled Tablecloth

2010-03-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

I'm finally finished this ruffled tablecloth. I have been wanting to sew it for a few months, but had to wait until white linen came on sale half price at the fabric store.

I really love sewing. Not the actual act of sewing so much as the outcome. This might sound weird, but I think sewing is very empowering. I used to look at a picture of something I liked, and then be a little dissapointed that I couldn't afford it. Now I ask myself how I could make it.

One year ago I did not know how to sew. Then my husband got me a machine and my Mom taught how to sew a basic straight stitch. That is still all I really know how to do.
My first few projects were not perfect, but I have to say that once I learned to take my time and use the iron, I was much happier with the results. I have to honestly say that I think the best way to get a professional result with sewing is to iron all the seams at every stage possible. I have no idea if the way I sew is always the proper way, but I do know that ironing is worth the effort!

I love "dressing" our home. I think little details like ruffles show that a lot of love has been put into the simple things.

I got these pink roses from Walmart for $9 for a dozen! I think they are so beautiful. Although I love to recieve flowers from my husband, most often I pick them up myself when Layla and I are doing errands. However, I still think it is really romantic that my husband never objects and always comments on how nice they are.

The ironstone pitcher on the table was $7 at my favourite flea market. I has a huge crack in it that has been repaired but still leaks. So when I want to put flowers in it I just stick a glass of water in the bottom.

It is a beautiful day here, hope it is nice where you are too!

I am linking this to DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land, Beneath My Heart Best DIY Project of March, and Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Night Special

Farmhouse Style Kitchen

2010-03-13T10:47:00.001-08:00

This is our little farmhouse style kitchen. This was the very first thing we did when we bought our house. But by we, of course I really mean my husband!

He would say I had all the ideas.

Sadly, I do not have a Before picture. The only before pictures I have of our house are from the real estate brochure. To give you some idea of how bad the previous kitchen was, it wasn't even included on the brochure. I would have loved to have been able to paint the existing cabinets but they were beyond saving. And there were only six of them in total. The floor was crumbling.

We had a very tiny budget. All of the cabinets and the sink are Ikea. For a few months before we got our house we literally spent every Friday night at Ikea, in the kitchen planning department. It was actually quite a fun date, and I love their frozen yogurt!

We made our actual purchase during the kitchen sale event.

We got our faucet off of Ebay for $80. I just love the Ikea sink, it can fit big pots and is also the perfect place to bathe the baby!

All of our appliances were from Kijiji except the gas stove left by the previous owners. They were all brand new, being sold by new home owners who wanted to upgrade to stainless steel.

The flooring is 100 year old barnboard. My husband and I drove to a town a few hours away (Coburg, Ontario) and picked up the barnboard at a salvage shop. We managed to get all the boards into our tiny Matrix, hanging out of the trunk of course! The drive home was a little scary!

I love this floor so much. It feels warm even on cold mornings, and has a beautiful glow in the sunshine. I love looking at it knowing my husband built it all by himself, for me, just because I asked him to. It is incredibly durable even with a dog and baby.

I sewed the roll up linen blind and sink skirt.

I am still working on accessories. Last week I found a beautiful old chippy shelf at my favourite flea market. It would look perfect next to the sink cabinets. The only problem was the owner said it wasn't for sale! I'm going to go back this weekend and try to convince him to let me buy it!

You may notice our little dog thought almost every picture would look much better with her in it!

I hope you enjoyed our little kitchen tour!

Painting A Chandelier

2010-03-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

One cold night in December I was driving home from the post office when I spotted this by the side of the road:

Beside it was lying a perfectly good ceiling medallion. It was garbage night but I still looked around and waited for a minute to make sure the owners hadn't accidentally left their chandelier lying in a snowbank. Once I decided they meant to throw it out I collected it and brought it home. My sweet husband was not even that surprised, I think he may be used to me bringing home other people's garbage.

At first I wasn't sure what to do with it. At Christmas I made a garland out of the crystals and hung it on our tree. I loved Maria's chandelier over her farm table at Dreamy Whites (http://dreamywhites.blogspot.com/) She is so talented and her chandeliers are gorgeous! I decided I would attempt to paint the brass. I took the entire chandelier apart to access the inner metal piece so I could paint it. (If anyone ever tries something like this I would recommend an excellent before picture that shows in detail where all the tiny pieces are supposed to go!) It was impossible to spray paint with all the glass so I just used a brush and some regular latex primer followed by paint. Since we do not have wiring for a light I converted it into a candle chandelier by removing all the wiring. I'm pretty sure our house was built during the Depression because they seemed to have considered things like an overhead light in the dining room an unnecessary luxury.
Here is the final product:

I think my husband did a great job hanging it. It is so nice to have someone who supports your crazy ideas.

I really love the medallion piece at the top too. One of our next projects is going to be installing faux tin ceiling tiles, and I think they will look so pretty with the molding.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

A Little Makeover

2010-03-09T18:24:00.000-08:00

Sometimes even the smallest projects can be very rewarding. I love it when we can do even one thing on the weekend to make the house a little prettier. Some weekends it is just replacing a light bulb, others it is two rooms of beadboard wallpaper! (More on that soon...)

Over the weekend we had a chance to paint this antique washstand that I found on Kijiji (of course!) Once Layla started crawling she decided that the DVD player was a fascinating discovery, so we needed something to keep it hidden from tiny fingers. I had been looking for awhile before I found this one for a great deal a couple towns away. We decided to make a little road trip one rainy Saturday and discovered the most charming bakery on the way. I think this cabinet will always remind me of that day:)

Here is the piece we had before:

This is the before picture of the washstand. It was quite orange!

Here is the after...

Of course it's hard to make a corner with a big television pretty, but I really do love the robins egg blue colour. When I want to paint something a colour other than white, I just grab my big gallon of white paint and pour a small amount into an old yogurt container.
Then I take dollar store craft paint - turquoise and yellow in this case, and add tiny amounts until I get the colour I am looking for. This method has always worked very well for me and saves a ton of money. Also, using a yogurt container allows me to store any leftover paint safely and use for another project.
There was one small problem we encountered when my husband was putting it all back together. The DVD player was too deep. After a few worried moments my husband brought out the saw and the next thing I knew there was a perfectly cut hole in the back of the cabinet!
Everyone loves it except Layla, who wants to know where her favourite toy went.

Thank you to everyone who has commented or is following, I truly value all of your encouragement and kind words.

Our Guest Room

2010-03-08T19:10:00.000-08:00

Our guest room is on the main floor, and although it is still a work in progress I love it dearly. I think I love it so much because it is the one room in the house that rarely gets messy since we hardly ever use it. Some people might say that is a waste of a room, especially in such a tiny house, but not me! I get so much enjoyment from walking by and seeing it sitting there peacefully, waiting for our occasional overnight guests.

Of course it is not perfect. There are a few problems still waiting to be addressed... probably the most significant would be it's lack of a door. We do provide our guests with a curtain, but I'm sure that they would prefer a real door!

Here is what the room looked like when the previous owners were here.

My husband had just finished our kitchen renovation and I was not expecting him to want to do any renovations for awhile. One day I got home and to my amazement he was working away on the room. He knew it was important to me to have a nice place for our guests. He did all the work on our house in his evenings and weekends off after his real job.

An old stool with chipping paint from Kijiji.

The iron bed is from Ikea. The bedding is from thrift stores and Ikea. I think the easiest way to shop thrift stores is to have a color pallette in mind. I looked for any vintage bedding with blue in the pattern. Eventually I found enough to coordinate together.

I have some plans for this old shutter but right now it is just leaning against the wall.
Here is a before and after:

I hope you like it!

Layla's Nursery

2010-03-07T17:36:00.000-08:00

Our baby girl just turned ten months old. Her nursery is one of my favourite rooms, and although tiny it already overflows with memories for me.

I literally spent months agonizing over the tiniest details of the room. We had to work with what we had and the generosity of our families, and I think that the result is sweeter to me because of the emotion it evokes. Isn't that really what we are trying to do when we work on our houses? To create rooms that make us feel something? (Hopefully something good! Our unfinished basement makes me feel something, but it is not good...)

So, on to the room. My husband was in the middle of painting it when I was hospitalized for preterm labour. Luckily it resolved and Layla did not come until her scheduled arrival! The curtain tie backs are made from ribbon left over from our wedding invitations.

The dresser was a Kijiji find (I hope you don't get sick of hearing me say that on here - we do have actual stores in Canada!) It was already painted and I just added some glass knobs. We collected the Peter Rabbit books over the last few months of my pregnancy; every time we went to a different thrift store or used book store we would find one. These details all remind me of the sweet anticipation of pregnancy.

The crib and change table were amazing gifts from Dave's parents. I absolutely love the simple Jenny Lind style. The rug is Pottery Barn but we got it on Ebay for less than half price. The bedding is all from Target (I'm so jealous of all of you who have a Target!) Those two little pictures I found at a thrift store, however since Layla is now standing up they are no longer there...

Once we had decided on a name we went to a few baby stores to look for blocks. I specifically wanted pink and blue blocks mixed together! We kept them hidden because we wanted her name to be a suprise. That book was mine as a child.

I really wanted a chandelier, but the ceiling is too low, so I found this substitute at Homesense. That vintage picture is a gift from my aunt, and it is given to all the grandchildren in my family.

This rocking chair was used by my Grandmother to rock my Mom, and my Mom to rock us. We had it recovered but left the arms untouched to show it's history.

That pillow is the first thing I ever sewed.

Here are a few detail pictures...

My husband bought this little knitted mouse for me after we found out she was a girl.

Some of my sweetest memories of our new baby happened here...

I remember almost every night before bed we would stop in that room and look around, wondering aloud what it would be like to have a baby sleeping in that crib, rocking in that chair, playing on that rug...

Well now we know...

And it's wonderful.

Chair Love

2010-03-06T07:31:00.000-08:00

Does anyone else have a slight chair obsession? I definitely do. In our tiny six room house (including the bathroom!) I have somehow managed to fit seven chairs, not including our upholstered ones! and I am still on the lookout for more...

I found two of these at a thrift store and painted them white. I made the slipcovers out of vintage linen sheets that I also found at a thrift store. They sit on either side of our hutch.

I really loved the Pottery Barn Queen Anne Chairs http://www.potterybarn.com/products/queen-anne-upholstered-chair/
but could not afford them so when I saw four Queen Anne style chairs on Kijiji I was very excited. However they were still $50 each. I decided to email the seller and offer what I could pay - $25 each. She refused. I emailed again and said I understood, but if she had difficulty selling them she could always contact me again. Two months later she emailed me and said I could take them! They were in great condition, they just needed a makeover. Because the finish was so shiny they needed to be stripped, which was a bigger job than I had anticipated! My husband was nice enough to refinish them on his vacation. I think he did a great job. I distressed them slightly with sandpaper and an old knife. I think they look pretty close to the PB ones.

Here is the before:

Here is a close up of the distressing:

We also have this chair which I posted about yesterday.

And because this is a real house, we also have this chair!
http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/30069724

Thank you so much to my four followers! You all made my day. It was so nice of you to leave encouraging comments, I really appreciated it. This whole world of blogging is new to me, and it is so nice to know that someone is reading what I write! Thank you, and I can't wait to follow all of your lovely blogs.

Our Little Canadian Cottage

2010-03-05T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hi there!

I am writing this blog because I have gotten lots of inspiration from other decorating blogs, and to document the renovation and decoration of our first home. We are on a very tiny budget so I love to find creative ways to make our house my dream home. I want to thank Rie from Home and Harmony for posting pictures of my living room on her beautiful blog:

http://homeandharmony.blogspot.com/2010/02/thrifty-chic-in-canada.html

For my first post I thought I would show you a little corner of our home. This is in our guest bedroom, which is really only big enough for a bed but I managed to squeeze in a dresser, night table, and sometimes a chair.

The antique dresser is from Kijiji. It was $15 and came with the chair, which was $5. Believe me, I don't find deals like this everyday, but every once and awhile they come around. When I arrived to pick them up, the lady had decided she wasn't charging enough since she had so much interest. She was going to ask for more, but when she saw me 9 months pregnant I think she felt a little sorry for me and gave them to me for $20. My sweet husband painted them since I was pregnant!

The rug is from White Flower Farmhouse http://www.whiteflowerfarmhouse.com/

and was a Christmas gift from my husband. They have such nice items and they ship to Canada!

The white box is made of barnboard leftover from our kitchen renovation (more on that soon!). The mason jars are filled with $5 carnations from the grocery store - I got nine tiny boquets out of the bunch.

Finally, the pitcher is from Ikea. I love the real vintage ones but have never seen one I could afford. I made the little mirror, it is actually the Ikea Malma mirror and I added an applique from Home Depot and used dollar store craft paint. I will post about the whole room soon!

Thank you for reading this!

Janice