Style Nest

Two Elephants

2011-03-13T18:51:00.000-04:00

1- A television in the bedroom! I'm against it but this is one battle I can't win. Thoughts for or against?

2- The closets- sans doors. They've been like this for a very long time but I'm happy to say the doors are a WIP, being made by my handyman/carpenter!

I've never shown this side of the room before because it's not finished. The drawers will also soon be replaced by built-in drawers to match said closet doors. Doing it yourself teaches patience:)

This is the nice other side of the room...

Musical Furniture

2011-02-21T15:06:00.000-05:00

Design 101 pretty much states that the sofa goes on the longest wall in the room, no? Well I'm bored with not only the furniture placement in our living room, but with the furniture itself. We bought the sofa& matching chair (faux pas I know) back when we first bought our house. It's here to stay for awhile or at least until we renovate our basement but until then we decided to move it around to see if another layout would work.

Current Layout

Option 1- sofa in front of window on short wall

Option 2- Sofa facing long wall. Art to potentially move

& replaced with tv but blocks flow from front door entrance & stairs

Back to the original layout- sofa on longest wall works the best

Does the sofa always work best on the longest wall?

Knife Art

2011-01-16T17:46:00.000-05:00

Now that the backsplash is finally done, I was able to install a magnetic knife rack to hold all my knives, including some new Globals that I got for Christmas. I think it kind of looks like art on the wall. Not only does it look clean & streamlined but it also saves on valuable counter space!

Colour Injection

2011-01-08T18:29:00.000-05:00

Our living room is feeling kind of drab & boring. I think an easy way to solve this problem is to add some new brightly coloured pillows. Here are some fabric options I'm considering...

Source

Details

2010-12-31T09:42:00.000-05:00

The little details always seem to take the longest to finish and they're also the ones that probably no one else will ever notice!
We pondered for months was how to transition from original wood floors to the new 1" higher elevation tile floor. We got creative by using a piece of bevelled baseboard that was long enough (10 ft) to run the length we needed and then ripped it down to the proper width. The wood species are both red oak but the threshold still needs to be finished with a coat of urethane and the floors need to be refinished.

Before- Lots of toes being stubbed here

After- floors still need to be sanded to match

A Year in the Making

2010-12-28T15:00:00.000-05:00

I've been on leave from blogging for the past 6 months. In that time, I've been focused on just living life & enjoying each moment because as I've learned life is just too short!

Not much of that time has been spent on home improvement projects but we did finally decide on and install our kitchen back splash tile. Here are a few options we were considering. We had a difficult time choosing just one with all the amazing options out there, which is probably why it took almost a year to finish. We decided on a glass mosaic that still has a contemporary feel to complement the rest of our kitchen. This is what the end result looks like.

I also discovered this new product on the market that looks like it would make tiling easy for novices like ourselves. Wish we had discovered it prior to installing ours with tradition thinset. If anyone has used it, I'd love to get your opinion.

Best Wishes for a happy & healthy 2011!

Kitchen Evolution

2010-06-14T18:16:00.000-04:00

It's shocking what a little (or a lot) of paint can do to transform a space. Here's the before & after of our cottage kitchen. Not only did we paint the walls & cabinets but we also replaced the laminate floor with a reclaimed wood floor. We took down the old wall board and replaced them with bead board walls painted cloud white. The cabinets were also freshened up with a few coats of paint, a light cape cod gray. We've slowly been doing all of this over the past 6 years on weekends during the summers. The transformation is pretty amazing.

Before

After

A fresh coat of light gray

Soldier blue accents

Cloud white on the bead board

I love the school house light & the tin ceiling

Distractions

2010-05-26T20:54:00.000-04:00

With summer just around the corner, and summer-like weather already in Toronto, not much has been getting crossed off the never-ending to-do list and here's why.

We've been spending all of our free time up north at our Georgian Bay retreat, where lots of DIY projects are underway along with ample reading and relaxing. I just finished 'My Life in France' by Julia Child. It's a perfect summer read that I'd recommend to anyone. If you're looking for good summer reading material, I highly recommend checking out this great new witty blog Literary Lip Service. Happy reading and lazy summer days ahead!

EcoEnergy Retrofit Results

2010-04-29T18:03:00.000-04:00

Almost 18 months ago we started down the path of making our home more energy efficient. Building science is the resident engineer's specialty so it’s been his mandate to improve the efficiency of our home in any way possible. I can’t even tell you how many cans of ‘great stuff’ foam we’ve gone through. We should have bought shares in it 18 months ago when we started sealing all the air leaks. It’s our style to take our time to do it right, so we used the entire 18 months allowed to complete all improvements as part of the government sponsored plan. Unfortunately the plan is no longer being offered for new audits. Perhaps more people were taking advantage of it then what was initially anticipated- and why wouldn’t you? Some of our improvements:

o Replaced 2 old windows with Energy Star rated windows

o Insulated 40% of our exterior wall space with spray foam

o Insulated our basement header space with spray foam

o Insulated our attic to R50 with blown-in cellulose

It may not seem like a lot but these 4 main improvements were good bang for the buck, resulting in almost $4000 in rebates. Now we just have to wait 12 weeks to receive the cheque in the mail....

Lofty Dreams

2010-04-13T17:24:00.013-04:00

Sometimes I day dream about trading in my little house in the city for a historical loft in a hip downtown neighbourhood close to places like St.Lawrence Market & The Distillery District. We've been dreaming of architectural details like 14 foot ceilings, post & beam, and exposed brick walls. I'd love to be able to walk or take public transit everywhere I needed to go. I'd love to not worry about maintaining a yard or shoveling snow. Sometimes I think loft living might be simpler. This building would be just perfect.

Topping Up

2010-04-04T20:14:00.000-04:00

It's been almost 18 months since we had our home energy Audit done so we've been scrambling to finish all of our improvements in order to meet the deadline. The last item on the list is to top up our attic insulation to R50. To save some cash we opted to rent the blower machine from Home Depot and do it ourselves.

Before adding additional insulation- R10

17 bags of cellulose & Hopper

Feeding the hopper

17 bags of cellulose later- R50

Marble Madness

2010-03-14T10:53:00.000-04:00

We have polished carrara marble in our bathroom that I absolutely love. It's heated (we used nuheat) which is a luxurious treat on the toes during the long cold winter. That being said, anyone who has marble in there home knows that it requires lots of care & maintenance- ie. sealing. I also find it tough to keep the white grout lines sparkly clean and I've tried many things such as steam cleaning and baking soda. I have even made the horrible mistake of trying vinegar & water! Even though this is a great household cleaning method suitable for most surfaces, vinegar should never, I repeat, never be used anywhere near marble. I learned this the hard way and ended up with what is known as etching which looks like a dark water stain along the edges of the tiles where they meet the grout. Mortified that I had just ruined the marble floor we painstakingly installed yourselves only a few years prior, I searched frantically for an alternative to hiring a professional to re-polish the entire floor. Eventually I found a product, carried by most marble suppliers called Marble Polishing Powder. I was able to use it to spot polish the etched areas back to it original finish for a fraction of the cost of having it professionally done. Now it looks as good as new but I'm still searching for ways to bring the grout back to it's original bright white. Any tips would be appreciated!

Ceasarstone Review

2010-03-09T16:52:00.000-05:00

Choosing Ceasarstone for our kitchen countertops was a no-brainer. The main selling feature was the promise of no maintenance, that and the fact that Sarah Richardson always uses it in her kitchens. If it's good enough for Sarah then it's good enough for us. We're happy with our decision and here's why:

Perks

Zero maintenance! It really is true. Water is all you need.
Consistent & uniform colours- What you see on the sample is what you get! (If you're looking for something unique then it's not for you)
Stain, scratch & heat resistant
Non-porous- no sealing required
Low VOC

Downside

Expensive! $120- 140 per sq ft

Tile Trials & Tribulations

2010-02-27T18:42:00.000-05:00

Still trying to decide on a backsplash tile. So many great shapes, sizes and patterns makes narrowing down to just one a challenge. We've moved away from a sheet of back painted glass in exchange for the warmth & texture of a natural stone mosaic. Here are the latest short-listed options, all from Saltillo Imports.

Fans, penny rounds, hexagons, stacked bars

What Next?

2010-01-31T12:42:00.000-05:00

Even though we recently finished renovating our kitchen, we've already starting to think about our next project...the basement! It's the only area left untouched since we moved in over 4 years ago. We've just begun gathering ideas and inspiration at this point. We still need time to rest & refuel before another major reno. Here are some before shots of the basement as it looks today and some inspirational photos of how it might look in the future.

Inspiration Photos

All photos via House & Home

Colette Love...Revisited

2010-01-28T17:43:00.000-05:00

We've had so much interest in our DIY version of the Colette bed that I decided to post a few more 'how-to' pics along with the instructions again so that people can try to replicate it themselves. Unfortunately I don't have any photos of the plywood cutting or the fabric stapling but hopefully you'll get the jist.
I included the link to the upholstery tacks from Lee Valley as well as a link to some fabric swatches from Designer Fabrics in Toronto that would be good options.

Cross it off the List!

2010-01-11T07:17:00.000-05:00

4 months after our kitchen installation began, it is now finally complete. The microwave filler pieces that were originally 2mm too big were re-ordered and arrived this week. Now I can finally cross it off the kitchen to-do list! Phew!

Without Microwave Fillers

Fillers Installed

DIY Bistro Chalkboard

2010-01-08T17:47:00.000-05:00

Loving bistro inspired chalkboards in the kitchen so I made my own. I re-used a piece of masonite that I had previously used for another project. I had already painted and glued pieces of moulding to the board so it was just a matter of painting it with chalk board paint that I bought from Benjamin Moore. It required 3 coats to get a nice thick and durable finish- foam roller applied.

Simple Festive

2009-12-29T12:05:00.000-05:00

I kept the holiday decor simple this year. Cranberries floating in tall crystal glasses was the perfect infusion of something festive for our table setting. White feather boas hung on the chandelier and the bench for a winter feel. The tree ornaments are soft blue, lime green and coral- no traditional red or gold here!
Happy Holidays

Why Knot?

2009-12-13T11:31:00.000-05:00

Custom is definitely the way to go for pillows and window coverings. It's a surprisingly inexpensive way to add a personalized touch to your home. There are so many great fabric options available now to us non-trade, designer wanna-bees. I love the nautical yet modern feel of this graphic knot pattern that we used on the roman shade for the kitchen window and for the lumbar pillows on the dining bench.

Benched

2009-12-10T19:21:00.000-05:00

To all of our potential dinner guests, take note of our new dining bench. Not only does it look great but it's super comfy. I love the idea of a built-in bench but our eat-in area is tiny and a built-in would have been too bulky so we chose this smart looking free-standing one instead. Even though we're not getting the additional storage of the built-in option, this solution makes the room feel more spacious and we can take it with us if we ever decide to move.

Finishing Touches

2009-11-29T11:10:00.000-05:00

I love the latest kitchen trend of floating shelves (a la Pure Design with Samantha Pynn below), creating an open & airy feel. Unfortunately in our small kitchen, foregoing all upper cabinets for open shelving wasn't an option. We did however have a blank wall of dead space above the peninsula that was perfect for a few small shelves. They're great for displaying cookbooks, cups & saucers, decorative bits and everyday crystal.

John and Olivia's kitchen- Pure Design HGTV

Our version

Gallery Wall

2009-11-23T14:53:00.009-05:00

Lately I've been eyeing gallery walls on the pages of home decor magazines & blogs. I like the look of combining different textures & frame finishes in a somewhat random way. We created our own version that we're calling the 'mash-up' wall (clearly too much Glee)!

We knew this would be much tougher to execute than it looked so we laid the pattern out on the floor first. Another good tip is to use painters tape to plan out the pattern on the wall. Even though it looks somewhat random, there was a method to the madness. We kept the vertical spacing equal and lined up all of the top & bottom corners to give it a clean & organized feel.

Vintage Finds

2009-11-05T14:02:00.015-05:00

've been keeping a close eye on kijiji and my local consignment stores lately for the right dining table and chairs. I think adding some vintage furniture to the otherwise completely new kitchen would add contrast and interest. Since we took down the wall that use to separate the kitchen from the dining area, we now have an informal eat-in kitchen rather than a more formal dining room. The space is still tiny and the table had to be narrow enough to fit without feeling too crowded. We found this glass & chrome table on kijiji that's circa 1974 and was originally purchased from DeBoer's.

The chairs had to be some form of bentwood. I love Thonet bentwood chairs. They remind me of Paris and I wanted my kitchen to have a slight French Bistro vibe.
Thonet chairs, especially ones with cane seats are hard to find second-hand because no one wants to part with them. I did eventually find some Hoffman chairs from furniture on consignment.
Here is what they currently look like. The plan is to spray them espresso brown and add a harvest yellow cushion. Stay tuned to see the makeover!

Thanks to Daily Drop Cap for the great decorative initials.

Our Kitchen

2009-10-27T09:14:00.016-04:00

EFORE.....

OW.....

We hope to add a few floating shelves above the espresso makers to display decorative items, cookbooks, teapot etc.

Still waiting for the microwave filler pieces that are on the slow boat from Europe. We're also still deciding on a back splash material.

Garbage, recycling & compost sorter that pops open when you step on the foot petal- love!

Under-cabinet LED lights

We officially started our kitchen renovation on May 2nd of this past spring. It's now almost 6 months later! In those 6 months we've had many ups & downs along the way. It took us as long as it did because we did much of the work ourselves, actually I can't take credit for much other than the design & material selection- it was really all of my Beau's sweat equity. I would warn anyone out there that's thinking about a full kitchen renovation that it takes a lot out of you. There really is a reason why I call it divorce dust....but we made it!

Lessons learned:
1- If you want things done to your standards- you must do it yourself -do not rely on others to try to meet your expectations

2- There will be meltdowns along the way

3- Good trades are hard to find so when you do find one- spread the word. Everyone deserves quality work for their hard earned dollar. Our faves are
Jardel from Canadian Drywall & Todd from Mt.Pleasant plumbing

4- It will always take longer & cost more than anticipated

5- Your house will be in complete disarray for the duration of the reno

6- You can't stress out about the things you can't control

7- Finally- the end result will always be worth all of the blood, sweat, tears, time & $$$.

We completely love our new kitchen. Now it's time to enjoy it!

A Touch of Glam

2009-10-15T11:11:00.009-04:00

We had a few hiccups with the installation of our cabinets. A new cabinet 'carcass' had to be ordered for above the microwave. No big deal right? Wrong...One of the downsides of having custom cabinets that are made in Italy is the long leadtime. A month after the initial cabinet installation, the new cabinet has finally arrived which is quick considering it took 3 months for the initial order. Needless to say, we've been teased with a partially functional kitchen for the past month while we waited. The good news is that the cabinet & microwave is being installed tomorrow!
At least I've had something pretty to look at for the past month - our chandelier! We installed it over the peninsula in lieu of 2 smaller pendant lights. The space is small and it would have felt cluttered with multiple pendant lights & a separate fixture over our dining table (that I'm still searching for). I'm confident we made the right decision and it adds the perfect amount of glamour & sparkle to the rest of the room.

Sneak Peak

2009-09-29T08:16:00.003-04:00

The kitchen is in the final stages. The worktops went in last week and they look fabulous- Misty Carrara Ceasarstone that is virtually zero maintenance. Thankfully the plumber is coming this morning to connect the water to the sink & dishwasher. The sink was installed with the worktops and we've both had to stop ourselves on several occasions from pouring water down it to the empty cabinet below!

Homestars

2009-09-14T21:34:00.003-04:00

Homestars.ca is a great resource when looking for quality trades people. I've now successfully used the site to find 2 drywallers, a wall paper installer and a tiler. You can rate & review your experience & the quality of the work to share with others. You can also post or view photos of the work that's been completed. It's a great way to find reliable & professional contractors.

Here are some more photos of the work we've completed. The drywall and floor tile is now installed. The walls have been painted Classic Gray (BM) and the cabinets have just started to be installed. We're are in the home stretch & the finish line is in site....

The Rough-In Road

2009-08-26T20:56:00.004-04:00

The reason we love our older house is because it has charming details like glass door knobs & unique arches throughout. Even though we've been updating & modernizing it, we want to keep these original details intact. We've taken great care to extend the original arch separating the living & dining area. Here are some photos showing our progress. We've completed the HVAC, all electrical & plumbing rough-ins and spray foam insulation. We're looking forward to the drywall going up this week so it can start to feel like a room again!

Still Alive

2009-07-30T16:01:00.008-04:00

If you're wondering where we've been for the past two months since the last post, you will be happy to know that we're still alive & well, spending all of our free time between the cottage & our kitchen renovation. Beau's motto has always been 'Take your time & do it right' rather then 'Just get it done'. One thing I've learned from all of our past renovations is that it's always worth the wait & good things come to those who are patient.
Here are some shots of where we are now & the chandelier purchased (on clearance) for the space similar to this one below

Tile Story

2009-06-04T17:14:00.006-04:00

Here are some of the tiles we are considering for our kitchen.

So far we have narrowed things down to soft grey porcelain for the floors, ceasarstone in misty cararra for the work-tops and stack-bonded glass for the back splash.

I'm in love with the cararra shells but they might not be well suited to the space and I'm concerned they won't match the exact white of the ceasarstone. They would however be perfect for the cottage....

Fabulous Faucets

2009-05-27T13:05:00.004-04:00

Here are the faucets we considered for our kitchen- all sleek & modern. Which one would you choose?
We chose the middle one- the silhouette with pull out hand spray in a stainless steel finish as shown

Photos courtesy of Blanco Canada

Kitchen Chaos

2009-05-11T17:29:00.004-04:00

As promised...demolition photos. I was able to capture the thick layer of dust in the air. Needless to say it was a messy weekend!

Kitchen Prep

2009-05-09T10:55:00.008-04:00

The kitchen renovation process has begun. Here are some pics our new temporary kitchen located in the basement. It's actually more spacious and functional then the old kitchen and dare I say that it feels a bit luxurious compared to the old as well. The only thing missing is the kitchen sink but the laundry sink in the next room will have to do. Demo of the original kitchen starts today. More pics of that to follow soon!

Just A Few More Changes

2009-05-03T15:53:00.010-04:00

The original lamps were just too small for the the size & scale of the bed so I was able to find a great new pair of white glass lamps from Homesense that work much better. They were a deal at only $60 each (including the shades). I couldn't resist! The old grey lamps have found a new home in our guest room and actually work quite well there. I've also been fussing with pillows for the bed. I'm now back to the green scheme that I originally started with. The white lamps and the green pillows look very fresh for spring. That's the beauty of pillows- easy to change the look and feel of a room for each season.

The Reveal (Take Two)

2009-04-27T17:57:00.014-04:00

I wasn't completely satisfied with some of the choices in the Take One so with some minor re-styling it's now ready to reveal.
It's been 4 months but the master is almost complete. There are still a few finishing touches to take care of but we were able to move back in. A few changes to make- the scale of the lamp shades is not quite right- a bigger drum shade would be just perfect but that can wait for now. New bedside tables are also in order but they will also have to wait. All in all, I'm thrilled with the end result and amazed by the transformation.

Onto the the next project- The Kitchen!

Share Your Style

2009-04-24T23:00:00.002-04:00

Showcase your before & afters for a chance to win a reno budget from Benjamin Moore. Make sure you visit to enter or just vote for your favorite!

http://www.shareyourstylecontest.com

Master Progress- Sneak Peek

2009-04-13T08:21:00.007-04:00

Here is a sneak peek of the progress we've made in the master bedroom reno to date.

The original red oak strip hardwood floors have been sanded down and re-finished, the walls have been painted and the light fixtures installed.

We used Benjamin Moore's Aura paint. We choose Sea Haze for the walls and gray owl for the ceiling & closets. The paint colour has a bit of a sage green undertone to it that I didn't expect however it will work well with the apple green accents I've chosen for the room.

Still on the to-do list:

-baseboards & window casing

-closet doors

-built-in drawers

-hang curtains/blinds

-hang DIY head board

DIY Headboard Knock-off

2009-03-28T16:53:00.008-04:00

Inspiration: Colette Bed from Crate & Barrel

Supplies needed to replicate:

Fabric 72" length x 54" width

1" foam

Quilt Batting

3/4" plywood cut to 60x44" for Queen size

Sharpie fine point marker

Sharp scissors

Double sided tape

Staple gun & 3/8" staples

Jigsaw

Decorative upholstery nails (Lee Valley)

Rubber Mallet

Bristol Board

Instructions:

1-Draw the curve onto bristol board as a template & transfer to plywood. Template should be half the width of the plywood so you can flip it as a mirror image and trace onto the other side to get a symmetrical curve.

2- Use jigsaw to cut out the curve. You can start in the middle and work you way to the first edge. Use the cut off piece as a guide to see if the other side is symmetrical.

3- Lay foam on a flat surface (we used the floor) and then place cut plywood on top to trace the outside with sharpie marker. Then use scissors to cut out. Depending on the thickness of the foam you might want to use an electric knife. Because our foam was only 2 feet wide we had to use double side tape (one sticky side exposed only for now) to attach 2- 2 foot pieces to get the desired height of 44". We then attached the foam to the plywood with the tape so that it wouldn't shift while we were working with it.

4- Lay fabric on the floor- right side down. Then lay batting on top of the fabric. Then foam & plywood on top of that.

5- Time to staple. Start with 2 staples at the center point of each side. Then 2 staples at the center point of both the top & bottom- pulling the fabric taught while stapling. It helps to have 2 people at this stage to keep the fabric taught from both sides so that it doesn't shift. Cut any excess battling & fabric around the corners in order to get a nice tight tucked corner.

6- Flip over to the front & start nailing the upholstery nails around the edge of the headboard

Voila.......

Nice Window!

2009-03-22T13:18:00.006-04:00

While Beau was off on an Asian adventure for 2 weeks I was stuck in T.O watching my poor bedroom being neglected. It was painful to watch as little progress was being made. When Beau finally returned home, he was sick which meant the room had to wait a bit longer before he'd be able to pick up where he left off. He's finally back on track and lots of work is getting done. Our beautiful new Marvin window was installed this past week and it looks great. We're glad we splurged and went with an authentic heritage style window. No more drafts in the bedroom- it's toasty warm. It still needs to be trimmed out but looks great none the less!

Great Find

2009-03-15T17:33:00.005-04:00

I've been scouring the city for the perfect Capiz pendant light fixture for our master bedroom. Most of what I found was either not the right shape or size or price for that matter. All were roughly $300- 500 which is slightly out of my budget since costs are slowly creeping up. Since the weather here in T.O was a beautiful 10 degrees today and Beau is bedridden with a stomach bug he caught while in the Philippines, I decided to go for a walk to Home Depot to check out the lighting selection. I was getting desperate and I figured it was worth a shot to see if they had anything to offer. To my shock I found the exact one I was envisioning in my head. Everything about it is perfect- shape, size & price. This baby was $129 and I so proud of my bargain find. I knew there had to be a reason the hunt was taking so long. Good things come to those who are patient...

Kitchen Concept

2009-03-04T17:04:00.004-05:00

I couldn't be more in love with our future kitchen. Here is a 3D rendering of the design layout. It's very contemporary with high gloss upper cabinets in a pale grey and dark wood lower cabinets. We chose a carerra like Cesaerstone countertop because it's very low maintenance but still has the look & feel of stone. The appliances are European style due to space constraints which basically means they have a smaller footprint then conventional appliances.We also had no other option but to go with an over the range microwave with built in extractor. Not ideal- I'd rather have a pretty architectural fan hood but space and budget doesn't allow me that luxury. It will look very chic when complete in about 4 months....

Our Vintage Kitchen

2009-03-03T19:55:00.004-05:00

I hate to admit it but I've become fond of my cozy retro kitchen. The stove is 50's vintage, the fridge is compact and we don't have a dishwasher but we've made it our own by adding personal touches. We added a floating shelf to house some of our decor items, cookbooks and utensils and a great stainless steel kitchen cart (sample sale find) that acts as a home for our espresso machine & grinder.

Here are some photos of the kitchen as it looks today. Soon it will be time to say goodbye to it as we prepare for demolition

Headboard Inspiration

2009-03-01T13:38:00.008-05:00

So in the spirit of keeping our escalating renovation costs down, I've decided to make my own upholstered headboard. I've read countless how-to articles in blogs and several friends have been successful. For materials I'll need a sheet of plywood, high density foam, fabric and nailheads. Depending on the fabric I choose, I figure the material cost will be about $200. Here are some of the designs I'm considering- lots of scalloped edging!

I did find that skyline furniture has lots of affordable options online (between $400-500) for anyone who might also be looking for cheaper options. I might end up going this route if I get lazy...

Slow & Steady

2009-02-27T17:59:00.004-05:00

The master bedroom has been moving along slow & steady. We rented a cargo van to make a trip to the transfer station to rid of the 15 bags o construction debris that were buried under a layer of of ice & snow on the back patio. We also picked up our 11 sheets of drywall at the same time. The drywall is hung and the built in closets are under construction. The plan is the have drawers in between the two closets. Beau is putting his carpentry skills to good use by making it all look built in. Next step: hire a good taper

Hollywood Couture

2009-02-18T09:06:00.003-05:00

So I took the design style quiz on sproost.com and mine is Hollywood Couture. I love this look and I'd love it even more if I could pull it off in my own house. It reminds me of Paris. It also reminds me of the luxe chocolate bar MoRoCo in Yorkville -very glam!

Master Progress

2009-02-15T18:29:00.005-05:00

So after 2 months, we are finally starting to see progress in the master bedroom renovation project. Beau is spending his long family day weekend putting up sheets of drywall. He insists on doing as much of the work himself however we will be hiring a pro to do the drywall taping.

The photos show the walls with the spray foam insulation installed. We used tiger foam which we had to order direct from the company- it's not available at big box stores. Unfortunately we learned the hard way that the product is finicky to install. The instructions say that the tanks have to be warm to the touch while being applied however on the first attempt the tanks were a bit too warm and we cooked the foam slightly. As a result the foam didn't rise as expected and we had to order another kit to complete the job...expensive mistake but we'll see the benefit in our heating bills. We can already feel a significant difference- the room is warm without the heat vent being open.

We also ordered a new window to replace the 1980's vintage window that we currently have. We decided to go with a double hung wood clad window that is in keeping with the original style windows of the house. We ordered it through Marvin windows which are known for being historically correct & are commonly used in many heritage buildings. The customer service was excellent- not the type of pushy sales people that want to sell you new windows for your entire house. I'll post pictures of the window in 4 weeks time once it's installed.

Organic Comfort Master Bedroom

2009-02-13T12:26:00.004-05:00

Organic Bedroom - by K Dot on Polyvore.com

Currently we're working on our master bedroom. To date we've demolished 3 of the 4 walls, re-studded and insulated with tiger foam which is a 2 part spray foam that provides R7 per inch. Pics to come soon.
Above is my design concept for the space. I want a neutral palette inspired by organic elements from nature. The colour palette will be grey & cream with an accent of lime/avocado. It's unknown if beau will agree to the idea. I'm also debating using a grey purple in place of the avocado. We'll see what we finally agree on.

Guest Room Reno

2009-02-12T17:57:00.007-05:00

Check out the matching paisley curtains & bedding that was left behind as a house warming gift.

The plaster walls in the guest room were wavy & cracked. We didn't want the expense and mess of gutting & re-drywalling the entire room so Beau used sheetrock 90 to fill in the undulations & make the walls smooth & plum. It did involve lots of sanding which created lots of "divorce dust". Fortunately we were able to seal off the room to contain most of the dust & salvage the relationship. The walls look just like new- no sign of any lumps or bumps.

I knew I wanted a grey room but what shade of grey - I wasn't completely sure. I finally decided on BM paperwhite. Because of the continuous transition from wall to ceiling we carried the colour onto the ceiling.

There are so many fun & fabulous wall papers out there so I couldn't resist adding a feature papered wall to the room. After much contemplation I choose a robin's egg blue & pewter damask/scrollwork paper.

Living & Dining Before & After

2009-02-10T21:12:00.016-05:00

I'm amazed looking back at these photos that we were able to see past the green carpet and the red curtains to envision the true potential of the house...not to mention the dijon bathroom. While beau was demolishing the bathroom, I was busy removing the carpet to reveal the hardwood strip floors below. It's hard to tell in the before photos but the walls were actually pale yellow. We went with moth grey walls, seed pearl on the trim.

The biggest impact in the room was the addition of new custom draperies. I searched high and low for ready made grey silk panels but with no luck. Everything I found was either too gold or too brown- nothing close to grey. FYI- ready-made panels are not cheap- still close to $300/panel. I needed 4 panels total, 2 for the living room & 2 for the dining room. I figured that if I was going to be spending at least $1000 for ready-made I should pay a bit more to get exactly what I wanted. They turned out perfectly and I love the more modern box pleat.

We dealt with the brass chandalier with a can of high gloss black spray paint. If you're trying this yourself be sure to do it outside as the over spray can be a bit messy and the fumes are strong. This was our temporary solution to dealing with the light fixture until we renovate our kitchen in the spring.

Home Energy Audit-

2009-02-10T09:58:00.000-05:00

In addition to the new Home renovation credits just announced, we're also taking advantage of the credits available through the Home Energy Audit Program. We figure if we're renovating and improving the efficiency of our house (the resident structural engineer is all over it) we might as well take advantage of the credits available. It's not very often the government offers to give us money!

The audit process is actually much easier then I had expected. All the information is well detailed on the government website bellow. We used Carson Dunlop for the audit because we were familiar with the company- they're quite large. We were able to get an appointment the same week and the inspector that came out to our house was very knowledgeable & pleasant. You can find a list of approved evaluation companies in your area on the website.
http://www.homeenergyontario.ca/stripes_en.asp

The actual inspection doesn't take much longer then an hour. The cost is $300 that you pay at the time of inspection. The company will handle submission of all paperwork to the government in order to get all of your credits. We received a check for $150 ( half the inspection cost) approx. 6 weeks after the inspection date.
You have 18 months to make all your improvements before the inspector comes back to verify what improvements you've made and therefore what credits you will get. Based on our inspection, we can get approx. $1600 back for all of the improvements we plan to make. The largest credits come from adding R-value (insulation) to your attack & exterior walls. Unfortunately doors & windows only qualify for $60 each, so unless you plan to replace all of the windows in your home, don't expect a huge savings there. However, all of your improvements will contribute to the overall energy efficiency of your home which will result in savings on your energy bills. In the end, we're contributing to making our home more energy-efficient, which not only helps saves us money but also contributes to reducing our carbon footprint!

Bathroom Before & After

2009-02-09T20:14:00.001-05:00

BEFORE

AFTER

So we started on our renovation journey 3 years ago. It started the day we took possession of our first (and current) home. We wasted no time demo-ing the one and only bathroom in the house. Needless to say it was a very long & painful 2 months without a bathroom. I'll let you use your imagination but it wasn't pretty & I will be
forever slightly traumatized as a result. Looking back at these pictures, I can't believe how hideous it originally was and I'm so glad that we didn't have to endure using it- not once!

So this was our first big DIY project and we've learned so such since then and there is a long list of things we would do differently the next time knowing what we do now.

The bathroom itself is painfully small which forced us to get creative when it came to laying out the space and choosing fixtures. In the end we decided on the Kohler Memoirs toilet and pedestal sink. Just 3 years ago there was a limited selection of really sleek, euro style sinks like the ones with the chrome legs & bottom self. Where were they back then when I was picking out my sink at Ginger's???? Regardless I still love the really classic square lines of the memoirs. We played on the square theme through out the space.

Finding a bath tub to fit the space was quite tricky. Since it's a small space we were very limited with the width of the tub. Drop-in was not an option for us as they are simply too wide. We went with a skirted fiberglass tub with the most basic apron design we could find. We found it through Mirolin.

We chose carrera marble floors with nu heat in floor heating. The heated floors are my favorite part of the entire bathroom. There is nothing better then walking into the bathroom on a cold winter morning and stepping onto a toasty warm floor- worth every penny and I'll be including it in my upcoming kitchen reno. We went with classic subway tiles for the shower surround with accent bands of blue/grey moonstone. All tiles were sourced from Saltillo.

There are so many details that caused us such headache like the slanted ceiling, the exterior wall plumbing, the cast iron vent stack that was replaced, the poor quality tile installation that was re-done, the flange of the tub, the pocket door- the list is endless but the end result was well worth the headaches. I'd like to think we designed a timeless bathroom that we will enjoy for many years to come without feeling like it's become dated.

Bonjour

2009-02-09T13:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome to my first blog post (ever!). I'm excited to share my adventures in home renovation & decor with all of the other design savvy bloggers out there. I enjoy reading other's experiences so much that I wanted to contribute to my own. I'm hoping we can all learn from each other and share our trials & tribulations along the way. I will be posting pics soon of some of my past & present projects. Currently we're working on our master bedroom. The room has been completed gutted down to the studs and we're slowly (but surely) making progress....I'm hoping for a spring completion date before the kitchen reno starts.
Stay tuned...