Thursday 22 December 2011

The Day Has Come

Today is the day!!!! The day we get our house! We should be closing in a few hours! So naturally I'll have to take the dorky "I got the keys" picture, as well as a number of standing with and pointing at the Sold sign. Jason isn't quite as keen as I to pose for these pictures, but I will beat him into submission for prosterity sake. He'll thank me later. I'm also almost done compliling the 100 things we're getting rid of...we've already taken 3 bags to Talize, and there'll definitely be more to follow.

Monday 19 December 2011

Mood Board: The Dining Room

So since we found an outstanding deal on flooring, and went ahead and bought some amazing flooring, I'm allowed to do the whole room now! Not that Jason forbade it or anything, but I didn't really feel like going all out with the decorating the dining room, if we were just going to rip out the carpet, and ruin everything. So, hooray, when we're finished the kitchen, (or when we have some lul's and are looking for things to do - or when I'm feeling extra crazy and just want to work on two rooms) I can start on the dining room...luckily there's not much to do in there, aside from ripping out the carpet and installing the new floor. We do need to close off the old front door, and replace the window, but that most likely won't be in the budget for a little while. SO here's the rundown of the simple updates we're thinking for the dining room.


1. So, as I mentioned before, the flooring we picked up for a super duper good price is Armstrong engineered hardwood, in "antique natural"...I'm super excited about this flooring, it looks so much better in real life than it does on the computer. The dark knots and "holes" definitely give it an antique look, which is right up my alley. As for paint, I decided on "White Marigold" for the three main walls, and "Night Horizon" for the darker accent wall.

2. We have to move the overhead lighting over from the old front "entryway" to the middle of the room, which we'll do when we move and add more lighting in the kitchen. Once we have lighting in the middle of the room, I want to add a modern, soft "chandelier"...probably something I will DIY...like this one I pinned a while back. I already have the birch veneer ready to go hehe.

3. I have plans to DIY a large piece of textural artwork, using leftover paint from the kitchen, and dining room and some mud and such. Should be fun!

4. Two floating shelves (similar to these from Ikea) that can double as storage for some of the smaller fancier items in a darker brown will also go up. One under the new artwork, and the other under the mirror.

5. I'll need to bring in some new linens for the chairs (because they're pink, and I reaaaaalllllly don't do pink!) Something in a deep, dark, yellow or green...I like the pattern of yellow above. And you've always got to have some fun table runners around for all those dinner parties!

6. We already have a table that we're going to have to sand and re-stain (the top & legs aren't the same colour, and the leaf is a different colour too) to make it a richer, darker brown. (The one from the board is black...but look how nice it goes with the dark spots in the floor. I'm thinking something probably inbetween the black table and the dark brown from the "bar" shelf) The chairs we have are a lighter blondish wood, that we'll most likely keep light. We also already have a hutch that is a dark, rich brown, and a buffet that is lighter. Good thing I don't mind matching woods, and good thing the floor we chose has a great range of light and dark. We are also going to build a simple bench for more seating when we have family dinners and larger parties.

7. Another DIY project for us will be a simple wall mounted wine area. Neither of us enjoy wine, but we recognize that most of our guests do, so we'll be able to stock up on some wine, and display our nice glasses, that way we won't have to listen to our guests whine when they come over and we have no wine. 

8. There is one large window in the dining room which faces out the front of the house, so we will want to add some curtains for privacy. We're either going to do something simple and more traditional like the ones above, or something a bit more "bold" with a pattern or print.

9. Like I mentioned before, we'll be adding a mirror above one of the floating shelves. We'll most likely add it across from the window to allow the most light to bounce around the room. And so you can gaze at yourself chewing the amazing food I'll make you when you come visit!

So the budget for the dining room isn't going to be very large...because we already have the flooring, and all the furniture. All we have to do is buy some paint and a few accessories and DIY our hearts out and we will have a dining room I will be proud to host meals in.

Tuesday 13 December 2011

Yard Crashers: Lucan Style

Everyone's seen the show Yard Crashers right? If not you should watch it...like right now. If you have seen it, (as well as BathRoomHouse, and the new, Kitchen Crashers) then you know that its crazy awesome! If you haven't...because well, perhaps you're living under a rock...the hosts (who are all contractors/designers/etc.) find people at a home improvement store who are in need of an upgrade. Then, they take them home and pimp their spaces beyond belief, all for FREE! While I would gladly take anyone of them home with me if they bombarded me in a store, I feel pretty confident we could pimp out the rooms in our home fairly decently ourselves. But we both lack, skill and desire to do a whole lot with the yard aspect. I am probably the laziest gardener there is...if I can remember to water a potted plant it's a good day. A cactus is my type of "flower". 
  Since neither of us have any bright ideas swirling around our head for the backyard - and since it's winter - and since we're clearly never going to have our yard crashed my Ahmed -
I figured now is a good as time as any to start looking for some backyard inspiration.         
  Naturally, I turned to Pinterest to hook me up with some awesome eye candy. 









So these are the high end looks I'd be asking Ahmed for. We both agree that we'd like a fire pit, and seating area and that we'd love a hot tub. Just look at that hot tub in the last picture...if I had a hot tub that looked like that, I don't know if I'd want to leave it. We don't have any immediate plans for the back yard (aside from putting up a fence), we plan to slowly work on it over time, but we do plan on incorporating all the elements we'd be asking Yard Crashers for...just maybe not quite so high end. Or, if we do decide on a few high end additions, they'll be spaced out nicely so the neighbours won't think we're too rich.


Our outdoor goals for the spring involve trimming a few trees (and removing one), ripping out a bunch of shrubbery at the front, right up against the house, and making sure nothing is sloping in towards the house. Power washing all the patio stones, so they at least look a bit more presentable until we can figure out what to do with them. If we get really ambitious we'll rip off the small front porch - or at least take down the awful awning. There's also a raised garden in the back, that I haven't decided what to do with yet. It needs a LOT of work to make it even usable again, so I may just scrap it. Although growing some fruit & veggies does appeal to me, (it'd bring back memories of running out to steal raspberries or peas from my Nana and Papa's garden when I was a kid) I have about ZERO gardening skills, so I'd probably have to call in my mom for reinforcements haha. I wish I had half as many ideas swimming around my head for the outside of our place as I do for the inside. Who knows, maybe come spring time I'll have some sort of idea in place.   

Monday 12 December 2011

Kitchen Files: Backsplash Change-up

So, if you remember my post, with the kitchen mood board, I talked about wanting to do a backsplash just behind the stove, going up to the vent hood. We I initially was thinking of a highgloss, beveled, white subway tile. 



Jason didn't like that idea...he thought it was "too much white", he "wants something with pop". He didn't really understand that the white tile would "pop" a bit against the stainless stove & hood, and the grey walls...but I went with it. The guy's got to have some sort of say doesn't he.  I really like the look of penny round tiles, and I have seen them cropping up all over the web. The Petersilks, from one of my favourite blogs Young House Love decided to use a grey penny round for their kitchen backsplash,  there's penny round inspiration all over Pinterest. I like it. It's understated,  and simple, and i think I enjoy their smaller stature better than the subway tile.


I ran into a problem however. I can't seem to find it in Canada. Oh, Canada...my home and native land, I love you, I really do...but some times, you can kinda suck. I googled every combo of "penny round tile + Canada" I could think of, went through the home improvement stores, sourced wholesale products, and just couldn't seem to find anything like what I'd been seeing. Canada, why hath thou forsaken me? Can this really be a solely American product? I refuse to accept that! THEN, out of the no penny tile abyss came the light! I found this!

Bold enough for you Jason!? Penny tiles in all their round goodness, and GASP, in red! Say what! At Home Depot! Heck to the yes! Then, as if the tile gods were laughing in my face, I realized it was the American Home Depot website. Oh, mother trucker! I tried searching the brand on the Canadian site, nothing. I tried Lowes, and Rona, and nothing. BOOO! SO...now we're left with this awesome option that to me would be worth a trip to the States (I needed to go anyway). I had intentions to go into the Depot down the street to see if they'd be able to order a sample, but haven't got around to doing it, and to be honest, I probably won't. When we make the trip in the new year, we'll pop in to one in Michigan to take a look. 

Another great thing about this tile is that it's $70 a box, and comes with 10.2sq.ft. in a box. I calculated that we'd probably need about 7.5sq.ft. so we'd only need to get one box, and there'd be enough left over for some trivits and coasters. WOOT! It's also a fair bit cheaper than any of the subway tile that I looked at, which is good, and we have about $70 in Home Depot gift cards, so it could be free...which as everyone knows is the shiznat! I plan on going for a recon mission sometime before the New Year to pick up a sample and see how well it'll mix in with our other red accents.

Friday 9 December 2011

Kitchen Files: A Helluva Good Deal

I LOVE saving money. Lets be honest...who doesn't. When you find something on super sale, or even better when you don't realize that something is on sale until it rings in. Holla! Those are the best nonbirthday, birthday presents! The last giant savings (other than the appliances) was when I bought our new pot set. A 17pc Lagostina set, regulary $699...on for $199. What made these pots an even sweeter deal was that $85 of it was bought with gift cards...seeing "You saved $500" on the bottom of my receipt made me a happy, happy person!


SO...all that rambling had to lead to something right? What is this amazing good...no, Helluva good deal that we got? Well, you remember me saying that I REALLY wanted an apron front sink for the kitchen, and that it was something I wasn't really to compromise on? I also said that Jason won the husband of the year award by being able to get it through a rep at the wholesalers for around $700, which was hundreds off of what we would've spent retail. BUUUUUUUUUUT...after talking to the rep again it turns out we're able to get an even better  deal! Because apparently not enough people know about apron front sinks and they want to make money on them, they're giving us this super, awesome, unbelievable, almost can't speak over how great this deal is. We are saving SO much money, that I am actually not allowed to say what we're getting the sink for...but I can tell you that we're saving over $1000 form the sink I initially liked at Home Depot.


So, here's our new sink! The 31in double apron front sink in white, by Franke



Again, ignore the hideodorous faucet, because...dun dun dun duuuuuuunnnnn!



THIS is the faucet we're getting! It's the Trinsic, by Delta. We decided to go with the Delta over the Moen, because it ended up being about $150 cheaper, but mainly because it has a more timeless look. It's not something we'll look at 5/10 years down the line and wonder what we were thinking, why we picked something so "trendy". Overall, we are VERY happy with our choices, but mostly with the crazy awesome savings we were able to get! Both faucet and sink have been ordered, since there is about a month lead time on the sink, we should be getting sometime in the middle of January. I can't flippin' wait!


Thursday 8 December 2011

Kitchen Files: Faucets...Are You For Serious?!

When pulling together a kitchen, there are so many big things that need your focus. Like cabinets, and flooring, and appliances, and paint, and blah blah blah. Things like faucets aren't really on most people's radar until the last minute...but then again I'm not most people am I? Faucets have been on my mind ever since my lovely husband brought me all those pamphlets. I picked two that I liked from the pamphlets I had at the time.


This Price Pfister "Mystique". I like this one because we wanted a goose neck, and I like the pull down spray feature better than the sprayer on the side...and this pull down feature isn't as bulbous as many of the others. (I got enough bulbous action going on around my midsection...don't really need it on my faucet also) This one comes with a soap dispenser (that we wouldn't use) so it was a bit of a waste.

I liked the Delta "trinsic" better than the mystique, but in the pamphlet it said it had the new touch2O technology, which is cool, but Jase and I really don't care about having it, and I figured it'd be a lot more money...so I kind of pushed it aside figuring we couldn't afford it.


Then Jason decided to bring me more pamphlets home...this time Kohler. So I found another one I liked...completely different from the first two. Much more modern. Meet the Kohler "purist".

More sleek, more modern, no goose neck...but freakin' cool looking eh? So then, because I liked it he says, "Moen has one like that, that'd probably cheaper." So he pulled up this baby:


The Moen "90degree". To which I told him he needed to get off my computer and stop showing me more cool ones, because Lord knows I didn't need more options haha. In this picture it doesn't really look like the reach is very far, but it's actually less than an inch smaller reach than the Delta.

I am happy with our options though, because now we have two completely different looks, with two options for each look. All of our options come in a variety of finishes, and we'll mostly likely go with the "brushed chrome", I thought I would prefer the stainless, just because it would "match" a little bit better with the rest of the kitchen, but then I found out that the stainless finishes generally cost more. What?! Why?! BOO! So Jason took my list to his wholesalers to price them out. Lets take a few guesses as to which was the most expensive? First lets talk about retail price...the Kohler was $475 for the chrome, or $640 for the stainless. Ummm, come again? $500 for a kitchen faucet...did anyone else think they were this bloody expensive, or am I alone in my stunned silence? Again I was reminded how lucky I am that I married a plumber who can get fancy faucets for cheaper. His wholesaler price was $370 for the chrome one - still significantly more than I thought we'd pay for a faucet, but more than $100 cheaper than buying retail. That was the most expensive one - but it's Kohler, so we figured it'd be. 
  The one I was most surprised with was the Delta...it was actually cheaper than I thought. You can in fact get it without the Touch2O, so that's great, and his wholesaler said it would be $275. Wanna know how much it is with the Touch2O? Keep in mind this is still wholesale price...drumroll please...NINE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FIVE DOLLARS!!! Gaa, I did a spit take when he told me, and got water al over the car window! A thousand bucks for a faucet, what the eff...who would buy that!? Yikes. The Moen was around $250 and the Price Pfister was around $200. The second wholesaler told Jase that he would most likely be able to get another 20% off on top of those prices so that'd be even better.

So to recap:
 Goose neck options
Price Pfister = $200
Delta = $250   Modern options
Kohler = $370
Moen = $250

We are going to scratch the Kohler one off the list right away, because a) it's far too expensive (even with the great discount) and b) the second wholesaler (who's offered to give us an extra 20%) doesn't carry Kohler.  We've also decided to cross the Price Pfister off the list...why? well because we like the Delta better, and for 50 bucks it's not worth settling. Also, Jason says the Price Pfister used to be a really crappy brand, and while they've come a long way he still doesn't really feel comfortable putting one in his house. (In case something happens he knows for sure the Delta won't be hard to repair) So now are contenders are

The Delta Trinsic. OR...

The Moen 90degree. And I really don't know which I like better!? GAAA! So I'm in no better shape than before. Well I suppose a bit better, because I know the price...but they're essentially the same price, so that doesn't really change anything. Which do you guys prefer? The sleeker more traditional goose neck, or the more modern one?



Thursday 1 December 2011

A Countdown, a Plan, and Some Reassurance

In case you couldn't tell I have a few things to go over today...first up a countdown! Well actually a few countdowns...

  27 days until we leave for the cruise
  26 days until we have to have everything packed and moved out of the apartment
  24 days until CHRISTMAS!
  21 days until we get our house!!!
  AANNNDDD mere hours until my mom gets her new condo! (looking forward to Christmas dinner at the new place)
Both Jason and I are looking forward to watching those numbers shrink. With the exception of the having everything packed and moved day...I hate packing, with. a. passion. I am terrible at it...I either meticulously pack boxes, carefully piling & stacking everything neatly - or, I toss crap in them,  and get frustrated when the lid won't close, then my OCD kicks in and I have to repack everything I tossed in. I am a good labeler...I can label the shit out of a bin - I know exactly where a bin is to go, and what is in it. Jason, is naturally no help, and no one likes packing alone. Jason goes beyond the realm of not helping, and actually tells me to stop. Here is what happened the other night while we were watching TV:

  Me: Packing all the "bigger" stuff from the kitchen we won't use in a month (like serving platters, and fancy glasses etc.) Ripping paper off the newsprint roll to wrap breakables in.
  Jase: Watching TV, turns up the volume...twice
  Me: "Babe, can you please go reach down the stuff on top of the cupboards in the kitchen?"
  Jase: shoots a dirty look, "seriously?"
  Me: "Yes, seriously."
  Jase: "Can I at least wait until the commercials?"
  Me: "Sure." Commercials roll around. I wait for about 3 before I ask again.
  Jase: "Fine."
  Me: Continue to rip and wrap the new pile of things from the kitchen
  Jase: Shoots me a dirty look, "you're killin' me smalls. Could you be any louder!? I'm trying to
             watch TV"
  Me:  Begin to rip paper slower, and louder...use way more paper than I probably needed trying
           to be louder.
  Jase: "apparently you can."
  Me: "Muahahahahaha" 

Then I had to stop packing. Even though he wasn't in an overly serious mood, he ruined my momentum, and the half packed box is still sitting behind the couch - and I haven't really packed anything since.


Ok, Next up is "A Plan". Part fun, part practical, and part keep me busy for the 3.5 days a week I no longer have to work. So, the plan is to do a 25 days of DIY Christmas. Make something different each day starting Dec 1. I have lots of decorations running around in my head that I've been wanting to make, and I made the excuse, "there's no point of decorating since we're moving." I call bull on myself...I love the decorations of the Christmas season, and I want some pretties up in my house - and if I can't display them all, then at least I'll have some lovely decorations on the ready for next year. I also need to make our stockings, since we're not doing any big gifts (we thought the house is big enough) we're just doing smaller gifts shoved into an oversized sock. So, starting this afternoon I'll be posting a "craft" a day. Here's some of my pinspiration:






Plus, a bunch more ideas! This should be a fun challenge for me...maybe I'll make a number of gifts this year too?


Last up is the reassurance I was talking about. I had originally picked the Stormy Monday colour for the walls, and then (for whatever reason) began second guessing myself. Again, this is something Jason is no help with haha. Especially since they're all gray - he can't really understand the difference past "light gray" and "dark gray" haha. So, I'd like to thank everyone for the 100% unanimous decision that Stormy Monday is the best choice, becuase it just reassures me that I made the right choice to begin with. They always say "just go with your gut" right? So, in the spirit of going with my gut, (and the number of you who agreed) the kitchen wall colour will be:



Tuesday 29 November 2011

Kitchen Files: The Great Cabinet Debate

So with the closing date fast approaching (25 days now) I have been feeling increasingly pressured to have things for the kitchen all set and ready, so all we have to do is either order or install when we get the house.

We do have most aspects chosen...

we know we're going to use the Black Beach glue down cork flooring. Which is $1.99/sq.ft. 
We know we're getting a 31" white apron front double sink. (Not with ugly fixtures like that picture has though) We'll be getting a large one whole goose neck faucet with a pull down sprayer. 

   
We bought our fridge and stove, both of which ended up being Kitchenaid, from the gigantic scratch & dent/new appliance store on Brydges. I was skeptical at first of scratch and dent, but this place is GREAT! Seriously! They have TONS of appliances (and furniture if you need it) to choose from. We got at 23cu.ft. stainless french door fridge and, stainless gas convection range for super cheap! The stove itself is normally around $2,300. The only "problems" are there is a tiny dent on the freezer door handle, and the stove was slightly used, so the burner plates are a little scuffed looking...to us this really isn't a big deal, and is more than worth saving the $1,400 we saved by not getting them at Home Depot. 

 
We know we're going to DIY concrete countertops, that will look something like this when they're done.

 
I've narrowed it down to three paint colours haha, haven't been able to decide for sure which one I like best, and obviously Jason is no help...so I'll probably just end up flipping a coin or something haha. Which one do you like better?

But what we can’t seem to agree upon is the cabinets. Jason is dead set against Ikea cabinetry, and I can’t seem to understand why. I want the Ikea cabinets. I like the look of them, I like the options for drawers, baskets, lazy susans, (whatever I want) for the inside, and I really like the price. Sure, I get that Ikea isn’t the top of the line maple, or cherry, or whatever cabinets, but they are durable. I have friends, and friends of friends that have Ikea kitchens, and they are perfectly happy with them. They haven’t broken, they don’t look bad, they are perfectly great kitchens! Would I prefer to get a completely custom kitchen? Obviously. Can we afford a completely custom kitchen? Obviously not! If we were merely painting cabinets, or were having to match cabinets to what is in the kitchen then maybe we could get a couple custom cabinets. Or go to the habitat re-store. But unfortunately (or fortunately) we have to get ALL new cabinets, and I do NOT want to have to mix and match.
  Like I mentioned before, when we were at the auction they were selling cabinets…12 pieces (uppers & lowers), but they weren’t what I was looking for. We would’ve had to paint them for starters. And they were only about $100 cheaper than what I had priced out in terms of Ikea cabinets…so those were obviously a no go. I went into the Habitat Re-Store to see what they had to offer. They had a number of cabinets that were in good condition, that I would've been all over if we were trying to tie in with current cabinets...but they only had about three matching ones...so they were also a no go. I looked into countless stores online that were decent options, but most were WAY over budget. I got excited, when the Warehouse guys advertised a massive kitchen sale – but alas, the savings were on basic 8ft kitchens. UGH! I don’t have a problem with “basic”…that’s pretty much what I’m looking for, just basic, white, flat front…but we need more than 8ft of cabinets…and we need a bit more than 12ft (just on the bottom) so again, that was a no go.



Just a few of the options that Ikea has to offer that I like.

Jason is coming around to what I’ve been saying all along, that Ikea is the route to go. He just needs to get over his dang issues with the Swedes. Because the grand ol’ Ikea cabinets end up being less than $100/lin. ft. including handles, legs, toe-kicks…everything. AND, they have the look I like the best, plus the stuff inside the best.  Long story short, I’m pretty sure I’ve got him convinced now that we’re going to have to go with Ikea cabinets. It basically came down to me telling him that I spend significantly more time in the kitchen than he does, so why does he care what they have on the inside, or what brand they are? Suck it up Jason, I believe we're going to Ikea.  


Monday 28 November 2011

Mood Board: The Kitchen

We bought a fridge and stove this weekend! We initially liked this fridge, and this stove, which would've cost us over $3,000 before tax. We went to the scratch & dent appliance store on Brydges (right near Highbury) that a friend we met in Cuba owns with his dad. This place is huge and we were able to get an OUTSTANDING deal on a fridge and stove. They're essentially the same as the ones we liked from Home Depot, only they're Kitchenaid brand instead of GE. We were able to snag both fridge and stove for such a cheap price, I feel like we stole them!!! SO...for those frugalites like ourselves, that saves us just shy of $1,400!!! If you want to get even more specific...the retail for the models we ended up getting total around $4,200...so that means we saved $2, 500! So for all you haters out there, that more than paid for our trip to Cuba, so I'd say the trip was worth it! (although it was worth it to us before anyway haha)



So, now that we have decided on the floor (we're going with the cheaper, Black Beach glue down cork), we've bought our appliances (still looking for a dishwaser - we've decided to not get a drawer one, and just go with the regular one) and know the layout I figured it was time to put together a board for our kitchen.


Alrighty, so whatcha think? Is it what you thought it'd look like?
  1. Since I got a Kitchenaid Artisan mixer in red as a shower gift, and I knew I wanted to display it on the countertops...red is a natural accent colour hehe. In terms of wall colours - I haven't quite been able to narrow it down to what I want to paint. I'm thinking something greyish and light. As for the flooring, we decided to go with the "black beach" tile over the "Gemwood." If you remember, Jason liked the Beach better, while I liked the Gem. I didn't like the other one better enough to justify spending the $1.50 more per square foot. So, in the spirit of saving more money (we didn't want the floor to get jealous of the appliances) we went with the just as nice looking, cheaper version. We also liked that it was a glue down tile better. (Plus in my pick testing, it seemed to stand up a little better.) So the grand total for the floor tiles will be around $600...which is music to my ears...and means we'll be saving another $1,000 from the cheapest cork I'd priced out before. So, before even getting in the house, we're already about $3,000 under budget.
  2. Since we got a gas stove, we needed to get a range hood - which is ok, because we wanted one anyway! We like the look of the stainless ones, but past that, we haven't really narrowed it down to even which brand we like best. Good thing that's one of the last things we need to pick.
  3. There are two windows in the kitchen. One small one above the sink, which is where we'll hang a "roman" shade type dealeo in a natural fibre. As for the larger window, which you can see is between the fridge and the table we'll probably do the same thing, since curtains wouldn't really be very practical.
  4. On the wall above the sink, flanking the window I want to do open shelving to display some of the pretties I have - like cake stands, fun glasses, etc.
  5. Ah, cupboards...I am wanting something basic. Just a flat front in white, I wouldn't have thought that would be so hard to find. But so far, it hasn't exactly been easy, and there's been a few arguments over what to get haha. What we can agree on though, is that they need to be white haha. As for hardware, we've narrowed it down to two different handles. The long stainless ones like from the mood board, or a smaller more "invisible" looking one
  6. Like I've mentioned before, we are planning on doing a poured concrete countertop, in black. We're going to do a few tester pieces in a little while, so stay tuned for THAT haha.
  7. I plan on hanging a big bold DIY pendant over the table. Either a geometric one like above, or a simpler string one.
  8. We haven't decided if we're going to do a backsplash around the whole kitchen, or just behind the stove up to to the hood, regardless of how much of it we're doing, we're liking the white subway tiles.
  9. As I have mentioned many times before, I REALLY wanted an apron front sink. And because Jason is awesome, he came through for me, and we were able to get one! We ended up going with a double sink; a) because they were cheaper than a single, and b) double sinks are a just more practical. As for the faucet, we both want a large goose neck with a pull down spray function. 
  10. We plan on bringing in some red with four bar stools at the peninsula, and possibly the table or chairs at the eat in area.
  11. Lastly, we'll bring in some more red, and fun with some tea towels. I already have some fun red ones, but it's time to get some more!
There ya have it! I can't WAIT until the 22nd, and we can get started with the demo...hopefully in a couple months, we have something that looks spectacular.

Friday 25 November 2011

Etsy Six-Pack: Winter fun

I love winter, next to fall it's probably my favourite time of the year, it's just so pretty. When the rain from the day before freezes on the road and gets covered in a layer of light snow, causing cars to dance. There's also that beautiful salt line that decorates your car after the city dumps 90 tonnes on that small stretch of road from your driveway to the stop light.  The most prettiest thing of all I think, is the different colours your nose turns, and the presents that come out of it after some generous stranger gives you a cold. Isn't winter lovely?
But, in all seriousness I really do love winter, and I really do think it's pretty. The way the snow and ice glisten off the tree branches, transforming them from some ugly, dead thing into a thing of beauty. Tobogganing, skiing, making snowmen, trudging out to the pond for a game of pick up hockey. Being Canadian, we know how to do winter in style. So that is the theme for todays six-pack...the beauty & fun of winter.



We'll start off with Wild Ridge Design. They have a bunch of nice wreaths to decorate your front door to kick start the winter festivities. Many of them come scented too - peppermint, vanilla, etc - give people a whiff of happiness when they knock on your door! They also have other rusticy type decor for your home.



Tiki Fiber Crafts has a wide variety of hats, (and a few scarves) for the winter. I love the knitted/crotched look, they always make me think of something your Grandma would've made you.



In keeping with the personal warmth theme, FM908 has some nice fashion coats. Just becuase it's winter, doesn't mean you can't look good. Quite a number of them have a 50's retro type vibe that I love, and everything is very reasonably priced.



Changing things up a bit is Elle Moss, where you can look at the beauty of winter without having to actually go outside. This shop has a great selection of photos and prints, to help get you in the winter mood. Or, if you are still in denial about what season we're pretty much in, there are many other gorgeous summery options.



Susanjie3 has some very sexy options for that man in your life that actually has style. I look longfully at these sweaters, and how the mannequin can layer so adeptly...because everyone knows Jason is not like that. I don't think he'd even know what to do with a sweater like that.



Since we've kept both the lady and the man of the house warm and cozy, it's time to think of your pets. For the love of all things adorable, think of your pets people! Cozy Horse is the place to go. They have a whole bunch of great winter coats for your pooches to keep them nice and cozy on those fridged walks. They also have these hilarous things called "snoods" never heard of them before, but the dogs seem to be enjoying them haha. They also have some collars, and play toys in their shop. Whether you have a big, or small dog they've got you covered.

Thursday 24 November 2011

The Colour Files: Dining Room

Since we can't afford to put all new floors in every room right away (what with the kitchen renovation and all), we have to make do with what we have. After we finish the kitchen, we plan on doing the floors in the living room & entry next, because that's what people will see first when they walk in our house, and we are SOOOO over the blue carpet out there. While the dining room carpet is nasty & mottled, it is not blue...so it is a bit easier to work with haha. 
   I don't mind painting, but I also don't particularly enjoying doing it if I don't have to, so we only want to have to paint the dining room once (until I'm ready to change it again hehe). So we have to pick colours & decor that will "go" well with the current carpet, but will also look good when we put the new floor in. (We are hoping to install a medium-ish colour) I know what kind of look I am going for, but am having trouble choosing the exact colours that would be perfect for the room. I have narrowed it down to my favourite three, (and there are ones that I am leaning more towards) so I would like your assistance, help me choose the right colours.


Ok, so I wrote that above part obviously before we bought the lovely floor that we are now going to put in here. And while we now have floor, I am no closer to deciding which colours I like best.

Here are my favourite three colours for the main walls:


Cream...how many different names can you be called? Cream is essentially the colour I am looking for haha. All of the above colours are by Benjamin Moore, and they are fairly similar. the first, "canvas", has more pinky undertones, next up is "cotton tail", which is a more true "cream" colour, with the yellowish undertones. Lastly is "white marigold", and has more greyish undertones. Any of them would be fine on the walls, the trouble comes when trying to pair with with a brown for the accent wall. We plan on painting the wall with the window a brown colour, to add some dimension in the room (because 4 cream walls is a bit boring...and we are NOT boring people) Here are my 3 favourite brown choices:


First up is "appalacian brown", then "mustang" (even though all mustangs I know are purple!), and last but most certainly not least, "night horizon." Again, these are all by Benjamin Moore, and again, are all perfectly delicious on their own, but may not be the perfect match with each cream. Here they are together now:


Here are all the selections paired together...just in case you needed a hand visualizing. Like I said, I have one pairing that I am leaning more towards, but I want everyone's opinion, which do you like best, which pairing do you think would work best in our dining room? In terms of what we're doing with trim, it will be a pure, crisp white (the trim is along the bottom - where the walls meet the floors, surrounding the window, and the opening into both the hall and the kitchen) So there's the first sneak peek into the dining room...we'll keep you updated with

Wednesday 23 November 2011

The house...the way WE want

OK, so I hope you all enjoyed the “tour” the other day, and are ready for more today. Lets just jump right in.



So, the first change we’ll highlight, is the Dining Room. Call us crazy, but we decided we didn’t need TWO front doors & entry points – odd I know – but we did need a dining room. And, presto, chango, we have a dining room.  We plan on closing off the front door there (and probably replacing the window at the same time), we’re going to rip up the carpet & the tiley things they had in the old entry, to make one, cohesive floor. We also plan on knocking about 1.5ft from the corner of the room to make the opening into the kitchen bigger (and to avoid having to walk all the way around the corner – those extra 5 steps made me too out of breath, so we had to eliminate them). We are also knocking out the closet that was there to add more space in the kitchen. A “breakfast nook” will take the place of the closet & pesky built-in space, the benches for seating will also double as more storage. The kitchen…tada! Doesn’t it just look so much more open and welcoming now? And since neither of us are hobbits, we have the appropriate amount of room to move, and counter height that better suits us. Because the large window that is there is so low, we aren’t able to add anything in front of it, so by putting our new (and significantly larger) fridge in the previously unoccupied space beside the window we can increase the amount of counter space in that corner. The stove will be moved to the other side, flanked by more counter space & a peninsula. By rearranging the kitchen like this we’ve tripled the amount of counter space, and also added significantly more upper cabinets, that in a miraculous twist of fate allow us to fit not only our plates, but so.much.more! For both of us, the biggest upgrade will be adding a dishwasher! Thank you, Baby Jesus! While neither of us overly dislike doing dishes, it is definitely safe to say, that neither of us actually enjoy doing them either haha…we do them about twice a week (if we were being good), but a lot of times they would pile up, until they were out of control, which was/is a huge embarrassment. SOOOOO, we cannot WAIT until we have a swanky dishwasher of our own. While any dishwasher would be an upgrade, we have our eyes on something, a bit…special.
  Ok, moving on, because I have a whole bunch of posts in the not so distant future, that are all about the kitchen, so I don’t want to give too much away now. We are going to put up a half wall in the living room to create a designated, separate area for entry. A place to hang coats, and store shoes (since there isn’t anywhere currently to do that.)
   Next we have the bedrooms. Before anyone sees “nursery” and runs away with the idea, NO, we do not have anything to announce at this time…and do you honestly think, that I would announce it like this!? We do however plan on having children at some point in time, and this will be the room that the cuties reside in. If you remember the layout from before, the bathroom, was a lot smaller and there was a laundry room. Here’s a side-by-side just in case you forget.


  


We are going to move the laundry room to the basement to make more room for the bathroom & the guest room. We are also going to get rid of the tiny linen closet to make the Nursery closet bigger. In order to make the bathroom bigger, we have to take out a window. I think my favourite part about looking at the side-by-side is the floors haha. Just look at how much better the “laminate” looks next to the “carpet”…so much better than the sea of blue!

Lets go downstairs now, because that has a lot more changes than the upstairs haha. This is how we think we would like to layout the basement…keep in mind we wouldn’t even touch the basement to start these changes for 5 years, unless of course we win money, or someone would like to impart a large chuck of change upon us. (We really would welcome that at any time) So this area is the one that has the potential to differ the most from these plans we've come up with.

 
The basement…dun, dun, dun. We have the biggest ideas for this space – mainly because it is a blank slate and we can do whatever we want. Three cheers for being able to do what you want! We decided you’d come down the stairs and be in the family/living room (we wanted a large enough room that we could fit a sectional…one with a lovely chaise lounger type dealeo. Off the new living room we’ll add a fourth bedroom. (There are two windows in that room we'll have to dig out...not sure why no windows showed up on this plan) Through the livingroom you come into the laundry room, as well as where we'll keep the large freezer, and our seasonal stuff that needs to be stored. To the right will be another (albeit small) full bathroom. Then the room where, “all the magic happens” (so says Jason), the Man Cave. I have always wanted to create a “man cave” in my house, and my hubs deserves one for sure! (Especially after he does all the hard work with the kitchen, and the bedrooms, and the windows, and the bathroom, and the everything hehe) He is rather excited to get this done haha. (Especially since I said we could make a secret entrance for him) Off the man cave is a cold cellar, which I told Jason he could use as his beer fridge…because it’s not like I do much “canning” haha. Then finally we come to the utility & storage room. We are also adding storage under the stairs, and there is also a storage shed type thing on the back of the garage.

Last up we have the master suite! The biggest changes up here are in the bathroom.


We are going to use the closet space (and a bit of the room) to bump out the bathroom. We have big plans for this bathroom – a large 2 person shower, double sink, some storage – like I said before, we have a thing for bathrooms. There was a small closet on the other side of the room that we’ll make enlarge, and add some built-ins and more hanging space (for all of Jason’s t-shirts). Even by shrinking the room, we’re still keeping it large enough for that king size bed we will be soon getting.

There you have it folks. The modified “tour” of our new house, it’ll probably be 5-10 years before we have the place looking like we have it here haha. And even then, I’m sure our plans will change. Stay tuned for all of our kitchen remodel play by play - we'll get right into the nitty-gritty as soon as we can!