JAX does design

One chapter ends, another begins…

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Wed, 20 May 2015 14:54:00 +0000

I’ve had fun writing JAX does design for the last five years, but now it’s time to close this blog chapter and start a new one. Join me over at K&B Adventures by the Sea to follow my experiences on the South Shore of Nova Scotia with my hubby and our dogs. From building our dream home by the ocean to exploring everything NS has to offer, I’m going to have a lot to share with you :-)

Welcome to my home! A top to bottom tour

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Tue, 19 May 2015 19:35:00 +0000

It’s been a long time since I last wrote a blog post. So much has happened in the past few months, and it all culminated on Friday with a For Sale sign going up on our front lawn. Yep, we’re moving! And it’s a big move too – we’re packing up the dogs and heading to Nova Scotia!

Hubby and I have been working hard since the winter renovating, painting, purging, and getting our house in tip-top shape. For the first time in ever, our house is tidy, uncluttered, and CLEAN! Now we just need someone to buy it!

Also for the first time ever, our house has been photographed by a professional photographer, Henry Fernando. So now I can take you on a tour of our whole entire house, including rooms that I’ve never shown you because they were either unfinished or never looked good enough to share!

The thing I like most about the exterior of our house is that it’s different from all the other houses in our neighbourhood. Well, except for the white brick bungalow right next door ;-)

The things you can do with a wide angle lens! I’ve never been able to take pictures like these! Views to and from the front entry…

Dining room…

Living room…

Family room…

Kitchen…

Laundry/mud room…

Guest bedroom – lots of purple!

Master bedroom…

Our pride and joy, the master bedroom ensuite completely renovated and designed by us :-)

I have NEVER been able to get a shot like this of the vanity!

Hubby’s home office…

I’ve never really liked our guest bathroom because of all the pink, so I’ve never posted pics of it – till now!

Let’s head down to the basement, which has gone through a huge transformation…

My home office… this is going to be a hard room to leave behind, it took forever to paint all those letters!

Craft room…

My office and craft room were the only two spaces in the basement that were finished. The rest of the basement was being used for storage, there was no ceiling, one section had laminate flooring, and the other had dusty rose carpeting. We emptied it out, hubby created a brand new bedroom and bathroom and installed a ceiling and cork flooring, and I painted. And painted and painted and painted… I didn’t think I’d ever finish painting!

This area is staged as a play area for kids. Our dogs think the futon mattress on the floor makes a great doggie bed :-)

A couple of years ago, I won an awesome elephant wall mural from Murals Wallpaper in a giveaway at Mix And Chic. We knew it was going to go on this wall, we just had to wait till the wall was ready! I named the elephant Lewis :-)

This is the brand new bedroom that didn’t exist a few months ago. Only the curtains and chandelier are new – I already had everything else, including the furniture from when I was a kid. The tops were a bit banged up, so I pulled out a can of chalk paint and problem solved :-) Even the wall paint was left over from another project.

I’ve decided that I love designing bathrooms :-) I don’t know exactly why, I just do :-)

And finally, the loft home theater. I’m going to miss this room a lot, it’s such a great spot for watching movies & sports…

So that’s our home in all its glory :-) In the almost-14 years that we’ve lived here, we’ve done so many projects and tried out lots of ideas – some good and some not so good! – and have really loved living here. I hope whoever buys our house will love it as much as we do.

Linking up to…

The January (navy) blues

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 16:43:00 +0000

Happy 2015! So far, the year is off to a cold start here in Ontario. But at least we’re gaining a minute of sunlight every day, so that’s one positive :-)

January is typically when the blues set in. But the blues aren’t necessarily a bad thing – especially when they’re lovely navy blues! Lately I’ve been thinking about how I would design my coastal kitchen in my oceanfront house of the future. A girl can dream, right? :-) And part of the dream is to have a navy blue kitchen island. Still haven’t figured out the rest of the kitchen, but I guess that’s as good a starting point as any!

A navy island with a light stone countertop, white kitchen cabinetry, and dark flooring seems to be the popular choice.

Image via Kelly Deck

Image via Decorpad

A navy island with a light floor and soft grey cabinetry is lovely too.

Image via Tom Howley

Not quite navy blue, this blue-grey island has a dark wood countertop, which is a nice change from the light stone countertops.

Image via Today’s Homeowner (at KBIS)

And this countertop is a combination of darker wood and lighter stone.

Traditional Kitchen by Minneapolis Design-Build Firms Schrader & Companies

Navy blue paired with brass or gold has a nautical feel.

Image via Sarah Richardson

Image via Joy Street Design

This is a bit different – copper pendants over a navy island.

Contemporary Kitchen by Toronto Interior Designers & Decorators Sealy Design Inc.

Do you prefer a kitchen island that matches the kitchen cabinetry, or an island that stands out?

I Heart Art

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 14:10:00 +0000

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I love supporting artists. Why buy a print from a box store when you can own an original one-of-a kind piece of art? And trust me, it doesn't have to be expensive to buy original art, especially from up-and-coming artists.

I love Ann Gruchy’s work. She creates both serene watercolours and beautifully vibrant pieces. When I saw this painting at the Ottawa Art Expo a few weeks ago, there was really no other option but for me to buy it :-)

And pretty much the same thing in the case of this painting by Tracy Armstrong, who was at the Handmade Harvest Craft Show in Almonte this past weekend. Do you see a purple/turquoise/green theme here? :-)

I was bidding on a dragonfly painting in an online auction a couple of months ago, but lost out at the last minute. So I contacted the artist, Sheri Lynn Belisle, and asked her if she could create another dragonfly painting for me. She said yes, and created this beautiful painting of a dragonfly & bull rushes.

It occurs to me now that I totally forgot to blog about our trip to Nova Scotia back in September! How did I do that?! Anyway, we were in Nova Scotia in September and I bought some lovely little prints by Leslie Snidal at the La Have Craft Co-op.

Now to find spots on the walls for all this art! I’m thinking I may put together a floor to ceiling gallery wall in the bedroom.

Image via Greige Design

Although maybe there’s a limit to how many gallery walls one house should have? What do you think?

Game of Throne: Cottage bathroom reno reveal

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 15:10:00 +0000

*WARNING* This bathroom makeover includes a very large and very unattractive composting toilet. Please try to envision a nice simple plain old white toilet in its place. There’s also minimal styling due to lack of time and resources.

Let’s start with accepting the fact that this isn’t and never will be the prettiest bathroom ever. But given what it is and the budget and time frame we had to work with, I’m really pleased with how the cottage bathroom reno turned out.

I had one day to choose the tiles, paint, countertop, faucets, and sink. You can read about my design in a day here. I had three requirements when I was out shopping till I was dropping:

1. Has to be available now (no special order stuff)
2. Has to be inexpensive (very tight budget)
3. Has to be brown (my dad’s favourite colour)

After a very long day of shopping and lugging around more boxes of tiles than I care to remember, this is what I came up with. Left to right, top to bottom: Accent & subway tiles for the lower walls, PARA JoJo Whitewash for the trim, BM Smoky Green for the upper walls & ceiling, BM Aegean Teal for the vanity, Luna Crest laminate countertop, grey Naturi floor tiles.

I never did take a proper “before” picture of the bathroom before demo started. This is the best I’ve got – it’s a picture of the primed vestibule area. But you can see most of what little of the bathroom there used to be through the doorway. The throne took up most of the room – there was literally just 2’ x 4’ of standing room in the entire bathroom between the door and the toilet. The opening you see above the toilet used to be the top half of the old outside wall. The window you see is on the new outside wall of the 4’ addition to the back of the house.

The room was torn apart, and hubby redid all the plumbing and electrical and we reconfigured the whole space. The area with the subfloor and insulation is the new extension.

Our site inspectors discussing how the reno is coming along ;-)

All drywalled! (Jackson says please excuse his butt).

Some “in progress” shots…

As per a design friend’s suggestion, we laid out the subway tiles in a 1/3 offset pattern. I may actually sorta kinda like subway tiles now :-)

Vanity colour inspiration:

Vanity made by hubby and painted by me. I painted a bunch of drawer pulls we already had with oil rubbed bronze spray paint.

I also spray painted an old mirror that I had with oil rubbed bronze paint. I was going to paint the brass on the wall sconces as well, but ran out of time.

Inexpensive sink and chrome faucet, pottery by an artist in Cape Breton, NS.

Towels & rug add some colour and pattern.

And as much of the room as I can fit into one picture.

Before and after of each corner of the room. Well, except for the toilet corner – we really don’t need to see that behemoth again!

And now that the bathroom is finally finished, the cottage will be closed up for the winter. DOH! But at least we’ll have a fresh new bathroom next summer :-)

Linking up to Inspire Me Monday

Sub-what-way tiles

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 15:34:00 +0000

I may be the only person in existence who hates subway tiles. I think they’re boring and safe, and they literally make me feel like I’m in a subway station (I spent enough time in those during my University years!)

But I want to tile the bottom part of the walls in the cottage bathroom, and I have to use small tiles because the walls aren’t perfectly smooth and flat and hubby said there would be problems with using larger tiles. So, 3” x 6” subway tiles it is. But I don’t want to do the typical subway tile pattern.

So I’ve been doing some googling and looking for other layout options. I really like the herringbone layout, but it may be a bit busy for the bathroom.

Image via HGTV Canada

Image via Lowes

I LOVE the look of this vertical stacked layout with accent tiles. I reminds me of plaid.

Image via This Old House

There’s also the horizontally stacked layout, but it’s more modern feel may not be right for the cottage.

Image via Westside Tile and Stone

Vertically stacked too.

Transitional Kitchen by Portland Architects & Building Designers Howells Architecture + Design, LLC

I think this is what I’m going to go with – a 1/3 offset layout.

Image via Lowes

Although I just saw this layout a few days ago night, and I kind of like it too. It looks like it may be 1/5 offset.

Image via The Block Glasshouse

What’s your favourite subway tile layout?

To see some other cool layout ideas for subway tiles, check out 10 creative ways to use subway tile.

Design in a day

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Wed, 03 Sep 2014 13:20:00 +0000

The cottage bedroom makeover is on the back burner while we work on the cottage bathroom. I totally forgot to take a before picture – DOH! – but this is a picture of the gutted bathroom with the same 4 foot extension that was added to the bedroom (the part with the subfloor). Notice the dirt and leaves and crap where the old floor used to be ;-)

There aren’t many places to shop for bathroom materials near the cottage, so we took my dad’s SUV and trailer back to Ottawa for a couple of days and I went on a serious bathroom shopping blitz. I really had no idea what I was looking for – the only thing I knew was that I was on a super-tight budget.

My dad loves brown and kinda sorta suggested that perhaps possibly maybe the bathroom could be brown… so when I saw the Luna Crest laminate countertop, I had my starting point.

Over in the tile aisle I found these mosaic tiles that also fit the brown bill:

Together with white subway tiles, I was onto something :-)

Next I found simple and inexpensive grey ceramic tiles for the floor.

My original thought was to paint the vanity white, but there’s already going to be a lot of white in the room with the subway tiles. And then I had an Ah-Ha moment – teal!

Traditional Kitchen by Philadelphia General Contractors Buckminster Green LLC

Traditional Kitchen by Auburn Interior Designers & Decorators L&M Interior Design

Traditional Kitchen by La Jolla Kitchen & Bath Designers Studio Stratton Inc

I chose Benjamin Moore Aegean Blue for the vanity colour-matched to PARA Paints Cabinet & Furniture Paint. This is seriously nice paint and holds up to wear and tear extremely well.

I had originally thought brown or grey for the walls and ceiling, but I wanted more colour I debated between a few shades of greeny-blue, and finally decided on Benjamin Moore Smoky Green. OK, it looks grey in the picture, but really it isn’t!

I also picked up a sink, shower & vanity faucets, grout, tiles spacers, and everything else I could think of that we would need. Then the next day we loaded up the SUV and trailer and hauled it all to the cottage.

And now the reno is in full gear – more coming in my next post!

Sexy Mexsii

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 15:16:00 +0000

I’m totally in love with these headboards from Mexsii Bedheads based in Melbourne, Australia.

All of Mexsii’s headboards are made with environmentally sustainable foam, 100% organic Belgian linen, non-toxic dyes, and recycled wood. So they’re not only beautiful, but they have minimal impact on the environment as well.

*Sigh* If I didn’t live on the opposite side of the world, I’d have one of these babies in my bedroom!

Click here to read about Mexsii and drool over more of their gorgeous headboard designs!

Cottage bedroom makeover: Update #3

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 14:57:00 +0000

Holy Crap. Who knew that white would be such a PITA to paint?! In my last cottage bedroom update, the ceiling was painted and the walls were primed and waiting for me to choose a white. Which I finally did – Benjamin Moore OC-117 Simply White. I thought choosing the colour was going to be the hardest part. Wrong-o. I don’t know if it was a problem with the paint or the primer or the fact that I was painting paneling, but in the end two walls have a coat of primer and five coats of paint, and two walls have a coat of primer and six coats of paint. Yes. SIX. Absolutely insane. By the fourth coat, I was ready to pack it in. But I kept going, and after picking up another gallon of paint, finally finished painting the walls this weekend. What used to look like this…

Now looks like this!

Whew! Sooooooooo happy that’s finished!

Once the walls were done, I moved the painting job outside Here are the original bedroom door and the bathroom door waiting to be painted…

I used BM Simply White and FAT Paint Indigo on the bedroom door. I’ll wax the door next weekend to give it some sheen and a durable finish. The paint is still wet in the first picture.

I went to Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store in Ogdensburg last week to pick up some nautical fabrics. But that plan went out the window when I saw a beautiful green & blue & white paisley. I found two pretty fabrics that coordinate nicely with it, and fun green pompom trim :-)

The paisley fabric is for a window treatment, and the turquoise & white fabric is for curtains to hide the area above the storage shelf. The navy & white fabric was going to be for cushions, but I have a new plan for it now. You’ll see what in the next makeover update :-)

And finally, I bought a piece of live edge maple burl for a floating shelf between the beds. There’s a baseboard heater right where the night table would go, so I’m going to use the floating shelf instead.

Can I just say one more time that I’m soooooooooo happy I’m finally done painting the room! On the agenda for next weekend – a DIY project, painting some furniture, and hanging artwork.

Some cottage bedroom pretty

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 14:27:00 +0000

So I went for a haircut yesterday. As the hairdresser was cutting my hair, she asked me, “Have you been painting?” Yep, got paint in my hair and it still hasn’t washed out a few days later! Oh well, that’s how I roll.

So far, cottage bedroom makeover update #1 and update #2 haven’t been very glamourous. So today, I thought I’d share some of the pretty that will be going into the room.

I want to put a swing arm wall lamp above each bed. I found this one at Bellacor – it’s a plug-in with the switch right on the lamp, which is exactly what I was looking for. I really like the brushed brass finish, and the price was right too – on sale four about $60.

I really can’t spend a lot on the bedroom, and I’m trying to re-use & re-purpose as much as possible. But I don’t have any suitable bedding for twin beds – which were originally the bunk bed that my brother and I slept in when we were kids. I popped into Target a couple of weeks ago and found this comforter set that’s blue and cheap – sold!

My mom’s old night table that I made over a few weeks ago will go between the beds.

This weekend, I hope to start working on the two dressers that I bought from Kijiji. I’ve pretty much decided how to make over one of them, still thinking about the other one. These are some inspiration pieces…

As I’ve mentioned on my blog many times, I love original art and supporting artists. I discovered the work of Derriere Les Bois at the New Art Festival this past June. They had sold their only sailboat piece, but they said they take custom orders and would make one for me. Yay! Isn’t this cool?

I have a lot of other coastal-themed artwork that didn’t make it onto my gallery wall at home. So those pieces will go up in the bedroom as well.

OK, this isn’t exactly glamourous, but galvanized boat cleats are the perfect solution to a problem I’ve been trying to solve for years. At $2.00 a pop from iboats.com, really can’t go wrong!

And after whole lot of waffling and debating. I’ve narrowed down my white choices to two – Benjamin Moore Simply White or Cloud White. Turns out that Paper Mache is more yellow than I thought (thanks Lindsay for the feedback!)

Yes, they look almost identical. Yes, I’m way over-thinking this!

Cottage bedroom makeover: Update #2

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 15:56:00 +0000

We didn’t get much done on the cottage bedroom two weekends ago with family get togethers on both Saturday and Sunday. But we made up for lost time this past weekend :-) The fact that it rained pretty much all day Monday certainly helped – if you can’t play outside, may as well work inside!

If you remember my first update, the cottage bedroom was stripped down to the studs. It occurs to me now that I didn’t take any good “before” pics of the addition. You can see a bit of it on the right of this picture:

Hubby drywalled the bottom of the storage shelf and the ceiling in the addition last week, and he finished paneling all the walls on Sunday. Yay, it finally looks like a room again! A very messy room, but it’s all part of the process :-)

I primed the paneling and drywall on Sunday and Monday, and painted the first coat of blue on the bottom of the storage shelf and the ceiling in the addition.

Now I REALLY need to decide on a white, because painting the walls is on the agenda for next weekend. I keep going back to Benjamin Moore’s Paper Mache in the Aura collection.

Lindsay at Little House Blog used Paper Mache on the crown moulding on her Adele kitchen cabinets from Ikea. You can see that the colour is a bit creamier than the white ceiling.

Another example of Adele cabinets with Paper Mache crown moulding from Danks & Honey. You can see the difference between the creamy white of the cabinets and the white trim.

I have until Saturday to decide – choosing a white really shouldn’t be so hard! Do you have Ikea’s Adele cabinets? Have you used BM Paper Mache? If yes, please let me know what you think of the colour.

Night table makeover: Who says blue & green must never be seen?

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 13:04:00 +0000

Not me! I love blue & green together! Especially bright green with turquoise. While the paint on the bedroom ceiling was drying last weekend, I worked on a smaller and much easier project. This side table has been at the cottage forever – probably since the mid 1950s when the cottage was built.

It was only after I’d painted it that my dad mentioned that my grandparents had the night table and a matching dresser custom made for my mom when she was a little girl. I had a sudden feeling of guilt over painting it, but my dad said not to worry, he loves the new look. Whew!

This was a super-fast and easy makeover. The night table is in perfect shape and only needed a quick cleaning with a damp cloth to remove some dirt and cobwebs. A couple of years ago, I accidentally discovered that sanding brass with a fine grit sandpaper is a great way to get rid of the tarnish and gives a beautiful brushed metal finish. So with a little bit of elbow grease, the drawer pull went from this:

…to this in about 5 minutes:

Painting the table was almost as fast and easy! No need to prime because I used chalk paint. I painted the shelf and drawer front Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Provence, and the rest of the table FAT Paint Apple.

I cannot begin to tell you how perfect these two colours are together. Obviously whoever said that blue & green must never be seen never ate an Apple in Provence! ;-)

After one coat…

Two coats of paint and a coat of clear wax later, and this is the final result :-)

The brass pull stands out so nicely against the turquoise.

I think my mom would approve :-)

I bought two dressers off Kijiji for the cottage bedroom as well. I’m going to try out some other colours from FAT Paint – gotta support my friend and former blog buddy Victoria :-)

Sharing with Inspire Me Monday

Cottage bedroom makeover: Update #1

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 19:17:00 +0000

I should have mentioned in my previous post about the cottage bedroom makeover that the whole reason for the makeover is because last fall, hubby added a 4’ extension to the back of our cottage. The extra space is amazing, but there’s a lot of inside work to do. So I figured now is the time to make some drastic changes, seeing as this bedroom has been the same since the mid 1950s.

These are sort-of before pics – before the painting, but after the extension went on and the addition of the storage platform above the bed.

View from the doorway

View from the extension

This past weekend was the worst part of the makeover – priming and painting the ceiling. Half the job involved painting in the most awkward position ever – lying on my back 2 feet from the ceiling. It’s very discombobulating to paint upside down!

Such a glamourous shot of my feet ;-)

And it was hot up there too – whoever said that hot air rises was right! ;-) Amazingly, I managed to get all the priming & painting done without dripping any paint into my eyes. My shoe didn’t fare quite as well…

Very impressed with how well the Zinsser All Surface Primer adhered to the paneling and varnished beams.

After two coats of paint…

I wish I knew what colour this is, but I really have no idea! I have 1-1/2 gallons of a mystery blue paint in the basement that I decided to use to save some money. It’s pretty close to PARA Paints In The Loop:

Next weekend, hubby will be hanging drywall on the ceiling in the extension and paneling the walls. Then I get to do more priming and painting – YAY ME! ;-) But at least the hard part is done :-) The walls are going to be white. Which white? Well, that’s a harder choice than you’d think. White is white, right? Weeeeeelllllllll, not so much…

Image via Home Decor – A blog by Quality Bath

I’ve never actually painted a whole room white, but I really like the white that I used on the trim in our master bathroom, PARA Paints Jo Jo Whitewash.

But not being a white expert, I put out the question to some designer friends – what’s you’re favourite white? The three most popular choices were Benjamin Moore’s Simply White, Chantilly Lace, and Oxford White.

At least the choice is already narrowed down to just four :-) Have you ever painted a room white? Do you have a favourite go-to white?

Cottage bedroom makeover

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 15:00:00 +0000

Some inspiration pictures for the cottage bedroom makeover than I’m starting this weekend…

Image via Chic Coastal Living

Image via Pinterest

Image via Better Home and Garden

Image via clark|pharm

Blue crab by Laura Trevey

Image via Pottery Barn Kids

Not sure how I’m going to pull myself away from the lake to go inside and paint, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do!

Before and after pics coming soon….

New bathroom build

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 19:09:00 +0000

So no sooner has one bathroom renovation ended, and we’re on to…. another bathroom renovation! Well, this one isn’t so much a renovation as a build – we’re adding a bathroom in the basement as part of our basement reno. It’s just going to be a small room with the basics – vanity, corner shower, toilet.

This was quite possibly the fastest and easiest decision making process ever. I love the backsplash tiles and countertop that I’m using in another bathroom project, so I decided why not use them in our bathroom too!

The backsplash tiles are Avenue Mosaic Ripple and will be installed vertically from the top of the vanity right up to the ceiling,

The countertop is this super-cool solid surface by Affinity. The colour is called Celestial Azure – it’s a beautiful turquoise with tiny silver shimmery flecks.

There are sooooooooooooo many funky floor tile options out there, but I decided to go with something subtle(ish) so as not to compete with the backsplash & countertop. Savoia Silk Silver porcelain tiles fit the bill perfectly.

This is how they look together in the sun on my back patio :-)

We’re going to design and build a floating vanity, similar to this vanity that I helped design for a friend’s bathroom makeover.

We’ll re-use the toilet and the faucet & sink from our pre-reno master bathroom to save money. Plus that means less stuff going to the landfill, which is always a good thing :-)

I haven’t decided on a wall colour yet, but I’m thinking PARA Paints Preque’Ile Point. It’s a soft greeny-grey that goes really well with the backsplash tiles.

And there it is, our soon-to-be new bathroom. Hubby has been hard at work jack hammering concrete and moving pipes and framing out walls and basically turning the house into a big dust fest ;-) I’ll post progress pics as soon as there’s progress to show you :-)

Master bathroom renovation reveal

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 14:21:00 +0000

Wow, was it really two years ago that I excitedly announced that we were FINALLY renovating our master bathroom? Yep, it really was! Looking back at my first blog post about the project, it’s interesting to see what we had envisioned for the room, and how it actually turned out. If you can remember that far back, this bathroom from Sarah 101 was my inspiration:

Things I love about this bathroom…. the tiles, the niche in the wall, the colour scheme, the overall watery look & feel.

So that was the starting point. We literally tore out everything right down to the studs, except the ceiling.

Hubby moved & added electrical for the two chandeliers and the vanity sconces and repositioned all the plumbing for the new layout.

Before the reveal, I must send a HUGE thank you once again to Brizo for providing the faucets. They gave me free rein to choose whatever faucets I wanted, and it was an easy choice: the beautiful Virage. The shape reminds me of a curling wave.

FYI, body jets are a must!

And another huge thank you to PARA Paints. I was on the PARA Paints Blog Crew when we started the makeover, so PARA provided all the paint. I chose P5207-34 Tribeca Square for the ceiling, P5206-24 Peaks & Valleys for the walls, and PF17 JoJo Whitewash for the trim. Thank you PARA!

I couldn't find quite the right grey for the vanity in my PARA deck, so I chose a grey from another company and had it colour-matched to PARA’s ULTRA Cabinet and Furniture paint. Hubby and I designed the vanity, and he built it (which added a few months to the timeline!) The countertop is Super White Quartzite, which turned out to be a much softer stone than we expected. If you’re considering using Super White Quartzite, reading this discussion is a must.

Blue candles, glass fishing floats, and beautiful pottery made by an artist in Cape Breton are the perfect coastal accents.

The chandeliers and sconces have crystals that look like water drops.

The white shower tiles have a wave-like motif, and the small blue glossy mosaic tiles look like glistening water.

I am so in love with the big gorgeous painting that Andrada Anghel created for me. You can read more about it here.

And how did the room turn out? Pretty fantabulous if I do say so myself! Here are the before & after shots of each corner of the room. The icky brass shower is gone…

…, replaced with a wall-hung toilet tucked into the corner that’s hardly noticeable when you walk into the room.

Bye-bye bidet…

…hello custom-made vanity!

We did update the original vanity about eight years ago – here’s how it looked originally…

…and now replaced with my dream shower, complete with body jets and NO sill to stub my toes on! :-)

The new tub is in the same spot as the old tub…

…but this one doesn’t take up 1/4 of the entire room. And the controls are right on the tub, not on the wall 10 feet away!

View from the doorway.

I even found a TP holder and a towel bar with crystals that match the chandeliers!I’m just waiting for the roman blind to be made and installed, and then we can call this room 100% finished!

In the end, our bathroom really doesn’t look anything at all like the inspiration bathroom. But isn’t that what inspiration is all about – taking something that you love and putting your own spin on it.

So now that the master bathroom reno is done, what’s next on the agenda? Why, another bathroom, of course! Actually, we’re renovating the entire basement, including the addition of a new bathroom. Fun times! ;-)

Sharing with Inspire Me Monday

If you’d like to read about the entire reno process, here are all the blog posts…

Woot! It’s master bathroom makeover time!
Rub-a-dub-dub, we bought a new tub!
Bathrooms on the brain
When is white not white?
Fit to be tiled
Bathroom tiles: The final verdict
A bump in the bathroom makeover road
My dream has a beautiful Brizo twist!
The final tile verdict
This or That: Shower bench
This or That: Bathroom vanity lighting
This or That x 6: Floor tile layout
This or That: Horizontal vs vertical
This or That: Mirror mirror on the wall
This or That: Vanity backsplash
The bathroom renovation roundup
Bump in the bathroom reno road
The shower tile dilemma solved!
Master bathroom reno progress
Kelly’s Seashore: Commissioned painting by Andrada Anghel

The WillPower Project

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 18:26:00 +0000

A few months ago, I started working on a very special decorating project with two friends and fellow decorators, Sarah Kidder of Sarah Kidder Design and Candace Plotz of Candace Plotz Design. Along with Daniel Smith, owner of Right Angle Renovations and Strokes of Genius Painting, we’ve formed The WillPower Team to do a charity makeover for a family here in the Ottawa area.

Sarah, Candace, and I wanted to do a makeover for a young child with cancer or another life threatening illness. We found out about six year old William Greer through a friend of mine who’s battling cancer herself. The three of us met with Dan for sushi one night in February, and The WillPower Project was born!

William suffers from an inoperable non-cancerous tumour on his brain stem. He’s had multiple surgeries to insert a shunt in his skull, and he’s now undergoing chemo treatments once a week in an effort to stop the tumour from growing. Needless to say, William’s health condition and ongoing medical care are tough on William and his family.

We originally planned to give William’s bedroom a makeover. But when we asked his mom Lindsay what room she’d like to have done, she asked if we could do the basement. We loved her idea, because the basement is a room the whole family can enjoy. And it’s actually in good shape – no demo required, the drywall is all done, and the Greers have already bought and started installing laminate flooring.

I don’t want to give too much away in case Lindsay or William’s grandma Bev read this blog post :-) But I can show you a few teasers…

These are some of our inspiration pictures.

Contemporary Kids by Brooklyn Architects & Designers CWB Architects

Image via Rabbit Runn Designs

Eclectic Basement by Frankfort Home Builders Gander Builders

Contemporary Kids by San Francisco Interior Designers & Decorators Lizette Marie Interior Design

We’ve had such an amazing response to our requests for donations – so far, we’ve raised over $6,400 and we have lots of great companies onboard providing products and services.

Sebo Woodwork is creating custom cabinetry for four areas of the basement.

PARA Paints is donating all the paint – have I mentioned lately that PARA Paints rocks?!

Tonic Living in Toronto has donated all the fabrics for our project. These are two of my favourites. I can’t tell you what this is because it’s a super-special secret project, but we’re thrilled with how it’s coming together :-)

Custom Home Interiors is donating two fun pieces of furniture that will be perfect in the play area.

Thanks to Euro Tile & Stone in Ottawa and AFC Surfaces Inc. in Stoney Creek, we’ve got two big surprises in store for the Greers!

Neo Vintage Furniture Inc. in Cornwall has donated some fun accessories that the kids will love :-)

Montreal artist Andrada Anghel is creating a painting especially for the Greers :-)

And yes, another top-secret project being done by Rodrigues Upholstery here in Ottawa.

Randall’s has donated five throw cushions that match our colour scheme perfectly :-)

Lilipad Creative will be taking “after” photographs of the basement makeover and doing a special family photo session.
Thank you to Karma Creative Solutions, Our Homes, and Coyle Publishing for supporting us and helping us to spread the word about our project.

And thank you to The Ottawa Citizen, Metro & Metroland Media, and Daytime Ottawa on Rogers TV for sharing The WillPower Project with your readers & viewers.

We’re aiming for the big reveal on June 27th. There’s still a lot of work between now and then, but I’m sure we can do it! If you’d like to follow our progress, check out our blog and Facebook page.

Liberate Your Art 2014 Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 16:52:00 +0000

You know how when you check your mailbox and all you find in it are bills and menus for the local pizza joint and a Weed Man brochure, you feel kinda gypped? Well, over the last few weeks, checking the mailbox has been way more fun than usual – every now and then, there’s been a wonderful little surprise waiting there for me :-)

After doing what I do best last year (procrastinating), this year I made sure to participate in Kat Sloma’s Liberate Your Art postcard swap. People from all around the world turn their art into postcards and send five of them to Kat. Then Kat and her trusty assistants send six postcards to every single participant. I hope they had self-adhesive stamps!

These are the postcards that I received (click the image to go to the artist’s web site)…

Midwest U.S.A.
Audrey Staples

Shadow Lilies
Marjorie Kinch

Aspen trees, Lake Tahoe
Shirina

Divine Magic
Suzanne Jordan Villella

A Case Of You
Marguerite Bryant

Layered Autumn
Kat Sloma

It’s interesting that four of the six postcards I received are nature-themed. And they all came from artists in the U.S.A.

Six of my paintings in postcard form were liberated out into the world. I wonder where their journeys ended….

Thank you Kat for creating a great way to share the art love! Looking forward to Liberate Your Art 2015 :-)

An InLinkz Link-up

Bulkhead befuddlement

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Sun, 13 Apr 2014 16:53:00 +0000

Yeah, I really did say befuddlement – that’s because I’m befuddled! Our next renovation project is the basement. It’s kinda sorta finished. The walls are drywalled and painted (although the wall colour is going to change). The floor is done (although we’re ripping up the laminate and replacing it with cork). And the ceiling needs to be completely done.

The thing about basement ceilings is that there’s usually a lot going on between the joists. Plumbing pipes, ductwork, I beams… all the things you want to hide. And hiding them requires bulkheads. And that brings me to my befuddlement – how to paint the bulkheads. I originally planned to paint them the same colour as the walls.

Contemporary Basement by Ottawa Design-Build Firms Just Basements

Or maybe they should be painted white, like the ceiling.

Modern Kitchen by Seattle General Contractors The Alhadeff Group

Contemporary Kitchen by Naples Architects & Designers Weber Design Group, Inc.

Or maybe a combination of both?

Contemporary Basement by Cambridge Architects & Designers LDa Architecture & Interiors

But then I found this – what about cladding them in wood veneer…

Modern Kitchen by Austin Architects & Designers Tom Hurt Architecture

Do you see my befuddlement?! Which option would you choose?

A bit of this and that

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 20:24:00 +0000

Thanks for all the kinds words about Squirt. I miss her a lot, and I know this summer is going to be hard without my swimming buddy at the cottage. Everyone is going to ask where the “chien du lac” is. She won’t be with me in the water, but she’ll always be wit me in my heart…

On a brighter note, I’ve got some really exciting projects to share with you – two huge basement makeovers, and our master bathroom reno is FINALLY finished! Here’s a little teaser sneak peek…

Also, I’ve been going paint crazy! I’m loving the new technique that I tried out…

Sparkly Waters

Molten Rainbow

Purple Flow

And this colourful one that I just finished today…

Rainbow Explosion

Happy weekend!

Good-bye Squirt

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 15:39:00 +0000

We had Squirt put to sleep :-( The tumour in her neck didn’t get any smaller on the increased dose of Prednisone, and she was having trouble breathing and couldn’t stand up. We couldn’t let her go on like that, so we made an appointment with the vet at 2:00 on March 1st. Before we brought her to the clinic, we gave her a bunch of meatballs and her favourite doggie treats. And lots of pats & hugs & kisses too. It was extremely sad and heartbreaking, but it was also a relief when she was no longer struggling to breathe and she was at peace. Love you and miss you always, Squirtsy…

Squirt at sunset in Maine, September 2011

Squirt in the surf

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 17:09:00 +0000

It’s been a rough few days here – our Black Lab Squirt was diagnosed with cancer at the end of January, and took a turn for the worse on Wednesday. Up till then, she was happy and comfortable and showed no signs of being in any pain or discomfort. Now, she can’t even stand up :-( I hate seeing her in distress, and I know we’re going to have to make the decision that all pet owners dread in the next day or two.

Back in August 2010, hubby and I took Squirt and Jackson on a trip to Nova Scotia. We went with some flyball friends and all their dogs – there were 20 dogs between us all! We took the dogs to the beach every day and played with them in the ocean. It was an awesome week, and this is how I’m always going to remember Squirt – having the time of her life in the ocean surf. Here are some of my favourite pictures from that week…

Squirt and Jackson… splish-splash!

Squirt getting nailed by a big wave – hehehehehe!

Sticks are fun!

Don’t make me share…

Well then, I’ll just get two of my own…

A couple of big shakes…

…and a roll in the sand…

That was fun!

Cancer might take Squirt away from us, but nothing will take away our love for her and our happy memories of our almost-11 years together.

Give your pet an extra-big hug & kiss today.

Sorry, butt I just couldn’t help myself

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 17:23:00 +0000

In honour of Valentine’s Day, I was going to write a sentimental blog post about hearts. But then I came across a picture that totally changed the direction I was going in. So now, my friends, I give you… heart butts :-) Because that’s just how I roll…

Image via Small Dogs Rock

Image via MyCorgi.com

Image via Twinkie Tiny Dog

Olive’s butt (9 week old tri color corgi)
Follow Olive & Tabasco at www.corgiadventure.tumblr.com and www.instagram.com/corgiadventure" src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/e21eae6b4b4e4e8cf43d7ee562a51428/tumblr_myn0biF1Yw1qbwakso1_500.jpg">
Images via OCD: Obsessive Corgi DIsorder

Image via (Wild) Rice for all Seasons

Image via 2 Guys, 2 Dogs, and lots of Food

Image via Cute Overload

Image via DogForums.com

Image via Molly Montana’s Blog

Happy Valentine’s Day!

♥

The painting bug is back!

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 17:25:00 +0000

It’s been a while since I posted pictures of my art. Between our foster puppies and not feeling inspired, I just wasn’t in the mood to get my paint on. I did have a moment of inspiration back in September, though – this amazing sunset at Cap Rouge on Cape Breton.

I knew right away how I wanted to capture it in a painting. And this is how it turned out:

“Cap Rouge Sunset”

I’ve changed up the gallery wall in our hallway, and this baby is now a part of it :-) Pics of that project coming soon!

Then there’s this painting that had been sitting on a shelf half-done for months because I just wasn’t feeling it. I bought some new foil and decided to try it out on this painting, seeing as I figured if it didn’t work out, no great loss. And I liked it! I added some sparkly crystals to it, and voila…

“Be Dazzled “

And I just finished this painting on the weekend. I tried something new, and to be honest, I was really surprised that it worked!

“Molten Metallics”

I guess the painting bug is back, because now I have five more paintings in the go :-) One of them is using my new technique, and it’s looking pretty cool so far. I just hope I don’t mess it up! But like Bob Ross says, we don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents :-)

The dog days of winter

noreply@blogger.com (K&B by the Sea) — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:14:00 +0000

It’s been a while since I shared our foster dogs with you. And I also don’t think I told you that we added a new dog to our crew! We officially adopted our foster Gizmo last August :-) There really wasn’t much choice, hubby and Gizmo obviously have a little somethin’ somethin’ goin’ on ;-)

I call Jackson and Gizmo our Brothers From Another Mother ;-) Here they are celebrating their birthdays in style :-)

Our foster puppies Cane and Chloe were adopted in September, and they’re both in great new forever homes :-) Cane and his new mom stopped by for a visit last week – our cute little boy is growing up to be a very handsome dude :-)

Chloe loves to hold paws with her big sister :-)

Wally stayed with us for a few days in October till he hitched a ride to his foster home near Toronto.

And then we had two fosters arrive in mid-October, Jazzy…

…and Boo…

Jazzy was adopted after just two weeks, and then a few weeks later Sparkles arrived.

Boo was adopted in mid-December, and the same day that he went to his new forever home, Henry the honourary Catahoula arrived!

Sparkles went to her forever home a couple of weeks ago, and Henry will be going to his forever home this coming weekend. And then hubby and I are planning to take a break from fostering for a bit! But I have a feeling that isn’t going to happen, because there are always dogs that need to be saved, and I just can’t not help! So I’m sure I’ll have another foster to show you soon… stay tuned!