visual meringue

Oh baby! Modern Classic Nursery Plans

2017-01-20T10:17:00.002-08:00

I've been keeping a little secret. A secret that grows bigger and bigger every day. That's right - we're expecting! I wasn't keeping it under wraps on purpose, just that the days and the weeks have gone by and when I've blogged it's been about Chace's bedroom makeover. It just hasn't come up - until now!

Here is what I have in mind to make a serene little oasis for our newest addition, arriving in April. Oh, and it's ANOTHER boy! :)

This baby will be taking over our guest room. Those who have been folllowing for awhile may recall that I redid it last Spring in anticipation of our guests from England arriving.

My vision for the nursery was to keep it fresh, light, airy and have touches of 'boy'. Nothing too serious but nothing overly babyish either. Just a nice calm space that could grow with our little guy.

I plan on reusing quite a lot of elements from this room so all that work on the guest room was not for not! I'll explain more in detail below as I walk you through the mood board.

1) The Cabana stripe drapes (which I love) will be staying.

2) We will be keeping the light fixture that we installed when we updated the guest room (similar to this one here).

3) This art melts my heart. It is so quirky, cute and adorable and I just can't get enough of it. I plan on choosing three or so animals (that giraffe is my fave) and using them around the room.

4) We will be reusing Chace's crib which is very similar to the one pictured.

5) The two dressers used in the guest room (originally used in Chace's nursery) are from the MALM series sold at Ikea. Since there is a recall on them, we plan to return them and purchase this single dresser instead. It will double as a change table as well.

6) I plan on mixing and matching patterns (for exapmple, in the change pad cover) to add some texture, visual interest and layering to the nursery.

7) WAY back, I purchased a white wooden glider off Craigslist for Chace's nursery. It was $40! It didn't come with cushions so I purchased some at the time from Pier One. We didn't know we were having a boy so they were more colourful and floral then would suit this space. BUT, my friend borrowed the chair for her two boys that were born inbetween Chace and this little one and her mom made some adorable blue check pattern pillows for the chair during that time. Since she is almost done with it, the chair is coming home closer to the baby's due date and she's graciously alllowed me to use the cushions as well. That $40 chair sure was a good investment! It's gotten a lot of mileage!

8) For the change station I plan on using some little canvas baskets (similar to this style) to again, add more texture and interest.

9) The paint will stay the same as what we used for the guest room.

So, that's it! Some little plans for a little guy. Now we just need a name. Luckily we have about 13 more weeks to decide.

Oh, and here is a pic I posted on my Instagram three weeks back as we celebrated the start of 2017. Baby bumpin'!

TGIF everyone. Have a great weekend.

Oh baby! Modern Classic Nursery Plans

2017-01-20T10:17:00.001-08:00

This baby will be taking over our guest room. Those who have been folllowing for awhile may recall that I redid it last Spring in anticipation of our guests from England arriving.

TGIF everyone. Have a great weekend.

Creating a functional closet for a kid

2017-01-16T11:59:00.003-08:00

Chace's bedroom closet needed some SERIOUS help. When I embarked on his bedroom refresh it was high on my hit list.

After settling in and living here with what was present when we bought the house, the closet was looking like this:

This room used to belong to a teenage boy which I think would explain the organizational system? But, to my seven-year-old, this closet had many problems from a functional stand point.

1) The small shelves on the left were installed upside down. That meant there was a 'lip' in front so you had to slide things on and off the shelf from the side. Awkward.

2) The small angled shelves (probably meant for shoes) weren't useful. They didn't store toys or books well and Chace doesn't store his shoes in his room.

3) Chace could not reach the top shelf at all

4) The bar to hang clothes was too high for Chace so getting him to put his clothes away in this closet was literally impossible.

Now, we see a much more functional use of space.

My dad came to help and I snapped a few photos of him in action.

Thanks Dad!

My plan? To leave the existing top shelf where it was and store things that Chace didn't need to reach there. I also wanted to add two more shelves below it for his toys, as well as a low level hanging bar so that he could hang up his shirts himself.

ChefKev or I put Chace's clothes out for him the night before so that he can get dressed by himself in the morning. To make it a bit easier to keep organized, I put the long sleeved shirts on the right and the short sleeved ones on the left. And yes, I might have organized them by colour too #itsasickness.

This would be more indicative of Chace's view. The top shelf holds things Chace doesn't need to access by himself (old school projects, blankets and some of my paint supplies).

And there we have it. This kid's closet transformed from dysfunctional hot mess to organized oasis. That might be a stretch but it sounds good right?

And if you missed any, you can check out all the posts about Chace's bedroom refresh here: mood board, wallpaper and paint, loft bed refinishing, new desk.

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Creating a functional closet for a kid

2017-01-16T11:59:00.002-08:00

This room used to belong to a teenage boy which I think would explain the organizational system? But, to my seven-year-old, this closet had many problems from a functional stand point.

1) The small shelves on the left were installed upside down. That meant there was a 'lip' in front so you had to slide things on and off the shelf from the side. Awkward.

2) The small angled shelves (probably meant for shoes) weren't useful. They didn't store toys or books well and Chace doesn't store his shoes in his room.

3) Chace could not reach the top shelf at all

4) The bar to hang clothes was too high for Chace so getting him to put his clothes away in this closet was literally impossible.

Now, we see a much more functional use of space.

My dad came to help and I snapped a few photos of him in action.

Thanks Dad!

And there we have it. This kid's closet transformed from dysfunctional hot mess to organized oasis. That might be a stretch but it sounds good right?

And if you missed any, you can check out all the posts about Chace's bedroom refresh here: mood board, wallpaper and paint, loft bed refinishing, new desk.

Stay in touch and follow along...

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Doing your homework in style

2017-01-06T16:15:00.002-08:00

Chace's modern farmhouse bedroom redo is still coming along nicely and now, this kid can do his grade two homework in style! We recently added a new desk to his lair - a custom design from Ikea (yes, custom.... from Ikea) Isn't that an oxymoron? Not today folks.

If you're new to the game you may want to check out these previous posts in order to catch up on what's been going on in Chace's room so far: mood board, wallpaper and paint, loft bed refinishing.

When I started, the corner of his bedroom where the desk would go looked like this:

But now, it looks like this!

And don't worry, I fixed that nonsense going on in the closet but that's for another post.

To create the desk, I turned to Ikea and came up with a custom solution. YES - a custom solution from Ikea! To design this desk I used three components - the HILVER table top (which is bamboo), the ALEX drawer unit in grey and the LERBERG leg in grey as well.

I also chose the RASKOG stool because it was extremely cost effective ($29 - yes!) and the teal colour tied into the dresser and bedding.

I love the bamboo work surface and think the bevelled edge helps make the desk look higher end than it is. I'm impressed with the simplicity yet elegance of it.

The big wooden "CHACE" letters were a find at Michaels. Because I am cheap (well, on a tight budget anyway) I bought each one individually on different days so that I could use my weekly 40% or 50% off coupon. #thrifty.

The lamp is the RANARP lamp (also from Ikea) and is actually the same as the two we use in the office but in a different shade. I was going to get the black and gold one here but Chace was with me when shopping and really wanted this finish instead. #kidsgotanopinion

The round mirror in the corner actually started out as a very light minty green. I had purchased it as one of two options when doing our guest room, but ended up using the other mirror that was a contender there instead. I never returned this one as it was a great deal and I knew I'd use it somewhere eventually. It was perfect for this space but the colour wasn't ideal, so I sprayed it matte black with some leftover spray paint that I had on hand.

To top off the desk I corralled all of Chace's crayons and markers into some glass vases I had as well as come empty soup cans (sharp edges filed down and labels removed of course) and now my little man has a cool spot to do his drawing and homework... and puzzles.

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Doing your homework in style

2017-01-06T16:15:00.001-08:00

But now, it looks like this!

I also chose the RASKOG stool because it was extremely cost effective ($29 - yes!) and the teal colour tied into the dresser and bedding.

I love the bamboo work surface and think the bevelled edge helps make the desk look higher end than it is. I'm impressed with the simplicity yet elegance of it.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Stay in touch and follow along...

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Loft bed, meet chalk paint

2017-01-05T16:00:00.002-08:00

Happy New Year friends!

When I last left you in Chace's "modern farmhouse bedroom redo" we had the faux wood wallpaper installed and the walls painted. If you are new, you catch up on the vision for this space by reading about the mood board here.

However, before that I shared the hand me down loft bed that we inherited from a friend whose son had outgrown it.

Well, after the wallpaper, wall paint and two coats of chalk paint on the bed, this same view now looks like this!

Yay for progress! The paint I used was Annie Sloan Chalk Paint which in my experience, is the best chalk paint out there. I've used it before to refinish the teal dresser you see on the left and used a lesser quality brand (never again!) to refinish our dining room hutch.

For those not familiar with chalk paint, you can learn more about it here but basically it is an amazing paint that dries quickly, leaves virtually no brush marks, is VERY easy to work with (no sanding or stripping your furniture beforehand) and cleans up in a breeze. Also, the soft wax that you use over the paint as a finishing/curing step leaves your project with a subtle 'satin' finish that I really like.

image source

The colour I chose is called Graphite and is a nice charcoal grey.

Application was easy. I just used a regular paint brush (as seen sitting on the top of the can).

And here is how it looked after (almost) one coat.

I did two coats for a nice even finish and followed up with one coat of the finishing/curing soft wax.

You can probably tell by the swirl marks that you apply the wax in a circular motion (this type of brush really helps with this step) and then you go back over it and buff with a soft cloth to blend it in and remove the excess wax. It sounds a bit laborious but is really quite a quick and easy step. There are many video tutorials out there but here is a link to a popular one if you would like to see this process in action.

After that, it was done!

Another thing that we've added recently is the industrial cage light. This allows Chace to read in bed if he'd like! I still have to get a "cable hide" channel (a strip of plastic that sticks to the wall and cleans up the look of the dangling cord) but for some reason when I went for them, all the stores had them on back order. Weird.

Since we can't have a bedside table with this kind of bed, it was important to get a light that could be mounted on the wall AND had an on/off switch on the base.

I really like how it looks against the faux wood panelling.

The large circular button (centre bottom) turns the light on and off.

Now that Chace has a loft bed, he can lounge under it and read on his soccer bean bag chair. A much cooler location than the previous corner it resided in...

And finally, the endless stuffy stash now too has a home! I grabbed a slouchy laundry basket from Homesense (I just turn the "laundry" word to the back so it isn't seen) and that too lives under the loft bed.

We've done a few more things in here too which I plan to share soon. It's coming together!

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Loft bed, meet chalk paint

2017-01-05T16:00:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year friends!

Well, after the wallpaper, wall paint and two coats of chalk paint on the bed, this same view now looks like this!

image source

The colour I chose is called Graphite and is a nice charcoal grey.

Application was easy. I just used a regular paint brush (as seen sitting on the top of the can).

And here is how it looked after (almost) one coat.

I did two coats for a nice even finish and followed up with one coat of the finishing/curing soft wax.

After that, it was done!

Since we can't have a bedside table with this kind of bed, it was important to get a light that could be mounted on the wall AND had an on/off switch on the base.

I really like how it looks against the faux wood panelling.

The large circular button (centre bottom) turns the light on and off.

Now that Chace has a loft bed, he can lounge under it and read on his soccer bean bag chair. A much cooler location than the previous corner it resided in...

We've done a few more things in here too which I plan to share soon. It's coming together!

Stay in touch and follow along...

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Faux Wood Wallpaper

2016-11-15T15:00:00.001-08:00

Chace's bedroom makeover is coming along slowly but surely. Recently we completed a key element of his room - the faux wood wallpaper! If you are new to this discussion, feel free to get caught up here where I went over my vision for his room and shared all my ideas via the mood board below.

Today we are here to talk about the wallpaper though! I came across this amazing faux wood wallpaper from Lowes and thought it would be the perfect addition to the modern farmhouse room that I wanted to create for my little guy. I planned on flipping it on its side though #horizontalforthewin

But let's back up. Just before we started the wallpaper, the room looked like this - pretty much how it looked when we moved in over a year earlier (what!?) except for the addition of the loft bed which we inherited from some friends (their little guy had become a big guy and outgrown it). I have plans to paint the bed as well (is nothing safe around me) and you can get an idea of my vision in the mood board above.

Anyway, on to what the room looked like before...

Poor kid. If Pepto-Bismal was blue, it would be this shade. Enough said. We didn't paint it this colour (to state the obvious).

It's been fun watching the cute teal dresser (which looked so perfect in Chace's last room) clash with the Pepto-~~Bismal~~-Blue walls all year. And that closet organization... exactly, what closet organization? That 'system' was coming out too. It might have been fine for a teenager (the previous owners had teen boys) but it wasn't working for my seven-year-old. He couldn't reach the bar to hang his clothes up and the small side shelves were really awkward (and installed wrong). The 'lip' of the shelf pointed up so you had to slide things on and off the shelf via the right hand side only. Awkward.

So, fast forward to me roping my dad into helping. Here he is in action.

It was actually a group effort as it required my mom and I holding the paper up while my dad installed it horizontally. A bit tricky, but doable. After he had each strip up, we wiped out all the bubbles and excess water. We took our time and ensured that each strip stayed in place without slipping down the wall as we did each row. The end result was really smooth with nice tight seams.

Here it is complete! Next up was painting those blue walls. I removed all the outlet covers (and random shelves for 7' 5" giants (also not installed by us) and got to painting. The paint I used was a colour from Home Depot (chosen to coordinate with the light tones in the wallpaper) but I ended up using Dulux paint as they had a two for one promo running. Unfortunately I didn't get my paint chip back so I'm not sure of the exact shade name.

Here is a close up of the wallpaper. It looks out of focus and blurry but it actually isn't. The wallpaper is done that way on purpose to add depth. If you run your hand across the wallpaper it actually has texture too so looks quite realistic in person. You can see the seam below as well if you look closely (just below the bottom of the middle 'plank') but in person it is pretty much invisible.

The room feels a lot brighter now with the addition of the light paint. Ignore the bed in the middle of the room, it was next on my hit list (paint!) so we left it there so I could work on it.

Chace loves it, and Chef Kev and I are smitten as well. Belle (the dog) could care less. We never consult her anyway.

Next up is:
- painting the bed
- installing a reading light
- getting a desk and chair
- putting up curtains and a curtain rod
- making that closet work
- art and accessories
- update the overhead light fixture

Still a ways to go but coming together. I've actually done a few of the above items already and hopefully can post them up soon!

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Faux Wood Wallpaper

2016-11-15T15:00:00.000-08:00

Poor kid. If Pepto-Bismal was blue, it would be this shade. Enough said. We didn't paint it this colour (to state the obvious).

So, fast forward to me roping my dad into helping. Here he is in action.

The room feels a lot brighter now with the addition of the light paint. Ignore the bed in the middle of the room, it was next on my hit list (paint!) so we left it there so I could work on it.

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Modern Farmhouse Bedroom (with a seven-year-old boy twist)

2016-08-24T13:53:00.006-07:00

We've been in our house for just over a year now and my patient seven year old (is that even a thing?) is long overdue for a "cool room".

When I last showed you his room it looked like this (and still pretty much does). But I have a plan!

I wanted to give Chace an updated room that wasn't a) too grown up (he's only seven after all) b) too young (he's already seven after all) and reused some of the things we already had.

Influenced by the farmhouse craze my mind kept going there as a solution. I loved the masculine elements of that look but also really liked the flexibility it offered. So, I came up with a vision for how I could transform his room from "blah blue bore-ville" to "farmhouse fantasticness" (aka "a room almost as cool as Lego").

I will break down each element below and list my inspiration sources at the bottom of this post.

1) curtains and a dark curtain rod - I envision a nice white curtain and dark rod for a crisp, modern and clean look.

2) update light fixture - I love the look of this one. Not too 'trendy' but stylish enough to suit this look. I love the dark metal.

3) modern industrial reading light. This will go up on the wall above the loft bed so that Chace can read in bed if he likes. The on/off switch on this one is perfect since it's located on the light base. He won't have to get out of bed to turn it off.

4) I plan on planking the wall behind his bed with... wallpaper! Yes, this is wallpaper! I read some great reviews about it so am going to give it a try! I actually just received it a few days ago so stay tuned for how it turns out.

5) Loft bed! We received a hand-me-down loft bed a month or so ago (score!). It's already assembled but needs to be painted to match the vision I have. Stay tuned for that update soon too.

6) His existing bedding from his room at our old house (I think it's been discontinued though).

7) His existing dresser from his room at our old house.

8) Lego artwork - I plan to do something like this, but not quite. I love the idea of getting Chace involved in making art for his room though.

9a) Rustic, industrial modern wood shelves. I like shelves that don't take themselves too seriously and these ones look like they want transformers piled on them.

9b) A big canvas basket to hold rogue stuffies (awwwhhh)

10) A new desk chair. I think homework will be coming fast and furious soon!

11) A new desk. The inspiration is a combo of Ikea elements and I love the finished result.

12) A nice, light coat of paint

So, there we have it! I have been given approval to proceed from the client so now that I have the wood plank wallpaper in my hot little hands I am going to chose a wall colour that complements and begin painting. Then up goes the wall paper. I will keep you posted on the progress!

sources/inspiration: 1a / 1b / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9a / 9b / 10 / 11a / llb / 12

linking here

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Modern Farmhouse Bedroom (with a seven-year-old boy twist)

2016-08-24T13:53:00.005-07:00

I wanted to give Chace an updated room that wasn't a) too grown up (he's only seven after all) b) too young (he's already seven after all) and reused some of the things we already had.

Stay in touch and follow along...

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Canada Day drinks!

2016-06-28T09:01:00.004-07:00

Canada Day is this Friday! In honour of this special day I thought I would repost a fun Canada Day drink idea from a few years back. Enjoy! Have a great long weekend everyone!

- - - - -

This Sunday is Canada Day - which is quite appropriate given that I'm Canadian ;). ... So here's a little idea that you may enjoy tipping back as you tip your hat to this great country.

Now I don't think I need to point out the obvious, but you probably notice that this drink is layered in red and white - just like our amazing Canadian flag. How patriotic! And gorgeous. And tasty!

I can't take full credit for this idea though. This morning as I was feeding my little guy breakfast I had the 'Today Show' on in the background. Given that July 4th is coming up, they were doing a segment on entertaining ideas for the holiday. They featured an amazing layered red, white and blue drink. I thought, "hey, I want to try that" so I went to their site looking for some direction.

What I found was a section linking to favourite pinterest inspired July 4th ideas and I found the inspiration for the drink I saw - which led me to this site.

So, I got started.

What you will need for this is:
Ice
Sprite Zero
Cranberry Juice
Strawberries

First I filled my glasses about 1/3 full of ice.

Then I filled each cup about 1/3 full of cranberry juice.

Then I added a bit more ice and begain to layer. I poured in another third of Sprite Zero. The key to layering is to pour your second beverage DIRECTLY on to an ice cube so that it does not mix into the cranberry juice.

You can see the Sprite Zero hitting the ice cube above.

Here they all are with their second 'white' layers.

So then I went to add another layer of red cranberry juice.

FAIL! flopzilla. mixville.

I think what happened here is that the layers mixed because the sugar in my cranberry juice, was denser/heavier than the sugars in my pop. There is a note about drink sugars here. I thought I had covered my bases, but apparently not.

Oh well, on to plan B.

I cut up some strawberries and created a new red layer! They didn't sink down as I was careful when placing them and made sure they sat on top of the ice.

And when that was all said and done we had this!

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

I must admit, I drank the one that I messed up as I typed this post. Delicous!

I'll save the two pretty ones for Chef Kev and Chace :)

Have a wonderful and safe long weekend everyone. We're off to do some fun things around town and celebrate a good friends' birthday.

And probably drink a few more of these no doubt.

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Canada Day drinks!

2016-06-28T09:01:00.003-07:00

Then I filled each cup about 1/3 full of cranberry juice.

You can see the Sprite Zero hitting the ice cube above.

Here they all are with their second 'white' layers.

So then I went to add another layer of red cranberry juice.

And when that was all said and done we had this!

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Baby got back

2016-06-07T08:44:00.002-07:00

We recently tackled some updates in our back yard. I haven't shared this space much because - to be honest - until now there wasn't much to share! It was in a DIS-GUST-ING state. Let me show you.

But first, a little preamble. Our back yard is quite small. It is one of the compromises that we made when purchasing this house. There were so many other things that we loved about our house - the layout, the fact that it was a "2 story plus basement", the greenbelt that we back on to, the neighbourhood, the proximity to Chace's school etc. that we decided even though the yard was small, we could work with it.

We have big plans down the road to give it a complete makeover - new fence, designate 'zones' (dining, lounging etc) and a new deck to name a few. We haven't finalized that plan yet but when we do, I will share. We envision a true entertaining paradise. It's a future project so for now our goal was to just clean it up and be able to use it.

A little disclaimer - we are not slobs so you can't judge based on these 'before' pictures (please don't). When we moved in last summer we didn't tackle the yard at all because we were busy unpacking (and working). The photos are a result of past gardening ~~mistakes~~, ~~follies~~, ~~crazy people~~, neglect, a very rainy and windy Autumn and Winter (although I did clean up all the leaves during that time) and the fact that (did I mention) we back onto a greenbelt. The greenbelt Gods laugh as they rain sticks and debris down into the garden (true story, I've heard them).

But finally, we got our hands on it for the first time back in early/mid April. And it's looking much less insane now. We even managed to rope my parents in to helping which was a HUGE help (thanks Mom and Dad!)

BEFORE (yuck). The view looking down from the upper deck. The deck is off our kitchen which is on our main level. The property slopes though from the front to the back so the deck is about half a level off the ground.

And AFTER.

I should mention at this point, my love for black mulch. After cleaning up all the garden beds, we topped them up with topsoil, did a bit of planting and gave everything a layer of black mulch. I am obsessed with it.

You may have seen this photo if you follow me on Instagram...

BEFORE (seriously?) A very flattering shot of our skinny upper deck. There are stairs that go down to ground level off each end.

AFTER: Chefkev got his power washing hands on it. He power washed #ERRYTHING by the way. He showed the concrete, the shed, both decks, the deck rails and even the patio furniture who was BOSS. He was a man on a mission!

BEFORE (stop!). Looking down the stairs at the oddest (yet still very functional) deck ever built.

AFTER: All cleaned up. Along the fence I used one of the big black planters that we had from our last place (see them in action here and here). Inside I planted Crocosmia which apparently will look a bit like a 'birds of paradise' flower when it blooms. I can't wait to see that!

BEFORE (sigh, it gets worse before it gets better). The weird little space between the deck and fence.

AFTER: filling in that space with some pachysandra (a nice ground cover). Those little shrubs will fill in this space over time.

BEFORE (avert your eyes!). Looking off the deck across the back yard.

AFTER: just better all around right?

BEFORE (gak!). The weird garden bed I lovingly call 'the trough'. "sooey!"

AFTER: all cleaned up and ready to go to pasture.

I'll note here that aside from a ~~little~~ lot of of elbow grease, we didn't invest much in this space. We did buy the top soil and black mulch as mentioned, and a few plants (which I will mention where relevant). But that was pretty much it. As a result, some areas remain empty (like above) but that's okay for now. It will come in time. The hostas and ground cover above were already there from previous owners.

BEFORE (ouch). Looking off the deck towards the fence.

Okay, so here is where things get weird. See that plywood board? Well, under that was a pond insert. Or a water feature insert. I'm not sure. It was not hooked up and was literally a big plastic tub. So, so weird. And I didn't take a picture of it (WHY!? THE SHAME!). And it's long gone now. But trust me. It was weird. And stinky. So, out it came. And see all those rocks? They got used too, in a new and different way (to come). You can see a sneak peek below.

AFTER.

BEFORE (all the ugly). Across the yard, looking back towards the deck.

Man. This is the ~~worst~~ best one. I think my favourite part is the piece of damp cardboard that was left over from a spray paint project and then got blown there by the wind. It adds a nice designer touch don't you think? And that red 'egg' is a dog toy in case that had you stumped.

AFTER: thank you.

BEFORE (make it stop!) I don't really have much to say here.

AFTER. We could only go up from there right?

BEFORE (yup, it gets uglier). The other set of stairs leading up to the deck.

AFTER: Cleaner and safer. The stairs were SO slippery before they were power washed.

BEFORE (in all it's slimy grossness). The upper deck from the other angle.

AFTER: Much more inviting.

BEFORE (blech - that auto corrected to "belch" which actually might be just as relevant here). A close up of the upper deck railings and surface (where it wraps over the edge).

AFTER. No belching required.

BEFORE (I think I might be crying). The trough from the other side.

AFTER: Much better. Pulling weeds (and rocks) and adding black mulch sure does make everything better.

BEFORE (sinister music). The shed. Looking mighty creepy in all its side-sludge glory.

AFTER. Now no horror movies can be filmed here.

BEFORE (feast your eyes on this). Here is another crazy wrong that we righted. It's a bit hard to see but the section far right had a wooden border. It was actually a wooden (3 sided) box. That angled piece on top was nailed down (to hold the corner together?) Or perhaps to rest that little wire planter on it? I have no idea. You can see the third 'side' running down the middle of the garden towards the back. I am guessing maybe they had a herb or vegetable garden here (or the idea for one)? Regardless, it was empty when we moved in.

To the right of that we had a few feet of the stone border. Which was weird because it didn't even go to the end. So, we ripped it all out and just made ONE nice garden bed. That was my dad's idea and it looks so. much. better.

AFTER: yay!

BEFORE (sad face). Moving down the same strip of garden bed toward the deck.

AFTER: All cleaned up (with nowhere to go). But at least now it looks good!

BEFORE (are you bored yet?) Check out that amazing deck finishing. What the heck were we supposed to do here for zero dollars to make it look better? We didn't want to put any money into finishing it off better as this is not a permanent solution. Oh, and don't forget to spot the plywood piece that hid the stinky tub far right.

AFTER: Ta da! My favourite part of yard now. My dad took the old stones that were there and made a little 'platform' on the ground. It was quite the puzzle. On top of that I used my other black planter and planted Crocosmia in there as well. We used the remainder of the old stones and stacked them on each side of the planter - effectively closing up that gaping hole on the right side of the stairs.

To clean the stairs up I got rid of all the random pieces of decking, Chefkev did his power washing 'thang' and I filled in the messy void under the stairs with some black mulch.

Here are a few closer looks at what we did with the stones and planter to clean up that area in front of the deck.

BEFORE (will it ever end?). Smelly, dirty board.

AFTER: Still dirty. But in a good way!

BEFORE (ugh). The big pile of rocks. That was fun.

AFTER: To fill the void left by the rocks we planted angelina (no, not the one you are thinking of), voodoo and black mondo grass (great band name).

BEFORE (last one!) Looking down towards the lower deck from the upper deck.

AFTER: Now there's a space that calls my name. "Come and have a cold bevy on me Elaine!"

And who am I to turn down a talking deck?

I grabbed some citronella candles at Home Depot this past weekend too. The yellow roses are from our garden. We inherited the rose bush when we moved in and had no idea what colour they were until it bloomed. It was badly pruned in the past so I actually had to cut it back quite severely as it was pretty much falling over, but before I did, I clipped the two blooms it had.

It's amazing what a small budget and a ~~lot~~ little elbow grease can achieve. Our backyard may be small, but now she is mighty too!

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Baby got back

2016-06-07T08:44:00.001-07:00

And AFTER.

BEFORE (seriously?) A very flattering shot of our skinny upper deck. There are stairs that go down to ground level off each end.

BEFORE (stop!). Looking down the stairs at the oddest (yet still very functional) deck ever built.

BEFORE (sigh, it gets worse before it gets better). The weird little space between the deck and fence.

AFTER: filling in that space with some pachysandra (a nice ground cover). Those little shrubs will fill in this space over time.

BEFORE (avert your eyes!). Looking off the deck across the back yard.

AFTER: just better all around right?

BEFORE (gak!). The weird garden bed I lovingly call 'the trough'. "sooey!"

AFTER: all cleaned up and ready to go to pasture.

BEFORE (ouch). Looking off the deck towards the fence.

BEFORE (all the ugly). Across the yard, looking back towards the deck.

BEFORE (make it stop!) I don't really have much to say here.

AFTER. We could only go up from there right?

BEFORE (yup, it gets uglier). The other set of stairs leading up to the deck.

AFTER: Cleaner and safer. The stairs were SO slippery before they were power washed.

BEFORE (in all it's slimy grossness). The upper deck from the other angle.

AFTER: Much more inviting.

BEFORE (blech - that auto corrected to "belch" which actually might be just as relevant here). A close up of the upper deck railings and surface (where it wraps over the edge).

AFTER. No belching required.

BEFORE (I think I might be crying). The trough from the other side.

AFTER: Much better. Pulling weeds (and rocks) and adding black mulch sure does make everything better.

BEFORE (sinister music). The shed. Looking mighty creepy in all its side-sludge glory.

AFTER. Now no horror movies can be filmed here.

AFTER: yay!

BEFORE (sad face). Moving down the same strip of garden bed toward the deck.

AFTER: All cleaned up (with nowhere to go). But at least now it looks good!

Here are a few closer looks at what we did with the stones and planter to clean up that area in front of the deck.

BEFORE (will it ever end?). Smelly, dirty board.

AFTER: Still dirty. But in a good way!

BEFORE (ugh). The big pile of rocks. That was fun.

AFTER: To fill the void left by the rocks we planted angelina (no, not the one you are thinking of), voodoo and black mondo grass (great band name).

BEFORE (last one!) Looking down towards the lower deck from the upper deck.

AFTER: Now there's a space that calls my name. "Come and have a cold bevy on me Elaine!"

And who am I to turn down a talking deck?

It's amazing what a small budget and a ~~lot~~ little elbow grease can achieve. Our backyard may be small, but now she is mighty too!

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Office / bonus room updates

2016-06-06T08:32:00.003-07:00

We've made a few small updates to the office / bonus room over the last while and I realized I hadn't really blogged about them, so this post is a bit of a mish-mash to bring you up to speed!

I've shared our vision and layout ideas for this space on the blog quite a few times, but if you've missed them, feel free to read about it here. It may make some of my ramblings here make sense.

The most recent update – which I did share – was our murphy bed. I wrote about in this post.

And our large double desk was freshly stained when you last saw it here...

We've been using the desk for a few months now and it works great. Currently it is looking like this...

Okay, not a glamour shot but real life. We have yet to add artwork above the desk and of course, update the chairs (I know right? Imagine, an old dining chair and mismatched office chair not playing nicely together), but I have ideas for both. I am just waiting for the right time (and money) to do those updates, but when I do I think they will go a LONG way to making that side of the room look a lot more finished (and aesthetically pleasing). But, for now, it works. So we can work. On the computer(s).

Better than this view right? We've come a long way (baby).

One thing that IS currently doing it for me can be found on the desk. Our new matching lamps! I got them for my birthday and they are the Ranarp lamp from Ikea.

I love the matte white finish, the gold detailing and the black and white striped cord cover.

Ooh la la. If a lamp could be sexy, well, you're looking at her.

Moving on.

I wanted something that wasn't your traditional "clunky" office furniture (read boring/generic, fugly and badly designed) to house our cords, manuals, paper and printer . What I found was this refinished MCM credenza on Craigslist.

I cut some holes in the back for ventilation (with a hole saw drill bit) and it now hides our printer.

The cords are hidden as well as I've snaked them along the top of the baseboard in a cable hide channel. It is adhesive in the back so sticks right to the wall.

In the drawers we have your usual office-type things - cables, paper, binders, notebooks, magazines etc.

I love the vintage details on the credenza.

On the wall as as you enter this room, we have put our old love seat. At our last house it was in our family room but it was too small for our current family room so we replaced it with a small sectional sofa. In this space it offers some softness to the room which currently if full of a lot of hard elements. Plus, it's a great place to sit (duh).

I moved in a side table that we had too and also a large plant.

Here is how that corner looks when the murphy bed is down.

And this is the scene when you try to take photos and your seven-year-old comes up with a new fun game called "Run through Mommy's photos while squealing with delight". Apparently all the cool kids do it.

So, there we are. Small updates but the room is taking shape.

Looking back at the 'to do' list I posted in our Settling In post, we are slowly but surely making progress!

TO DO

office side:

~~double desk~~
new office chairs
craft island
~~credenza~~
not on the original list but added: desk lamps

other side

~~murphy bed~~
fold up table and chairs? (for games)
area rug
not on the original list but added: couch, plant, side table

as well as

window treatments
update ceiling llighting
decor/art
door hardware

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Office / bonus room updates

2016-06-06T08:32:00.002-07:00

And our large double desk was freshly stained when you last saw it here...

We've been using the desk for a few months now and it works great. Currently it is looking like this...

One thing that IS currently doing it for me can be found on the desk. Our new matching lamps! I got them for my birthday and they are the Ranarp lamp from Ikea.

I love the matte white finish, the gold detailing and the black and white striped cord cover.

Ooh la la. If a lamp could be sexy, well, you're looking at her.

Moving on.

I cut some holes in the back for ventilation (with a hole saw drill bit) and it now hides our printer.

The cords are hidden as well as I've snaked them along the top of the baseboard in a cable hide channel. It is adhesive in the back so sticks right to the wall.

In the drawers we have your usual office-type things - cables, paper, binders, notebooks, magazines etc.

I love the vintage details on the credenza.

I moved in a side table that we had too and also a large plant.

Here is how that corner looks when the murphy bed is down.

So, there we are. Small updates but the room is taking shape.

Looking back at the 'to do' list I posted in our Settling In post, we are slowly but surely making progress!

TO DO

office side:

~~double desk~~
new office chairs
craft island
~~credenza~~
not on the original list but added: desk lamps

other side

~~murphy bed~~
fold up table and chairs? (for games)
area rug
not on the original list but added: couch, plant, side table

as well as

window treatments
update ceiling llighting
decor/art
door hardware

Stay in touch and follow along...

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Double duty - an office AND a guest room

2016-06-03T09:49:00.002-07:00

We've made some big changes since I last shared the progress on our office/bonus room space .

Mainly this - the addition of a murphy bed!

Back in the Fall I shared our vision for the large bonus room located on our top floor. Our plan was to transform it into an office/guest room. We also wanted space for a craft table and room to set up a games table if needed.

Here is the mood board from that post.

I've posted a few updates of how our double desk is evolving (here and here) and we've done a few more things in there too which I will post about soon, BUT back to the murphy bed.

Earlier this week I shared our guest room makeover. We had guests from England staying with us in April and needed two sleeping quarters. So, the murphy bed addition became a priority for the first part of this year.

Here is the room sketch (shared here) that shows our layout plan for the room.

And here is a pic of the room from way back in the early Fall shortly after we moved in. Basically boxes and storage at that point but with a wall 'bump out' that had major murphy bed potential. I will pause for a moment to see if you can guess which space I am talking about.

Okay, so now that we have that sorted, we chose our murphy bed. We did a lot of research but kept coming back to styles that Costco sold. All of the reviews were good and the price seemed pretty decent for what was available. After measuring our wall, we decided to go for this configuration.

One of the main reasons we chose this option was that the shelving portion came with a cord/wire grommet. Our main phone jack is on this wall so this allowed us to keep it there and saved the trouble of rerouting it to another location. We liked the idea of the extra storage as well and the open shelving to break up what could be a dense wall of 'closets' otherwise. When closed, the bed looks like a large armoire or cabinet and runs along the same wall as our existing double closet in the office.

Of course I was itching to make the shelves look pretty.

I styled them pretty simply using most of what I had on hand.

Does this photo give away the fact that I am short-ish? 5' 3" problems Y'all. Look up, way up.

Anywho, The top shelf has some faux grass and little tin pot from Ikea. I used the same one in our guest room. Beside that is a bamboo-ish box that I've had for years.

The next shelf holds other items I already had, a green candle, tin pot, pear tea light holder, owl paper weight (which I think is older than I am since I've had it for as long as I can remember - seriously, I had it in my childhood. I wonder if my parents even know I have it. I think it's theirs.) and a photo that I took when we visited England in 2008. Ah, such good memories. This was a pub we stopped to have a drink at after going for a walk through a really cool nature reserve called Burnham Beeches (say that five times fast).

But, I digress.

Looking at the shelves that are more my, um, stature, we have this.

A stack of books topped with a decorative plate/platter...

... and a Wifi sign for guests.

I've made this a free printable download if you'd like one as well.

Simply click here to access it.

On the bottom shelf we have our phone, another faux ikea plant and pot, another little tray and some random green 'ball'. I have no idea where I got it but I've found a surprising number of uses for it. (weird).

There is also another England photo tucked back there. This one was from our lunch stop after touring Windsor Castle. Memoriiiieees...

The hanging sign reads "Dedicated To Life, Liberty, Food, Drink and Other Less Serious Matters". Amazeballs.

(I added that last word. It was my reaction to the awesomeness).

BUT, I digress again.

The bedding was a birthday present. It is this one here (Bjornloka from Ikea).

And, like I mentioned in the guest room post, I like to have fresh towels and a guest basket out to make our visitors feel extra special... and welcome.

I always like to customize the gift basket (versus having just a generic one) for who is staying. I put two waters out if it is more than one person, kids toothpaste and toothbrushes if there are kids etc. It's the little things that make guests feel like you are really glad they are staying with you (I think).

So, there we are! And how does the bed work? Well, take a peek...

(note: the .gif is absent of guest because apparently having a tripod with a camera on it in the corner of the 'bedroom' is frowned upon when entertaining. Ask me how I know.)

I joke. I joke.

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Double duty - an office AND a guest room

2016-06-03T09:49:00.001-07:00

We've made some big changes since I last shared the progress on our office/bonus room space .

Mainly this - the addition of a murphy bed!

Here is the mood board from that post.

Of course I was itching to make the shelves look pretty.

I styled them pretty simply using most of what I had on hand.

But, I digress.

Looking at the shelves that are more my, um, stature, we have this.

A stack of books topped with a decorative plate/platter...

... and a Wifi sign for guests.

I've made this a free printable download if you'd like one as well.

Simply click here to access it.

There is also another England photo tucked back there. This one was from our lunch stop after touring Windsor Castle. Memoriiiieees...

The hanging sign reads "Dedicated To Life, Liberty, Food, Drink and Other Less Serious Matters". Amazeballs.

(I added that last word. It was my reaction to the awesomeness).

BUT, I digress again.

The bedding was a birthday present. It is this one here (Bjornloka from Ikea).

And, like I mentioned in the guest room post, I like to have fresh towels and a guest basket out to make our visitors feel extra special... and welcome.

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June Desktop Calendar Roundup

2016-06-01T11:01:00.002-07:00

Happy June!

I can't believe this day marks the start of my little guy's last month of Grade One. Where does the time go? On the plus side, June 25 makes if officially six months until Christmas, so there's that.

Here are the desktop calendars that caught my eye this month. To download, click on the link below each image and follow the prompts on the artist's blog. A lot also have smart phone versions too so if that's your 'thang' then go and get 'em.

If you have a favourite let me know in the comment section below :).

Enjoy!

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June Desktop Calendar Roundup

2016-06-01T11:01:00.001-07:00

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Guest Room reveal (yay, it's done!)

2016-05-31T13:08:00.001-07:00

Hello! When I last left you in our guest room, it was looking like this...

We hadn't done a thing to it since moving in last summer, except to put a bed in the room as well as two Ikea dressers that were originally in Chace's nursery.

It sat this way for many months, not being much of a priority, BUT guests due to arrive from England in April sure bumped it up the list. It needed some love - big time.

Back in January I shared a mood board in this post.

Well, since April has come and gone (and with it our lovely guests) I am happy to say our room no longer looks like the first two photos.

Ta da!

As you can see, I stayed relatively close to my original vision. I was going for a beachy seaside type vibe. I took my inspiration literally from the fact that I wanted to use the dressers (a sandy tone), and knew I was going to paint the walls a light grey. Our carpet is a also a brown tone so I blended those all together in my mind and this is what I came up with.

A few things did change, but generally speaking it all came together as I'd originally planned. Let's get closer and I'll break it all done for you.

On the right side of the bed we have a new nightstand, art and a bit of decoration. I wanted to keep the room clean and uncluttered so that guests would have room to spread out and make the space their own.

The nightstands are these simple Ikea Hemnes ones. I love how they are light, airy and seem perfectly coastal/seaside to me. I set up an alert on Craigslist so I was able to score one for $25! A second one did not show up, so the week before our guests arrived I bought it for regular price at the store.

The wall colour is "Touch of Grey" by CIL. That was a fun five nights.

The little trio on the nightstand consists of an old lamp that we've had for about ten years. It's the "Grono" lamp from Ikea and they actually still carry it.

The mason jar with sand and a tealight is from Save-On-Foods of all places. It came in a set of two and caught my eye while I was grocery shopping on one of my lunch breaks. Inspiration really is everywhere!

The little leaf bowl is another piece that I've had for-eva. I can't remember where I got it, or even how I came to own it, but I love it. It's the perfect place for guests to put their rings and necklaces at the end of the day.

To complete this vignette I hung a beachy art print in a frame I already had (remember this from our last house?). I found the artwork on minted.com.

This one is called 'float'. It's a bit hard to see through the glass (well, plastic) but here is a closer look.

On the other side of the bed we have the same night stand, lamp and sandy candle holder. Here I also made a Wifi sign so that our guests could surf in their seaside retreat.

If you'd like your own, I made a free printable that you can download here. It is sized for a 5" x 7" frame.

I found the amazing frame at Homesense. Obsessed.

You may have have noticed that the curtains are quite different then the ones I had in the mood board. Turns out, those were actually a cream background rather than white. I read a lot of the reviews and people said over and over again that the colours were much different then the photos showed. I decided to go a different route and think I am happier with the new direction anyway. The ONLY thing that really bugs me, is the lack of 95" curtain options. These are only 84" (like 95% of the curtains out there). Ideally these should be hung higher, but it is what it is. The cabana stripe really spoke to me... and if there is one thing you should always do, it's listen to talking curtains (weird).

They are these ones from Sears (the colour is "toasted wheat").

The curtain rods were a crazy find. $10 each at Homesense.

If we keep looking up, we see that Operation-Replace-All-The-Booblights was succcessful in this room. I don't have a link online but it is similar to this light fixture here.

Another amazing find at Homesense was this $25 circular mirror. I love the rope detail. Perfect for the beachy vibe of this room. I really wanted a mirror so that guests could have some privacy while getting ready.

Reflected above in the mirror is yet ANOTHER great Homesense find. I found the large canvas on clearance for $38 (say what!?) and it is the perfect piece to bring all my colours together in the room.

On top of the dresser I've used an old white lantern that I got at Real Canadian Superstore years ago. Beside that I have the cutest little faux grass plant. It is from Ikea - the plant is the Fejka and the little tin pot is the Socker.

Above the other dresser I have an alarm clock, a white sea shell vase/pot and two more minted.com prints.

The aptly named "Play the Day Away" ...

And this one called "The Beach".

The bedding was a birthday present to me (from me).Well, I picked it out and then pretty much said to ChefKev "can I get this for my birthday?". No reason to spend money on another gift when we wanted this for the house. The bedding I chose was this one from Wayfair.

And surprisingly enough, it was just what I wanted. How did I know?

The gorgeous nubbly blanket/throw was a gift from a friend. All the heart eyes.

To let our guests know how happy we are that they are here, I like to leave out fresh towels and a guest basket. It's a little touch that I think goes a long way to making people feel welcome.

In the basket I like to have shampoo and conditioner, soap, loofas, toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss, mouth rinse, hand cream and razors. Basically anything a guest might have left at home or run out of if travelling. I always like to include bottled water too so that they have some on hand if needed.

So there we have it! One completed guest room. Well, almost complete. One thing I hadn't thought of was a hook for robes and/or damp towels. I have found the perfect ones but I've yet to hang them. I will post about them when I do though.

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Guest Room reveal (yay, it's done!)

2016-05-31T13:08:00.000-07:00