6/28/15

Side Entry

Our side entry didn't get painted in the original whirlwind pant job when we first moved in, so we finally managed to find the time to tackle it. Seriously, what paint will do for a space...


Here it is, as it was the day we moved in. Those hand rails are NOT painted. They just have never ever been washed! Ick


 Kilz done and cutting in started! Ceiling was primed and painted too


It's a little darker and a little more blue than what I was going for, but I think it will look amazing with the floors we're going to put in.


It will look like this!  It looks a tad more blue in person. This will flow from the dining room, into the kitchen and down to the basement.
 Rich Onyx - Tarkett "Rich Onyx" Gray; Luxury Vinyl Flooring - For laundry room and Guest Bath


Cute little mail holder for the basement suite!



R sanded and stained the railings and spray painted the hardware. Looks AH-MAZ-ING


I think I would like to put this light up in the entry. Because of the chain, we could swag it so it's father over the stairs and can hang a little lower without hitting your head.

6/27/15

Dank closets begone!

Do you not just love that green paneling?  So classy. and DARK
There were two large closets build in to our basement laundry/storage area. There are two windows in this space and one and a half of them were INSIDE the closets.
On the opposite wall there was another closet with shelves that were ok, but took up too much space
These closets were useless for us, shelves are far more practical. And as luck would have it, my work was selling off large industrial shelves (with MDF boards even) for cheap!


We went and bought a sledge hammer just for this job, and after the 3rd whack, it came loose from the handle! We used it for the rest of the job and then returned it for our money back! 


Wall coming down, moments after I took this picture, I rushed in to help and promptly smacked R with the wall... I love you! 


"Are we done yet?'


Shelves set up, and 35 dollar area rug!

Look at all that stuff I can fit on these shelves. There is the perfectly sized space on the side for more bins and coolers!
Had we had more time, I would have slapped a coat of paint on those walls to brighten it up even more. Opening up the windows made a big enough improvement for now!

Not pretty, but totally works.

6/21/15

Exterior Progress

I'm not going to lie. We have got an AWESOME back yard.  

It was rough when we moved in, and has a long way to go, but here is some progress anyway. 


 Needs a paint job to say the least

Side Entrance

View to the back
Oh man, I was SO excited when I saw that they had left us this portable fire pit! It is just perfect!

View from the garage.
They also left the neat bent willow chair. 

Apple tree that produces some of the best apples! These are no crab apples! 
I just realized how much those willow trees have grown since we moved in! WOW
The junipers have been cut back and I still need to pull the stumps out, will do when fence rebuild happens!

Everything was a bit wild back here. It's since been tamed a bit!

I think one day I'd like to plant a bit of a garden in this spot! It gets the most sun here. Maybe too much. I kill everything anyway..


Here is the new color going on! West Coast Blue by Benjamin Moore
Check out that new light! If we ever put new siding up, it's going to be moved to the middle and up a few inches. Right now, its exactly where my head goes when I want to look in the mailbox :(


 The Cedar was taking over the sidewalk and had to go (anyone want to come remove a stump for me????)

 Trees trimmed back, Junipers gone


Completely painted plus new shingles! Painting the bottom of the house dark was the prefect choice. New house numbers and a new mailbox!


 Edgers in and some planters ready to go


The beginning of my cinder block bar. 


 The rest of the cinder blocks used up to edge the back flower bed. Please don't judge our sad yellow lawn!!
More to come


6/20/15

Bathroom of my DREAMS!

The bathroom was the first renovation project we tackled. 

We did manage to live with the horrid pink and blue bathroom for quite a few months. My dad called me up one day and said he had a week free to so some reno work for us, so we jumped at the chance. My Pinterest board was already full of plans and I had an Ikea list ready to go (we don't have an Ikea, so my dad had to bring the stuff from Alberta!)

Here is the before, in case you forgot how horrible it really was

Before
Before
Before (gross!)

How on earth did anyone ever find that particular combination of colors appealing? HOW I ASK YOU!!!!

During!


 R and Dad getting to work tearing the old crap out!
 Vanity and Cabinet GONE! There was a shelf below the counter there that had been taped into place...

 New subfloor, with 1000 extra screws to try and cut down on the squeaks. Tub GONE 


The previous owners planned to redo the bathroom, and had bought a very nice (second hand) soaker tub that had been sitting in the shed for a long time. We were thrilled when they left it for us.

Even with the dirt, it still looks way better than the blue! 


PAINT and a TOILET and FLOORS!!!! AHHHHHH IT'S SO AMAZING!!!!!
\
I have to say I really enjoyed just coming home from work and seeing huge amount of progress each day!


Kitty is inspecting the new stuff. He approves. 

Kind of regret not moving all the outlets to the same location, but not a deal breaker by any means! Ikea plumbing was a bit of a challenge with our old nasty plumbing. There is probably a half of a tube of caulking holding it all together...  It totally works though.


My really ambitious tile selection. It was just so pretty that I had to have it. I was dead set on plain old subway tile until we saw this stuff in Home Depot. I needed it. It turned out great despite the issues my dad had with the massive tiles and the extreme tile thickness difference that I did not take into account. It is not perfect, by any means, but I just don't care. I love it. I promised my dad to be wiser in my future tile selection. I sometimes learn from my mistakes.

It was about a week to get it all done, My dad and R's dad did most of the work. I helped by staying out of the way. R's dad was our plumbing guru and made the old work with the new.

And here it is. The most beautiful room in our house to date! 

I am so proud to introduce to you

SWANKY LOO 2 (TM)


Custom sign made by my AWESOME mother. After I commented that her recently renovated bathroom was a "real swanky loo" she decided that was her new favorite phrase and called mine, Swanky Loo 2. The swankiest of all loo's!

After!
Art Print by Local friend of the Family - Kris Moffatt
Paint - Gossamer Blue by Benjamin Moore
Shower Curtain - Fabricland
Towels - Ikea
Shower Storage - Canadian Tire

After!
Toilet - Home Depot
Faucet - Home Depot (Shower faucet matches!)
Sink, Cabinets, Shelving, Mirror - Ikea
After!

Vanity light - Home Depot probably I can't remember... it was cheap. 35 bucks.
TP holder - Ikea (Mounted this way = never arguing over the "correct" way) 
Toothbrush holder - Canadian Tire
Fitbit Aria Scale


Last but not least is one of my favorite details. SPARKLY!!!! it came from Rona
I had just finished wiping it down when I took the picture, hence the skewed strand :)



Also, this is the only room in the house with baseboards!!!(besides the inside of the closets haha!)


6/14/15

STUFF!!

Here's our house after we put a bunch of stuff in it!


R's Office 

My Room

Dining Room


 Shelves with stuff on them!


Tidied Stuff. And some Pizza and a Corona for me!!!

Master Bedroom
I Love how bright and happy it is in here!


Left the upper doors off, and LOVE IT


New light over the sink (Rona)
Door for the bottom cabinets will be painted and installed soon!