Countertops

New countertops have arrived! The old ones were very worn and not really worth saving although I'd have preferred that option. The seams of the old ones were worn and splitting from water and all those fun things. These turned out better than I had hoped for. Originally I had wanted almost completely black countertops with some sparkley bits in it but was talked out of it. This colour while dark incorporates brown into it which lightens it up and makes it a little more neutral. It will also go with the rubbed oil bronze faucet, and cabinet handles I picked out and white sink! I'm so excited to see things starting to change. It felt like so long we had gone through so much work with little to no visual difference. I'm in love with my new kitchen already, and it's not even functional yet!

Fall musings

I always start to think about Christmas when the summer begins to end and the fall creeps up on us. I love to make homemade gifts for Christmas and I'm going to try to do more this year. Do you make homemade gifts? What sorts of things do you make? This year I'd like very much to ask for a vintage soup tureen. Does anyone else start thinking about Christmas early? I'm sure I'm not the only one!

Fireplace Update

I thought I would do a side by side picture comparison of my fireplace. Originally we were going to buy a new mantle but when we looked into it, they were all around $500 when it came down to everything, taxes and all. So, thankfully a family friend who is super handy said they would build us one and all we needed to do was get the materials. We accidently bought MDF at first, whoops but went back and got the right supplies. We used just flatstock to cap the sides of the fireplace, same as what we used for the window frames and then our family friend sneakily added the same detailing we used for the bi-fold doors! The fireplace re-do came in at under $100 plus some labour of a family friend which we thanked with lots of good food!

Busy busy!

Sorry I've been terrible at updating lately. I've been so busy with everything, all the renovating and having a regular job. Phew. I don't know how people do it without going insane. Thankfully I have help from my family. So, here are some photos to show the updates!



Sorry for the lighting, all windows now have flatstock around them.



Little hard to see but the bi-fold doors all have trim work added to them

Gutted bathroom, visual progress

Compare to my earlier post, fireplace has a whole new mantle and surround

New dinning light, will have crystals hanging at some point

Hall closet, I've added a chandelier to make it girly

$50 at Ikea! yay!

Madame

So even though we are under a deadline to get this reno finished, we took a day off. So since I have no progress to share I thought I'd just show some pretty pictures of my family's garden. I'm super jealous since my new yard is postage stamp sized and in some rough shape. I hope to get it into better shape eventually but first things first. I'm also a sucker for pretty books. I'm currently reading a beautiful red leather copy of Madame Bovary. It looks pretty cute on my new recipe book holder.

Glam Bath

So, while my house is in complete disarray I thought I would show you the powder room at my parents home. My mom is super proud of her bathroom. She wanted it to be glamorous and look like a "jewel" in her words. While it may not be everyone's style I commend her for her bold use of pattern in a small space. I also love the pink accents. I have a soft spot for pink. Also, I apologize for the lack of quality photos. My nice camera is all boxed up and prepared for the move and I'm too disorganized at the moment to find it.

Work work Work

Here's some updates on the reno! Ripped out carpet in the two bedrooms, although we have tons more carpet to take out. Ripping it out yourself is a great way to save some money on new flooring. I'm putting new carpet in the bedrooms because I love a soft floor in the morning, but I'm putting in whitewashed oak laminate through the living, dining and kitchen. We have also patched and sanded the millions of little holes in the walls and have completed painting the two bedrooms including the closets! Phew!

This is the new colour, not a great interpretation but it is "natural linen" by Benjamin Moore I'll try to get a better more accurate shot later.

My room is crisp Chantilly lace white (BM) and one wall of Wolf Gray (BM)

I officially hate painting closets.

xo