Guest Bedroom

Here are some photos of our guest bedroom decorated on a tight budget.

 The headboard, footboard and night stand were a set we purchased from an estate sale for $10 when we were first married ten years ago.  The tall picture frame has received a new life.  It used to be from a three sided room divider photo frame that we received as a wedding present also ten years ago.  I simply removed the hinges and painted it black.

 The duvet cover I made using a shower curtain (the patterned fabric) from a former house, and a black flat sheet.

 All three pieces of furniture I sanded lightly (they are cheap veneer) and primed with Benjamin Moore Fresh Start Primer.  Then I painted 2 coats of dark grey I mixed up myself using leftover paints.  Then I simply sanded away the edges using a sanding block and added new hardware.  I also added a basket to the night stand to give it a bit more modern look.

The canvas is just inexpensive Ikea fabric stretched over a mdf frame I nailed together.

Stylish Blogger Award

A huge thank you to Amber from Simple Dwellings for passing on the Stylish Blogger Award on to me, and all her help in entering the blogging world.  She has great style and is so kind so be sure to give her a visit.

Here are the 7 totally random things I am sharing about myself that you might not already know.

1.First and foremost I love my family and I love my position as Stay at Home Mom in this household. (Although I am occasionally envious of the corporate mother.)

2.My husband (of ten years) and I are currently living in the 4th house that we have built. (No it is not our career.)

3. I have played the violin since I was 3 yrs old and I am so thankful for the times my parents made me continue even though I didn't want to because it is one of the things I enjoy most today.  And I am so happy to share that love with my son!

4. I turn 30 this week and I am going to embrace it!

5. I love to bake.

6. Although I would love to be a professional student I only actually went to college for 1 year.

7. I cannot wait to get out into my disastrous yard and dig my hands in the dirt and do some good old fashioned hard physical labour!

Now here are the 5 fabulously stylish blogs I want to pass the award onto:

1. Crisp Interiors
2. Involving Color
3. Dream Book Design
4. Aja Lee's Sweet Life
5. Fabulous Design File

Rules for these 5 Stylish Bloggers:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.

2. Tell us 7 things about yourself.

3. Pass this award on to 5 other stylish blogs!

DIY Rustic Modern Bench

I am so thrilled with how this project turned out and I just couldn't wait to share the details with you.

Yesterday I started on the decorating of my kids bathroom.  The first task was to add a natural element to this space.

 I started out with this timber left over from the exterior of our house.

 First I brought it into the bathroom with the legs I purchased at Home Depot to make sure it would work as I had envisioned it before continuing.

 Then out to the back deck with my hunk of wood and Rigid palm sander.

 This is what it looked like after about 15 min of hard sanding and 6 squares of 60 grit sandpaper.  The all in one stain and finish used to protect this timber from the weather was doing its job very well and ran deeper than I thought.  I had to re-evaluate at this point.  My arm was already sore and I was out of this grade of sandpaper.

 Some might call it cheating.  I like to think of it as being resourceful. My dad has a woodworking business and a shop full of tools that would make this process easier.  Note:  He designs and creates gorgeous high-end furniture with a finish that is absolutely incredible but he humours me by letting me use his tools and a little of his help for my rustic DIY projects.  We ran my timber through the planer a few times and squared up the ends using the band saw.  Now back at home in my little makeshift workshop it is ready to finish.

 I used some stain I had on hand Minwax Wood Finish Jacobean. 

 Here it is stained and ready for the clear coat.

 I found this product that the finishers left behind from finishing our railing.  I am happy with the finish on the railing so I thought I would give it a try.  It went on very well with a brush and I did three coats with no bubbles or brush marks showing through.  It is very fast drying so was ready for final stages by morning.

I picked which side I wanted the legs to go on and set them up.

 I used a good old fashioned screw driver for installing.

Here it is in its intended home.  I purposely placed the large cracks to be showing because I love the natural beauty in them.  This bench is the perfect height for the kids to have a seat, and I also discovered to save my back when on hair washing duty.

This is a photo of their bathroom with their new 'natural' element.  Now I'm off to work on some art for this room.

Decorating the Kids Bathroom

This week I decided I need to tackle decorating our kids bathroom.  I am basically starting with a blank slate.  White rug, white shower curtain, white towels. 

I'd like to see the decorations in this bathroom kept very simple (the white tooth paste splashes on fancy trinkets just won't work here), with a few natural elements brought in and maybe a splash of color.  What color?  I'm not sure yet.  Any suggestions?  2 boys and 1 girl share this space so I will be keeping it fairly unisex and not disney themed.

 For some reason the colors look off in this photo but it is the same white based granite as my kitchen and the backsplash tile actually pulls out the brown tones in the granite very well.  Not exactly what you are seeing in the photo above.

 Here is that timber again that was on my to do list last week.  Some sunny weather has finally showed up so I am heading outdoors with this chunk.

 First I brought it into the kids bathroom and propped it on top of the legs I purchased at Home Depot last week to make sure it was going to fit the space the way I envision it to.  I'd hate to waste all that hard work.

 Here we are out on the back deck with my hunk of wood and trusty Rigid Palm Sander with 60 grit sandpaper.

This is what it looks like after about 15 mins of sanding and 6 squares of sandpaper later.  The oil stain that is on our exterior timbers is definitely doing its job protecting the wood.  It runs deeper than I thought.  I will either be sanding for days and going broke buying sandpaper or I will have to come up with another solution.

Caution: Spring Cleaning in Progress

Have you been wondering why this weeks posts are all just details of past projects, or more photos of the house?  There is something in the air around here that is telling me this is the perfect week to do all my spring cleaning.  The first sign of the robins, the sun heating the house prompting me to open wide the windows, the gophers peaking out of their holes.  Definitely time to do that cleaning.  Here is what it looks like in our house.  We wipe down all the furniture and pile it together in the middle of the room, and on top of tables and counters.

 The kids run and dance in all this new found space.  We turn up the music.  I chase them around with the vacuum cleaner and then I tuck them into bed for their afternoon nap.

 While they are sleeping I get to work wiping down baseboards, washing walls and window sills, and washing the floors on my hands and knees.  All using my own homemade cleaning formula.  Then when the kids wake up we dance and play some more and just before daddy comes home we put the furniture back in its place.  He walks in, gives us all our hugs and kisses and asks what we did today.  AAUUGGHH!

Is it worth it?  To me it is so much cleaner, brighter, crisper, newer, and smells so fresh.  To me it is so worth the effort. 

Fabric/Chalkboard Art Canvas DIY

As promised, here are the DIY details on the artwork found in Indianna's Play Loft.  They are chalkboards with pizazz.

 I like to use cheap canvases I find at thrift stores rather than purchase new blank ones at craft stores.  Believe it or not even the blank canvases can add up in dollars.  When I use pre-loved canvases all I do is apply a coat of primer over the image before continuing with my project.  Then I simply cut out my fabric with about 3 inches overlap to wrap around the edges of the canvas.  Staple the fabric snugly around all for sides working from the center out to each corner.  Now in order to make your fabric paintable and glossy, you paint on a layer of clear 'mod podge' or tacky glue.  Once that is dry, you trace or draw out the shape you wish for your chalkboard, and paint your silhouette with chalkboard paint.  Then doodle to your hearts content.  The layer of 'mod podge' protects the fabric so if the chalk sneaks out of the lines you can simply wash with a damp cloth. 

My Kitchen

Today I finished spring cleaning in my kitchen so I thought I would share some photos of my space.



 There are not many 'decorations' in this space but I think the design details we put into our kitchen eliminate the need for many accessories.  However, there are still a few spots I am hoping to fill with the perfect accessory.  The eight glass upper cabinets I am hoping to fill with unique ornaments about 6 - 9 inches in height that will be lit up with the cabinet lighting.  I am also searching for the perfect art/ornament for the large blank space below the hood fan that will add a little dimension but not take away from the simplicity of this space.

 I am loving our curved raised eating bar that comfortably seats six and allows for easy conversation.  It also works well for serving meals buffet style when we have a crowd that overfills our dining nook.

 A little change in depth in the cupboards along this wall add a little dimension to the cooking area.  The hardwood is not actually this orange but is rather very blond with lots of great color variations.  I am open to photography tips from anyone who has some to spare.

The stunning colors in this granite add so many details without adding clutter to the much needed counter space.

A little color variation in the backsplash tile compliments the granite without competing.

 A sleek simple fixture adds a little glam without bringing too much attention to the sink area.

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