Home Tour

I've created a new home tour tab. 

A couple weeks ago some people came over to shoot some pictures of our townhouse to use in a flier, and I seized the opportunity to take a couple pictures myself.

Thus was born a photographic home tour.

I figured it would be a fantastic way to let potential birth parents get a good look at where we live.

Since that would be the first thing I'd want to see should the tables be turned.

 I sort of wish everyone would post detailed pictures of their homes just because I love getting a peek.

Feel free to snoop around!

** click home tour link above to see the whole tour ** 

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L I V I N G    R O O M 

B A T H R O O M S  

Flowery Art

Generally artwork for the home is entirely too expensive if you ask me.

Unattainable almost.

So I am always on the lookout for personal and affordable alternatives to the real thing.

This gem of a pink peony is simply a blown up photograph.

I went to kinkos and let them worry about sizing, printing and cutting.

And I didn't even splurge on photo paper, just printed it out on the cheapest paper available.

And I couldn't love it any more if it was a two million dollar original Monet!

Seriously, I am completely captivated.

I sit. And I stare.

It is that kind of affection.

I bought the frame first (from Ikea) and then blew the image up to size.

And to fancy it all up I painted the frame gold.

It is even more shiny, glamorous, and expensive looking in person.

Not at all like the $19.99 deal that it was.

And peaking out of the bottom of the above image is the outdoor rug we purchased a couple months ago. 

It never actually made it outside.

Even though it is a much darker blue than the online image I was looking at when I bought it, 

we love it and are keeping it right here in the living room.

And for an outdoor rug it is actually quite soft and comfortable. Score!

Slowly but Surely

This was no joke.

We are having a yard sale tomorrow, and are getting rid of so much stuff!

I have a weekly cleaning routine, each day is focused on cleaning a different area of our home, and this week as I have made my way through the rotation I have been clearing tons of junk out for said yard sale. 

Just picture me stalking about our house mumbling about how everything must go in a british accent.

That is what I have been doing, mentally of course, not vocally.

Our living room is looking better already.

We have cleared out tons of stuff (although you wouldn't know it from this mid-process picture) and lined our back wall with ikea shelves, creating a library of sorts.

You can tell the second picture was taken in progress with the big 'ol hammer and all those nails laying about. 

A finished picture will have to wait to all the yard sale crazy dies done and I have time to figure out why my most recent pictures won't load onto our computer.

For now, know there has been progress.

And that the car load of stuff in the parking lot not only feels great to get rid of but will help supplement the myriad of changes I am itching to make around here.

Am I the only one who gets these drug-addict-type-urges to change
absolutely everything about our home every spring? 

Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning for me feels more like this incessant urge to re-do, replace, and remodel every inch of our home to better suite our current selves.

These urges are impeded by the fact that we are renters, not owners, so there is very little we can actually change structurally, although the urges refuse to acknowledge this fact and persist regardless.

Oh and money, the urges are also impeded by money.

Or lack of money I guess I should say.

Because we don't have any.

These post graduates are pouring every extra cent into paying back student loans.

It's awesome.

If your definition of awesome is sarcastic and reads more like incredibly painful.

But tax returns are always a fun windfall, and this year we allotted ourselves a portion of the loot for sheer pleasure spending.

This little allotment funded our recent anniversary trip to New Mexico. more about it here, here, and here.

Side-note: our anniversary trips are always produced within the confines of 750 bones.

I don't know where we came up with that number, but it's stuck.

And because it was enough to produce my all time favorite trip to San Fransisco more here, here, here & here., I feel like we need never spend more than that.

And the rest of that pleasure spending amount is funding little updates around the house.

I'm just itching to make beautiful absolutely everything!!

And with summer fast approaching some exciting updates to our patio is very near the top of that list.

With todays rain it's just all sad looking like this.

striped headboard

Our headboard has been replaced with some stripes created using packing tape.

This packing tape is perfect since we are renting and it pulls off magically without leaving any residue.

They have been up for a little over a month and I still have not made my mind up about them.

Our previous headboard has been hanging out in our little hallway waiting for us to decide.

Pros: we have an extra foot of space in our bedroom, its lighter (in color) than our dark wood headboard, and they are stripes - I love stripes!

Cons: I'd rather have the entire wall striped but we ran out of tape. 

Thoughts?

A room with a {new} view.

Where once were these:

Now we have these:

Don't get me wrong, I love both of the pictures that used to hang here.

But the frames were so big & heavy it felt as though they were a bit much for our white walls to handle.

And I had these two black frames hanging empty upstairs in our guest room,

so I determined to put them to better use.

I bought some matt board on sale for no more than $10.

The beveled inside squares were cute for $2 a piece.

And I exacto-d the exterior at home for no charge at all.

And the frames? They've been around here for ages just waiting for a job to do.

One was a gift and the other a d.i. find for $1.

That makes a total of 13 buckaroos for brand new art and a brand new living room view!

The hardest part of this project was cleaning the glass well enough.

I kept seeing specks on the inside and had to take the whole thing apart to give it another go with the glass cleaner. I think I did that at least half a dozen times.

This frame houses a print by one of my favorite Romanian artists.

It was incredibly difficult to find any of his prints while over there, and this one was a surprise gift from a dear friend right before I left the country.

I'm so happy to finally have a prominent place to display it in our home.

And frame #2 holds a picture I have been longing for for ages.

One of my favorites from this utah artist. 

Confession: I couldn't find a small print for sale anywhere so I just printed it at home.

Yep, I did. And you can hardly tell.

I figure it's a place holder until I find a print for sale smaller than 15"x15".

We love them!

They look so clean and crisp against our white walls.

It's a happy & refreshing surprise to see them when I come downstairs.

Freshening up (the office)

Our closet needed a little lot of work. 

Our office, much like harry potter, has long been confined to a cupboard under the stairs.

And since this initial transformation well over a year ago, there hasn't been much of a change,

besides the occasional minor adjustment.

Oh, and the slow but relentless accumulation of unnecessary clutter and dust.

Strangely these sorts of things have a huge impact on my mood and ability to function.
What can I say, a dirty house is sort of like my personal kryptonite.

And besides, very few things compare to the good feeling inspired by a fresh new look in the old abode!

So creating a new look in this tiny area of our casa is definitely refreshing.

And I am breathing so much better just looking at the huge pile of trash that is going out the door today!
We're talking HUGE pile.
I'm wondering how the devil all that stuff even fit in there to begin with.

So here is how I went from this:

to this clean slate:

And finally (and most excitedly) to this:

  

And with details like these antique-y looking candlesticks - only $1.00 for both at our local D.I.
Or the adorable apothecary jar - a gift from my sister - turned darling vase to contain a small bunch of babies breath.

Or like the bull clip keeping our calender quite conveniently displayed on wall to the left of our computer.

Or the paper wrapped raisin and oatmeal tubes used to corral our spare change - both canadian and american - so we don't have to sort or separate them all later.
And these soft colored stones -used as place cards for my 29th birthday party-
now live in this pretty glass bowl.
and of course our newest battery storage solution - a $.50 box from D.I.

Details that make my life just that much easier... and prettier!

And what you see here is nothing compared to the amazing neatness and organization you will find while snooping through our desk-side drawers.

Or just take a peak at this pic here:

Voila! And phew!

I must say, I have fallen in love with this wee little space all over again.

A movement I'm digging.

The small house movement is something I can really get behind.

I love any emphasis on quality over quantity - especially when it comes to good design. 

Plus I think small spaces really work your creativity muscles. 

Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention.

I am inclined to agree.

I am also inclined to favor the sort of abode that requires a little figuring out to make it work.

We have definitely had to push the bounds of functionality in our current residence.

It keeps things exciting and makes life a tad more interesting.

So right now I am wrestling with the notion of buying a wee little domicile.

Something like a garage or a shed on a really great plot of land.

You know, something we can make all our own.

Every teeny-tiny square inch.

And in this struggle (don't tell Ryan) I think my impulse is winning.

My hubs, you see, is not as keen on the 500 square foot requirement of such digs.
But I would happily reside in any one of these structures:
(click on photo to see more pics)

I've been featured!

my little desk project has been featured!
(if that's not an ego boost i don't know what is.)

the fabulous designer danielle and i literally grew up down the street from each other in canada,

and now she has started a modern design blog where you can get in on all her design services.

her style is contemporary, playful, and full of color.

check her stuff out - you won't be sorry!

or just take another gander at that desk transformation here, to see it for yourself.

and let's not even talk about how beautiful her and her family are.

project breakdown: secretary desk

i finally dragged my camera all the way upstairs (what was i making all the fuss about anyway?)

and shot some pics of the end result.

so here you have it...

i don't know if anyone has noticed,

but white paint (because it's so cheap and so easy to match) gets used an awful lot in our household.

so with this project i decided to branch out.

i got really brave and sprang for some cream colored paint instead!

ah yes, big changes taking place here in our household! we're really shaking things up!

but the rest of the process was pretty much the same as both this & this project.

which means a whole lot of sanding.

we always use an electric sander and usually try to stay outside for this messy part.

but in this case i do believe there was snow on the ground,

so all construction took place in our dining room.

(oh how i long for a garage. or a barn. or a shed.)

after it's all smooth and thoroughly sanding, apply an extremely thin coat of primer.

and then leave that to dry at least 24 hours.

it's excruciating!! seriously, but you just have to do it.

and then when that is good and dry, apply one thin (like super thin) coat of paint after the other.

we did 3 coats on this guy.

and use a very fine roller on all the flat surfaces, it's so much easier.

but the legs and trickier parts can be done using just a regular tapered paint brush.

and then, because this will be used around water and hairspray etc,

we also applied a very thin coat of polyurethane.

and then allowed all that to dry for another agonizing couple of days.

but just trust me, this curing time makes all the difference.

you want everything to get nice and hard, otherwise it could just stay tacky forever. 

trust me on this, we purchased a dresser from craigslist that had obviously been diy'd,

and that thing is still tacky to this day. booo!

but after all that work she transformed into quite a sweet addition to our room.

and with such a small bathroom upstairs,

i couldn't be happier about now having my very own vanity area at which to get ready.

especially when we have guests and that bathroom is always in use.

(we love having guests-come visit!)

ah, and those charming knobs were a steal at anthropology.

okay, to be honest nothing is a steal at anthropology, but these were some of their cheapest wares.

six bucks each (4 for the little one) and purchased with a gift card.

so not bad at all.

i saw them and just knew they belonged on this little secretary desk.

especially that wee floret on the drop down table.

and i even mod-podged some lovely paper -bought for $.10 a sheet- onto the table top

and the bottoms of each of the drawers to give it some personality.

and i love it! such an inexpensive addition.

and completely waterproof to boot.

and a little peak into my drawers.
i found that wooden box with all those compartments for a mere dollar. (also at d.i.)

a quick coat of white paint on it and presto! instant jewelry organization.

as you can see i like to sort by color.

clothes, books, and now you know, even jewelry!

and this is the very best use i've ever seen for those gorgeous boxes brie comes in.

i've always felt it was such a shame to throw those out.

and now they corral my large jewelry and miscellaneous hair stuff.

brilliant and totally free - if you eat brie that is - which we do.

i wasn't feeling brave enough to completely paint this mirror.
instead i brushed some of that same cream paint just on the outside.
leaving the original yellow coat to show through in all the nooks and crannies.
i may switch it up someday, but for now i'm actually liking that pop of color it gives our room.
especially with all that blue in there. and white. and dark wood.

and some of the sweet details that can get a little more attention,

now that i've tidied the space up a bit.

and a little place to sit. or to set out tomorrows outfit.

what i imagine was once a captains chair is the perfect size & hight.

unlike that dining chair that used to sit in it's place and had to be tucked under that shelf.

so the entire cost break down is:

secretary desk (d.i.) - $10

paint - $5

polyurethane - $0 (already had)

mod podge - $0 (already had)

knobs - $28 (anthropologie gift card)

jewelry tray - $1

total - $44

so it's not my cheapest project, but still a great value.

it was those anthropologie knobs that really added cost.

but since they were purchased with a gift card, i suppose the real total cost is...

total: $16

nice! yes, i like that number much better.

i'd say we are loving it but i'm not sure ryan notices much of a difference.
(after all, he still gets ready in the bathroom.)
he is however loving the fact that i am loving it.
so we're both happy with the change!