Where to put the bedrooms?

Once we decided on the style that we liked, the time came to come up with the interior layout. We opted for boys bedrooms and the main bath on one side of the home, large, open-concept living space in the middle and the master suite on the other side.

The plan that we came up with was finalized on paper by a local Architect and we got a "go ahead" to talk to our friend who builds homes for a living. 

He visited the site with us, plans in hand... and told us that we can build this home here... but it will be waaaay in the back of the property, leaving us with no back yard at all and a very loooong driveway.

So, I called my Architect and told him to re-design. Two weeks later I had the modified plans in hand and we were ready to apply for the building permits.

Converting to Peaceful (Art)

This is my latest project.  I wanted to capture the spring that I'm sure is on it's way...

This is a collection of my favourite prints.  Printed on watercolour paper and framed.
They make me smile.

Pretty and Pink and Calm...

My favourite Flowers... Peonies.

I'm telling you, I can't wait for Spring!

Prints framed in $16.99 frames from Winners!  Talk about a bargain!

Master Bedroom Dreams

I always wanted to have a beautiful view from my bed...

and that I have. Old barn in the lot behind us.

Peaceful, majestic, mysterious.

Now I want to have the same peaceful feel inside.

Getting the Shine Back!

My little "silver" collection sitting at the top of my kitchen cabinets was getting a bit tired...

So I decided to bring it back to life and make it shine again. 

 
 How do you like the sparkle now?



Our Master Bathroom was a major project... we started on the wrong foot and installed tiles that we didn't love.  Thank God, prior to grouting we started talking and we found out that none of us likes the tiles. 

The solution? RIP THOSE TILES OUT!  It took us one hour to do that, and boy were we glad we did!
The new tiles are so much nicer and look beautiful in the space:

Tiles are from Olympia Tile in Toronto. So worth the trip, I loved them, and the price was right... I have this thing, I refuse to pay full price, unless it's the right price. I got a nice surprise... since we are in the FLOORING business ourselves, I got those at the huge discount! NICE!

It was such a great decision to start over, I need to dig up the before pictures to compare.


And her is the chandelier from Home Depot. I wanted sparkle, and that's what I got.  See the mirror in the top picture?  that's attached to the wall permanently, it multiplies the light coming in from the window. With candles and dimmed lights the bathroom glows. Perfect spot to relax in a Jacuzzi at the end of the day.                                                                                        

Happy Valentine's Day

Slow, restful, safe, quiet. This is a beautiful day.

Kids are skiing and it's just me and Hubby at home. We are having a quiet day. 

Got breakfast in bed... perfect moist omelette.

Honey can make one mean omelette!

Now, I'm thinking of dinner. This is what I will be making...


Shrimp in Love Pasta

Hope you have a Beautiful Valentine's Day too.

Garage Doors I always wanted...

When you build your first home you learn a lot in the process...   We had a bit of an idea of what we wanted, but some things were not specified and we left them to deal with latter.  One of those was our oversized garage that is 2.5 cars wide and 2.5 cars deep... but it only has room for one car.  (Go figure that one out!)

Right now we just hava a plain old garage doors and faded (thank goodnes!) yellow, horizontal siding.  This however is what I would like to change my borring garage to:

I love the cariage style of the door and the semi-pergola above.  I will skip the stone, I'm thinking some stone plus deep moss-green board and batten, wood siding.

Spectacular Winters

This is what our home looks like today:

We plan to change the siding in a few years, but still don't know what it will look like.  We may go for a darker colour (like my son suggested in the first place and we never listened to him...)

This setting gives me strenght when I come home after a long day in the city.  It gives me seclusion when I need it. 

It provides serenity, hope and happiness.

I love my little peace of paradise, even in the middle of winter.

How can you not LOVE this?

(pictures by Peter G. - copyrighted)