Sunday, March 27, 2011

Let's Build a Home

Entire building process was quite long, a bit confusing and very educational. Our Builder Friend guided us through all the steps and provided with great tradesman.

After the test wholes were filled with dirt again, and all permits were in place we could finally start to build our home. The measurements were taken again and the stakes went into the ground.


The excavation was a bit scary as I was the one holding "the stick" with a gigantic excavator digging all around me, uncovering countless boulders just below the surface of the lot.

Than we measured and placed the stakes to position the footings.

Next came the footing inspections in boiling heat of the early August sun. We had three of those, because the soil was “loose”, clay soil usually is “loose” when it’s dried by the hot sun…

Slowly we got to the framing stage. The first day our framing foreman showed up at the site with a broken arm with metal pins poking through the bandages. That didn’t stop his crew from doing the job efficiently and to high standards.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Rustic Pine Table Story

Not that long ago, my entrance hallway looked quite dreadful... I get up at 4:30 each morning and because I  don’t want to wake up my Better Half, I style my hair in the front hallway.

That always meant, getting my dryer from the main bath, plugging it in... and let’s be honest not always having time to put it back where it belongs after I was done, especially when my son was already in that bath and I was running late. ..

So too many days the front hallway looked like this:


And let's be honest... I felt really guilty about allowing this to happen...

Shame on you HUMBER!

So my quest was to find a solution.

I needed storage. I needed something stylish to display my favourite things, and I needed something that would fit that awkward space between the side of the front door and the wall.

I started searching and this is what I found at Olde Good Things

The price tag... $1,050.00

Well... no thank you... 

I'm sure that my Hubby could build one for me... 
So I asked if it would be doable to build one just like that... or almost like that. 

Here is what we came up with:  (the front hallway actually looks like this... ALL the time now!)

See those cables in the basket?  That's my hair dryer!

This just the perfect spot for my candle holders... love the colour of those candles!
Here is the closer look at the grain: (it's just a 2" thick pine board from Home Depot)
We just beat the life out of it with a motor bike chain and used the grinder to crate the rough texture.
Then Hubby stained it warm, dark brown - we own a hardwood flooring company, so I had a my pick of colours. 



And one more close up: (Here is my next project BTW... all those sea shells, hmm what should I do with those?)

Did I tell you that we spend about... $35.00 for the wood? Stain and varnish came from supplies we had on hand.



Sunday, March 6, 2011

Hideaway Artwork

Like many women I was faced with tangled jewellery every morning... and at 4:30 am that's the last thing I wanted to face...

So the idea was born. 

I knew exactly what to do with the piles of my silver chains on my dresser, I just needed to find something very special that I know would work with the feel I always wanted for our Master Bedroom.

And one day I found just that!


Isn't it perfect?

But here is more of my little (or should I say BIG PICTURE) secret...


Here is the other side:


Yes, it opens!  And there is LOTS of room inside!


Here it is in all it's glory...

Nice, don't you think?

No I can just open the picture and see what I want right away.

I love it!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Inspiration Time
New Beginnings in March

I decided that since I'm getting quite busy with my Clients (did I tell you I'm a Realtor?); I will be "escaping" for a moment of sanity into my little world of decorating, re-organizing, planning and... Daydreaming.

This month, I will be browsing blogs, visiting all of you dear friends and trying to figure out what my plans are for this upcoming Spring & Summer.

I will look at ideas for my garden:
This beauty comes from BHG website and I hope that my little garden (so far I only have 2 of those sections) will one day look just like this.


Here is something elso I'm considering as well...

I like the pavers between the planters, but am still not sure if that would work in my garden.
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Then I hope to see if I can find something interesting about improving the look of your utility shed.  I have something very specific in mind, but need to find that look that I love to get the project going.


You know what I'm talking about... I have one of those... what should I call it? ... Boring (!) Sheds that does it's job perfectly, but let's be honest here... looks a bit sad.
(picture coming soon, as soon as the snow melts and I can get there to take it, which may be in late April)


I would love to turn it into something that looks like it's always been there, something with lots of character and charm.  ALL suggestions welcome!

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Next on my list is the deck... we have a HUGE back deck.  It will be two years old this June.  It still has my head spinnig, because I want to do so much with it.


A porch swing perhaps...















I really like the feel of those big pillows, and the idea of crating a place to take an afternoon nap... (not that I have time for those, but you never know)

This looks like something we can make. I mean, I will get the measurements ready, make the drawing and Hubby will do the rest, as for some reason... I'm not allowed anywhere near his power tools, especially those that can cut wood. Oh well...