My Parent's Reno

My Parents have lived in their home for about 15 years.  In the Spring they decided to put the house up for sale and move a bit further South, so their garden growing season would be longer. 

They love to grow vegetables.  Their long-time friends already lived there and so the decicion was made. 

The house, however was not as ready as my Parents...

It needed alot of work.  Mostly cosmetic, but non-the-less.

You've already seen the staircase, here are some pictures of the Master Bedroom "After"

We didn't even paint... the idea came from that fun bed cover.  Don't you just love it?   I know, I know everything is dusty blue and white nowadays, but I wanted to have some fun in the Master Bedroom.  So we re-arranged the furniture, and I went through what seamed like thousands of bed sheets in their linen closet...

Finally I found those hot pink and orange sheets and pillow cases.

Those worked perfectly with the new bed cover, that we both loved so much. 

My Mom made the curtains from a fabric I bought years ago for $2.00/m.  The white lace curtains were there to start with. 

We didn't have anything nice to hang on the walls, but I had 4 IKEA frames... I needed something nice to place in those frames...

I bought Watercolor paper at Walmart and searched flower paintings and pictures on line.
Than I printed those on the Watercolor paper, cut to size and fitted them into the frames.

Those were placed above the bedside tables on both sides of the bed.

and two more...

What do you think?

This will also works with your own pictures... In fact, I love to take photos of my favorite garden flowers... than I print my own pics on the watercolor paper... Instant ART!

Master Bedroom Blues

Of course I didn't do my before shots... before we started painting... I can tell you that we had light yellow walls and that I couldn't wait to paint the bedroom the softies blue...

I finally got the nerve to ask my Hubby to paint.  We went to Home Depot and chose a soft blue. 
Behr Celtic Gray 490E-3 and mixed a 5 gallon bucket of it.  We got it home and Hubby started to paint around the door frames.  I started to get a bit worried. 

This beautiful paint color should look like this: (source)

But on our walls, in our light the color looked very bright and somehow it had a very aggressive feel.

So off I went to a craft store, to get some pure black pigment to tone the brightness down. 

After several tries, full craft bottle of black paint and a gallon of white latex, we finally managed to get the perfect blue for our bedroom.

Here it is: 

We are supper happy with this choice, just wait till I show you what it looks like with our furniture.  

Staining the deck

Our beautiful deck has been used often for Family gatherings, and Mid-Summer

Night Suppers followed by bonfires in the back yard.  We are planning one in July... can't wait. 

The deck however... well it could use some sprucing up... it's only two years old... but it could use some sprucing up!

We used the water based finish, applied with a foam applicator. 

Here is the AFTER:

We plan to apply the second coat as soon as the weather permits.  It`s been very cold and damp lately.

Dinning Room Excitement Buffet & Hutch

Our home has a 500sq.ft open concept, kitchen, dining & family room combination. 

There is a door leading to our bedroom between the kitchen & dining area.  The wall on the right of the bedroom door has been begging for a buffet and hutch since the day we designed this space.

But I could never find what I wanted at the right price...

Till two days ago!

Look at my newest purchase:

Someone was selling this because they got a brand new one for their dining room. 

It's exactly what I wanted because....

I will be painting it!

It was $100.00! and it's in perfect shape.  All I need to do is grab a sander!

It's sitting in my garage now waiting for me to transform it into my dream...

Here, take a closer look:

It has a side glass panels too:

I love the thin mullions on the front

But I'm not so crazy about the design on the bottom doors; I think it's a bit too busy. I may have to come up with an idea to modify the doors a bit.

So stay with me on this one, I will try to do this soon.

This is my inspiration...

It's from Life In the Fun Lane

Isn't it beautiful? 

Wait and see how mine will turn out. 

Dreaming Softly Master Bedroom Secrets

Intrigued by the title?

We have been in our "new home" just over 4 years now... and I'm finnaly ready to transform the Master Bedroom into the relaxed oasis it should be.

The Secret about it is the simple fact that my husband doesn't have a clue yet.

Of course I will help him! I can do it all! Or almost all!
It's just getting him to agree to disturb the hectic-as-it-is-life and get it actually done...

That is my challenge now... or is it finally deciding what it is that we will be doing?

Here is couple of ideas I love.











This is from Divine Design (I LOVE Candice)

All those pictures somehow provide a sense of serenity. 

It's not that I like any specific item in any of them...

It's about the feeling I get when I look at them...

Just look at that quilt, you just want to reach out and touch it, don't you? (It's from Pine Cone Hill)

Here are few more pics: (from willowdecor.blogspot.com)

Some have nothing to do with a bedroom; they just give me that calm feeling I love so much...

This one is quite seasonal Christmas Decor, but I love the bead board and the sea foam colour on the walls.

I'm a bit afraid of all the white that is required to achieve this look...

But, I figured I can always add some black into the mix to ground the look.

Or just use soft hues to bring in the peaceful serenity.  (from Pine Cone Hill again)

So now, all I have to do is to gather the courage to let my Hubby know that this is his next project... the bead board, the painting... the refinishing of the floors...

Wish me luck!