Old Chipped Paint

Sharing a couple of my "finds" from the past week.  When I saw this rustic blue bench advertised on Kijiji I knew it had to be mine.  I love nothing more than brightly colored chipped paint, so off I went to collect this beauty.  It fits perfectly in my entrance.

While I was at the pick-up location I spotted this old ladder in the garage.  Brightly colored chipped paint?  I'll take it!  

A light's life

I found this guy sitting all by his lonesome on a cluttered Housewares shelf in Value Village. If he was a puppy, he would have been the runt of the litter, left behind by his big brothers and sisters, looking up at me with adorable, pining eyes. Well, we don't have a dog, but I did take this guy home with me. 

In his first life, this is how I imagine he looked (but of course, with a different shape entirely - this was the closest picture I could find):

Of course, I wanted to give him a new home, and a new life. So I filled this little guy up and gave him a place of honour , right behind my kitchen sink (because doesn't everyone need a little cheer when they're washing dishes?!)

He makes me want to have fresh flowers in my home all the time. I've been buying all sorts of lovely blooms lately. And paired with this guy's fun shape, they make me smile, even when I'm elbow-deep in dirty dishwater.

 

~J~

Lighten Up and Brighten Up: Master Bedroom Re-New

I am so excited ... I need to show you ... It's Done!!

 

 

Now ... rewind.

Enter: old bedroom.

It was dark. Dark paint. Dark furniture. Dark bedding. Imagine the headboard to match those nightstands, it was dark too. It was dark, really dark. 

 

 

Paint shopping. I wanted to go light. I had the color of creamy vanilla icecream in mind. I took my paint swatch from my trim along. It was once I got there that I realized that the colour I had on the trim was much darker than I anticipated ... now the dilemma ... do I:

1) Go a shade close than the trim and then risk it looking like a near miss.

2) Go a couple of shades darker than the trim, but then its not really that light anymore.

3) Go a couple of shades lighter than the trim (although I have never been a fan of the "darker trim/lighter paint" look) ...

... so I texted Jade ... with this pile of paint swatches and a big "????"

 

 

She was in total agreement with me ... but I wanted light ...

so ... she convinced me to go light.

I am so glad I did. I Love it!

 

Honestly people, I didn't realize what a paint colour could do.

I went light, really light, and the room seems twice the size.

 

 

 

Paint: Check

 

 

New Flooring: Check

Time to install the headboard (you can see that project here) that

started this domino effect in the first place. We attached it directly to the wall.

 

 

 

Put it all together, and you have this!

 

 

I had a matching furniture set. I don`t love the ``matchy-matchy`` look, but I had to be realistic, it was a great set and I wasn`t ready to paint it just yet. I took the two end tables and relocated them elsewhere in the house. I settled on keeping the two dressers in the room for storage. Next, I took two recent projects and used them as a mismatched end table set.

Remember this dresser? You can see it here.

 

 

On the other side, that old side table renewal, you can see that here

 

 

 

 

I lightened up the decor a bit.

 

On the opposite side of the room: the photo collage that you can see here.

 

 



 

 



 

 

Don`t these bowls just make you want to smile :)

 

 

And that coffee table turned bench renewal that can be seen here.

 

 |T|

 

Coffee Table turned Bench

Thrift store find: Coffee Table $10.

It was sturdy, and it was coming home with to start it's new life as a bench!

I spray painted the table with a dark brown spray paint and a coat of polyurethane for protection.

I took a piece of plywood and cut it to the size of the top of the coffee table. I cut a 3" foam to the same size. I drilled holes through the plywood at the locatins that I wanted tufts. Next step was to cover the top in fabric and staple taut to the underside of the plywood. I stitched down through the top of the cushion with the button in place and pulled tight on the underside to create a tuft. I secured these strings with a couple of staples. Now I had an upholstered piece of plywood. I set it down on the coffee table and screwed up from underneath the table to attach the plywood to the table.

NOTE: use short screws! Just enough to get through the plywood

 ... or you will have an awful surprise when you sit down!

~T~

Road Trip

We are back from a family vacation to Calgary.  Luckily there was time between visiting the Zoo, Science Center, Calaway Park, and all other attractions focused on kids, for me to get a quick visit into a few of my favorite shopping spots.

Anthropolgie=Love

I left here determined to improve my culinary skills.

Loved these cute little cupcake mixes at Williams-Sonoma.

Ikea was conveniently located across the street from our hotel.

  

I would take everything from Pottery Barn and put it in my house.

As much as I enjoyed shopping at all of these beautiful places, I didn't leave with the overwhelming feeling that I needed it all packed into the back our vehicle.  I think this is because of all the unique finds that my thrifting sisters and I are finding for a fraction of the price and are carrying a history that you just can't find from a retail store. 

~A~

A Little White Wall Collage

Collages ... how I love thee ... they just may be one of my new favorite decorating ideas! I have been up to my eyeballs in a bedroom re-do. What started with a new headboard, has ended up in new paint, flooring, furniture swapping and decor. Here is a sneak peek at what I have been working on.

I wanted to lighten things up a bit. I have to say I have been amazed at what a color change can do for a room. In sticking with the light theme, I have collected a bunch of keepsakes to put together in a collage over the two dressers that are framed or matted in white. I have had fun digging through old boxes to find pieces of nostalgia.

I wanted to celebrate us as a couple on this wall. Here goes:

I have framed various pictures and keepsakes of our time together over the last 12 years. I will walk you through a few of them.

 

A map of eastern Saskatchewan. Our roots.

This piece of map includes both of our hometowns as well as the town we call home now.

There are two cross-stich pieces framed on this wall. One was made for us by my mom for our wedding, and the other, by my sister for our first anniversary.

I can hardly belive I came accross this!

I found deep at the bottom of a box, the piece of paper that I gave my number to my husband on the very first night we met.

Lyrics to our wedding song.

A little note from my sweetheart after 18 months of dating.

Our wedding invitation.

A needlepoint picture made for me as a little girl by my Great Grandmother Irene. It's still in it's original frame and the back has an inscription from her and is dated "Christmas 1984"



Some warm love. I love homemade quilts! Especially ones with meaning.

There are 3 stacked here, each handmade from 3 of our grandmothers.

I have purposely left it assymetrical and open, so that I can keep adding to it over the years.

I will get a full bedroom post up once I get it all put together. Stay tuned!

~T~