Dream Kitchen

I was inspired to create a moodboard of my dream kitchen by the Aya "Blogpodium Bound" Contest - although I didn't end up entering the contest since Blogpodium is in the middle of our west coast road trip and beach time with Dave and the dogs trumps a blog conference in Toronto.

My dream kitchen was inspired by the kitchen in Paul Frank's Hudson River home. I love how the painted cabinets and soapstone are a little bit 'bistro' and a little bit 'country'. I would compliment the grey tones in the cabinets and stone with blue accents - a combination of rich cobalt and bright steel blue - and then add bronze hardware and touches of wood for warmth.

Bedford Cabinets in Oyster Glaze, Aya Kitchens

Soapstone Countertop and Backsplash

Bronze Bin Pulls, Lee Valley

Essex Faucet in Vibrant Brushed Bronze, Kohler

Vintage Blossoms in Jade, Dwell Studio via Tonic Living

Bella Porte in Brindle, Dwell Studio via Tonic Living

French Kitchen Island, Crate and Barrel

Vienna Black Counter Stool, Crate and Barrel

Hicks Pendant, Circa Lighting

Ink Teakettle, Le Creuset

Roulette Blue Band Dinnerware, Crate and Barrel

 Standmixer in Steel Blue, Kitchenaid

Convertible, Promise and Retreat, Sarah Richardson Designer Palette via Para Paints

Check out the fabulous dream kitchens created by Nancy, Martina, Amy, Jessica, Justine, Carissa, and Kelly.

Amy

Caught Red Handed

Amy

♥ List

I am loving... globes

Via BHG

Via Bonytt

Via Brabourne Farm

Via Recylart

Via Bird and Birch

Amy

Luck of the Irish

Via The Buzz

Via Houzz

Via Houzz

Via French Knot

Via Design Sponge

Via Pinterest

Via Houzz

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Amy

So Bright I Need Shades

We were able to pick up our freshly nickle plated return air vent covers from Alberta Plating last week.

They turned out a little shinier then either of us had envisioned!

Before

Stripped

Nickle Plated

When we first saw the covers, we were actually worried they were too shiny but once they were installed they blended perfectly with all of the other brushed nickle finishes in the house.

Dinning Room

Bedroom

  

Bathroom

We are both extremely happy with how well the nickle plating turned out. Especially how it restored all of the decorative detail.

The best part... we will no longer constantly be retrieving dog toys out of the return air vents!

Amy

On the Walls

In the six years we lived in the house prior to renovating, we never really had much hanging on the walls. Our ugly red/yellow/green/brown walls never inspired me to hang much beyond our most treasured pieces - like Scout - and that was more for safekeeping then anything. I kept telling myself that it was a not worth hanging pictures when one day we were going to renovate/paint/decorate for real. For six years.

Needless to say, I am super excited that we finally reached the point in the renovation where I can justify hanging things on the walls.

We decided to start with the IKEA Lillholmen Key Hook and antique vent-cover-turned-mail-slot at the front door - the same two things we had hung up in the house as soon as we moved in. Of course, Murphy's Law, Dave managed to break the wall anchor when he was installing the mail slot and we had to patch the drywall and start all over again.

For a splash of colour, I added a cute bird print I found in enrouge's etsy shop. A boring frame didn't seem to do the print justice so I mounted it on a 8" square canvas that I purchased from Michael's. I painted the edges using three shades of Martha Stewart metallic craft  - Gold, Bronze and Rust. One shade is never enough for me apparently!



We are the World by enrouge



The little birds are so cute and cheerful - the perfect welcome to our home - and perfectly compliment my blue door!

Amy

PS Apartment Therapy stole our mail slot idea! Well not really... but... I can dream that they did. I definitely like the copper patina on our mail slot better than the painted look.

Checking Off the List

"To Do"

• Install bathroom door
• Install trim around vent pipe in bathroom
• Paint interior doors
• Paint inner front door
• Install closet doors, everywhere
• Install door hardware, everywhere
• Install powder room window and hardware
• Install stair railing
• Complete drywall in linen closet
• Install linen closet shelves - almost done!
• Install office shelves - started!
• Build office desk - done any day now!
• Build spare bedroom desk
• Paint front entrance
• Complete front entrance bench
• Get front door and dining room windows repaired
• Install crown moulding on main floor
• Install baseboard on main floor
• Paint main floor walls and trim - only touch up around the fireplace left!
• Complete fireplace mantel - almost done!
• Install gas insert in fireplace
• Paint windows
• Touch-up paint, everywhere
• Remove and replace siding, on the entire house
• Replace eavestroughs
• Rebuild front steps
• Complete furnace inspection
• Complete electrical inspection again
• Fill nail holes in hardwood floors
• Complete trim on exterior of house
• Complete brick on front steps
• Complete concrete edges on front steps
• Install mail box
• Install Juliette balcony railing
• Replace all the plugs with tamper proof plugs
• Install return air vents
• Install hooks in the main entrance
• Install bathroom fixtures in powder room
• Install blinds in spare bedroom
• Install dining room light fixture
• Complete shingles on roof

The list is getting longer not shorter... argh!

Amy

Asian Adventure: Nepal and India

Three months later I have finally finished telling the story of our amazing adventure in India and Nepal.

I am sure you all got bored and stopped reading a long time ago...

For anyone who is just tuning in, to save you having to scroll through three months worth of posts, I have condensed them all into a nice neat list.

• Days 1 to 3 Going to Kathmandu
• Day 4 Bhaktapur (Kathmandu)
• Day 5 Change of Plans (Kathmandu)
• Day 6 and 7 Hitting the Trail (Bhulebule, Ngadi, Chamje)
• Day 8 A Little Raksi (Tal, Odar, Danague)
• Day 9 Chame
• Day 10 and 11 Tibetan Tea and Apple Pie (Upper Pisang, Manang)
• Day 12 Day of Rest (Manang)
• Day 13 and 14 Going Up (Yak Kharka, High Camp)
• Day 15 Thorong La Pass (Muktinah)
• Day 16 Leaving the Crowds Behind (Chele)
• Day 17 and 18 The Road to Lo Manthang (Geiling, Charang)
• Day 19 Tea with a King (Lo Manthang)
• Day 20 Pony Ride (Lo Manthang)
• Day 21 and 22 Sleepover in a Monastery (Yara, Luri, Charang)
• Day 23 and 24 The Road Back (Syanboche, Chele)
• Day 25 Yak Burger with Fries (Kagbeni)
• Day 26 to 27 Planes + Clouds = Hot Springs (Jomsom, Tatopani, Pokhara)
• Day 28 to 30 Getting Out of Nepal (Pokhara, Kathmandu, Delhi)
• Day 31 Delhi
• Day 32 Trains are No Better Than Planes (Delhi, Agra, Fatepur Sikri)
• Day 33 Taj Mahal (Agra)
• Day 34 Jaipur
• Day 35 and 36 Attack of the Lassi (Jaipur)
• Day 37 and 38 Homeward Bound (Delhi)

Amy

Unpacked

Only 487 days after we packed up our house, we finally took the last boxes out of storage in the neighbour's garage.

The best part? We have a dinning room table!

Unfortunately looks can be deceiving.... the table is actually hiding an assortment of living room decorations and random pieces of furniture that don't yet have a home. And of course Dave's work bench.

The living room still needs a lot of work. It is still missing a couple pieces of baseboard. The walls and trim still need one more coat of paint. And of course crown moulding.

The fireplace is only about half done and we have hit a snag in our soapstone plans. Turns out that in the six months since we ordered the last piece of stone, the quarry has shut down and now we don't know if we can get matching stone. We are trying to stay optimistic that Dauter Stone will be able to locate a matching remnant in their yard.

The hallway is pretty close to complete less some touch up near the front door and, again, crown moulding.

Still a long way from being *done* but it feels good to have some place to sit down to dinner again.

Amy

Mail Slot Rescue

When we bought the house, the inner front door had a flimsy plastic mail slot. When we re-finished the door the first time several years ago, we found a vintage cast iron mail slot on eBay. Unfortunately it had been coated with multiple layers of black paint and the worn black finish was just not going to cut it against all of our shiny new bronze hardware.

Dave sandblasted off all of the existing paint - thank goodness for friends who have sandblasting machines - exposing the bare cast iron below. While removing the paint did accentuate the text on the mail slot, unfortunately the grey cast iron didn't match the new door hardware any better than the previous black.

Spray paint to the rescue!

I had recently seen some posts on Young House Love where they had spray painted door hardware, patio furniture and furniture legs oil rubbed bronze - or ORB as they call it - so I thought it was worth a try.

Our door hardware is not actually oil rubbed bronze. The finish is referred to as "medium bronze" - which is a matte black-brown with highlights of gold on the edges. Over time it is supposed to wear to reveal more gold and develop a nice patina... unfortunately no one sells a single spray paint colour that meets that description. Believe me I searched everywhere.

So in order to replicate the "medium bronze" finish, I had to get creative.

I started with a coat of gold Rustoleum Universal Metallic "True Gold". Then I applied a coat of Rustoeum Universal Metallic “Oil Rubbed Bronze” - the same shade used by Sherry at Young House Love.

In order to get the matte finish, I then applied a thin coat of Tremclad Flat Black trying not to completely cover the bronze.

Three coats of spray paint = a lot of paint fumes!

To finish it all off, I sanded the edges with fine grit sandpaper to reveal the gold hues underneath.

Viola! A medium bronze mail slot!

Sure looks better than the green masking tape that had been temporarily blocking drafts.

Now I just have to convince Dave to install it.

Amy

Happy Birthday Scout!

It is hard to believe my baby is turning 7! It seems like just yesterday we found the litter of Weimaraners on the Silversmith Farms website and decided it was time to get a puppy...



Our baby!



Chillin'



First ocean experience

Kayaking

Happy boy

Yukon adventure

Tenting

Hiking

Amy