No Sew Curtains!

So, long before this renovation started I was on the lookout for some sort of inspiration...I knew that I wanted to go with a grey-blue colour on the walls in the living room and dining room but it had to look good with our brown micro suede furniture and tan coloured chairs...While browsing in our local JYSK store one day I stumbled upon this

 

The Anili tablecloth...42 x 84 beauty - BUT the problem was they only has ONE in stock.  I promptly flagged down a sales clerk to see if they had more in the back or would be getting more in - NOPE it was being discontinued ...Urghhhhhhhh!  It was the perfect thing to bring all the colours I wanted into the room and a big money saver cause they were only $8 each...I needed 6 tablecloths in total to use them as curtains in my living room and dining room...Needless to say I bought the one knowing that if I couldn't find any more I would at least have this one to make pillow covers or something for the rooms!  The good thing about using tablecloths too is that the fabric is made of good quality that can stand up to many washings without losing its lustre.

I came home and went online to JYSK and low and behold I found the extras I was looking for.  They were still $8 but how much would it cost me to get them shipped here...I followed the process and added them to "my cart".  I got down to the shipping portion and it was my LUCKY DAY - SHIPPING WAS FREE!! - So cost of 6 tablecloths for curtains $48 plus tax!!!  I went to Walmart to buy ring clips for the project - they were charging $11 for 7 ring clips.  Those were going to cost me more than the tablecloths...I dropped in to our local Liquidation World (which is a division of Big Lots) and found packages of 14 rings (enough to do 2 panels) for just $6 - WOO HOO - SCORE!!!

McG helped me put back up our existing woven blinds and then hung the rods up for me...Here's a closer look at the pattern

The pictures are a little dark - some I took last night and some are from this morning - the effects of Hurricane Sandy have arrived in our area - its very windy and raining so the natural light is not the best and I really do need a new camera!

This is just a quick look at the living room with the curtains up...there are still lots of changes to come, including a revamp of our current media cabinet, but for right now the TV is just on top of our wicker trunk as a make-shift stand...I will post more as the project continues...

I really love how the curtains look in the room - we still have quite a bit to do, including baseboards - which have been purchased and now need painting...it seems like we've been living in a state of construction for so long now...McG is finishing up a few small projects this week and then he will be off deer hunting next week...that leaves me to do a bit of DIYing on my own - and shopping for some fun accessories.

Have you ever used tablecloths as curtain panels?  It's a fun, no sew way to do curtains!

Cheryl

Flooring Update!

Well, lots of work has been going on around here this week...so much so, that I thought I should jump in today with a quick update...

Earlier this week the room looked like this...

Now McG has a day job and he works very hard, most days from 5 am to 5 pm...and then he comes home and keeps on working until its time for bed!  He's a hard-working man and I love and appreciate him for all that he does...We've worked on the floor every night this week, with the exception of last night, 'cause it was our 26th anniversary yesterday and we enjoyed a lovely dinner out, and then a bit of shopping for some castors for another project!! Hopefully, I will be able to share that one soon!...Anyway, I snapped some pictures of the floor this morning so you could see the progress...It's dark and rainy here so I hope they show the true beauty of the floor...

You can see that we are working in not the best light...My job was to make sure we were mixing up the pattern and laying out each row..McG was cutting and fitting the pieces together...it was a bit difficult but we've managed to get most of the living room and dining room done over the last few nights...

We've just got the hallway left to do this weekend...here's a sneak peek of the room with some of the furniture moved back in...REMEMBER - this is NOT the finished room...there's a lot left to do!

And look, there's Sloan curled up on the trunk in the front window..eyes glowing at me!  This is what we've been working on this week...what have you been up to???  Leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you!

Cheryl

Weekend Fun Turns to Weekday Work!

Well, as you all know we are in the midst of a big renovation here - it's exciting times!  And this is what the excitement was about this past weekend...

I know this doesn't seem too exciting to some...but let me tell you - I was excited as H - E - double L - about getting rid of that carpet! Woo Hoo - it's outta here! - Why the excitement you ask???  That's because  it was followed by this...

Now ain't  she pretty?! All shiny and new - I love this new floor - and McG will too once the work is done...but for now, we've got a few more days of this before it's all done...and even then, is it ever really done? No, because then there is baseboards to do and some other trim work, bringing back in the furniture and then of course the stairs will need to be done...and then all the good stuff, like fluffing and nesting...I am hoping it keeps moving along at a fast pace, but I am sure that other things will get in the way,  like this...

Yes - it seems that other work is piling up, so today I guess my job is to work on this while McG is at his day-job...so that he doesn't have to contend with this when he gets home...and he will have nothing to do but to work on the floor again...ain't that sweet of me!  Oh well, its a beautiful sunny day here, might as well get me some fresh air and get to work.

Are you working outside today?  I'd love to know what you are working on today!

Cheryl

My Kitchen Mantel

Ok so I'm not really sure if you can call it a mantel...its more of a ledge between our kitchen and dining room...well right now its not technically a dining room because its piled high with furniture during our big living room/dining room reno...

But I was feeling inspired to create a little bit of fall decor in amongst the mess that is our home these days!

We recently painted our kitchen "smoked turquoise" by CIL paint - it was colour matched into BEHR self-priming paint over at Home Depot that we purchased over in Michigan...but wait didn't I just tell you yesterday that I live in Southern Ontario...ya - well we did some cross-border shopping and saved ourselves about $100 on the paint - the same paint here in Canada costs $45/gallon and we paid $25/gallon in Michigan...the exchange on the money right now is very little and McG and I made a day of it.  We went to IKEA (woo hoo!) and then had lunch out and then spent a couple of hours in the Home Depot.  I can usually get him to agree to shopping if I include Home Depot in the day's events!

This is a view of the opening between our dining room and kitchen, and there's the sofa from the living room hanging in out in the dining room.  I loved the way the yellow mums and turquoise dish looked on the ledge, so I decided to incorporate them into a fall mantel display (of sorts)...

The mums I cut from the garden, the turquoise candy dish was my Nana's and now I get to enjoy it - the small votive holder I pulled from another room to add some more colour, and the tiny pumpkins I purchased at the grocery store 3/99 cents.  A pretty cheap little arrangement, but lovely on my kitchen mantel - don't you think??

Here's a closer look...

It wont't be up there for long, because we are starting to paint the dining room and living room tonight...but it brought me some joy today and I thought I would share...

Cheryl
Linking up at:   The Inspired Room

Fall Outdoor Decor

It's a beautiful day here today in Southern Ontario...temps in the mid 50's and sunny!  I have had my outdoor  fall décor up for sometime now...actually really early on in September.  The neighbours probably thought I was a little crazy putting it out there when the temperatures were still in the 80's, but it seems that fall comes way too fast around here, and I wanted to be able to enjoy it for awhile!

This is a view of our home from the street, with our maple tree a gorgeous yellow - I swear every morning when I get up it is yellow-er (is that a word?) than the day before...You can see in the background a few of our fall décor items...nothing too scary here at this house - just the right mix of fall and Halloween décor.  Let's take a closer look...

a scarecrow out by the elm...

a ghost in a wine barrel planter on the side of the driveway...and a fall wreath on the tree...

...another look from the street

A closer look at the porch and we find the pumpkin planter filled with mums and another wreath on the front door...

For this wreath I chose a mix of orange mums and yellow sun flowers to repeat the yellow that is so prominent right now in the colour of the maple leaves on our tree...It also helps the wreath to "pop" off the blue door when looking from the street...

here's a closer view showing the autumn leaves and the yellow butterfly.

I have saved the best Halloween decoration for last....

This is Sloan, our black cat, who is waiting patiently at the door for his Momma to be done taking pictures outside...ISN'T HE SCARY!!!

I love adding seasonal touches to our home...do you decorate for fall or Halloween? I'd love to hear how you decorate for the season!

Cheryl
Linking up at: The Inspired Room, No Minimalist Here, Funky Junk Interiors, DIY showoff, A Pretty Life in the Suburbs

The Wall is up!!

I know I shouldn't be so excited, but I am...

You see our entryway used to look like this...with its orangey trim and railings....and our living room couch lived with its back up against this ugly railing for 16 years...really it was meant to be a wall from the beginning, but the builder messed up and installed the railing instead...and for 16 years I have been trying to hide it behind the furniture...it really made it hard to decorate the living room but we lived with it - UNTIL NOW...I have finally talked McG into getting rid of it and installing the wall that the builder should have oh so long ago!!

So down came the railing..and quite easily I might add...

Up went the framing and the hardboard and in less than an hour, McG had the new wall in place! WOO HOO!

He made the framing from two by six lumber and screwed it down well to the adjacent wall and floorboards.

We had purchased these MDF panels a few months back at our local RONA store.  They were on clearing for $7.49 for a 4 x 8 sheet with the design carved out on one side...three panels were enough to cover the whole wall.  We faced the carved side out in the living room, but on the side facing the entryway we chose to have the plain side facing out as I am going to wallpaper the whole wall on that side.  I primed the wall with 2 coats of primer.

The entryway now looks like this...since this picture was taken, I have also painted out the baseboards and started on the remaining handrail.  I must say that I am loving the painted trim.  It makes the whole house look lighter and brighter!!

My last post talked about my inspiration for the kitchen...NOW FOR A SNEAK PEEK OF HOW IT TURNED OUT....

This picture is taken from the view of the dining room through the pass-thru to the kitchen - a full kitchen reveal will be coming soon!!  IT'S EXCITING TIMES HERE AND I AM LOVING IT!

Cheryl

Where do you get your inspiration???

Most of my inspiration lately comes from reading blogs and of course, Pinterest (you can follow me there by clicking the link on the side bar).  But I must warn you, IT IS SO ADDICTIVE!!!  I could (and do) spend hours looking at photos dreaming of what my house could be...McG is not so fond of Pinterest as it just adds fuel to my creativity and more to his honey-do list.

Before the days of Pinterest, I got most of my inspiration from decorating magazines, like Style at Home and Better Homes and Gardens...or from the many shows on HGTV.

As I began to prepare for our latest renovation, I knew I had to incorporate the honey oak kitchen cabinets that were existing in our kitchen.  This is the inspiration I found on Pinterest.  The original source of the photo is http//thefreshlivingroomideas.onsugar.com

What do you think of my inspiration?  Where do you get your inspirations for decorating?  I'd love to hear from you!





P.S. - the painting has begun in my kitchen - and I am so in LOVE with the colour!!

My Fall Mantel

I'm taking a break from my own DIY projects to read and catch up with all the blogs I follow...you can find some of them under my Blog Roll - I also follow many through Facebook...and Pinterest!  That's a crazy addictive place and where I get caught up for hours at a time, dreaming of new ideas for our home.

This is what my mantel in the basement family room has looked like for the better part of this year...a yard sale mirror ($10), a deer candle holder from Homesense ($14) which I spray painted a rusty brown.  It was originally painted red - I got in on clearance after Christmas last year...one of McG's old duck decoys, along with some old photos of the kids...and a garland with rusty bells on it...I went to the Dollarama and picked up a few faux pumpkins and also added some small gourds from the grocery store...it now looks like this...

and here's a closer view...

A simple change that cost me less than $10...and it brings the fall colours to my home!

Cheryl

Linking up at Debbiedoos, The Inspired Room, Beyond the Picket Fence

Is this a step backwards???

I am starting this blog at the beginning of our home Reno and re-construction...so in some ways if feels we are taking steps backwards instead of forwards...This is our living room before the demolition...See the railing behind the couch...that lovely orangey thing - it is no more!

Gone also, is the lovely orangey trim around the door frames in the entry and the entire main living areas - I have been decorating around this orange colour for 16 years - AND I WANT IT GONE!!!  And while my before pics are lovely...and the during stage (that we have been living in for the past few weeks) aren't so pretty...I know we are on our way to an even better "after"...so hold tight - its going to be messy for a while longer...

I am trying out some new colours as you can see...but they look alot more blue in this photo..the current wall colour is a "pear green" - not sure of the exact shade but I know the paint came from Sears years ago - I don't even think they sell paint at Sears here in Canada anymore...I am leaning towards a grey-blue colour by CIL paints called Canadian Sky for the living room and dining room...and the kitchen is going to be another CIL shade called Smoked Turquoise.

I'm off to paint another coat of white on the entryway baseboards...wish me luck!!

Cheryl

a little bit about me...

For awhile now I have been on the other end of the spectrum, viewing and enjoying blogs written by others...home decor and style blogs by seasoned professionals who have brought insight and inspiration into my home everyday.  And for awhile now I have contemplated starting a blog of my own.  I am in no way a professional decorator/designer but always find my friends asking me for advice in decorating their homes...so, I decided to take the plunge and start a blog of my own.

I am not a newcomer to blogging, per se, but the kind of blog I'm used to writing is on caringbridge..you see I am a cancer survivor - a stem cell transplant survivor - a medical miracle really or a science project of sorts.  You see, I had leukemia.  Diagnosed in November of 2009, I had my transplant in January of 2011.  As if that didn't make me enough of a science project, I didn't have a fully matched donor.  My sister was only a half-match and I had no matches on the bone marrow registry either.  Many people have died in this scenario, but my transplant Dr. was given the opportunity to participate in a trial protocol using my sister's half-matched cells...with no other choice out there, I proceeded with the trial.  And almost 2 years later, I am doing very well and moving on with my life.

For 2 years I have had to get my decorating fix by reading and following decorating blogs and while that got me through, I am now at a point in my recovery where we can renovate and rejuvenate our own home...The Creative Me can finally come back out to play - I have 2 years of ideas rolling around in my head - and my hubby (My McGyver - or - McG) is always up to help getting my ideas done...I am not the muscle behind the renovations, in fact, I am the brains and he is the brawn.

I hope you enjoy and follow along, offer suggestions and ask questions...I think this could be the next part of my journey and I would love for you to follow along!

Cheryl