LAUNDRY ROOM REVEAL - 3/4 DONE!

OK - it's not DONE - but it's done enough for a reveal!

If you are just joining us - here's a look at the mood board from the room...

And here she is...

sorry - this one is a little blurry  :S  The piece on the right is a clock, but you can't see it very well from the glare from the lights...  I put this chair in here so that I can just sit and admire it.

McG helped me hang some of the things for the gallery wall.   I have wanted a gallery wall for sometime now, but was never sure where to put one.  I didn't purchased any of this new.  It all came from my stash, having lived somewhere else in the house before this.  I need a few more pieces but it's coming together nicely.

Laundry is definitely higher on my to-do list now that I can spend time in this room!  It's a definite upgrade from the tiny closet it used to be in and having the laundry room closer to the bedrooms is a plus as well.

McG still has to strip and restain the door and add new hardware, but she's pretty much finished up.
We finished it up in just 5 weeks, working mainly on weekends and a few nights after work.

The cost for the project came in around $700, which included the flooring, paint, and the cost of running the water and gas lines to the room.

There's only a couple rooms left to renovate in this house - the family room, which will be our first project in the new year, and the spare bedroom.  Stayed tuned for our next adventure...

Cheryl

Laundry Room Progress

Hey there!  Happy Monday!  It's grey and cold here this morning...

I wanted to pop in and share some laundry room progress.  If you follow on Facebook or Instagram you've probably already seen what's been going on.

Here's a reminder of the look we are going for...

Two weeks ago, we ripped up the carpet from the small bedroom that we are moving our laundry room to.  McG and our son installed water and gas lines, which took the better part of a couple of weekends, since our son was on afternoon shift and not available during the week to help his Dad.

This past week McG gave the ceiling a fresh coat of white paint and then two of the walls got two coats of "Hale Navy" by Benjamin Moore that was colour matched to Beautitone paint from Home Hardware.  The other two walls were painted two coats of "Just Chillin'" from Home Hardware. It was leftover from the main bathroom project. 

While the paint dried, McG headed into the attic to install the wiring for a ceiling fixture in this room.  Previously we had a cage light that was plugged into an electrical outlet and operated with a switch.  It was time for an actual ceiling fixture. 

Yesterday afternoon we started on the flooring.  It is a vinyl plank click lock flooring that we purchased at Home Depot.  The colour is called Harrison Pine Dark.

There are three different widths of planks in each box all with different colour variations.  I have to say it was quite easy to install.  McG might say differently, but it took about 2 hours to install, but the most time was trying to figure out a pattern and not put too many of the same coloured planks too close together. 

My vision is really coming together on this room and I think having a mood board to work from really helped in keeping us on track. 

Next up we will be painting and installing some new baseboard trim.  Once that's complete we will be moving the washer and dryer in and setting up the pretty stuff!!

Cheryl

MOVING THE LAUNDRY ROOM

Hello Friends!

I'm back today with some exciting news!  I'm sure the title gave it away, but WE ARE MOVING THE LAUNDRY ROOM!

When we purchased this home three years ago, we were fine with the laundry being in a large closet in the family room.  We didn't see any reason to move it, but we did update the closet.  Here's a look back at what we had when we moved in and what it is like now.

After living with it like this for almost three years, I have finally talked McG into moving it into a small bedroom which we currently just use as storage.  That room got a small makeover as well last year.

I had wanted to steal some space from this room when we did the main bathroom makeover last year, but McG felt it would be better to leave this room as a bedroom option.  FAST FORWARD and I have finally talked him into making this room into a laundry room.

Part of the reason he went along with it is because earlier this year we had to purchase a new washer and dryer and the new appliances stick out from the wall a little further and thus we can't close the closet doors anymore.  This makes watching TV difficult at night since that's when most of the laundry is done.  Many times he will wear headphones to watch something and I will watch TV in the living room since we only have one pair of headphones. Not to mention, the eyesore that is the laundry room as it takes away from the decor in the family room (which will be getting a makeover beginning in January!!!)

We have pulled up the carpet and he has installed the water hookup in this room already.  Next will be to run the gas line for the dryer.  I have been on Pinterest checking out some inspiration and I have put together a mood board of sorts.

Two of the walls (the wall with the window and the back wall behind the washer and dryer) will be a dark navy and we have already purchased the vinyl plank flooring.  It's Allure in Harrison Pine Dark.  I already have one wood shelf but we may add a second one to hold "pretties".  I have purchased a similar clock and pear from the clearance at our local Homesense store.  I will add wicker and some faux plants to round out the decor.  All the storage that was in this room, will now be able to be stored in the old laundry room closet in the family, which is a much better solution for us.

I have so many ideas floating around in my head, but I will be sure to share them as things progress!

Here's hoping this project proceeds fairly quickly!!

Cheryl

What We've Been Up To...

It seems forever since I've had something to sit down and write about.

The summer flew by it seems.  We enjoyed our pool and worked in the yard...but nothing else got done on the never ending house project list.  Don't get me wrong after the three week push to get the pool in and landscaped, we both were ready for some down time. 

But fall has arrived and I'm itching to get back to the list.  This past weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving, and McG took a break from his hunting weekends to be at home.  I took advantage of that and suggested that we cross a project off the list.

We had decided that we were going to replace the front doors on the house, but after checking out options and getting over some serious sticker shock, we decided just to "fix up" the current doors we had.  The doors are not my favourite and are a bit too ornate for the cottage-y vibe I'm trying to create in this house, but I'm willing to work with them to save some money for other projects.

They were a cornflower blue when we first moved in but I painted them a rich navy. The colour was great at first but after three years they were tired and needed something new.

We took them down, McG scraped out the old caulking around the windows and then he sanded them.  Each door got three coats of Rustoleum Gloss Apple Red paint after we taped off the windows.

Once they were dry (which took overnight, so McG slept on the couch to make sure no one came in through the screen doors while we slept) we hung them back up the next morning.

Once they were hung we painted the trim around the window a crisp white to make the doors pop!

We also added new door hardware which we purchased last year when we installed the new back door.  I really LOVE how the doors now POP against the dark grey of the siding.

A project that could have easily cost thousands of dollars was accomplished with $40 in spray paint!!

The regularly scheduled hunting weekends are back on the agenda, so it could be awhile before we begin another project...but next up on the list is - MOVING THE LAUNDRY ROOM!!!

I hope you stay tuned for our next DIY adventure!!

Cheryl

Summer Style in the Living Room

While most bloggers are already talking about Fall decor...this girl is still deeply enjoying SUMMER!! Why are the seasons rushed??? It's not FALL until September 21st people...until then I will be thinking and living SUMMER!

I badly needed to do some dusting around here, since we've spent the better part of the last month working outside on the pool area.  Now that it's complete, I really needed to pay some attention to the inside of my home.

Today's project was cleaning the built-ins in the living room.

Here's what they looked like  a few months back.

And here's what they look like now...

A calmer, more subdued look.

Less cluttered, less color...more texture.

More neutrals with just a touch of gold and green.

I'm loving the look and the simplicity of it.  To me, it screams summer...

...where things are a little more laid back and easy.

The sun is bright here today and it's a little cooler and less humid.  I've got the windows open and the radio cranked up, enjoying the great summer breezes.

Hope you enjoyed a look around our living room today.  McG and I are getting outside today to celebrate with family and friends.  Thanks for stopping by!

Cheryl

Three Weeks to Paradise

Hello Friends!

If you follow us on Facebook, you know that we've been busy creating our own little paradise here at home!

After just over three weeks, we are finally finished - here's how it turned out!

First we decided where the fence would go and purchased pre-made sections from our local Lowe's store.  We installed the posts ourselves and then secured on the sections.

We have a side yard that is approximately 30 feet wide , so we utilized the back 40 feet of it which was just grass.  We rented a sod cutter and McG and his brother took out all the grass.

Then we leveled the area where the pool would be and installed the brick pavers that the legs of the pool sit on.  We had a few of our family and friends over to help install the pool and then we waited for it to fill up.

We purchased some patio stones on a local site for less than half the price and that gave us a 10 x 12 foot patio.

 Before we installed the patio, we built a small deck to access the pool. Once everything was done in this area, we had 9 yards of stone delivered and we laid down landscaping fabric and then spread the stone throughout the whole area.  This will keep the maintenance low in this area.

I thought you'd like a short tour of the rest of our yard...

This is the garden in the side yard that leads up to the pool area.

We had enough stone left over from the pool area to add to our front gardens, so we checked another project off our to-do list this past weekend. I was forever trying to keep up to the weeds in this area, so this makes things a little more maintenance free for me!

We even extended part of the front garden and shuffled around a few plants and added a new tree up front since our weeping mulberry was rotting.  We had this small Japanses maple tree in the back yard, so we brought it up front to replace the rotting tree.

I weeded the beds and we added landscaping fabric down before we added the stone.

Here's a look into our backyard from the driveway.

I hope you liked our new "paradise" area here at home.  We have enjoyed the pool already and look forward to adding this entertaining space to our home!  

Thanks for visiting!

Cheryl

Changes in the Master Bedroom

Hello friends!

A couple of weeks ago it rained almost everyday here in Ontario.  I was feeling a cooped up and did some retail therapy to get me through it.

It all started during a trip to Winners where I saw this sign...

I loved the deep dark navy background with the gold lettering and the saying...well let's just say I needed an adventure after feeling cooped up with the rain!

Here's the before...

Not terrible...I still very much LOVE this quilt set and it will be kept to change out for a different look down the road, or go into a spare room.  But it didn't look quite right with the new navy sign.

Our son had given me a very generous gift card at Christmas.  I had been holding off using it in case I found something BIG that I wanted.  Then on a trip to Homesense I found just what I was looking for...

It was just what I was looking for!  And I only used a portion of my gift card!

I added some navy blackout curtains that I purchased at Walmart.  I also stole two lamps from the family room to pick up on the gold in the print above the bed.

Here's a closer look...this is the table on McG's side of the bed.

It makes a big difference in the feel of the room.  I find that it feels more masculine without the flowery quilt.  And it gives off a cozier vibe in our room.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheryl

Lighting up the Night!

A few weeks back McG installed a new dining room light for his sister.  When he was finished they said that they were just going to throw the old one away.  He knew that I would most likely be able to find somewhere for it to go and so he hauled it home for me.  I tell you that man knows me so well!!

I had him cut out the wiring.

He drilled holes in the cups so that they wouldn't hold water.

I purchased five solar lights from the local Dollarama - a total cost of $15.  He then cut down the posts to cover the white electrical stems on each arm of the light.

They were a little bigger in diameter, so he first covered them in a few turns of electrical tape.

 He cut the posts to length with a hack saw and added them to the fixture.

Then we hung it from a shepherd's hook by the patio in the back garden.

It's the perfect compliment to our yard and light's up the night with soft white light, and....

adds some elegance to our backyard for very little money!

Cheryl