Living Room: Out With The Ugly

It was a holiday here today, Family Day, and what better way to spend it than patching and sanding the living room walls with HandyMan and my Dad :) The living room reno has begun (7.5 weeks to get it all done in time for Chloe's 2nd birthday party!) and we made a good start this weekend. But first, let me share the Before photos of the space I've kept hidden from you all till now. Now brace yourselves. Here is the view of the room walking in from the front hallway...

Yes, people, THIS IS THE FIRST ROOM YOU SEE IN MY HOUSE.  Have I sufficiently shocked you all?? I know, you're thinking "But the rest of your house looks so nice... how can you live with THIS?" Same question I've asked myself for the last four years. We did the dining room and kitchen reno first, and then we got pregnant so the nursery and bathroom reno kinda took priority, and then, well, we kinda just got used to the space. You know how it goes, right? Right??

Let me show you around. You can see HandyMan and my old sofas, the sunwashed carpet from Mama HandyMan's place (which replaced a scratchy sisal rug not suitable for newborn knees), the 1980's wallpaper (complete with fade marks), and the modern ottoman from HandyMan's old condo. What a mish-mash. And that in the corner? Kiddie Chaos. Overflowing toy boxes, grocery cart, ride-on toys, books, art supplies, and mini-throne. This is as neat as it gets unfortunately.





Turn to the left and you can see the sideboard with the old school map we bought and the only plant in the house we haven't managed to kill. We had the plantation shutters installed a few months after we moved in. We removed the previous owner's frilly curtains but we didn't remove the curtain tacking strip above the window. That's just how we roll.

To your right is my old dinosaur of a TV. Seriously, it weighs about 200 pounds. I'd love to replace it but I don't want to have to move it (ha!). If you look closely, you'll notice that the wall behind the TV is devoid of wallpaper. That's because the living room used to look like this when we moved in:

And now it looks like this:

The giant wood-burning fireplace took up a good chunk of the room and we knew we wanted to replace it with something smaller and sleeker (and get rid of that weird bulkhead) so out it went... four years ago. Which means for the last four years, I've also been living with that {leaky} chimney hole running up through the ceiling covered with a piece of masonite, the chipped original plaster molding, the yellowed wall, and the partial baseboard. UG-LY.

But that's the thing. The room sure was ugly, but it was also livable and functional. And when you have few reno hours between baby naps, a limited budget, and try and do most of the work yourself, ugly falls to the bottom of the list. Until now that is :)

With a halt on the basement reno, ugly just got a whole lot more unlivable. More progress on the living room to come!

**I will go hide my head in shame now**

O-Nine, You Were Divine

When it came to making our house a home, I doubted that 2009 would surpass all the things we accomplished in 2008. But we did get some things done. Here's a peek back.

The dingy waterlilies and carpet (!)...


...gave way to gleaming tile and shine


A deck that ain't so sweet...


...is now a sweet place to enjoy a summer night.


A room with no personality...


...transformed into a room for a little person.


Long lost family treasures...


...are treasured once again


One door closed...


...and another one opened


And 2...


...became 3!


Wishing you all a 2010 filled with lots of DIY, renovations completed, and rooms lived in and enjoyed!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Rad Rad

And the room is done :) When you're renovating, is there a phrase any more satisfying than that one? I think not.

HandyMan installed the Octoperf wood mesh on the radiator cover. The design which you guys suggested looks perfect. We did have a bit of a trouble though... because we didn't make the three squares the same size! Oops. But I assured HandyMan you couldn't tell the difference at all ;) So that's it, the last piece of the room complete. Finito. Over and out :)



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If you like how Chloe's room turned out, I'd appreciate your vote in the Share Your Style contest. One winner out of the top 10 will win a boatload of Benjamin Moore paint (oh what we could do with the master bedroom and living room!) among other prizes.

It's the last week of voting and every vote helps. Click the "Vote For It!" button here. You'll need to register your email address but you are entered to win a prize just for voting too :) Thanks so much!!

2

Wow, has it really been two years since HandyMan and I moved into our new old house? That means it has been two years and then some since I started blogging about our adventures in finding, buying, and renovating this house of ours. When I started this blog, HandyMan and I were engaged, planning a wedding, and living in my condo with only a few power tools to our name. Sure, we had done some work on HandyMan's old condo - laid down some floors, paint, tile - but we really hadn't earned our renovating chops yet.

With this house, we've really had a chance to design, build, and sustain a few cuts and bruises along the way. We've touched most spaces in the house - the entry, the dining room, kitchen, bathroom, office, deck, garage, and spare bedroom. That leaves the basement which contains the second bathroom and the laundry room and the two most used rooms in the house (the master bedroom and the living room) untouched. Okay, not entirely untouched (we just couldn't live with the previous owner's pink carpet!) but our bedroom and the living room really aren't fit for public viewing... yet!! We've decided to start working on our master bedroom next so stay tuned :) In the meantime, here's a look back at our house transformation so far.

The Befores


The Afters!


I love how, with a bit of effort and thought, it doesn't even look or feel like the same house :)

Soft Spot

I've been spending a lot of time lately in Chloe's room. It really is the nicest room in the house...dreamy yellow walls, plush carpet underfoot, and now - soft, soothing spaces to lounge on.


Gail the seamstress did a fab job on the bench cushion, curtains and accent pillows. The cushion is covered in a subtle diamond and gingham print. It coordinates nicely with the swirly pattern of the curtain in shades of taupe, cream, and yellow. I figured that the bench cushion and curtains would be long-lasting (while some of the accent fabrics could change over time), so kept them fairly neutral. The slight sheen of the curtain adds a touch of luxury to the space - and the dim-out lining makes the curtain highly functional for a baby's room. We haven't installed the shelf above the window nor the curtain rod so for now, we just 'mocked up' the curtains and have the curtain hooks resting on the top of the window casing. Getting this room completely finished is a bit slow going these days ;)


My favourite fabric though is the pattern on the glider. Its bold, fun, and graphic. The pattern will help hide and stains or spills that are bound to appear when there's a baby around :) And boy, is it comfy! Chloe seems to like it too and falls quickly asleep as we rock away.


We had some bolster cushions and an accent pillow made with the leftover fabrics. Repeating fabrics and using them in various areas in a room really helps to create a cohesive, finished look. I think rooms feel best, feel more complete, when there are fabrics used. I'm surprised too at how many different fabrics and patterns you can use in a room. I worried that with all the polka dots, stripes, swirls, and other graphics Chloe's room would look a bit of a jumbled mess. But luckily it doesn't. It looks and feels just right :)


Gotta run now... there's a little girl who's asking to be rocked to sleep.

Baby Is On The Way!

24 hours...that's how long my doctor told me I likely have before I'm in the throes of labour. And that was at my appointment 10:00am this morning so if we do the math people...yes, Baby HandyLuster is likely on his or her way :) All signs point to Go. I've had some symptoms of impending labour - things have dropped, things have loosened, and things are starting to feel really really really uncomfortable :o\ And if the experience of my mom and sister with childbirth are any indication - things are gonna happen really really really fast!!

So, this is probably my last post before we (cross my fingers) become a family of three. What a strange, surreal thought. Time to show you all the room Baby will be coming home to. Its not quite done... the banquette cushion, curtains, and glider fabric won't be done until Wednesday. And we haven't figured out the radiator mesh or the shelf above the window yet. But its good for now. We'll be co-sleeping in the beginning, with baby's crib in our room. That explains why this doesn't look like your typical nursery. Instead, it'll be our calming escape room. A room for Grandma Wanderluster to stay the next few weeks as she helps me learn the ropes as a new mom. A room for HandyMan for when he just needs a full night's sleep and mommy and baby aren't letting him have one ;) A room for me and baby where we can lie on the bed, window open, breeze blowing, birds chirping outside... and I can just sit there and look in amazement at this tiny little thing that came out of me. How wonderful is that :)

The room before...



And the room after...



You can see the Ikea Pax wardrobes we made to look like built-ins. The baskets will eventually sit on a shelf above the window and the banquette will be a comfy spot with curtains, pillows, and cushion. The wardrobe on the left houses linens and the one on the right has baby's clothes. I've put some stickers on the drawers to help keep things organized.




A few of my favourite details around the room...



I especially love the picture ledges and the art wall. On the ledges, we have some of HandyMan's childhood books, a painting I did, a photo of the Eiffel tower taken on our honeymoon, and a moon and star handmade by baby's Aunt Kim and Uncle Kevin. I love personal touches in a room. And if you look closely, you can see some of the potential names we've picked out for baby ;)



On the art wall, you can see the Catherine Ledner armadillo print, my favourite little painting of a nightie and stockings on a clothesline by Alison MacKenna, and some etsy prints by munieca and mariajanosko.



And that's the baby's room. All we need now is baby :)