In The Houzz

Thanks everyone for your comments on the blog redesign! I was really nervous about changing things around so I'm glad I didn't scare you all off :)

The fine folks at Houzz featured us in one of their Houzz tours today. You can check it out below:

Houzz Tour: See a Traditional Home for Modern Life

Houzz- Kitchen Design, Bathroom Design and More»

Interior Design and Decor:

Kitchen Design · Bathroom Design · Living Room Design · Bedroom Design · Dining Room Design · Patio Design · Landscaping Design ·

And how cool is this slideshow gadget? If you use Houzz, you can share your ideabooks and photos on your blog. Do any of you use Houzz? It is full of tons of inspiration.

On The Wish List

Have you entered for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate from Tiny Prints? Here's how.

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What is at the top of your Christmas Wish List? To find out what's at the top of mine, hop on over to What's Up Whimsy today. Shannon has asked some of her favourite bloggers to contribute to her series, The 12 Days of Holidays. I still have a few more gifts to buy so you know I'll be checking out all the suggestions!

Guest Post at Brooklyn Limestone

I'm guest posting today at one of my favourite blogs, Brooklyn Limestone where I'm featuring a Before & After of our master bedroom. Speaking of Before & Afters, you must see what Mrs. Limestone has done in her gorgeous home. Her bathroom transformation and kitchen renovation are drool-worthy! Hop on over and check it out.

Office Update

A while back, writer Christine Cox was doing a story on home offices and through the power of Twitter, she found me. I just remembered I never shared the article with you; you can read it here (our story starts on page 36). Edited to add: the lovely office of fellow blogger Kate at Centsational Girl is also featured on page 30!

Here's some recent photos I took for the article. If you're wondering - no, the office never ever stays this clean!

(Note: The flip-style screensaver on my laptop can be downloaded here. Found via MakingItLovely)

Featured: Style At Home

I'm always inspired by the many DIY bloggers out there and today we've been featured with some of my favourites. Lauren at Style At Home (one of my go-to design magazines - I've been a subscriber for 12 years!) featured us in this online article along with Made By Girl, Aubrey and Lindsay, All Things Thrifty, 320 Sycamore, and Three Men and a Lady. Check out these other bloggers and no doubt you'll be inspired to tackle a project or two around your house!

Thanks Style At Home!

Famous - or infamous?

Today we caused a bit of controversy! Not one, but two of our projects were posted on Apartment Therapy today. I had submitted our little chair makeover to the folks at Ohdeedoh, thinking they may want to share it with their readers. And they did! You can see that post here. Well, the writer poked around our blog and liked our renovations so she did this post on our bathroom on the Apartment Therapy main site, as part of their bathroom month series.

And what a response it received -- to the tune of 62 people (so far) chiming in - to say how much they hate our bathroom renovation!! Okay - I exaggerate, only 90% actually hate it :) I'll admit, when you have that many people telling you they don't like what you've done, lots of thoughts run through your head... shock, anger, defensiveness, sadness, curiousity, incredulity, and ambivalence were just a few.

But now that I've had a few hours to absorb those comments, I can be a bit more objective about things. I get that our projects are rather atypical of the Apartment Therapy aesthetic. We're much more traditional and conservative in our tastes and our home reflects that. I can see how people would think our monochromatic bathroom boring. Or how they would think the hand-painted mural was lovely - without knowing it covered all four walls and ceiling and made the 5'x8' bathroom feel claustrophobic. I can even understand their appall at how we removed the jacuzzi tub and pedestal sink even though these things didn't fit our family's needs (functionally or aesthetically).

At first, I thought I would respond on the AT site and clear up misconceptions and provide more information about why we did the things we did... but then I thought, "Why do I care?" The folks who left comments likely have tastes far different from mine and there is nothing I could say to convince them that yes, we made the best decisions possible, that we considered all the alternatives, that in context of our neighbourhood/house style/lifestyle/personal needs our choices were sound, that our sweat and effort was worth it.

For those of you that did land here via Apartment Therapy - Welcome! Please poke around. I hope you stay awhile. And for those who only peeked in the door and decided this place was not for them, I hope you have your own happy place to go home to. We're crafting these rooms into a home that suits us, no matter what others may say - and as homeowners, shouldn't that all be our goal?

Guest Blogging at Brooklyn Limestone

Hi friends! Follow me on over to Brooklyn Limestone today where I'm guest blogging about my favourite nook. Its the nursery of course (where I've spent the better part of the last 10 months!)

Mrs. Limestone is one of my most favourite bloggers and I'm sure she will be one of yours too (if she isn't already!). You must check out her incredible renovations (we took inspiration from her bathroom remodels for our own reno) and her stunning crafts and projects. I can't think of a blogger with more exquisite taste and a consistent and refined decorating style. Thanks so much for having me over, Mrs. Limestone!

Featured

Our nursery is featured today on Design*Sponge! Love that blog :)

Oh - drop by later today. I have a big giveaway to announce!

Talking Dollars and Sense

A few weeks ago, I was interviewed by a national newspaper (more details on that when the article comes out in February). The writer was looking at how the economy has impacted spending on renovations. Turns out HandyMan and I seem to be prudent and a bit of an anomaly. When we bought our house last July, we set aside a hefty renovation budget. We chose to make a smaller down payment and take on a bigger mortgage… in exchange, we’d be able to pay for most of our renovations in cash instead of taking out a loan to pay for them. We knew we’d be making changes right away and spending that cash in the short term so taking on a longer term loan + interest didn’t seem wise. Most other folks, it seems, take on loans or borrow against their equity to make renovations. With the slowing down of the market though, the question was whether a loan (interest rates are still relatively low) was still the financing source of choice for renovations?

I’m not sure what my neighbours are doing, but HandyMan and I will continue along our conservative track. By spending only what we have, and spending it slowly (we’re doing a room by room renovation), we’ve discovered a few benefits:

• We are able to save and contribute to the budget at the same time as we spend it
• We can earn some interest on what’s left in the budget
• We are better able to prioritize what we want to spend our money on and don’t feel the pressure to “do everything at once”
• We can take the time to find good deals

As the economy continues to worsen, there’s even more reason to keep to our plan. Losing our jobs is a small but growing concern so sticking to a cash budget minimizes our risk of not being able to pay down any outstanding debts. The housing market in Toronto has also slowed considerably… while houses in my neighbourhood still sell relatively quickly it is not the same as even six months ago with multiple bids and prices way above asking. One house on my street (exact same model) sold for 32% more than the price we paid 10 months earlier! I wonder if those folks are regretting their purchase now that prices have fallen back down to earth.

I’m guessing there are many others out there who have had to reconsider their renovation plans. Has the current economic situation affected you? Are you holding back on spending or not? Or do you consider your home a long-term investment and choose to spend now and reap rewards later?

The Secret's Out

I mentioned a few days ago that HandyMan and I had been interviewed...well, we were talking to The Globe and Mail's Architourist, Dave Leblanc, and you can see our interview here and pics here!

Dave had found us via this blog. Its true - you never do know who might be reading :) To all the folks who've wandered on in from the article, welcome! Feel free to poke around. Check out the archives, the Before & Afters, and see how we're renovating our house room by room. If you have any questions or comments, I'd love to hear from you. And if you're still looking for more inspiration, visit the links to the many other renovating bloggers out there.