Matt and I want to do a Gallery Wall in our house - perhaps up the stairs in the main hallway - seems the best place for it! Here are some inspirational photos of great gallery walls: The last two pictures are from the home of Young House Love - a great blog I discovered!
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So our kitchen faucet was leaking when we used the cold water, but luckily my dad said he could fix it - probably just a washer. I think it was more corroded than we thought, because then we needed a whole new faucet. No problem, some were on sale at Canadian Tire. My dad calls to say that he didn't LIKE the one that was on sale, and bought another one instead. When I asked about the price, he says "don't worry about it, happy birthday" - which means it was more expensive. It is a very nice Moen which will last a long time and it's great. I guess the old one had not been replaced when the updated the kitchen, so it was pretty old and in need of replacing anyway. The new one is no new shiny crazy touch-sensitive awesome ones on TV, but we'll wait until we have a giant kitchen to put those drool-worth sinks and faucets in! Old Faucet New Faucet Side story - around the same time we were having faucet problems, our dishwasher was filling up with water a bit in the bottom. What should have been done was to have someone who knows about plumbing (like my dad or some other professional) in to look at it. What should not have been done was to add some Draino to the line and run a dishwash cycle. The latter WAS done by my dear husband. This is what resulted: The culprit to the right - no, not the Draino, the man spraying down the dishwasher Bubbles can be fun, but not extremely caustic ones. Side note - our dishwasher seems to be fine now! So what's next for the kitchen? Oh tons of ideas, but they are not financially possible right now. Just paint on the walls - a lighter greyish tone - Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter, which will also be used in the hallways, and we'll leave those new kitchen dreams for after the other more important projects: the basement office, the living/dining room, and the master bedroom.
*Note - this is the SECOND time I am writing this post because Weebly currently does not offer an auto-save feature, and stupid me did not save a draft along the way and I must have clicked something which took me to my home page and did not save the post that took me an hour to do the first time...so here we try again, but first I will click SAVE. The first thing we got for the house when we moved was a Pax wardrobe from Ikea. We really needed a lot of storage space because our house does not have it! We have a tiny closet in the master that Matt had all his must-hang dress clothes, and I used the tiny closet in the "unmentionable name" middle room for all my must-hang dresses and clothes, plus shoes, purses, etc. It was stuffed. Our guest bedroom has no closet at all, but it is a good size so we put our condo's dresser and chest in there instead. It was full of clothes before the wardrobe and there was so much that there was a big pile of it on my bed. Guest bedroom storage pre-wardrobe - very organized as you can see Middle room packed with all my stuff pre-wardrobe Master closet packed with all Matt's stuff pre-wardrobe Once we got the wardrobe, almost all of our stuff is in the master bedroom. Some of my random stuff like bathing suits and old comfy clothes and hoodies, plus all the extra bathroom toiletries are in the drawers of the dresser in the guest bedroom. Guest bedroom now - much cleaner! Master closet post-wardrobe - ahhh my dresses can breathe! View of the master before the wardrobe Lots of room along the right wall for some storage space Putting it together was challenging. It is Ikea, so of course it was all DIY when it came to assembly. Matt did the basic structure and I made all the drawers and inserts. I had bruises on the inside of my hands from screwing in so many tiny parts. A shelf or storage container is one thing, but if you have the budget, get the Ikea people to make this wardrobe for you! The big splurge was the doors on the wardrobe - this really added cost to it, but they look great! We also added lighting on top versus in-wardrobe lighting (which would only be used when we were getting things from inside), which really brightens up the room after the sun sets. Unit 1 of 3 - my side of the wardrobe A few more doors needed and organization... Done - view from the bedroom door Daytime view Nighttime view - yes, the ceiling fan needs to go! My side - storage for clothes, shoes, and it's not even full yet! Matt's side - organized by me - we'll see how long it lasts He added in his tie rack along the side as well. Center - more of my dressy clothes on top, all our pants below, plus more shoe storage! Love this section for jewelry and day to day stuff we need So what's next for the bedroom? Well paint for sure. We are using Benjamin Moore Asphalt on the main walls, cloud white on the ceiling and trim, and dark grey Philip Jefferies grass cloth wallpaper for an accent wall at the head of the bed. We also need to change the lighting (simple overhead lighting and wall sconces), get a stand alone big mirror, and new end tables, plus some dramatic floor to ceiling curtains. Here is a sample of the grass cloth and paint samples all together
Last week Sabrina Linn came to give up some reno and decor tips for our new house! She was one of the nicest people I have ever met and she was bursting with great ideas. I'm proud to say she liked the navy blue idea in the dining room, and we actually found a grass cloth WALLPAPER in navy that is going to look amazing! She also suggested building a white sideboard from Ikea kitchen cabinets, and top it off with a quartz top so its a really nice piece with lots of storage! I can't wait to start that room! The living room will mainly be white, with accents of navy blue and perhaps a new sectional couch with chaise eventually. The bedroom is pretty straight forward, just paint is the big thing, and she liked the grey idea and suggested an accent wall in the alcove in a darker grey or again grass cloth wallpaper. She also suggested a bigger rug and agreed that we needed some full curtains and a big freestanding mirror. For the basement, lots of white built ins and bookcases and a soft grey paint all around, including ceiling and doors, to make it one continuous space from front to back. I think we are going to start this room first. I need a new desk (I found one from Ikea), we are building in shelves on the back wall, and using bookcases for the sides of the room, bringing the shaggy rug from the bedroom downstairs, and getting some better lighting. The paint colour we are using in the bedroom The paint colour matches the colour of the grass cloth wallpaper in the dining room I like the built-in shelves for under our stairs too! Great chair for the living room - from Urban Outfitters My soon to be new Ikea desk Possible rug for the bedroom
I love the colour, the office space, the cozy reading area, the natural light, the bookshelves. Wow. So elegant and fun!
I know it's been a while - life is crazy with a new house and all the other stuff in both of our every day lives! This post is for a design consultation with Sabrina Linn on Saturday. Trying to organize my ideas and to help her too! We want to focus mainly on the master bedroom, and the living/dining room, and if time, the disaster of the basement to turn office/den. I'll start with the master bedroom. We bought a PAX Wardrobe from Ikea last weekend (LOVE), and so it takes up a lot of space, but we needed it. Now my stuff is mainly in one room, instead of 3. I will admit there is still some stuff in the guest bedroom dresser and closet. It is right now a pale blue, with lots of light. I want to change it to a sharper gray, new night tables, new lighting (no fan), curtains, perhaps a full length mirror standing in the corner, and bigger carpet. View from the door - lots of light, but let's get rid of the blue and the FAN! Curtain ideas? New area rug? I like our black leather bench under the window, but it's off centered with the wardrobe. Awkward angled ceilings - not sure what to do with paint or accent wall? Definitely want to change the end tables - need something more grown up. PAX Love. Yes, there are only 3 doors on - it's a process. There are also no handles. Want to change lighting too - perhaps some wall sconces? Bedroom Inspiration Photos Next is the living/dining room. Right now it is a seafoam green, and I definitely want to change it. I have an idea, but I'm not sure how well it will work. I was thinking of painting the dining room a dark blue with white trim and silver accents, and the living room a warm white with blue and silver accent pieces. They are open to one another, so they need to compliment each other...just an idea. For the living room, going to get a new couch, cover the brown chair, and get all new lighting (get rid of chandeliers that are there now as well as floor lights). A carpet maybe, too? For the dining room, eventually want to get a round table, and make a long sideboard along one wall instead of the hutch that is currently there, and also change the chandelier and lighting. Dining Room Paint change - dark blue, perhaps? Round table eventually. Long side board to replace hutch on the right Starburst mirror on the left New lighting! Transition to Living Room Living Room New Lighting - ceiling and floor New lighter coloured couch and cover the chair in a dark blue fabric Area rug to bring room together Need some art for the back wall! Will mount the TV to have the shelf top free Living & Dining Room Inspiration And then there's the basement...which I want to be an office/den, with a nice desk, lots of shelves for books and binders, perhaps a gas fireplace and TV, cozy couch, etc. Instead, this is what it looks like: Let's try to look past the drying rack...yeah it's really not that much better, is it? Yeah...that's a lot of stuff... This is what I wish it was like...PS I heart books...
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KathleenAdventures in married life, cooking, teaching science and new home renovations in the city! LinksArchives
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