Our new friend

Meet our new friend: 



We bought it this past weekend as we embarked on rad covers for our bedrooms upstairs (we are so happy with how the main floor covers turned out we just can't stop!). The main floor rad covers are not quite perfect, and a lot of that can be attributed to the fact that we were doing angled cuts with a table saw. Despite our very specific pathagorean-theorum measurements (never thought you'd use that one past Grade 12 math, did you?), we weren't able to get great cuts.

This puppy makes ALL the difference in the world. It was a thrill to use it this weekend! We have all of our cuts done, the pieces are being glued together / attached, and all we have to do is buy some trim for the tops and prime and paint them.  Hoping for another great weekend this weekend so we can continue to work outside!

Anyone have any great ideas for other projects that we can use our new favourite power tool on?

Rain boots as indoor shoes?

Remember in elementary school how you had outdoor and indoor shoes?  (...and many other great things like cubby holes, nap time, and water and sand play tables. Oh, and finger paint).

Well, my outdoor wellies almost became my indoor shoes tonight. Here's the story...I was making dinner and needed an onion, so down to cold storage I went. When I reached for an onion, I also heard a splash and got a soaker. UGH. Water in our cold stoarge area. 2 puddles to be exact.

I tried to decipher wher the water came from - not from above (which is good), but apparently down the wall. We had some torrential downpours today in Toronto, so seeing as we haven't had this problem before we think it was a matter of too much rain in a short time. Regarless, it will require some sleuthing and some repairing.

Think dry thoughts for me please??

The irony in this whole story is that I thought someone stole my rainboots at the gym tonight. I know it sounds crazy, but it's this weird fear that I have that someone will walk off with my shoes. So, I'm changing after my workout and my rainboots are no where to be found...I search all the empty lockers, under all the benches, etc. etc...then I go to the front desk to report my missing boots, and the girl asks me if I checked the change room. Umm...yes, of course I did. So, I make my way back to the change room and on the way in I find them (hallelujah!) - in the very front sub-section of the change room to the side of a bench. Apparently the cleaners move them (to the other end of the change room) if they are a tripping hazard in another area.  What?

Turns out I didn't need the rainboots indoors in the end (thankfully).  With all the rain we had I am happy to have them back, I just hope hope hope that they will never become my indoor shoes!

Bedroom bench

Today I'm featuring a project we actually completed some time ago. I'm not sure why it hasn't made it to the blog yet but better late than never!

We knew we wanted to convert a coffee table to a bench of the end of our bed, but it took us quite a while to find a suitable table. We were looking for something that would be the right height for a bench, but more importantly a table that was wide enough to be proportionate to the bed. 

I scoured Craigslist for weeks, and finally came acrorss this beaut for $30! When we went to pick it up the guy seemed to want to talk us out of it it, warning us that the top was a bit scuffed (I didn't have the heart to tell him I didn't care what the top looked like because it was just going to be covered up anyways!).  We went through about 5 back and forths about the fact that I didn't mind if there were some marks on it, and that I would still take it. Eventually, we ended up with this:

I just loved the curve of the legs and the bottom of the table.



I got inspiration from a number of similar projects online, and used the step by step instructions from Curbly.  We used the same supplier for the foam and batting we used for the headboard (Foamite on Danforth in Toronto), and got some fabric from DesignerFabrics. Here were some of my choices:

Then we really got to work...I sanded, primed, and painted the table with a semi-gloss white (sorry...no during photos). We decided we wanted to do a tufted bench, so we bought a button-coverer and the Mr. took hold of that task. We drilled holes in the table top where we wanted the buttons, then used spray adhesive to put the foam on. We wrapped the batting and foam in the fabric and stapled the fabric to the underside of the table top. 

Then it was time for tufting...this was a bit difficult, and had we read the Curbly instructions the whole way through our lives would have been a lot easier. In the end, we figured it all out (and actually ended up re-doing all the buttons - tip: get the longest needle you can - I'm talking 5" long, and keep your staple gun handy). Here is our finished product:

It's hard to see tufting with the pattern in these picture but we're happy with how it turned out. Next we have our side table project (it's been too cold to strip the paint in the garage!), and some lamp spray painting to do!



Fresh and cheerful

I came across this house featured on Design*Sponge - it's an older post but I spent some long overdue time on that site this weekend. I love the sneak peaks and before and afters!

Here is a small sample of my favourites - the whole house is colourful and fresh:



(aren't these doors just gorgeous?)

For more photos and the full story, see Design*Sponge's Sneak Peak: John and Vivian

Friday faves - Easter edition

Here are some great inspiration pics for this long weekend, or for any spring decor projects you have in mind! Happy Easter and Happy Passover.



via Martha Stewart

via Classy & Fabulous

via SAS Interiors

via Eat Magazine

via Martha Stewart

via Style at Home

Mapped out

I managed to track down a great antique map while on my trip at a random outdoor market in Antwerp (see my original post on maps in decor here). I asked for a discount because it was ripped in a few spots...the guy looked at me like I was a mad-woman and told me that it's a 100 year old map, it's not going to be perfect. Too funny. So I bought it. It fits perfectly in the frame we had and is antique-y sepia tones. I'm not sure if I would prefer black and white, but for now I'll take it!



Antwerp antiques

When we were roaming around Antwerp, Belgium we came across a gem of an antique shop. They had loads of solid wood goods, chairs in particular. Seeing as we could use a few extra dining chairs for when we have larger dinner parties we wish we could have easily brought some home with us!  They had heaps of other unique finds, at pretty reasonable prices. We went to a number of other antique and interior shops but I didn't go photo crazy because I was too relaxed enjoying the holiday!

Chairs, chairs and more chairs!

These are a few photos of a mall floor. Yes, herringbone hardwood much like my Hardwood Heaven post, in a MALL. Leave it to the europeans to make it classy all the way.



More photos of France and Belgium

Here are some more photos of our lovely trip to France and Belgium!  We had a great time - hard to believe we've only been back for a week!

This was the courtyard of our Paris apartment - don't you just love it?

View from our apartment

Wouldn't you love to live in a place with an entrance like this? Paris is full of hidden gems where you look at this and when the door opens it leads to a beautiful courtyard.

Macarons...we definitely did not go hungry...

 Near Brugges, Belgium

These tiled roofs are famous in the Dijon area - great way to add some visual interest in town!

 A lovely Burgundy winery where we spent quite a bit of time doing a large tasting (they had 9 for us to try! When we've toured wineries in Napa, Sonoma, and Niagara most places will do a flight of 3 wines. Here they went all out, and with no fee)

 We didn't go thirsty either...

There is a very small taste of our trip! I have a few photos of a great antique store that we came across in Antwerp that I will share tomorrow to close out my trip posts.



Spring love and some trip photos

One of the best things about our trip was enjoying and experiencing an early spring – it was everywhere! By the end of our trip the tulips were in FULL bloom and almost finished in Paris. We enjoyed some lovely sunny afternoons in the French countryside and in Paris itself.  And, I just noticed yesterday – crocuses blooming in my garden! I actually ran out to the backyard to make sure they were there and it wasn’t a figment of my imagination via the kitchen window.  The rest of the garden needs a big clean up (read: looks horrible after the winter), but those crocuses are inspiring me. I also saw my first robin of the year today - so exciting.

Here are some images of the spring we saw in France, so you can think happy thoughts of what is on its way (these are from the last portion of our trip as I just realized that the first half of our trip's photos have been saved to another computer that is not with me right now! more to come later...)

How charming is this?? This was my favourite flower shop in Dijon (Ok...on the whole trip). So gorgeous!  Didn't hurt that tulips are my favourite flower....

Sun poking out from behind the clouds in Antwerp, Belgium

Cute park in Dijon

SO GREEN!! (French countryside)

ahhh....there were so many people lounging around the grass this day - it was our last full day in Paris and was absolutely gorgeous.  We did as the Parisians did and picnic'd in the park!

Home sweet home...and an AMOR Etsy stop

We returned home last night from a 2-week vacation (read: bliss).  We went to France and Belgium and it was lovely! We had dry weather, and the last week was sunny and over 20 C pretty much every day...gorgeous!  Struggling through the back-to-work-jet-lag-blues today but we'll be back to 100% before you know it. The work day today went surprisingly fast, but we will see what tomorrow brings.  I haven't had a chance to upload any photos yet but we did come across some good inspiration while away (including herringbone patterned wood floors pretty much everywhere, and a map for our living room - see original post here).

In the meantime, a friend opened an Etsy shop for her stunning photography. She is multi-talented, a great person, and also happens to have some great items up for sale.  Make sure to check it out - AMOR design passion - http://www.etsy.com/shop/AMORdesignpassion

Here are a sample of my favourites to start you off:





All via AMORdesignpassion

Friday faves - Anthro

It's April now...full fledged spring must be around the corner!

I received an Anthropologie catalogue in the mail a little while ago and just got around to looking at it. While I tend to not buy much there because I'm not convinced of the quality of their clothes (for the price), it is fun to look at. Here are some of my faves:



I love the combination of these pieces.
Antilles Tank - also available in turquoise
Cinchona Cardigan

Canopy Lookout Dress - This just screams summer


Kingston Road Dress - picnic anyone?


I love the look of a gauzy white shirt on a hot day.
Fanning Button-up


Flights and Fancy dinnerware


Glasswing Duvet Cover