The right filler

I have decided that we need curtains for our living room to add a finishing touch. We have slat blinds, so we haven't been living completely open to the street, however the corners of the room look a bit empty and curtains would fill them in perfectly.

The obvious question is - solid or pattern? Here are some examples of each -- and can I just say they're not making my decision easier?? I'm leaning towards patterned though...

Camp Solid:



via DecorPad

 

via Pinterest via Washington Post

via Savor Home 

via DecorPad

via Interiorly 

Camp Pattern:

via mydeco.com

via DecorPad

via The Yellow Cape Cod

 

via Pinterest

via ThatLivingRoom.tumblr.com

via Pinterest

Friday faves - a white and silvery Christmas

Happy Friday! Today is 1 month until Christmas - eek...time to get shopping.

Continuing my Friday Fave theme of holiday decorating, today's theme is white and silver. Enjoy!



via Pinterest via Blue Eyed Yonder blog

via Pinterest via The Tortoise and the Hare

via Pinterest via Style at Home

via Pinterest via Better Homes & Gardens

via Pinterest via Style at Home


via Style at Home


Raj Candleholder via Crate & Barrel

Coffee Table books for Christmas

I love the idea of coffee table books - those that look pretty and are fun to look through.



via LonnyMag

via Pinterest

via Love with the Proper Stranger


Kate Spade's living room via From Me to You

via The Nest

via Pinterest

via Made By Girl

My question to you is - what coffee table books should make my wish list this year? Give me your old favourites, your new desirables, and some off the beaten path. Can't wait to hear your suggestions.

Friday faves - a green Christmas

TGIF! It's getting close to the holidays (yay!), and snow floated around the mid-town Toronto sky yesterday while I was at work (eek! nothing stuck though) - it's time to start thinking about decorating. The traditional Christmas decor is red and green, but I like the look of monochromatic holiday styles. Here are some great green finds that I think are inspiring for the season:



via Pinterest via House & Home

via Pinterest

via Pinterest via

via Pinterest via Good Housekeeping

Pinterest via Vintage General

Pinterest via Better Homes and Gardens

via Good Housekeeping

Open sesame

So, I mentioned that we were kept busy this weekend with a project...really the starting point of a project...but here's a hint

Before

After

That's right...we are looking at chaos in our cupboards because we have started to PAINT the kitchen cupboards! Yay! I initially posted about that (with some inspiration pics) here.  I kind of wanted to hold this announcement off for a while, but who am I kidding, I can't keep a secret. Let me tell you - this project is goign to take a while...between the number of coats you have to do on EACH  side of the cupboard doors, all the trim, and the chiro visits I will have to make after so much crouching and painting, the final reveal is a while away...so if you wonder where I am over the next little while here's your answer...wish us luck!



Media Stand - ta-da!

I hope you all had a great weekend! Here in Toronto it remained nice and warm, and we had a very productive weekend. We also made some time for a lovely Sunday brunch at Bonjour Brioche in Leslieville (I'm pretty sure everyone knows about it...but if you haven't tried it you should. French goodies at their best!).

Our projects from this weekend are ongoing, however the Mr. took it upon himself to finish our media stand project last week while I was in Vancouver (great surprise!). Our original post is here where I asked you all - what should we do with it? The screaming majority of you said: Paint it!

Keep scrolling to see if we took your advice...

As a reminder - here's what it looked like before:

As you can see - it used to be the EXACT colour of our stairs! Must have been a trend...

The Mr. took this outside and sanded it down to the bare wood - it took a LOT of work.

Like I said above, most of you recommended I paint it...but I have refinished a lot of pieces with paint and it just didn't seem right for this stand. The stand is solid wood (we think it might be maple?), so we went with the vast minority of the little impromptu survey and stained it.

Staining was a three step process (once you got beyond the million-step-sanding process): Wood Conditioner, Stain (we chose Ebony), and Polyurethane protector. 

Here's how the Mr's hard work turned out:



I think he did an amazing job on it - I couldn't be happier with the results. I like the warmth of the stain, and the fact that it brings out the wood grain. I thought paint would look harsh against the very black TV and other electronics.  The sub (to the left) will be moved somewhere, and I'm hoping to get drapes up in this room to "fill in" that corner. In the meantime, we're happy oooh-ing and ahh-ing over our first stain-based refinishing project.





Rememberance Day



via

Lest we forget.

Friday faves - blogging love

I have received a lot of blog lovin' these past couple of weeks! Thank you to everyone who stops by to read my blog - I really do appreciate it and hope that you find something on here you love that keeps you coming back.

I was fortunate enough to receive a number of blog awards recently. I received one a little while ago, where I followed the rules and shared 7 things about myself - you can see that post here if you missed it.



via Birdy Blue Design

Today, I think it's more important to return the favour and highlight the people who rewarded me -- make sure to pop on over and check out their blogs:

The Design Pages - Carol's blog is a constant source of inspiration and even more so since she just moved! She provided inspiration for my painted curtains, and I love checking in to see what she's up to.

Flutter Flutter - Rosa always has something interesting going on, whether it's food, travel, or design inspiration

House Pretty - Amelia's blog is fairly new to me, but she is very active on Twitter and the blog and I love hearing about her experiences reno'ing and DIY projects in her new-to-her house.

White Cabana - I met Jordana at this summer's Design Blogger meet up and have drooled over her white-themed blog since.

There you have it - happy Friday with a bit of blog love.

Nursery (not mine) reveal!

I am back home from a lovely visit to Vancouver, where I got to meet one of my bestie's 8-week old daughter!! She is just beautiful...I kind of thought babies under 6 months weren't all that exciting, but honestly after spending 5 days with this cutie I see how exciting it is to see them change and grow EVERY day.

I also saw just how much work goes into raising a child. A big THANK YOU to my parents, and all the parents out there for everything they do - day in, day out.

Now, onto the not-so-mushy stuff. My friend had tons of good ideas for her nursery, and had all the basics including beautiful Dwell Studio bedding that led to a lot of inspiration for the room. However, since her daughter decided to arrive a couple of weeks early, some finishing touches were missing. While I was there we made a mobile, chose prints for an art wall, and put up a shelf for lovely wooden animals that another good friend gave the new mom at her shower.

Here's where we ended up:

*PS - if you like the print in the bottom left of this photo, you can see the artist's Etsy shop here: Amor | designpassion

*PPS - I planned on taking photos in perfect lighting with my friend's fancy camera in place of my point and shoot...I learned that with babies, you often put aside your own needs for theirs! In this case the little one needed some rest in her nursery, so I snapped a few quick shots before I left for the airport!



Here and there in Vancouver

I have been in Vancouver since Thursday, visiting some friends and in particular one of my closest friends and her 2 month old daughter (serious cuteness happening over here on the west coast). I've been spoiled with sunny Vancouver weather and we've spent lots of time wandering the city. We have also been adding some finishing touches to the little one's nursery (more on that to come...)

Last week on one of our many walks we went into Country Furniture (3097 Granville). The store is not too country, and has some great pieces to mix into whatever you have at home. Here are some of my browsing finds:

My friend actually has a chair recovered in this pattern for her nursery! Love the fabric as pillows too...

This is a super cute, kind of kitchy stool that would be right at home in a sleek kitchen in the winter, or in a modern chalet.

Loved these lights, especially the second one. I think this one would be gorgeous in a kitchen over a sink.

This chair was nice and had good proportions - however I saw one JUST like it (although navy) at HomeSense a couple of weeks ago for 1/5th of the cost...(probably isn't as comfy, but I'm just saying...)

We checked out Anthro, and a number of other interesting home stores but this was the only one that I snapped some photos in. Happy Monday everyone!