God help us!

Hi all!

On a health note I  am motivated to post this for you to read as I'm sure there are many naive people out there who are going to believe this. If you value your health then you will want to read this. I personally did not need to read the entire article as I already know that we are in seriously dangerous times where our own personal choice to take vitamins is being threatened and possibly removed from us.

http://www.naturalnews.com/033883_vitamins_mortality_risk.html

Have a great weekend!

Living room reno begins

Well the paint is barely dry in the kitchen and someone has already begun tackling the next reno.

 It's been a long time coming but we are finally going to do it!

Last weekend Todd started removing the all the trim in this room which is what I believe to be the formal dining room. We have used it as that as you can see here but it is the larger of the two rooms and so will be our living room.

So we will have the dining room in this room with the fireplace and built-ins that Todd added instead.

Now here is what we moved in to. Yikes! 

Because that colour of green makes my stomach turn (sorry if you love hunter green)  I covered the wallpaper with leftover paint because removing it would have opened up a can of crumbling horse hair plaster.

and although I despised it, it got us by until I was feeling well enough to start this project.

So on Friday night, after a day of work and a potentially cracked rib from a fall my unbelievably tough honey  got to work with our friend Dave pulling up the 3/8's oak strip flooring.

 

to reveal a pretty darn nice wide plank pine floor that we new was beneath but weren't sure what it would look like. Dave who lives two doors done was excited because he now feels that this is what he has in his home if he removes it's top floor.

Two beautiful double hung windows complete with old wavy glass, east facing windows let in much needed light into this room.

Our lovely pocket doors that were originally faux grained to look like quartersawn oak will not see a drop of white paint but all the trim will.

So the reason Todd wanted to remove the thin strip flooring was to put down a maple floor to match the kitchen and also to take care of this height difference. But after seeing the floors potential we admit we are torn. If we keep them we will no doubt save lots of money but will have completely different floors in the kitchen than in the living room and dining room and potentially the hallway which we have left until now for this very reason.

We would also have to contend with the fact that even thought they are beautiful in 90% of the space, there is this spot where there used to be a staircase, that was later removed and had wood pieces patched in to the opening. Todd would fix it to improve it no doubt and furniture over it will help but it won't be perfect and yet it reflects the history of the house. So what wins, history or the perfection one strives for in this renovate to perfection driven real estate world of ours? 

If we sold our home down the road, would a potential buyer love them or be put off by  the lack of visual flow on the main level as well as a step down into the dining room and hallway?

Or all the boards could be pulled up and the floor raised and then laid back down but that is a gynormous amount of work that I do not like the prospect of as both rooms would have to be done at the same time not to mention that a later added load bearing wall has been built on top of the old floors in 1915.

Smaller width maple would lead to wide 6 1/2" wide plank pine with a trasition piece.

If we kept them then this would definitely need to be improved.

 

and old register grate openings filled in with matching boards that our friend has a stash of and has sweetly offered to us if we need some. You can see the burn mark from what would have once been an little pot bellied stove.

If we keep it then the front hallway will also be the pine so that our main level will be only two different floors not including the front and back porch but we have some serious gaps to contend in the hall if we do.

and then I think, hey if it is good enough for Sarah Richardson's farmhouse that is worth 5x's what ours is worth then it could very well be good enough for us! Sarah kept the old floor in the kitchen and patched it as well and then added new different floors to the addition.

Although I do not spend a lot of time loading pictures of inspiring spaces on to my blog, I simply must share what is one of the most inspiring and my favourite homes by the uber talented architect  Richard Bubnowski

We will be incorporating beadboard in between the coffers like this gorgeous ceiling.

An all white hallway to let the views take center stage. 

Love the pop of oil rubbed bronze against soft colours. Give me everything in this space, I adore it all.

Not just any old hallway.

It is our thanksgiving weekend, the weather is picture perfect and we are heading out later on to Mom and Dad's to get stuffed on turkey.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend and get to spend it with family and friends to remember all we should be thankful for. I know I will.

A lazy rainy day and a few more kitchen pics

It is an absolutely cold and dreary rainy day that inspired me to shower and get right back into a pair of fresh cozy pj's for the day. I've been having fun doing nothing except sipping green tea, reading and posting a few more items on Kijiji to sell. 

 I thought I would share another shot of the kitchen before I finish off adding the glass to the doors and new window treatments because I just love it so much and am so excited about the transformation.

Now I really cannot wait for the new white sink, which as you can see here will look so much better.

I really do like the softer look of our existing knobs and handles instead of the oil rubbed bronze I was thinking of. Bummer of a thing happened when I pulled off tape off the wall it took paint with it right down to the drywall, gawd!, so now I may very well chose a different colour for the walls

The runner was a great find for just $15.00 last summer at a wonderful store in Bowmanville called City Cottage Store  and is a cheery pop of colour as well as a great floor protector from water drips.

I like how the  the crema marfil backsplash is really shining against the crisp white and the white subway tile seems to make sense now. 

 

I want to paint the pantry white too and every time I tell someone I get the NOOOOOOO!!!! your not going to paint that response but I think that is a no brainer as I don't want it to be the focal point.  

And the island has to change too but I wonder if it will be too much white if it is all white?

 I could stain over it with a darker stain in a more brown tone to take out the red tones but I'm not a fan of darker woods and envision something lighter and airier if not white. I will have to give it some serious thought.

We have decided to keep our reclaimed maple floors natural. After having them stained dark once and having a big dog at the time (which we will have again one day) and they were a nightmare to keep looking nice and all the scratches and any water drips showed. I also don't like how dark floors suck the light out of a room and working in an office all day long with no window, I crave light!

I would love to hear what you think you would do with the island!!!

Hope you are having a relaxing weekend!!

City Cottage Store

Cabinet Coat Rocks

HELLO!!!!

I've got to put another coat of paint on the glass doors and some shelves but them the cream cabinets are done!

While I was at work today Todd put the doors and hardware back on the cabinets.

I have spent the past week deliberating over new oil rubbed bronze handles and knobs for the freshly painted white cabinets and after bringing home a few samples and still undecided, I chose to have him install the old ones to see if I like them which of course would also save us $$$$.

 In the meantime I have been checking out Kijiji for a Kohler Bakersfield cast iron sink in white with no luck. There are many white double bowl versions available for about $100.00  but no single bowls that are the same size we need.

We LOVE our big 25" wide single sink and even though the black one is gorgeous, it has always been, in my mind, an incorrect design choice (I was trying at the time to give my hubby some of his favourite colour black in our new kitchen) 

So as much as I have loved this bench, I have decided to part with it and just sold it to fund our new sink! I just love that  I can, make certain decorative changes to our home without feeling guilty. If I want to change something, all I have to do is sell sell sell until I have enough to get what I want.

Funny thing, the first people to see our fresh new white kitchen was not family or friends but were complete strangers coming to buy our bench. When they came inside our back porch and peeked inside the kitchen, asked to see inside and it felt so good to show off what now felt so absolutely right to me.

So our 8 year old Delta Waterfall kitchen faucet has had repeated dripping issues which we have tried to fix with warrantied parts to no avail. Since the faucet is now discontinued and  large parts are no longer available  Delta has sent us a brand new Leland faucet! I think the pulldown spray is going to be fantastic to use and I always missed my soap pump on the deck after we removed it to install our drinking water faucet.  

YEAH!!!! It is going to look smashing!

So I walked in the door and even though I could picture how it would look, was shocked at how different and great our kitchen looked and was also thrilled to see that the the old knobs and handles look great too. Todd moved our Ikea slipcovered chairs and my little pedestal table back into the kitchen from the back porch now that the cooler weather is here. I love having multipurpose furniture in neutral tones that can go in all rooms. 

I can't wait to finish up the last few things and share the new look with you!! 

Isn't it amazing how the right colour can make you feel so good?