Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Desperately seeking spring

Are you ready for spring yet? 
 I am and so I decided to show you a shot of  a little spring feeling vignette I did for our bedroom last weekend while the sun shone brightly.  I put the Ikea ottoman that we bought for the living room under the console and added a pop of  blue with some fauxliage (I know, it's not real, a design faux pas but it's what thrifty folks like me have to do sometimes!)
 in my favourite river stone vase 
along with framed pictures of us at the beach, and a great lamp in a unique dark pewter finish.

At least I can feel like I'm on a sunny vacation when I enter my bedroom even if it's still snowing outside!



Hope you are having a good week!

Sunday, February 26, 2012

A perfect fit, shocking tile shopping, some more thrifty finds

Happy weekend everyone, the sun is shining and it is a crisp day here in the GTA. 
I recently moved one of my favourite pieces to the kitchen stairway nook.


The old kitchen had a door on it that lead to the basement which was good for keeping the cold out of the upstairs but since we added forced air and heat the basement it wasn't an issue to remove the door.


and after many years of making do with a table I didn't like I decided to move this console here.
I like the simple lines below the chalk board and the Berkey water filter fits perfectly.
I found the baskets at our Real Canadian Superstore on sale for $12.99 and are a great catch all. 



At just 12 inches deep it still allows plenty of room to go down the stairs and can be easily moved if we need extra room.



Last weekend we tripped to Toronto looking for inexpensive floor tile for the front hall and ended up at Rivaldi Tile on Jane Street.  A customer had previously told me that they sold limestone for a ridiculous price so we thought maybe they would have great prices on porcelain too.
I spotted this gorgeous hex tile which has the same tones as our backsplash and was thinking that in a small band around the porcelain tile it would be affordable and it was on sale too.




 Long story short, a short blonde woman asked if we needed help and I told her I was looking for a matte low patterned or solid porcelain beige, taupe tile. She showed me a number of tiles which were not what I was looking for. I told her that I have 60 square feet and want to keep it under $5.00 a square foot or less and now realize that was a mistake.
Then she turned and said hello to a customer that obviously knew her well and the next thing I know she walked away with him as he asked her questions!
WHAAAT!
Now I was not having a great day to begin with energy wise and when I feel like that I actually become quite meek when usually I'm very assertive.
I thought, ok, she'll be back, I waited, and waited. She didn't return and so I stood in line at their counter waiting my turn to see if someone else might help. No one even looked at you, acknowledged you or smiled to at least make you feel like they will eventually get to you. 
We walked out of there and will never go back.
Even on my busiest days would I ever do that to my customers.
I was appalled.
We ended up at another place that had a super lovely lady, clearance tile at decent prices but not what I was looking for.  


Maybe you've seen this piece at your local Home Sense. I originally saw it featured in a magazine and loved it and did see it once before at our Home Sense but then after my great find spotted it again so I just had to snap a picture of it to compare


but at a whopping $400.00 was too rich for me.




and so I found the piece that was probably it's inspiration.
She clearly has some issues that paint and some new door panels can't fix but wait for it........


I paid $40.00 for it!

I don't think I can still believe it.
It will be the perfect spot for my purse and cell's, chargers for cell's etc. 
Please ignore the state of the hall, it's still a work in progress but this piece will look awesome once I neutralize the walls and maybe give it a fun colour. I will have to experiment.


Also last weekend I visited my local Goodwill and found this beautiful original signed oil painting by W.P. Gamon.
When I asked the clerk what the 40.04 on the back meant she said that is the price. That was steep to me but she then told me that since it was written in red it was 75% off! 
I just love the colours and the textures of it. 
The frame was stained and dingy looking so I primed it and will paint it. 



Ok, maybe I'm a little nuts as it doesn't suit our house,
but I couldn't resist this cow solid wood matted and framed cow print.
Every time I look at it it makes me smile and it was just $10.00. 
It just reminds me to not take things too seriously and to relax.

All in all I had forgotten how much I love to find a great deal. Now I really need to spend time making these pieces look spectacular.


Have a great weekend.

Friday, February 17, 2012

An amazing find

I am squeezing in a post tonight as I have accidentally cancelled my internet service with my provider before I get my other provider's service going.
Duh!

I was so busy  at work today with our amazing 15% off kitchen promotion that I barely came up for air.
So on my lunch hour to clear my brain I did my most favourite thing and hit a thrift store that had recently opened up and would you look at what I found!



It was sitting outside the store with no price tag on it along with a few other nondescript items


 and I passed by it to go inside the store for the first time feeling really good about my new haunt, hopeful that more goodies awaited me but unsure if the prices were going to be fair. 


They were!  I paid $25.00 for this gorgeous chair and am thrilled. 
Her finish is worn or it looks a little scraped off for some reason and she needs a good
 steam cleaning but I will figure out where she will go before deciding what I will do with her. 

I have always, always loved these chairs and are the same style of chairs as the ones  in my favourite dining room but just one of them is enough for me.


And here you can see Restoration Hardware's version that is regularly $389.00!


It was dark when I got home and so I snapped these shots in our unfinished living room.

Renovations have slowed in there but you can see the window is trimmed.
I will show you more once we get a bit more done.





Cost of one classic pedestal table  that needs TLC (still) free!

Cost of one timeless quality side chair $25.00!

Cost of peace of mind for being frugal, priceless!

Have a great weekend!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Simple pleasures

A fresh pot of hazlenut coffee and pretty pink tulips.
It doesn't get much better than that on a -14 degrees
snowy day, a rarity for us this winter.



They just make me so happy after many grey days and is the best $6.00 I've spent in a long while.



I have a date with the caulking gun and a coffered ceiling tomorrow.

Well, off to work I go!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Coffered beadboard ceiling

I have been dealing with very frustrating internet provider issues this past week and now
just got on line and  to do a quick post to show you the latest in the living room that I'm excited about.

The ceiling installation is pretty much complete and
I love it. Todd did an amazing job and when it is all painted 
it will be just as I imagined.

Oh I just noticed that my pictures looks like the ceiling is bowed!
Well it's not.
Really...
It's just the way the camera took the shot.





He is working on the window trim next and will finish up the ceiling board as well. The original window from 1878 was kept and was obviously positioned a  little too high when they installed the coffered ceiling in 1938 and so the beam went right into the window trim casing.  



We decided to keep it simple in keeping with our home and added a 2" crown
moulding. The beadboard just adds to the casual feel we want.



Have a good week!