Serendipitous Home: 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.