Home Library.

You may have read in my Dream House post about how I'd like a library in our next house. We've sort of got one going on in our dining room right now, but I'd love wall-to-wall shelves in the next place. It'd be great to have all of our books together. (With the exception of my husband's comics, which need a room of their own. See: My poor indulgent husband)  The bookstore manager in me sees separate, alphabetized sections; an area for art books, lit, design...I'm getting starry-eyed just imagining it. However. Seeing as how we're not made out of money, built-in bookshelves are beyond our means. Luckily, by the time we move, IKEA will have reared her jattelik Swedish head, which means Billy bookcases will be mine for the buying. While I know that not everything at IKEA is built to stand the test of time, I love their Billy bookshelves. They're sturdy, adjustable and always in-stock, which means I can add to the ones I've already got for a cohesive feel. The price is great, too. (No, I am not an ad for IKEA, though they are welcome to pay me in lingonberries and gronsakskaka if they like.) I've been thinking for years about surrounding my bookshelves with crown moulding to give them more of a built-in feel, and I'll have to prioritize that for the next house. (Here's a link to what I'm talking about: Built-In Billy)  For now, I'll look to these pics for inspiration.

I don't condone colour-blocking books, but for some reason, I can get behind this!

Countdown to Spring!

Ah, March! It's nearly upon us, and it makes me feel like we've almost made it through another winter. Almost, but not quite. Hopefully these photos from my outdoor inspiration file will help me make it through the next couple of months, when I can finally use my yard again! When we moved into our house the yard was a mess of weeds, broken concrete, shoddy stairs and a the only sturdy, well-built thing that came with the house, a swing set. I have zero use for a swing set, and I thank my lucky stars for that. (While I do love being auntie to a half a dozen lucky little buggers, kids are decidedly not my favourite home accessories.) Now that I've made you realize what a truly horrible person I am, back to my backyard!

We lived with the backyard as it was until this past spring. There was just too much to do on the interior of the house to bother with the yard. I like to think the state of my yard kept burglars at bay. "That place looks ripe for the pickin', Lou, let's break-in through the back. Oh, but look at this yard! The poor maroons must be broker'n we are." (This is how I assume burglars speak. Like low-level henchmen from 1940's film noir.) 

Anyhoo, last spring I reached my breaking point and graveled the entire backyard and ordered waaaayy too much soil for my new planters (FYI, after weeks of begging people to come by and help themselves to soil to hardly any effect, I placed a sign in the front yard that said "Free Dirt In Backyard." Gone within the day.) I planted a ton of vegetables and flowers, added some outdoor furniture and voila! A charming yard to hang out in. I think we spent a grand total of 5 hours out there all summer long, but maybe this will be our year! I did take before photos, and I haven't a clue where they are! I'll post those, plus what the yard looks like now come springtime. For now, I hope you are transported to warmer, sunshiney days with these gorgeous outdoor spaces:

Dreamer.

Today is as good a day as any for dreams. So I've been thinking of my future-house wish list. Dream big.

• 2 1/2- 2 3/4 story house in Wolseley
• 2 bathrooms
• finished basement (or at least one that's insulated, drywalled and doesn't suck my will to live.)
• 3-4 bedrooms (one for a man-cave, one for art studio space.)
• a library/book zone (a dining room/library area is a good combo in my opinion!)
• *hardwood floors*
• *claw foot tub*
• porch
• laundry area where you could drop a freshly cleaned sock and not have to wash it again.
• small study area
• tv/movie lounge area separate from the living room.

While this seems like a long list, note that I didn't include a pillow room, in direct opposition to my "excessive gene."  Here are some dreamy rooms to inspire us all.

Pillow Room!

Project 1: Baño

At some point, I guess I'm going to have to actually tackle a room, right? I think I'll start with the bathroom. It's the smallest room and I think I can do a good job on it, although my budget is definitely limited. Ah, well, cross your fingers for a tax return and I'll do the same for you! Here are a few photos of my ideas for the space. I'm thinking pale grey floors, white paint below the chair rail with a robin's egg blue above, chrome or nickel hardware and a new shower curtain. I thought about choosing the same vanity with a white door, but think the chocolate would be a grounding element in the space. I'm trying to appeal to a broad audience, so I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

  




            

    

To Do List

I've gotta apologize in advance for this list. The only thing amusing about it is it's scope. (This is why it'll take me a year...)

• Whole house: Paint, new flooring throughout
• Porch: New screens, shave down door, repaint doors
• Foyer: Re-hang coat pegs, fix bench
• Living Room: Hire electrician for overhead fixture (frayed wire), get new fixture installed, move studio stuff to basement, buy couch, set up as an actual living room
• Dining Room: Wallpaper ceiling, fix curtain rod (loose)
• Kitchen: Fix one loose tile, get Corian countertop installed in built-in, install backsplash (tin tile), side panel for dishwasher area
• Mudroom: New counter top (tiles?), install floating shelf, new doors to outside
• Bedroom: Fix loose curtain rod, repaint dresser, strip oak dresser, build headboard, light fixture
• Bathroom: New flooring, new sink/vanity, replace wrought iron fixtures with nickel, countertop for shelf, new light fixture
• Lounge/Office: Take out divider wall, fix window surround in office (tongue and groove?) paint desk, replace closet door, install moulding around built-in shelf
• Basement: Insulate, drywall, paint floor, ceilings, install wall separating utility areas from open area install window, lights
• Backyard:  New steps from mudroom, sink posts for hammocks, install gate at front, install posts and panel to hide neighbours shed

K's Birthday, M's dessert.

How fantastic is this Zulu bowl made out of telephone wires? We just got home from our friend K's birthday party. Ever sorta wanna keep someone's birthday gift for yourself? I bought K one of these fab bowls and I regret not getting one for me, too! I got K's at the ROM Shop in Toronto, but if you love 'em they're for sale online, here:
Zulu Bowls

I read somewhere that the telephones were constantly failing in areas of South Africa because people would shimmy up the poles to strip the wire to make items like this to sell to tourists. I think this has worked itself out, as cooperatives, the South African Government and the South African Phone Company have started donating the wire to artisans. ("The more you know!")

K's birthday bash was a smash, as all of M & K's parties are. How can they not be when the ingredients are great friends, a bright and cheery house with hip music-themed art, excellent tunes, the world's greatest dog, and M's cooking. Seriously, M is a cookin' dynamo, but his baked goods are outta this world. Tonight's dessert was a chocolate-caramel-macadamia tart (with homemade caramel, of course!) topped with M's own made-from-scratch vanilla ice cream. Amazeballs. It's a wonder C didn't have to roll me all the way home.

 Why parties at M & K's are so awesome.

Chocolate Caramel Macadamia Tart...drool.

Free Press "My Stuff" blurb.

You know you've gotta lotta schwag when they write about it in the paper. (No, it's not an article about hoarding. Shut up!)

"My Stuff" Winnipeg Free Press

Houseporn

As a bookstore manager/houseporn connoisseur, I'd be at the back of the slack bus if I didn't share my favourite design and decor books with you. I've included links to the titles on Amazon because it's easy, and I'm lazy. Of course, I recommend buying all your books from your local, independent bookseller!

1) Creating A Home, by Kathryn Ireland. My all time fave. To be honest, this one almost makes me sick with jealousy. It follows the refurbishing of a grand old house in Ojai, California. It's painfully beautiful and it turns out that Reese Witherspoon lives in it now. The bitch.

2) Downtown Chic, by Cortney & Robert Novogratz. Beautiful spaces from the design team featured on Home By Novogratz (a great show!) Modern, arty, ethnic, chic.

3) Live, Love, and Decorate, by Martin Lawrence-Bullard. A master of fusion spaces, ethnic but not theme-y. Plus you get to see Cher's house. I'm telling you this because I know how much you love her.

4) Mexicasa, Mexicolor, Mexicocina, In A Mexican Garden (various authors.) I am muy loca about Mexican design and art, and these deliver. Completely inspiring, amazing photographs and totally transporting. Like a vacation in a book.

5) Bohemian Style, by Elizabeth Wilhide. The book that started it all for me. When I was 20, I wanted to live in that book! Who am I kidding, I still do.

6) IndiaColor, by Mitchell Crites and Ameeta Nanji. Melba Levick, one of the photographers of the Mexican style books listed above collaborates on this one, too. Same evocative work, different colourful country!

That's all for now, but I'm looking forward to sharing more titles in the future!

                          The above photos are all from Kathryn Ireland's Creating A Home.

Sweet Granola

In an earlier post, I wrote about the space issue at my house. Now, as every man I've ever known has told me, it's not all about size. It's what you do with what you've got. But I think I've maxed out on what I've got! I feel like I have about 1500 sq. feet worth of stuff in 1000 sq. feet of space. But those aforementioned gentlemen were right, it's not just about size. It's also, of course, location. "Location, location, location." (That's one of those words that sounds less like a word when you repeat it again and again. Location.) But I've rather lost the plot.

Now, I can live pretty comfortably in the amount of space I've got. I've lived in small places before, and they ran the gamut from scary attic in a refurbished crackhouse  (so, maybe the rest of the neighbourhood hadn't quite caught up...) to a charming (read: miniscule) one bedroom, to the amazing 2 bedroom with the bright sunroom apartment that I lived in before my fella and I bought the house we live in now.  What I'm taking forever to get around to here is that I'm not in my "desired area." I'm close. It's about a 20 minute walk to work, depending on how much snow there is. [Insert eye-roll here.]

But I'd rather live in my favourite neighbourhood, if it were possible. Where work is. Where almost all of my friends are. Where there's a real feeling of community. Wolseley. The "Granola Belt" of Winnipeg. See, right now I live in the West End, or as I like to call it, NoWo. (North of Wolseley...abbreviations make everything cooler, my fri.) NoWo has gotten a lot better since C and I moved in 5 or 6 years ago, when house prices were just what a couple of green first-timers like us could afford. And, well, who needs amenities? So overrated. When we moved in my friend D said "Well, it's not without it's share of cars parked on the front lawns..." Smartarse. But, like I said, the 'hood's changed a bit. There are less slumlords renting fall down shacks to total hosers and more young people and families moving in. House prices have really risen. My neighbours are kick-ass and as a huge bonus, my aunt and uncle and my little cousins live right down the street. My poor uncle/personal handyman. Lemme tell you how much he likes having two hundred-year-old houses to work on. (Love you Unkie M!) So there are things I'll really miss when we eventually move. I guess the thing to do is just enjoy this coming year. After all, we'll only live about a 20 minute walk away, depending on how much snow there is.

Kitteh Power Nap.

Rocky Raccoon.

                               "Rocky Raccoon" by Sheldon Dawson. http://sheldondawson.com

Upstairs landing.

Frida wall.

View from the top.

                  Painting by Jackie Traverse.  http://www.wahsa.mb.ca/products-page/jackie-traverse/
                     (And that thinger on the stairs is a cat toy, not a dead rat. At least I'm pretty sure.)

Magnet mania.

                     One's fridge says an awful lot about one. And about one's magnet-giving friends.

La Virgencita.

                 The Virgen de Guadalupe appeared on my kitchen cabinets! It's a goddamn miracle!

Kitchen.

Why, they ARE like a frozen drink on a stick!

Studio funboard!

                               These boards are fun, and simple to make! (Look at me all Martha!)
                              I spray painted an old wood frame, added some ribbon to hide a weird
                               brown "velvet" band, and cut some tin flashing to fit. Easy peasy!
                                   And, yes, there IS a Twilight magnet on there. Oh, shut up.

Ah, oui! C'est une vignette!

Dining Room.

                                                               Jharokha mirror from India.

Dining Room.

Dining Room.

Dining Room.

JVS flying ladder.

                                   Jordan Van Sewell ladder. http://jordanvansewell.com

Foyer.

                         Painting by the uber-talented Renaissance woman Rebecca Winkworth.
                         Follow her hockey blog here: Nervoustime (Told you she was a Renaissance
                        woman.)