Before & Afters!

I haven't posted in forever, cuz instead of writing about working on my house, I've been ACTUALLY WORKING on my house! I'm in the home stretch as far as renos go. It's been over a year, but that's what happens when you're doing a lot of the work yourself. My fella and I only have Sundays off  together, so that's really the only time there can be two of us working on a project, and some of these projects aren't one person jobs. I'll post more about that stuff later, but for now, here are some one-person projects that I've completed this week.

BEFORE: My friend J's mom gave me two of these great side tables, saying she figured I could do something with them. So I did.

I took a wire brush to the worst of the rust, then sprayed the table with a Rustoleum anti-rust primer. After that dried, I sprayed it out with my spray gun(!) in Thai Curry by Behr Marquee. Then I handpainted the details all around the top edges. 

This wee nook in my kitchen needed a boost.

I slapped up these custom-sized decals from  Bleucoin , who I found on Etsy. It took about half an hour and may be my favourite kitchen project ever.

These Sears-catalog chairs belonged to my great-grandmother. I was going to get rid of them since they don't match my new teak table, but my mom said I had to keep 'em. She didn't say anything about painting them, though.

I sanded these down, then used the same navy on these chairs (Behr Marquee Bon Nuit) that I used on my dining room walls. I still need to spray lacquer them for a hard n' glossy finish, but I'm waiting for a less humid day. The fabric is an outdoor polyester, which I figured would be easy to clean up. These will be the head chairs of the dining table. The other chairs are Eames-style Eiffel base chairs in white.

And there ya have it. I think I'll take a break from projects tonight, since the first Anthropologie to grace my fair(ish) town just opened today. I may have to go there after work. Also, I haven't made dinner in two weeks, so I should see if I remember how to work the oven. More to come, my three faithful readers.

xoAA

New Spray Gun = New Projects!

I bought a spray gun for painting out my basement ceiling, but the ceiling is so daunting (I'll work on it tomorrow, I promise!) that I needed to do an easy home project to get me back in the swing of things.

I've been hanging out on the front porch a lot and it's on my list of summer projects to fix it up. It needs jacking up, new screens and a power wash, but it's very colourful and cozy. Yukon (the world's greatest cat) loves it, so I sit out with her and read anytime it's nice out.

I had a blank space in the seating area, just calling out for a table, but with looming house projects coming up, budget was an issue. I was gonna have to brush off the ol' DIY skills and make something.

I've had an old crate for a couple of years, which I picked it up at a friend's yard sale. I loved the faded Cascade pears label on the side, and thought it'd fit perfectly in the space. It was a little too short, so I went looking for legs. My original thought was to use retro hairpin legs, but I didn't see any in town, and I don't like waiting, so I had to come up with other options. I was at a hardware store and looked at castors, but didn't want to spend $40 on 'em, and I didn't need the table to roll. I looked at replacement bed legs, but they just weren't right. I looked at plumbing fixtures, thinking I could use short pipes and flanges, but they weren't what I really wanted for the project. Then I accidentally walked down the home organization aisle and found an interior cupboard organizer. Stainless steel, sturdy, simple...and 10 bucks. Just what the decorator ordered.

I went home, dug out some yellow exterior paint from an old project, hooked up my new spray gun(!) and went to work. All in all, the project cost less than $20. Here are the before and afters! (And yes, I KNOW I need to sweep the porch...)

Dusty old peach crate

Love the label, so covered it with plastic before spraying.

Your basic shelf organizer...made for a perfect set of legs.

Nice and cheery!

Starting to see it come together.

Staple gunned the organizer to the base....

And done!

Bug likes it, anyway.

Yukon couldn't care less. She just wants to nap on the couch. 

Bathroom Redo....again!

Alrighty, so although I really, really need to be working on finishing the basement, I spent the afternoon repainting my bathroom. I know I just redid it recently, but that was when I thought we'd be selling the house. So I set it up to look all home-stagey and normal. It was very pretty, and the farthest thing from anything even close to my aesthetic. When we decided that we would renovate instead of sell, I knew that colour had to go. It was a nice Robin's egg blue, but it just seemed so out of place (because it was...) that I had to start again. Frankly, I'm surprised I waited this long. Then again, I'm incredibly lazy. So, here's Bathroom Redo Number Two. Haha, NUMBER TWO! And it's a bathroom redo! Get it? I totally went there! (In addition to being lazy, I am also immature. I am quite a catch.)

First the "Before" photos (i.e.. Home Stagey)

"Aerial View" paint. (A CIL colour that I had done in Behr Premium Plus Ultra paint.) I still like the colour of the cabinets, but if I were to do it over again,  I'd never get a flat bottom sink. It gets soap scummy very easily, and I'm always cleaning' that thing.

The tree shower curtain, while really pretty, was a little too bleak for me, so I replaced that too, and am passing on the tree to a friend for her future bathroom update.

The floor (Allure Trafficmaster) has held up very well, and I love the grey.

If you know me, you understand how ridiculous it is for me to have anything so pretty. Passing the Laura Ashley (Yeah. I somehow own Laura Ashley items) baskets on to my cousin who I think will like them.

The faux art AKA  "Faaaaaaaaart" is long gone. The cabinet is IKEA. This is the best photo of the former colour.

And now for the "After" shots! (MUCH more my speed.)

That's a heck of a blue (Gem Turquoise, Behr)

Gringo likes it, but he likes everything.

Purple tub!

Crazy shower curtain (from Bed, Bath & Beyond a few months ago. I don't think they have it anymore.) IKEA chandelier, that my husband just noticed. ("That's been up for a year, dear." "Oh. Well, the blue really makes it pop.")

Now I'm happy.

The Good, The Bad and the Basement

I sure haven't been around here in a while! Looks like my last post was in May...it's February now, so it  would appear that I'd given up on the house and the blog entirely. Well, let's just call it a sabbatical.

2013 wasn't without moments of joy, but the loss of many loved ones made for a sorrowful year. I didn't feel a lot of creative spark, or much desire to write, at least not about furniture and paint colours. I  don't believe that any creative pursuit is frivolous, but for some reason any time I thought about posting to the blog, it felt somehow insensitive. Of course I know that those that I've lost would never want me to stop doing things I enjoy, but hey, I enjoyed watching TV and stress-eating, too.

The aforementioned moments of joy included spending time with my friends, family, pets and fella, reading 101 books and spending three weeks in Mexico. The traveling was like all traveling is for me, 70% "This is awesome!" and 30% "Why the f*cK do I keep doing this?" Okay, maybe 60/40. But it did kind of get me back into the swing of things, and being surrounded by beautiful colours, friendly people and incredible artwork never hurts. We spent some time in the jungle, rented an apartment in my favourite town and spent a few days in Mexico City (where I only got pickpocketed on the subway once!) Well, out of all the times I've been in Mexico City, once ain't bad, and the guy was a total PRO. I mean, talk about a craft.

I came home to my basement renovation (still ongoing!) My Uncle M has been working on it (with a least a little help from us) any time he gets the chance. Of course, this means that everything that was in my basement has been in my living room (floor to ceiling, wall to wall) for 5 months. That's getting a bit old, but I'm happy it's getting done at all. This isn't a rec room type reno, more of a bonus-space spruce-up. Once we're done, my studio, C's office and the laundry will be down there. We stripped out all of the disgusting old insulation, and the ceiling coverings (that's a whole other post!) We've had the foundation fixed, 3 windows installed and M has rewired the entire basement, installed rigid insulation and is nearly finished framing. Once that's done, there's some plumbing to tackle, the stairs to repair, walls to put up, a floor to epoxy and an incredible amount of painting to do. So, hardly anything....

I can't wait to be able to show you before and after photos, but it'll have to wait til the 'After' occurs.
For now, here are some of my photos from Mexico, which will at least make me feel a little better, after suffering through this painfully long Winnipeg winter.

Toucan

Guacamaya Rojas (Scarlet macaws) in Chiapas.

Palenque Ruins, Chiapas

Baby monkey!

Resting mariposas at the Palenque ruins.

Talavera house numbers from the Mexico City Artisans Market (one of my favourite shopping destinations...)
Although the numbers look black and blue, they're all blue.

Huichol skull, talavera skull and two amber skulls with articulated jaws.

La Sirena nicho.

Dia de los Muertos painting with clay skulls.

Embroidered Otomi pillowcases.

Ink drawing.

Small beaded hummingbird.

Guillermo y Lupita, my beaded lizards from Chiapas.

My second favourite thing about Mexico City, the churros at Churreria el Moro. Best ever. And the hot chocolate is perfection in a mug.

My very favourite thing in Mexico City, Frida Kahlo's house, Casa Azul.