Thursday, August 30, 2012

Gallery Wall Over the Sofa.


Last week I hinted that I finally got at the gallery wall over the sofa. I'm sharing it today. It isn't "finished" but it's at least a start. Originally I had three black frames with bird prints in them. I still really like them so have found a new home for them. I always found that they didn't provide enough height in the room since the ceilings are high.


I had that look for a long time. I'm craving a more relaxed, fun space and I'm slowly trying to embrace color. I've added a couple of bright pillows, a chevron rug and I think the art prints bring some color as well.



 Clockwise from the top are:
  • Blue Jay print ~ original watercolor by the talented Etsy seller Eastwitching, kindly gifted to me for hosting a giveaway :)
  • Petits poissons ~ Etsy seller Eva Juliet 
  • Empty frame ~ I've been playing around with painting and when I do one I like, it may find a home here.. maybe.
  • Birds on a wire ~ PEI artist Luke Leunes
  • Two framed landscapes ~ Stephane's parents brought them home from Paris years ago.
  • Choisis la joie ~ Etsy seller Eva Juliet 
  • Boston Terrier print ~ free printable
  • A magnified image of a cell ~ Stephane's and is actually really pretty:)
  • My beloved ram head ~ Winners. Isn't he sweet? 


As you can see, the bottom left corner needs something. And I may add a bit more to the top. I decided to leave it as is for now, look at it for a while and decided what to add later. I tend to rush things and I don't want a bunch of unnecessary holes in the wall!

Last week, I also showed a sneak peek of my new door color. Well.. let's just say, it was an ultimate fail. I don't like it even a little. However, I haven't had a chance to repaint it yet so now I have a complex thinking that everyone driving or walking by is wondering if I just have really bad taste! I suppose I should just get over that... or just paint it asap:)

I promise I'll share both the fail color and the new color next week!



Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Here and There.

I've been pretty darn productive the last couple of days, if I do say so myself. I was feeling the "I'm going back to work soon" crunch and it gave me a kick in the pants to get moving on some projects.

While I don't have a completed project to share with you today, I'm giving you a glimpse at a few things that will be appearing on the blog in the next while!

I bid adieu to my green front door. I loved it and seemed a reader favorite but I like changing things up!
I knew exactly what color I wanted to paint the door but I decided to be thrifty and paint it a color I had on hand. I promise it's not Grover blue like it appears in this photo, however I'm not sure I'm digging it. I'll live with it a few days to see if I warm up to it then likely go buy the color I originally wanted!


We've got one chair recovered! We decided one a night was sufficient. 
A bit more time consuming than we anticipated.


I just may have got around to hanging a gallery wall behind my couch.. finally! I even cut out all the templates and mapped it out first. I'm generally not much of a planner but I'm glad I took the time.
It includes my new buddy the ram.. or maybe he's a mountain goat? Either way, I adore him.


One coat of stain on the front porch floor. I was happy to be finished then remembered I have to do it all again. Tomorrow.


Lots done but all the while my mind is starting to drift to school mode. I am taking on a new challenge this year, moving from grade two, up to grade six. I felt it was time for a change to get me re-energized but I'm a little bit anxious about it.

Students start back 2 weeks from today! It will actually be nice to be back into routine. Fall is my favorite season and I'm looking forward to wearing cozy sweaters and jeans, new school supplies, crisp cool nights for sleeping and pumpkin spice lattes.. love it all:)

Monday, August 20, 2012

Porch Gable Update.

With our little backyard oasis complete, we have moved on to the front of the house. Last year, the porch floor was replaced and this year we are attempting to finish things off.

A few weeks ago I painted the porch ceiling a pretty sky blue. Then things were put on hold while we got a new sidewalk out front. ie.. a whole lot of dust! Saturday, Stephane tackled the gable over the porch.

Here is a shot of what it looked like before. The best one I could find. 

See those ugly little black strips of  wood? They badly needed to be scraped and painted but frankly we weren't into them anyway so they were taken off.


We decided to go with cedar shingles since they suit the craftsman style of the home. A few hours of work on Saturday and again on Sunday and it was finished Lots of cutting when you are working with a triangle!


Let's look at the before and after again.


So now the big question..
we know we don't want to paint it (maintenance). Should we let it weather or stain it? I'd love your input!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Deck Reveal.

Well, it's finished. We started in the spring with a blank canvas and have transformed our backyard into a perfect little oasis.

 Let's look back at where we started. 
A small little deck off the back door was all we had. It quickly came down.

Then after days of removing sod, shoveling gravel, lots of wood, the deck was starting to take shape.





Stephane really worked hard to get the building done and I did as much to help as possible, including the staining at the end and the landscaping. We used two colors of stain, one for the deck and one for the deck walls. I really like the contrast.

Here is our finished product. 
  


My favorite parts are:

The tree lights in the evening.


The deck walls with the mirror.


 The "catwalk" stairs to the lower deck.


I'll be back later with some more details for you about the build. 
Hope you like it! We certainly are enjoying it.


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

New Dining Chairs.

The dining room table and chairs in my dining room have been on loan from my Dad since I bought the house over four years ago. They are pieces that he refinished and are quite beautiful. I get lots of compliments on the table however, I had other plans for the room and replacing them for something more suited to my style was always the plan.

The problem? What was my style? Modern chairs with a rustic table? Modern glossy table with clean lines? I couldn't quite figure it out. Plus, what I like often didn't fit the budget or the style of my home. Quite the conundrum I tell you!



Anywho.. the reason I am bringing this up now is because we got new chairs! I love them for two reasons. 1. They have a really nice shape and a ladder back which I love. Plus they are teak! 2. They sat around Stephane's kitchen table when he was a little boy. A little bit of sentiment and I'm sold:) His Mom is down shopping for a house here (yep! She's moving to PEI!) and brought them for us.

Of course, they need a little work but I'm up for it. A good oiling and some new upholstery and they will be perfect! Speaking of upholstery.. I ordered a few samples last week from my favorite fabric shop Tonic Living. I had to keep in mind that the curtains in the dining room are a tad bossy when it comes to picking coordinating fabrics. Although a subdued pattern and color tone, they definitely dictate what works in the room.


Here is what I came up with. A few solids and a couple of patterns. Any guess to which one I picked?


Of course, I had to get Beaufort opinion too. He really didn't seem to care either way.


This is the one I picked and ordered this morning. It's called Bethe in Robins Egg. Did you guess it?



I realize it may get dirty but for a couple of yards of fabric and a little time it can be quickly changed. Can't wait for it to arrive so we can get started on recovering them! Then, we will need to decide what we are doing for a table but they look fine with the one we have for now.

Monday, August 13, 2012

The Famous Fiddle Leaf Fig.

That's a lot of Fs! I few months ago, I went out to a local flower shop in search of a fiddle leaf fig tree. I was spotting them in some gorgeous spaces in some of my favorite magazines. If plants can be hot, no plant can be hotter than this one right now!

Unfortunately, they didn't have any but he offered to check with his supplier for me. This week, he let me know that he got some of the fiddle leaf fig plants in but was not yet able to get the trees. While cute, I decided to hold out for the tree.

This weekend, I had the chance to read a few of my favorite online magazines (Lonny, Matchbook and Rue) and saw a couple of them in the latest Lonny issue. Have you spotted them everywhere too? 

Here are some great rooms that feature the house plant.


Source: lonnymag.com via Jane on Pinterest

I am actually drawn to the ones that have the wilted looking leaves (like the first and 3rd one). Maybe because I know mine will likely look like that since I never have much luck with house plants.

I try. I really do. Well.. maybe I do forget to water them for weeks, maybe months, as a time. But still.

I'd like to get one before the cool kids say they are out:) Actually, I shouldn't say that. I am trying to practice what I preach... the words of decorator Billy Baldwin:



That being said, if anyone on PEI sees them around, let me know! :)

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Creativity and Cuteness.

I'm off to complete a fun project this afternoon. 
One that allows me to be creative and hang out with some pretty amazing girls.



Here's to hoping I don't melt in the hot sun! Speaking of the hot sun... My little Beaufort is not loving this heat. Here's a glimpse of how he's been spending his days.



This photo was taken at our friend's cottage. He was loving life. 


Need to do more of that in the next few weeks. He loves running around leash-less on the sand and rocks!


Monday, August 6, 2012

A Blue Sky Ceiling.

I'm sorry for my absence, I've been a very bad blogger. Busy with client work, a fun upcoming project, staining the deck (full reveal on that coming soon!), summer guests and just generally enjoying the beautiful weather here on the island.

In between staining the deck, I've got a few things done around here that I can share with you today. Last summer, my brother tore out my front porch and rebuilt it for me. Then, I painted the railings and the house within the porch. This spring I replaced the lights.

Anxious to get it finished this summer, I tackled the ceiling last week, painting it a soft blue (Benjamin Moore Smoke).




I plan to stain the floor and stairs but we've got some construction going on with new sidewalks and water mains, which in turn mean lots of dust. I'm waiting patiently for it to be finished so I can get on that project.

The new blue ceiling means that now that the green front door we've been sporting for the last couple of years (and you all seem to love) just isn't going to work anymore. Watch for a fun change coming soon!

I also gave the little table that I primed way back in February as few coats of glossy white spray paint and  put it in the living room. It took less than fifteen minutes and I've been putting it off for months.. why?


I have to share my window boxes on the shed in the back yard. When I planted them back in June there wasn't one bloom on them. Now they are enormous! A little Miracle Grow, regular watering and great weather or could it be that maybe I do have a tiny bit of a green thumb after all?


We're into August now.. crunch time. Back to work in a month!