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!

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:)

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!

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.

Linking up to Serenity Now Weekend Bloggy Reading.