The house remake

We finally finished the house! Yay!

All I did here was put plants on either side of the bench.

Didn’t do much to the dining room – changed the light fixture and rearranged some of the stuff on the wall.

I basically just cleaned up my room!!

Sid’s room always looks pretty much like this.

The kids room was changed drastically… it is very simple now.

Ikea storage is very good for keeping toys and books and crayons and modeling clay and other “craft supplies” nice and tidy.

The basement is actually clean and clear of clutter. This is sort of a miracle!

And finally, the backyard… now I need a little charcoal grill.

The kitchen facelift

I love kitchens. I get depressed when I walk through the kitchen sections at any store because I can’t afford any of them and so I walk really quickly through the whole section usually… for reals!

I love white, bright kitchens – usually with lots of seating. I was lucky because the cupboards were already white when we bought the house (everything else though, I hated). I got subway tiles for the back-splash, from Home Depot, which looks amazing, and the white counter-top is from IKEA (they have a great selection of counter-tops).

This kitchen has very little counter space, so I used the same counter-top and created a space on the opposite side of the kitchen, which has enough space for a couple bar stools.

I got rid of the makeshift pantry that I had in the kitchen and so I had to find an alternative solution for storage. I got the shelves and drawers from the IKEA as-is section. I left the area open, but because everything is grouped in baskets, I think it works.

The kitchen is my favorite remake so far!

Bathroom on a budget

So. I have a teeny tiny bathroom, and a tonne of stuff. The over-the-toilet storage is excellent for people with the space issue. This one was from Rona and was relatively inexpensive, although I bought it about 3 years ago and until last week, it was happily (or unhappily) living it’s life in my garage!

The most expensive thing I did was to put in tiles – glass tiles are my absolute favorite, but it’s quite pricey so I had to minimize it’s use. I got subway tiles, because I really adore them and they are affordable. If you can install tiles yourself, this is a great look and can be achieved on a modest budget.

The hand towels in the basket idea I stole from my cousin, who we visited in Maryland last weekend. Along with her hospitality and yummy food, she gave us some germ-busting tips! Although the towels are single-use, they are easily washable and reusable. I got the towels from Home Sense on sale and the baskets at Bouclair where you can find a great selection of baskets in different textures and colors.

Props to sid for the painting job! It’s green, although I am not sure that comes across in the photos.

PS. I am still looking for an appropriate mirror!

And this is why people think I’m crazy

I’m usually called “crazy”, or as my dad likes to say, “unusual”, because I attempt to do things that most people would not ever consider undertaking, or because I usually see things differently from most.

I was helping out Renee with a tiny bit of coding on her site one day a few months ago, and fell in love with her quote – “only those who can see the invisible, can do the impossible” – right? That’s just so me! At least I like to think that’s so me!

Anyway. Back to crazy.

I think sid is about to kill me in my sleep because I am making her paint everything!

This is how sid spent her day…

Meanwhile, I don’t do very well at jobs that could potentially get very messy, aka painting, so I was “prepping” the walls!

1) Remove everything from the walls

2) Pull out all the wall plugs

3) Fill the holes, wait for it to dry, then sand it

So. People. We are exhausted! And most of the time, overwhelmed. Pray for us to be finished with this house soon!! Or come over and help!!

PS. Thanks to people who did come out to help – much appreciated.

This is how I spent my weekend

People, remember the cute kids room I had? Well, it took about a million coats of primer to hide those letters – ok, maybe not a million, but it kinda feels that way!

And. I have to go into the office tomorrow. Now, every time I say that everyone rolls their eyes at me, but I only go into the office one day a week – on a Friday, and I have not worked on a Monday in, I don’t know, a year? So. Right. Monday. Argh! Ok, happy Sunday evening!