Beauty Sleep

I think we are nearly finished with everyone's cold's around here (YAY!!) but one thing that has changed is our schedules. I am not even kidding when I say that Wren sleeps until 1pm the last few days. She goes to bed around 9, wakes up to hang out for 15 minutes at 11 and is gone until 9 the next morning when we have a bowl of cereal and a couple laughs then she is back to bed. She pretty much refuses to nap much the rest of the day, but I can hardly complain about that!

Her favorite place for midday naps? Mom and Dad's bed, of course!

Let's just hope this trend continues!

new dining room sneak peek!

It has just been one of those crazy weeks around here! Mainly in a good way except for the cold that is circulating through the house. So of course I realize that yet again I have forgotten to take a before shot. This is the closest I came. I am sure you get the idea: tacky wood, abundant amounts of tufting, and puke green/yellow crushed velvet.


My hands were literally bleeding while working on these and are stilled cramped up from prying so many staples out and then using the stapler to re-apply new fabric. Upholstery is definitely not as fun as painting!!!

I found 1 meter of greyish-blue velvet (used on the seat backs), 2 meters of striped upholstery linen (used on the seats) and 1 meter of silver taffeta (used on the backs) all in a cast-off bin at my local fabric store which definitely made my wallet very happy. In total it all came to $35!

I did a variation on the seats. Some have silver and cream stripes

And some have dark grey velvet and cream stripes.

I still have a few touch ups to make to everything, not to mention some furniture to move. But I'll have th whole set ready to share very soon~

A little life...

Ok, so I have been BEYOND busy this week! I am so thankful and excited to have many custom client projects currently on the go. I typically do not share client projects simply because it is usually not my brain-child so I don't feel right about taking credit for it, besides that I am always so sensitive to sharing other peoples' items with or without their discretion.

But I am just so thrilled about a project I am working on right now with a client by the name of Dennise *waving Hello to Dennise if she is reading this right now!*. She has a TON of fantastic furniture that I will be dreaming about for days but right now she has put me to work on a china cabinet she has. I am just in the beginning stages but since I am so often asked whether I do other colors than white I thought I would answer with this:

This is the look we are going for, but her hutch is even more gorgeous! I may just have to break with tradition and share pictures of this one~

Besides all my client's projects I am also at work on my latest masterpiece: a french provincial dining room table and chairs. This is my first true test at re-upholstering more than just the seat cushion, but the seat backs as well. I am through with all the painting and distressing and just have the upholstery to finish. I was torn on which direction to take, either going for a mix of polka dots/florals ala Anthropologie style or to go classic with all cream linen. Being the bargain shopper I am I found exactly enough dusty blue velvet, striped cream linen and silver taffeta to do a very unique yet traditional mix. I am so excited to share the final project!

And a quick and final update on my extremely thrilling slip-cover hunt. Once they arrived I was soooo thrilled to discover that my chairs are actually "mini" wingbacks *note the sarcasm*. Yup, I had to return them and on further inspection learned about the many sizes of wingbacks. I have the very smallest size out there at only 22 inches wide (the covers are for the 28 inch wide ones so they were massive). I have relented and decided that in the best interests of my mental health I will cease my efforts to locate a decent store bought version. In fact I just recently dropped 1 of the 2 chairs off with a seamstress to have custom fitted and skirted covers made. I am counting down the minutes until I see them and can share with you all!

Other than decorating both Sean and Wren have been battling fevers and colds over the last week so things have been in a little bit of disarray, hence the lack of blogging...

Hopefully we will be back into routine and updating you on all the goings-0n over here as per our usual fashion.

The Old White Cottage Giveaway Winner!

You have just won the beautiful Owl pillow from The Old White Cottage! Thanks again to Melanie over at The Old White Cottage~ Definitely stop by her store or blog to see all her one of a kind treasures!

Marine Biology Plates

Last weekend we made a trip as a family down to our local farmers market. Fresh kettle corn, vegetables and flowers galore, when out of nowhere we stumble upon an older gentleman selling antique newspapers and maps. Rifling through his many wonders I found an old book plate from an 1857 science textbook with fish. On a whim I asked if he had anymore, and sadly he sad that was his last. As we were about to leave he said he would make a note to himself to just check around his place and see if there were any others.

Today Wren and I made another trip down to the market and when we arrived he told us that he could not find the book the fish plate came from, we thanked him for checking, and then he smiled and said "I couldn't find the book, but I didn't say I couldn't find the plates!" I was absolutely beyond thrilled when we pulled an old file folder out from under the table and opened it, completely filled with marine biology images. In total he had 16 plates that are all over 150 years old for me. The total price? $45. Sounded like a deal to me.

He gave me 3 mattes, but I actually plan on mounting them all between 2 plates of glass and doing a wall full of them.

These two are my favorites!

He also had a collection of botanicals that put this pile to shame. I am thinking they would look spectacular in the guest room, or a bathroom.

Thank you for making my weekend Mr. Book Collector!

Table and Cabinet

Isn't this little table brimming with potential?
He looked so lonely without the companion table I am sure he used to belong with. But I am more of a fan of the mismatched look anyhow so he is just fine on his own.

I painted the insides of the diamonds (or whatever that shape is, perhaps clovers?) a shade just smidge grey-er.

I think he is one cute little guy now!



This cabinet has been on my to-do list for AGES! I actually had it completely painted (inside and out for those who ask regularly), but just never got around to adding hardware.

I thought the Less is More ideology was best for this one and left it with one handle per drawer. My favorite part is actually the two zinc knobs and their back plate. I think my friend Rebecca described them best in the store when she said they felt very "Alice in Wonderland" when she was trying to open the door at the bottom of the hole.

I am hoping both end up in loving new homes, but I would be just as happy (as always!) to leave them here.

LARGE and in charge

I want to dedicate this post to Misty (Hello)! She is an absolutely lovely reader and recently she, along with her husband, made a 2 hour drive to pick up my Library Hutch. She emailed me before hand to show me this amazing china cabinet that she had no room for and I was soooo delighted to finally meet it in person when she dropped it off! Isn't it cool???

Welcome to my fancy-schmancy indoor painting zone:

This guy was HUGE! I am talking 2 hours of straight painting. Definitely a record for me!

The details are so stunning in person, and the beadboard backing is unbelievable!

The bottom portion of the cabinet felt a little low so we added a little more substance by building it up on 2 inches of wood.

I think it is definitely my favorite piece of furniture yet!!

Are you as excited as I am?

Way to go Rachel!!!

Fallin' for Fowl Giveaway!

If you are a fan of Melanie and the The Old White Cottage like I am, then I am sure you were equally delighted to hear she had opened up shop with her very own Etsy Store by the same name! Not only are all of her designs unique and creative, but they are beautiful as well. As soon as I saw this snowy owl pillow I immediately fell in love. Wouldn't it look dreamy on any bed or sofa?

Well, not only is Melanie sweet, but she is generous as well! She will be sending 1 lucky reader an owl pillow of their very own. To enter simply leave a comment on this post before 8pm pacific time, September 22. The winner will be announced the very next day!

Good Luck!

Wren's Bathroom

Even though I have primarily been sharing my furniture lately, it has been business as usual as far as our renos are concerned. We have been working on the not-so glamorous aspects like recessed lighting, baseboards and adding plinths to the bottoms of the doors. All necessary, yet not so exciting parts of renovations. But as we tie up the various loose ends we are looking to start our next room reno. Lucky for little Wren that happens to be her bathroom. It is a room we nearly forgot existed since it was piled to the rafters with boxes, mattresses and bed frames from our bedroom and the guest room as those rooms had flooring installed, etc. Just this week Sean cleared it all out as the time came to set up the guest room now that it is done and we were amazed at just how big this room was. We had barely set foot in it since last August if you can believe it!
Here is a look at the frilly shower curtains, dated wallpaper, and pink counters that currently inhabit the room:

We plan to do this bathroom on a shoestring budget (like usual), the biggest splurge will be a custom marble counter top for a dresser I am turning in to her vanity. Everything else will be done by us!

On the agenda:

-find, paint and convert dresser into vanity

-rip out and install new marble tiles for floor

-rip out exsiting tile surround on tub and install subway tile

-remove wall paper and paint walls

-remove mirror and hang the black mirror from our old dining room

Sounds simple, huh? It always does until you are living amidst the chaos that is renovating.

But we hope to start the demo in the next week!

Halloween Entry

To get the front door ready for all the ghosts and ghouls we decided to switch it up a little. We have a huge container in the basement filled with wreaths, garlands, and various other spooky accessories but this year we wanted a little more "haunted house" look.

For the entry I wanted a collection of frames that were filled with a mixture vintage images. Of course Goodwill had a huge selection of cheap frames that are perfect for painting.

I also found this hand stitched cat at goodwill and thought it would be perfect once it was tea-stain aged a little.

I googled vintage freakshow posters, a skeleton and then to do the victorian silhoutte I googled a little girl silhoutte and added the bats later using microsoft paint. I then tea-stained them all to age them as well.

If you have gotten the October Country Living already then I am sure you LOVED the bats scattered across the front door on one of the homes featured just like I did. I am in the midst of doing them on the front door, but thought they would look cool flying down the stairs as well. They are incredibly easy to make, all you need are scissors and black cardstock!

Stay tuned for the front door!

I am afraid that any day now our streak of Summer weather will cease and in the blink of an eye it will be our shortest (and perhaps loveliest) season: Fall. While I start to get excited about Thanksgiving (which takes place at the beginning of October here in Canada) and Halloween, particularly the decor, smells and leaves I just have to remind myself that it will feel like forever until the warm weather returns once those cool days arrive. So we have to enjoy each and every sunny moment!

While I was working on some of those Halloween projects in the garage and on the driveway today Wren was happy as a lark (or perhaps a wren... not sure if the saying still works with the subsitution though) to enjoy the sun and the grass. She is very entertaining to watch while outside and finds grass very amusing, not quite sure what to make of it. It is a handy little tool though because once you set her down in it she does not move an inch. She will bounce, laugh, sing and pull on it but she refuses to crush it.

She is also on the brink of walking, which is a little scary to say the least! She is one confident baby and is fully convinced she has already mastered the skill. She will pull herself up on any and everything and then just let go and do her thing without any hesitation.

Usually resulting in bumps and bruises.

Luckily I have the best medicine that always works: Kisses!

Christmas came early for me today when I went to get the mail! I was excited to see a little parcel with my name on it.


After opening it up I was thrilled to find this gorgeous necklace. It is simply the sweetest piece of jewelery. It suits each of our personalities so well: me the frilly, girly girl with a dress/slip; Sean with a pair of shorts, one of his favorite pieces of clothing!; Wren with bloomers, perfect since she is our little blooming baby.

Thank you so much for making such lovely and fun jewelery Lisa! I can picture this as a perfect gift for any new mom out there. Please check out Lisa's store (you will be wanting everything, TRUST ME!), the link is on the left hand side of this post.

Welcome to the Striped phase!

Van Gogh, Picasso, all artists have periods of preferred styles right? About 2 nights ago my Mom was over and out of the blue suggested that I try hand painting details onto various pieces. In that instant a lightening bolt of inspiration hit me for a dresser that has been completely painted for close to 3 weeks now but that I have not felt was really done. I decided to combine my love of turquoise and stripes and here is what happened:

To give it a "beach cabana" feel I distressed just the blue paint so that it was slightly faded in spots and the white shows through in others.