Up & Coming

There are projects in the works, my friends!!

For starters, there will be colour going up on the doors & walls. I've been in the new condo for nearly 11 months and with the exception of the guest bedroom & the master bedroom, the builder beige walls remain untouched. For the inside of the front door I've chosen a lovely coral, "Ooh Long Tea" from PARA Paints, which will add a fun hit of colour to the entry foyer. The colour was pulled from the front entry rug which I purchased on ebay. Since the entrance sets the tone for the rest of the home, I want to make this area bright and lively. I'm super excited to get this paint project rolling!!

Weekend Organization: PAX Wardrobes

For the past 6 weeks I've been living out of suitcases in my own home. As a Virgo, this has been driving me craaaazy!! The builder's "step in" closet organization system was comprised of a single wire shelf with hanging below - such an ineffective use of vertical space. Since the room is tight on space (10'5" x 11'11"), I needed to get everything into this one closet.

Exhibit A:  Before

When I found out that the Ikea bedroom event (15% back in Ikea gift cards) started last Monday, I printed my shopping list, jumped into the work van, grabbed a friend and headed straight to aisle 17 at Ikea's Vaughan location. Take heed people - do not attempt this alone, these boxes are H-eavy!!

Time to start my weekend project:  Closet Beautification. The first step was to remove the existing shelving which literally had to be torn out of the walls - that meant spending Friday night with a putty knife and a bucket of drywall compound. Saturday morning arrived, the patches were dry and after a touch of sanding it was time to paint. I used Para Paints* Dusk (SR39), another colour from Sarah Richardson's Designer Palette, and it covered really well in just ONE coat - bonus!! Next up, I assembled the wardrobes and managed to squeeze the boxes through the door frame and into position, although not without a lot of sweating, a touch of swearing, a moment of crying and finally a huge sigh of relief.

The rest was a breeze - assemble the drawers and insert them into the wardrobe boxes along with the shelves and bars. The most time consuming part was figuring out how to get all of my purses to fit. What a pleasure to be able to open the closet door and see this. It was a weekend of time well spent :-)

*A big "Thank You" to Para Paints for supplying the paint for this closet project. I was beyond happy that it went on so well in a single coat, it certainly made the job much easier and quicker!!

D.I.Y. Challenge: D.O.N.E.

OMG, I have never procrastinated on a DIY as long as I have on this one. I found and purchased a pair of vintage faux bamboo bedside tables on December 31st, and then they sat, and they sat, and they sat... Until one month ago, Kisha over at Chronicled Blog came up with a group challenge, which I thought for sure would be the motivation I needed to get going on this DIY. Well, I still managed to procrastinate until the very last day. Sigh. Why do I do this to myself? There's nothing like a crazy amount of pressure to light a fire under my butt.

As of 2 o'clock Sunday afternoon, the bedside tables still looked like this:

Here's all I needed to get the project done: Fine/Medium grit sanding block, Zinsser primer, sponge roller and brush, 2 cans of Rustoleum Ultra Cover spray paint in Dark Grey Gloss :


I paid special attention to the laminate top, giving it an extra coat of primer, since spray paint will not stick to laminated surfaces:


The legs also needed special care and attention, since it looks as though they had been hit by the vacuum a few hundred times over the years:


Here are the tables freshly primed. Thank goodness my office includes warehouse space where I can do all of my dirty work!!

Are you ready for the After? Do I hear a drum roll?

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The entire project only took about 5 hours from start to finish (including drying time), and the huge bonus is that I saved about $400 by doing this myself. Thanks to Kisha for the setting the challenge. I am so glad that I finally got this done!!! I only wish that I could have styled these up real pretty, but that will have to wait until I move to the new place this fall. These tables will be in the new guest bedroom :-)

Check out today's blog posts from the other bloggers who participated in the DIY Challenge: From Inspiration to Creation:

Renee at RB Squared
DaVida Chanel at DaVida Chanel
Kristin at Le Fabuleux Destin
Kandyce at Chota Peelea Auto
and
Kisha at Chronicled Blog

Paris + Flea Market

I yearn to travel to Paris, and although I haven't yet made it across the pond, I know I'll get there eventually. And when I do, one of the "must visit" places will be the famous Parisian flea market, Le Marche aux Puces (Les Puces). In an ironic twist, while trolling Toronto's Sunday Antique Market, I came across a beautiful pair of street scene paintings featuring la tour Eiffel et Arc de Triomphe.



I make purchases based purely on the pretty factor, so I don't know if these paintings are valuable, but they are definitely oil on canvas. And although the frames are in fairly good condition, they are blue, one mat has some water damage, and there is a slight musty scent, so they will need to be re-framed. Can't wait to see them freshly framed and hanging in the new place - I have just the spot in mind for them!

Art is Affordable

For all those who believe that art is unaffordable, I'm here to prove you wrong. Always remember that art doesn't have to be expensive to be "good". The only thing that matters is that you enjoy it and appreciate it. I found the piece below while out thrifting yesterday - I love the flowers and the colours in this painting. The bonus is that I like the way it's framed, which means I won't have to spend a bundle to have it redone. What do you think?

Oh, and the price? A sweet $4.99.