I Painted...Again

I hinted at pretty pictures yesterday, so I thought I should follow that up with a little something today. New Year's Day is always the best in terms of enthusiasm, and I got off to a great start with a bit more painting. A co-worker asked me today how big my condo is, because he couldn't understand how I am always painting... To be honest, my condo is not extremely large, but I am the slowest painter in the world. Last year I painted the dining room wall, then a month later I painted the living room wall. Now I've finally finished the wall at the end of the entrance hall which wraps around the guest room doorway and connects to the dining room.

Sorry for the grainy photos. I'm planning to break out the good camera for better photos soon. I'm hoping to put together a "whole home" tour!!

 

I circled this area on the floor plan below to illustrate where these walls are in relation to the overall layout of the condo. Now all of the walls throughout the open concept space are painted the same shade of navy blue, Para's Marine Bay (P5156-75).

 

The only walls remaining unpainted are in the front foyer and entrance hall and I'm having a really hard time making a colour decision for this area. I started to consider a green scheme after falling in love with Farrow & Ball's "Brockhampton Star" wallpaper pictured below, but I'm not 100% convinced that it's the right way to go.

The other colour I've been playing with in my head is a blush pink such as Ralph Lauren's "Old Garden Rose". The tricky part is where the two paint colours meet in the study area. I worry that there's too much contrast between the pale pink and the bold navy.

I'll suppose I'll get there eventually, just give me some time. Or give me some suggestions if you have any!!

So...It's 2015

**Warning** This post involves a lot of words. So... if you're here for pretty pictures, please check back tomorrow :)

It's the start of a new year. There's just so much potential in the months ahead. Sure, so much potential. I have to admit, however, that I doubt I'll do anything earth shattering this year. At the end of 2015 I expect that I'll weigh about the same, I'll be in the same job, I'll be driving the same car and I'll be living in the same place. Maybe I'll have a few more grey hairs & slightly deeper wrinkles...

Despite all of that ^^^, it actually goes without saying that the year ahead holds potential for the little joys of life. I plan to complete a few projects around the condo, and I still hope to find just the right dresser for the corner of my master bedroom (that was on last year's list). I'll help some friends with a master bath "refresh". Really, anything can happen!!

When I started Cherish Toronto six years ago, I was so enthusiastic that I posted every almost every other day for the first three years. I often wrote about my own home, but there were more personal things thrown in there too; exploring the places I visited, sharing spaces I found inspirational, talking about Toronto events to attend, bragging about fabulous thrift finds. This year I want to get back to that.

Things really started to slow down on the blog in early 2012 when I started to over-think every post. Bloggers were being encouraged to blog consistently, to have a clear message, to edit content, to create an editorial calendar. What the what?!?! Right then & there I lost my enthusiasm for blogging, although I didn't realize it at the time. Looking back I can see where it happened, and Cherish Toronto took a hit. 86 posts a year. 47 posts the next. Just 27 posts last year. I felt that if I didn't have a project to share, if I hadn't done...something...then it wasn't worth writing about.

It's time to turn this bus around, and I'm going to get back to my old blogging style and share, share, share. The next time I go to an antique shop or the auction, you're gonna know about it. If I make an interesting discovery, the whole world is gonna find out. If I score at the thrift store, trust me, you'll hear about my treasure hunting skills.

Maybe I'll do something earth shattering this year after all.

Fantasy Christmas List

Why oh why do I have such expensive excellent taste? I recently set out on the internet, hoping to come up with my 2014 Christmas Wish List. Things quickly escalated over the top as I delved into large $$ territory. I'm calling this my fantasy wish list:

1.Osborne & Little's Cathay Parade Wallpaper designed by Nina Campbell.

2.West Elm Malone 3-Drawer Dresser.

3. Panasonic Viera 42" Smart TV

4.Reed Krakoff Boxer Handbag in Natural & Black.
5. All expenses paid vacation to London, England + a quick jaunt to Paris.

So who's got my name this year?

What's in a View?

I grew up in my parents' home, a comfortable 3 bedroom bungalow in the Kawarthas with a view of Chemong Lake, and I remained there until moving out at the tender age of 21. My first apartment was a basement rental in Kingston, Ontario, where I lived for about 6 months before being transferred to Toronto. My sister and I shared the top floor of a triplex overlooking Davenport Road for several years until she bought her own place and I rented a tiny condo at King & Bathurst. The bachelor unit was tucked into a corner on the 9th floor, and was the first time I had lived more than 30 feet above terra firma. From there I purchased and relocated to my first home, a second floor condominium with a pleasant view of the courtyard.

When it came time to purchase my current home, I spent a considerable amount of time weighing a list of factors including the suite's orientation and potential view before making a final decision. I don't think I realized just how much I would enjoy the view from up here on the 20th floor. I have always asked in the past, "Is a good view really that important? Does anyone actually spend time just sitting around staring out the window?" 

Well as it turns out, a good view is really important and as a matter of fact I do spend a lot of time staring out the window. Case in point:

I love it up here :)

Photo by Pamela Graham for Cherish Toronto

First Glimpse: Campaign Dresser Makeover

It's been 10 months since I came across a brand new vintage campaign chest in Value Village and I still can't get over my luck!! When I saw this furniture piece sporting the original hang tag and with brass handles neatly wrapped in brown tissue paper, I ran to find a Village assistant and told them not to let anyone else look at it, touch it, or even attempt to purchase it - that baby was Sold!!!

 

"Fast" forward 9 months to November and it was time to get started on this little makeover. Originally I wanted to spray paint this piece, since I love the smooth, glossy finish that comes easily with the spray, but colours were limited and I wasn't finding anything that would tie in with the living room rug (still to be revealed). That meant that I would have to use regular paint and roll it on, but that reality check came with a huge bonus:  the world was my oyster in terms of colour choices. I opted for Sarah Richardson's Blue Box (SR26) from Para Paints, and it's a shade which I'm absolutely crazy about:

 

The painting process was not so difficult as it was time consuming. It was business as usual: Sand, Tape, Prime, Paint, Paint, Paint. Below are some "in progress" shots from the warehouse space at my office where I do all of my dirty work. Each day I would arrive at work early or stay a bit late to complete a step of the project. Big shout out to my employers for allowing me to use the space for this project!

As often happens in my DIY world, things got a bit tricky on the last step of the process, and I ran into a  bit of a SNAFU. I wanted that smooth glossy finish - for both the look as well as for the protection factor, and so I decided to spray a clear top coat over the Blue Box. Unfortunately, the spray gloss did not turn out well - not well at all. Since the drawer fronts offered a small surface area, they were fine, but the top of the dresser was an uneven mess. Imagine a swamp with alternating pools of gloss and untouched dry patches. Crap. A Twitter friend recommended that I try Minwax Polycrylic Gloss in lieu of the spray gloss, so off I went to Lowe's and picked up a quart to try the next morning. Armed with a small sponge roller, I applied a coat of Minwax to the top of the dresser. It was bad. Apparently a roller is the last thing to use when applying a coat of lacquer - one million bubbles in the finish can't be wrong. Long story short I sanded off the layer of bubbles along with one layer of paint, repainted, and applied the gloss with a sponge brush. (Trust me on this one, folks, always use a brush when applying a clear topcoat). Five coats of gloss later, and the finish was perfect. Finally!! 

The freshly painted campaign dresser now acts as entertainment unit in my living room with plenty of space for electronic components and storage. I love the way it looks!! What do you think?

From this angle you can see the pattern of the wood grain in the drawer fronts. I had briefly considered applying a heavy grain filler but then decided against it, and I'm happy that I opted to leave the wood surface alone. I like the texture it gives to the piece.

This is where the five coats of gloss topcoat really shine (literally). The surface is so smooth that it's reflective:

This shot includes a sneak peek of the living room rug. When I matched the paint swatches to the colours in the corner of the rug, it was easy to make a decision, Blue Box was clearly the winner!

I would like to thank Para Paints for supplying the paint for this project. The colour really makes this piece special, and it's definitely the focal point of the living room in the new condo.