Odds & ends

Thanks to Stephanie at The Granite Gurus for the $40 CSN Stores gift certificate that I won in her giveaway. Weeehooo, time to shop! I’m kinda diggin’ these wallets from Sydney Love:

    

Also, thanks to everyone who voted for me in the HomeSense Shopper Showdown contest. I think we find out today who makes it to the next round. I’ll keep you posted! Here’s my bedroom that’s in the running:

Edited to add… The next four finalists have been announced, and I’m not one of them :-(

A member of our Exile Island team, One Dude Nine Girls, is donating all the proceeds from her online sales of Stella & Dot jewelry from now till May 12th to Children’s Wish. So if you want to buy some fab jewelry and support a great cause at the same time, check out Katie Bowen’s Stella & Dot web site. I’ve also added a link to her web site to my sidebar.

              

Loving this orange & beige bedroom by Artistic Designs for Living that Linda posted over at theLENNOXX:

  

And the whole blog world is still buzzing with this Ikea hack by Nancy at Marcus Design. She was even featured over at Apartment Therapy, which is pretty big! Nancy’s makeover was inspired by this Dorothy Draper dresser:

She transformed a pair of Ikea Rast chests from this:To this:

And finally, a little Friday funny for you :-)

E-U-C-A-L-Y-P-T-U-S

Happy weekend!

If you want your home to reflect who you are and what you love, drop me a line for an in-person or online consultation.

Sarah 101: Lisa’s Re-imagined Kitchen

Sorry about the lack of Sarah 101 wrap-up posts lately. With everything else that’s been going on, I didn’t even have time to watch the show till a few days later on my PVR. But it’s back this week, and I think you’re going to like this makeover! Also, I got a bit lazy with my last couple of wrap-up posts and didn’t include very many pictures, So due to popular demand (OK, one person asked!), the pictures from my TV are back too.

This week’s episode of Sarah 101 is a great example of how to re-use what you already have and still get a WOW makeover.  Lisa’s kitchen was old (hello ‘70s!), but the layout worked and all the cabinetry was solid wood. DARK solid wood, though, which made the kitchen dark and heavy.

Sarah & Tommy’s to-do list:

The island stayed, but was modified by moving the sink from the end to the side, and it was clad in beadboard and painted robin’s egg blue.

The layout didn’t change much, seeing as it was already pretty functional.

Sarah & Tommy went with a sort of retro style that fits in with the overall style mid-century style of the house. The colour scheme came from the glass tiles on the backsplash. The Marmoleum floor replicates the colours and pattern of the tile.

 

The turquoise fabric on the chairs and bulletin board echo the colour on the island. The ceiling was painted the same colour as the island, but at 1/3 strength. I’m pretty sure the rattan chairs were bought during season 2 of Sarah’s House.

Isn’t the round bulletin board cool? It was originally a mirror – the mirror was removed, foamcore covered with fabric added, and voila!

The desk area was modified to bring it up to the same height as the rest of the countertops and the island. This eliminates the need for a separate chair for the desk – just pull over a stool from the island.

This is a really clever trick that Sarah came up with. Check out what looks like a window with ceramic ware in front of it:

This was originally a pass-through from the kitchen to the laundry room. Sarah had a piece of translucent glass installed in the opening to allow light from the laundry room window to come into the kitchen, while hiding the not-so-attractive laundry room itself. And the shelves are actually stair treads!

Love the chrome light fixtures over the island, and that blue… gorgeous! You can get a good look at the lighter blue ceiling here…

 

What did Sarah & Tommy teach us?

1.  To save money when doing a makeover, re-use what you have.

2.  Don’t be afraid to paint solid wood cabjnets & doors. And before you paint, check to make sure that the holes for new door hardware match up with the holes in the doors & drawers. If they don’t match up, fill them in, sand them, re-drill them, and THEN paint.

3.  Banquettes aren’t as versatile as chairs – if you have a large group, you can pull the table out and add more chairs around it. With a banquette, you’re limited to how many people you can fit on it.

4.  Painting the island in a contrasting colour allows it to act as a statement in the room, rather than becoming a  backdrop.

5.  Choose new appliances wisely. Splurge on the stove, which is the workhorse in the kitchen. Save on the other appliances.

6.  The more BTUs that a stove has, the more powerful it is AND the more expensive it is.

7.  When drilling holes into cabinetry for hinge & hardware screws, cover the area where you’re drilling with painters tape to prevent the paint finish from chipping

8.  Hang pendant lights 36” above counter surface. And invest in good lighting!

9.  If you’re putting colour on the floor and cabinets (in this case, the island) put a subtle colour on the walls to allow the colourful elements to stand out.

10.  Incorporate artwork that’s both form and function, like the bulletin board in this kitchen.

Click here for the shopping guide for Lisa’s kitchen makeover.

So what do think of Lisa’s new kitchen? It’s a HUGE improvement over her old kitchen, that’s for sure! And I can vouch for the fact that simply painting kitchen cabinets can make a huge impact. We did a similar makeover in our kitchen – we didn’t change the layout, other than widening the peninsula. We had the oak cabinets spray painted, replaced the countertop & backsplash, added pendant lights above the peninsula, and replaced the sink and faucet. Our kitchen went from this:

To this:

So if you’re happy with your kitchen overall but aren’t so crazy about the cabinet wood, don’t be afraid to paint!

One last Shameless Plug Alert!

Short & sweet – please vote for me in the HomeSense Shopper Showdown contest!

If you want your home to reflect who you are and what you love, drop me a line for an in-person or online consultation.

Best Old House Neighbourhoods 2011: Oh Canada!

The editors of This Old House magazine have put together a collection of the best old house neighbourhoods in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Their criteria are architectural diversity, craftsmanship of the homes, preservation momentum in the neighbourhoods, and amenities such as walkability, safety, and community.

Here are their choices for the 12 best old house neigbourhoods in Canada. Traveling from west to east…

Dawson City | Yukon Territory

Over 100 homes in Dawson City were built during the Gold Rush days in the late 1800s. More than 60,000 tourists come to Dawson City each year, but the permanent population is only about 1,800.

Cranbrook, British Columbia

The Canadian Pacific Railway established  a station in Cranbrook in 1898, and a city was born. Cranbrook’s period homes are concentrated in the historic Baker Hill neighbourhood.

Old Town | Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

Old Town was established in the 1940s when gold rushers headed to the mines in Yellowknife. They used local timber to build sturdy log cabins, which today can sell for around $600,000 (for cabins that have been renovated and modernized). At about 300 miles south of the Arctic Circle, winter temperatures can go down to the –40s F. So if you want to live in Old Town, you better like the cold!

London Road Neighbourhood | Lethbridge, Alberta

When Shell Oil announced that it was going to tear down a house in London Road in the 1980s and build a gas station in its place, a petition was circulated and enough signatures were acquired to nix those plans.

The Crescents | Regina, Saskatchewan

The Crescents was home to Regina’s wealthy during the early 20th century. House styles include Queen Anne, Craftsman, and Tudor.

West Broadway | Winnipeg, Manitoba

West Broadway dates back to the late 1800s when merchants and transportation magnates built fabulous home in this area. Less than a square mile in size, 5,200 residents currently call West Broadway home.

Leslieville | Toronto, Ontario

Once a gritty and industrial area, Leslieville now appeals to families, artists, and business owners who are attracted by its fashionable scene, safe streets, proximity to beaches, and affordable (relatively speaking!) housing.

Le Plateau Mont Royal | Montreal, Quebec

The Plateau is the “In” spot in Montreal right now. The duplexes and triplexes in The Plateau were built between 1880 and 1915 from local limestone, brick, or wood. Originally divided into multiple residences, many of them are now being converted into single-dwelling homes.

Saint Andrews, New Brunswick

British loyalists escaping persecution in the American colonies settled in Saint Andrews on the Bay of Fundy in 1783. Some of them actually dismantled their homes in the US, brought them to New Brunswick, and rebuilt them there. Local bylaws prohibit big box and chain stores, so the shops in town are the originals from the 1880s.

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

I can vouch for the fact that Charlottetown is a charming little city with equally charming homes. Did you know that Charlottetown is the birthplace of Canada? Yep, the second-largest country in the world was established in 1864 in our smallest province :-)

And for good measure, the beautiful B&B, Number One Grafton Street. (You can read my post about it here).

Central Halifax | Halifax, Nova Scotia

Some of the most enviable homes in Halifax are in the Central Halifax neighbourhood on the Halifax Peninsula. The colourful cedar-shingled  townhouses were built in the late 1800s and are a five-minute walk from downtown Halifax.

St. John’s, Newfoundland

I haven’t been to Newfoundland yet, but Jelly Bean Row in St. John’s is my favourite Canadian neighbourhood. I would LOVE to live in one of these colourful row houses originally built around 1892. (You can read more about Jelly Bean Row over at DesignTies here and here).

If you live in one of these cities, I’d love to hear how you like it. And if there’s a city here that you’d like to learn more about, let me know and I’ll put together an in-depth post about it. Do you have a favourite city that you think should be on the list? Let me know, I’d love to check it out :-)

Shameless Plug Alert!

Just a few days left to vote for your favourite bedroom in the Bedroom Challenge in the HomeSense Shopper Showdown contest. If you like my bedroom, please vote for me! And if you don’t like it, vote for me anyway, OK? ;-)

If you want your home to reflect who you are and what you love, drop me a line for an in-person or online consultation.

All images from This Old House, with the exception of Number One Grafton Street.