Barn again

One thing I’d love to incorporate into our home is reclaimed barn board. I just love the rough, rustic look of worn wood, weathered to a beautiful silvery grey. So when I saw this room with an awesome barn board ceiling on Kenneth Brown’s Facebook page, it was love at first sight.

I had to find more examples of this fab look. Love this kitchen, especially the combination of the barn board ceiling with the watery blue glass tile backsplash.

Image via Houzz

Sarah Richardson and Tommy Smythe used barn board on the ceiling in this bedroom they designed for her farmhouse on Sarah’s House.

Beautiful soft colour palette in this bathroom – I’m guessing it was inspired by the shades of grey in the barn board on the ceiling.

Image via Tracery

Not the weathered grey barn board of the other ceilings, but this brown barn board ceiling creates a warm & earthy vibe in this space.

Image via Pinterest

Another beautiful brown barn board ceiling in this pretty dining room.

Image via Morgan Design Inc.

And how about this room with the awesome barn board ceiling and custom-made bookshelves designed by Mortise & Tenon Custom Furniture in Los Angeles, California. They salvaged the exterior siding of a 200 year old barn in Virginia and used it to create this amazing ceiling.

I have the beginnings of a little barn board project floating around in my head at the moment. I’ll let you know if I actually go ahead and do it (like I don’t have enough half-finished projects already on the go!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year, I have something to be VERY thankful for – we got Jackson back! Whatever you’re thankful for this year, I wish you a very happy turkey day. And happy Columbus Day to my US friends :-)

Image via Better Homes & Gardens

I’ll have another instalment of Fab Furniture Friday for you next week.

WEEEEEHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jackson is home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At 4:30 this morning, hubby and I both woke up after hearing a bark. Hubby went to the front door, and there was Jackson! He found his way home!!!! We have no idea how he did it – there are some pretty busy roads between Bruce Pit and where we live. If yesterday’s sightings of Jackson were accurate, he would have had to cross a major highway twice to get from where he was last seen to our house. And he had to travel between 8-10kms (possibly more). It’ll always be a mystery, but that doesn’t matter – the little nerdbomb is home!!!!

A huge thank you to all of you who took the time to leave supportive comments, everyone who sent positive thoughts and good karma and said prayers, everyone who spread the word via Facebook & Twitter & blogs, people who called with sighting info, friends who came out on a wet & dreary day to help us search for him… from close friends to complete strangers, so many people had a part in getting Jackson home safe & sound (other than a porcupine quill in his chin). We’re so grateful for everything you all did to help.

I’m looking forward to staying dry and not walking anywhere today, and getting a good, long sleep tonight. And I’m sure Jackson feels the same way!

Once again,

For all of you who left comments on my last post, I’ll be by soon to visit your blogs and say a proper thank you. It might take me a day or two, but I’ll be there!

Jackson is missing

Our Catahoula Leopard Dog, Jackson, went missing this afternoon. My hubby brought him to Bruce Pit on Cedarview in Ottawa around noon, and he ran off with another dog and disappeared. We searched for him till 9:00 tonight with no luck.

He has a microchip and tags on his collar with our contact info. I know it’s a longshot, but maybe someone out there will find Jackson, see this blog post, and help us get him back. And if you could help spread the word and send some positive vibes this way, that would be great.

Jackson is an absolute sweetheart, and I cannot imagine not having him in our lives. I’m beyond heartbroken right, but I’m really trying to be positive.

Thanks,

Fab Furniture Friday with Lisa Goulet Design

My friend Lisa at Lisa Goulet Design and her husband recently purchased a log home that they’ve had their eye on for close to 20 years. Now that they have their dream summer cottage, lucky Lisa gets to decorate it! Today I’d like to share Lisa’s first decorating project with you that for sure qualifies as a Fab Furniture makeover :-)

Lisa started with a coffee table that looked just like this side table (she forgot to take a before picture of the coffee table):

She started the makeover by spray painting the table Antique White.

She made a long cushion with a great blue & white chevron fabric…

 

…and just like that, the coffee table is now an awesome bench for the guest bedroom!

Lookin’ good! But wait, there’s more. The perfect detail – nail head trim.  Lisa used the kind that comes in a strip and you hammer in a nail at every 4th or 5th spot. Much easier to apply than traditional nail head trim.

And the final product…

Great job, Lisa! I love how you repurposed the table into something completely different. I have a similar coffee table sitting in the basement… hmmmm… Click here to check out Lisa’s blog and read more about her makeover.

If you have a piece of furniture that you’ve built, repaired, refinished, repurposed, reinvented, or otherwise done something fabulous to, send me some pictures and the story behind it, and I’ll feature it in a future Fab Furniture Friday post.

Happy weekend!

Mixed-media kitchen cabinets

You’ve probably seen lots of kitchens with different colours on the upper and lower cabinets, or an island that’s a different colour or material than the rest of the cabinetry in the kitchen. Here’s a twist on the unmatched look that I find quite striking – kitchen cabinet doors that are a different colour than the cabinetry around them.

When I came across this picture, I was instantly struck by the contrast between the dark glass doors with the white cabinetry. They remind me of black steel-framed windows, which I love.

 
Image via A Touch of Luxe

And then I came across this glam kitchen with chrome (or are they mirrored?) glass doors in an ad for SieMatic.

In this black & white kitchen designed by sisters Katrina & Amie on The Block, the white upper cabinets are framed in black, and the black doors above the fridge are framed in white. Nice contrast :-)

This kitchen by Downsview Kitchens takes the idea a step further with white doors combined with dark grey cabinetry. Love the stripe effect created by the line of grey drawers.

Here are a couple more kitchens by Downsview Kitchens with another take on this look – stainless steel drawers and wood cabinetry.

Another example of combining stainless steel drawers and wood.

Image via House Beautiful

These two kitchen designs by Allimilmo are a bit over the top – they take this idea in a different direction with metal trim around the doors and drawers. I think this look would work better with only the upper or lower doors framed in metal, though. Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing!

How do you feel about combining different finishes in your kitchen cabinetry? Would you incorporate any of these looks into your kitchen?

Ocean love at Pemaquid Point

I cannot begin to tell you how much I love the ocean. Here is some of the awesomeness of Pemaquid Point in Maine. Pictures don’t do this place justice. You have to see it and hear it to truly appreciate it…

      

Staci’s Bake-N-Blog Part 2

It’s here – Staci’s Bake-N-Blog Part 2! This time around, we’re baking cookies from a great foodie website, Tastespotting. With 169 pages of decadent & delicious cookies, it was practically impossible to choose just one. I already have three kinds of cookies, four cupcakes, chocolate cake, and pumpkin bread in the freezer, so I really didn’t need more sugar! I came across a recipe for Herb & Cheese Savoury Cookies with Balsamic Vinegar, and I had a winner!

The ingredients are pretty simple, and I had everything on hand except the fresh rosemary (I’m sure you could use dried rosemary, just add less of it).

Cookies
1 cup of flour
2 tbsp of fresh rosemary
1/4 cup of butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of sour cream
Salt and pepper

Balsamic Syrup
1 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of light flavoured honey

They’re really easy to make – all the cookie ingredients go into a food processor. First, put in the flour, rosemary, and butter and pulse until combined.

Add the parmesan and sour cream. My favourite parmesan is Reggiano, but use whichever kind you like :-)

Pulse until the dough comes together (more or less).

The dough was pretty sticky. Not sure if it was me or the recipe – I probably should have added a bit more flour, but I like to stick to the recipe the first time I try a new one.

Roll the dough into a log.

Wrap it in cling wrap and put it in the fridge for at least an hour. Because the dough was so sticky, I put some olive oil on the cling wrap to keep the dough from sticking to it.

I made the balsamic syrup, but I cooked it too long and it went hard when it cooled. I was serving the cookies with BBQ ribs, so I decided to forego the syrup – already enough sticky sauce on the ribs. But here’s the sauce, bubbling away in the pot (just ‘cause the picture is kinda cool).

The next day, I brought the dough with me to the cottage and baked the cookies there. I forgot to take a picture of the cookies before they were baked, but I cut the log into slices about 1/4” thick. I probably got about 2 dozen cookies out of the dough. Here’s the final product, ready to go out to the deck for supper:

The verdict? Everyone gave the cookies the thumbs up :-) They look crispy, but they actually came out soft. Not sure if that’s because the dough was sticky or if they’re supposed to be soft. Either way, the taste was great, and the whole plate of cookies was gone by the end of supper.

This is a really versatile recipe – you could probably use any herb(s) that you want, and I’m sure dried herbs would work fine if you don’t have fresh. And lots of cheeses would work – cheddar, monterey jack, swiss… any shredable hard cheese. Next time I make them, I’m going to try replacing some of the white flour with whole wheat flour, and the sour cream with Greek yoghurt.

If you’re looking for an easy and yummy recipe for a savoury cookie, try this one out :-) And if you’re looking for an ooey-gooey chocolate chip cookie (or pretty much any kind of cookie!), head over to Staci’s blog and check out what all the Bake-N-Blog participants have been busy baking.