Sunday 16 February 2014

Phase III: Family Bath.d. (90% Complete)


Progress:
Fixtures:
Toilet (dual flush), Vanity, Bathtub/Shower... what more could a Bathroom want/need?

Loving the "vintage" vibe of the hex tile & beadboard spliced with the modern lines. This may turn out a o k.

Next Up:
Taking a bath. Srsly.

Lighting:
check out da bling!
Still waiting on the vanity lights... (aka living in buttf*ck Saskatchewan where if you want anything specifically cool & can't find it on Kijiji/local, it's being shipped here from Van or the T-dot in 4-6 weeks... and what they really mean by 4-6 weeks is 12-16 weeks).

We're breaking protocol with some of these elements (not re-used/local) but not getting our panties in a bunch over that fact, either. This house is huge... and it's been a long slow ride renovating by hand... we're  cracking under the pressure to "finish" some spaces by the undeniable urge to live in them. Impatient at best... mid-February in Narnia (otherwise affectionately called "Winter, phase II")... our resolve is broken & we're crying mercy!
The cure? Taking that fecking bath already.
End rant.

Next up... some accessories, decor, and a "reveal"! Fun fun!

Wednesday 5 February 2014

Phase II: Dining Room.d. (90% Complete)

Dining Room:
Where were we with this room? Oh yah.
Well... after returning to a catch-all/hallway for a fecking eternity spell, we burned some serious midnight oil & banged her out before the Supper of all Supperz this past Holiday Season. She's lookin' a'ight.

Elements of design:
The Dining Room: featuring a large footprint with no resting walls connected to the Library (East), Living Room (West), and Kitchen (South). Working with the original hardwood floors and trims, we beefed up the panelling to a plate height wainscoting & extended the crown along the ceiling (which is painted the most absorbingly beautiful ink black matte: pop that chandelier bling!), as well as adding the subtle texture of wallpaper (nicknamed "Grandma's doiles") to bump up the lineage of the room. But we're eclectically hip, so in addition to the black ceiling, the furniture & texture of the layered rugs dumbs all that stuffy-glam down to our looser disco-zen.

The furniture:
Redwood table: with our kid's name carved into the top (a haha funny story), was the first purchase the man made for the family... so it's in the sentimental/keeper category. One day we'll refinish.
The lucite chairs were re-found (not new IKEA... used IKEA!) on Kijiji (& were a spontaneous change-up to the Wegner's currently in the Kitchen Nook) as was the MCM credenza we love. Sourcing used materials/furniture has been priority on our mandate to rehab 619 (saving planetary resources hoorah!) and it's feeling better than any *new* stuff ever has. Be a goody-two-shoes & make the jump, folks!

The curtains:
Thick, rich, and taking up 92% of the North wall. By obscuring the window-frame & extending the curtains along the wall they make an undeniable statement, as well as providing extra insulation in our winter weather.
This velvet is more of the "forest" variety of green than the "emerald" we were aiming for... so will try again when not still busy bees with this and this, oh... and this too (stay in tune for more exiting news on that amazingly cool project). Curtains are an easy & inexpensive element to change (thanks to our mad sewing skillz!) so no sweat... and we can go back to our earlier visions of yellow/teal, or make up something new like hot pink flocked damask, all on a whim to change the whole mood.


The space wouldn't be the same if not for that construction way back forever ago of moving all those weird doorways (and subsequent ducting) and punching the double French doors through the South wall to the Kitchen. By making that very expensive and essential leap-of-faith a mere few months into inhabiting 619 (breaking rule #1: do not make any drastic changes for at least 6 months), we regained natural light and an easy circular flow to the entire main floor. Sock it to ya, rules!

For fun & preservation, here's the Realtor's *before* shot... hoo Nelly!
Future:
Paint/caulk touchups. There are still some stragglers...

Wall-art. We just can't decide yet where & what to do with our collection, so they are staying off the wall until we can decide in conjunction with the other rooms of the house what goes where... or a flash of inspiration moves us. After we settle into the space (since we moved in 2 years ago we have not been able to experience living on the main floor without construction/obstruction) we'll tweak and play with the space... changing it as we do. But the structure is there now, so ready set play!

Phase II: Living Room.d. (update)

Update:
Almost immediately after this incarnation, we re-arranged. Honestly, it's a compulsive trait: once seen, we must change it. In 223, we were made aware of this impulse and soon known by our friends to change the paint colouring in the Living-Room rapidly (although, this compulsion did cease once we found the "perfect" combo's)... like a mood-ring. Not exactly sure why this is... but maybe we are not alone in this habit. Do you re-arrange your furniture manically? How about re-organize the bookcases once you've finished a novel? Or is it your hair cut & colour what this impulse is reserved for? Nevertheless, while blogging about our habitat, this has become a slight nuisance for it's inevitable as soon as a post is aired, we are crackin' a 6-er & overhaulin' the room. Strange strategies have unfolded with this in consideration.

The addition of two swankay MCM chairs (to undergo a re-upholstering) swayed us into this particular furniture placement... along with the semi-completion of the Dining Room and other main floor final-final plans materializing. So, with this post we are testing our resiliance to not change the layout until the next stage is afoot: wainscoting/panels, paint, repairs & addition to crowns, etc. unknowns. What's more remarkable/ambitious is that we have no succinct timeline for when this next stage is going to become active! Yup yup, we're such thrill-seeking cycle-busting daredevils we are ;)

Phase II: Library.c. (90% Complete)

Library:
Huzzah!
Yes, that is LEGO. Now you know our dirty little secret.

Elements & Future:
Besides the bamboo hardwood, all the beefed-up structural you can't see behind the walls, some electrical manouvering, and building in the bookcases, we're not comitted to saying this is the "FINAL" of this room.

Heck, we can't even commit to curtains yet.

Maybe it had to do with having to delay the installation of the bigger window (to look over the also delayed Garden) that tumbled this house-of-cards Library design? Anyhoo... sometimes stuff happens.

Originally, we were envisioning a dark & moody deep teal all-over vibe... but somewhere along the way we got lost & so went with the white + furniture we already had (it's the fallback decor for when we are un-decided... paint is a pain-in-the-ass but easy to change). Now that it is at this stage, the Dining Room is near completion, and the remainder of the main floor (Kitchen, Main Bath, Living Room, Foyer) are starting to suss themselves out into their final-final incarnations, the original deep-teal all-over seems more & more the right move. We are craving more saturation of personality for this space (that seems downright boring at the moment). Sure, this means re-painting the bookcases (zomg... +80 hours here we go!), sourcing out a wood-desk & re-upholstering or sourcing a new chair, + other things not considered as of yet... so we're going to just lay-low for a while, and be content with this space for working in as is (which, to be opportunistically optimistic, is still kinda awesome with the plants & the modern-rustic mishmosh jive).

Patience being a virtue & all...