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!

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: 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...

Phase II: Master Bedroom.d. (90% complete)

 

Master Bedroom:

Seen here in it's "winter" clothes, is where the magic happens. Bha-ha-ha.

Progress:
Beige has been compromised with strong rich blues.
That creamy forever teal was stitched into pooling draperies, paired with wedding-white sheers (and to enhance privacy further, a scrolled frost was applied to the lower 3/4 of the windows). Blue/White linens, with the addition of wool ikat, snow leopard print, and muppet-blue blankets (the winter clothes). Artwork applied in style. Vintage Farstrup chair with original orange tweed seatcover was the jumping off point for the orange accents.
The man is pleased, blue + orange are his favourite :)

Next Up:
Mirror:
Full-length mirror is a must, which is proposed to be constructed onto the South side of the PAX wardrobe & supporting wall (behind the door). A thick frame with large floor-to-ceiling mirror will obscure the PAX from the side (existing baseboard/trim to be removed). Feng Shui say no-no-no to a mirror across from the bed, but this house has suffered much compromise in it's pokey-old ways to ultimate flow. I'm sure we'll be fine...?

Hairpin Vanity:
I am handcrafting a narrow hairpin-leg vanity: to be situated on the far side of the window to replace the hanging shelf currently used for said vanity. Hotness.

Plaster cast ring for chandelier on ceiling:
Yah... she's glossy & blue, folks! Ha ha... 'twas fun to coat her in slick gawdy paint. LEDs to come... and then she needs one more touch: a cast-plaster moulding under the mounting hardware, and she'll be tip top. Perhaps a sputnuk chandelier in the future...

Bedside lamps & tables:
IKEA is cute (bedside tables), but 2 of them is too much... will source or DIY something else for the non-dresser side of the bed later.
And a must to replace the cheap-o clip-on lights with some hanging lamps of some cool variety... sourcing.

The Sunporch:
It's true, I still have not set foot in this brilliant East-facing porch. A new door (that will not require to be sealed shut!) is on the list of Kijiji hunts. Can't say more about what will need to happen inside until we can get inside!

MCM dresser:
To replace the Ikea MALM one... ya know... something with soul.

Perhaps a few more tweaks & whistles --- but we are happy to finally at long last for-goodness-sake's-already announce the birth of our bouncing blue bedroom! Whee!


Edit: We've added "FINAL" to this post... cuz in retrospect & comparison to the rest of this abode, it's pretty much 96% there :)

Phase II: SW Bedroom.a (90% complete)

SW Bedroom:

What? How it is that you've never heard of it before? 

It was fugly & we were embarrassed (same reason why you did not get to see the Master Bedroom before we ripped out the stinky red carpet and smashed up some walls). It hurts my feelings looking at the "day-we-moved-in" photos.

Features:

West-facing window, good sized closet, decent sized small bedroom. 

Deconstruction/Reconstruction:

Rip out nasty red carpet, exposed wiring contained, walls/ceiling patched, new contemporary light/fan installed, new Low-VOC Eco-carpet, fresh paint = 1 weekend. Whew! We're "rip" the bandaid off kind of folk. (This work was actually completed in December before the Holiday season influx. What can I say... we've been too distracted in the Master Bedroom to update the blog *wink*)

Next Up:

For now, she looks like so. 

Not too shabby... considering she once was a rougher mutt.

Chair-rail, 1/4 rounds... finishings yet to occur.

Future incarnations include... a little surprise... but that's way later as far as our clock is concerned.




Something Happened:
Remember when we mentioned the "emergency roof" that happened this summer? There has been a string of mishaps involved with that ordeal, setting us upon a series of unfortunate events culminating to a crescendo this February. Time/energy/funds are eaten whole by things like roofs... renovation plans too.

The Dining Room has become a temporary house for the Library, as those walls & treasures within sustained water damage (Loft also pending assessment) due to faulty business and general curmudgeonry on the account of Advantage Roofing. Turns out... there aren't a whole lot of great roofers in the greater Saskatoon & area (our 2 neighbours to the North also have had major difficulty with finding honest & responsible roofers)... now we know. Yay.

(This is the view of a discarded row of roofing nails that has been hanging off our tree since September... a testament to their carelessness I-shit-u-not.)

Phase I: Kitchen.d. (90% Complete)

Kitchen:

After the three five eight week delay, and a summer that focused our efforts on exterior fixing & other life adventures, this Kitchen is now up to date. Good thing, because we are spending a lot of time in here these days.

Elements:

Structural reconfiguration of space, reinforcement of floors, hardwood, customized wood cabinets and island, granite countertop, stainless appliances, apron (farmhaus) sink, upgraded electric & plumbing & gas, craftsman trims & mouldings, ceramic backsplash, open shelving, lighting, & some choice temporary decor. We have liftoff... whoot!

Luxuries:

Cabinetry:
Soft-close drawer hardware (the man was a farmhand in his first incarnation this life - with these soft-close features I hope to not be woken up at 4-in-the-morning with ramming cabinet doors). The cabinets themselves are a huge luxury, and where most of our budget was spent, but well worth it ( AJ @ Mirage Woodworks' high quality craftsmanship milled from solid wood). They are so amazing I want to eat them.

Sacrifices:
Time: co-ordinating with trades takes time, flexibility, and the ability to stay cool.

Style: at times, we wonder about the temporary fight-club-esque IKEA default in order to establish functional space, but then look at our budget, the clock, and cut ourselves a little slack here.

Gratitude:

Real proud of the teenager and giving him props for being such a good sport in this journey in so far. He has happily commenced his self-education on culinary wizardry. Yum diddly nomnom!

Later:

Non-stop baking & choice yuppie martini parties before fall kicks us into Phase II renovations with round 2 of ubiquitous drywall dust.

and the Island:
The home-built island will add more much needed storage (from lack of upper wall cabinets), and hide those chunky appliances off the counter. Presently, we have a hidey-hole in the Main Bath to house baking paraphernalia and other kitchen bits. Butcher block top will double our workspace & satiate the oblong work triangle.

There will inevitably be changes to decor as we settle-in... but for now there are other projects to get up to snuff. Truckin' along here...

Phase I: Main floor Bath.c. (90% Complete)

90% Complete:
Decor is the last puzzle piece for this room. Exiting-a-zing-a-ling-zing!
Remember that time I confessed being batshit crazy? Totally. Worth. It. Must say, the contractor, cabinet guy, installer guy, countertop guy, electricians, and plumbers are certainly skeptics of the moroccan yellow, but y'all don't have vision if you are amongst that crowd.

Progress:
Porcelain 12x18 floor tiles, low-flow dual-flush toilet, trim & baseboards in + painted, classic lighting, and textured-glass french door. Whew! I dare say that this will be the first "finished" room of the house... which was not according to plan, but we are a o k with this happy hiccup.

Next Up:
Accessories, Furniture, Decor... my favourite tiny touches that home-i-fy the space. I've missed seeing our tchotchke's & doodads packed in storage for 8 months. Vintage-look screen-prints, paint touchups, final hardware touchups, the coolest litterbox ever for my furry babies, and we're ready to scream uncle.