To-Do List

Thought I would create a little to-do list for our lovely abode and update it as we complete things!

Upstairs

Living Room

• Finish baseboards
• Storage for front entry
• Picture wall

Kitchen

• Countertops
• Backsplash
• Kitchen sink
• New stainless steel appliances
• Window trim
• Window coverings
• Kitchen table update
• Wine barrel wine rack 
• Cabinet storage

Master bedroom

• Windowtrim
• Nightstands
• Lighting
• Photo art
• Closet
• New door

Monique Office

• Refinish dressing table
• New door

Thomas Office

• Closet
• Baseboards
• Crown moulding
• Desk solution
• Storage
• New door

Bathroom #1

• Flooring
• New vanity/Sink
• Re-grout shower tile
• Medicine cabinet
• Replace toilet for eco friendly
• Remove wallpaper
• Baseboards
• New door

Downstairs

Home Gym

• Paint
• Flooring
• Baseboards
• Corkboard revamp
• Towel and water station
• Window solution

Living Area

• Flooring
• Baseboards
• Paint
• New couch
• Install desk and bookshelves
• TV storage
• Beach theme art display
• Window covering

Spare Bedroom

• Flooring 
• Baseboards
• Paint
• New guest bed
• Window cover

Laundry Room

• Storage (cabinets and shelves)
• New flooring
• Paint
• Window cover
• Hide Furnace/Water Heater

Bathroom #2

• E V E R Y T H I N G!

New Floors (Part 1 of 3) - Monique's Office

When we redid the floors throughout the upstairs we left the bedrooms alone. There were two reasons 1. Money! and 2. I was dead set on carpeting in the bedrooms. Fast forward to this past Friday where Thomas informed me the flooring we had purchased oh so long ago was on SALE again at Costco. GEF 12mm Laminate regular $40/box on sale for $32/box (more details on the flooring HERE). This exact flooring was installed in our house 2 years ago in the kitchen, living room, and hallway.

Our dog is a lunatic. As much as I try to keep her little toenails clipped I couldn't help but think about all the damage she was going to cause to our new floors. Chasing balls and running to greet people at the door (scratch scratch scratch!). TODAY: The floors are just as good as the day we installed them and boy can they take some major abuse! Everything from big spills in the kitchen to dragging furniture across them. This flooring is perfect for our house. I could not say enough fabulous things about how it has exceeded my expectations of a laminate flooring.

So anyways that same Friday Thomas did his calculations and we purchased enough boxes to complete the three bedrooms upstairs. ($559.00 for flooring in 3 bedrooms is pretty good!) and on Saturday the work began. Here are some photos of what went down..

Just in case you need a reminder, this is what we started with almost 2 years ago exactly..

And this is where we began on Saturday..

The rip up begins!

Sydney getting in the St.Patricks Day spirit?.. This is what I do while the men work.. Dress up my dog and take pictures ;)

This was taken this morning. Finished office product. I finally have a beautiful place to study and I don't have to worry about spilling my coffee on white carpet!!

Thomas and Ira did an amazing job. The floor is perfect and runs seamlessly from the existing laminate. Thomas and I could not be happier! Now we just have 2 more bedrooms to do.. Stay tuned :)

Cabinet Maker..

Something I really want to blog about is the TV cabinet Thomas made. He has pretty incredible carpentry skills considering it all has been self taught. I am increasingly impressed with his projects! But please don't tell HIM that. ;)

The whole project took him one day and the total cost was $150.

It always begins with a pile of wood..

Followed by cutting, sanding, and painting..

And finally the finished project..

The details..

 The cabinets open with a magnetic push latch and the hardware was purchased at Home Depot.

All together I am really pleased with how it turned out. Thanks Thomas! :)

Plans for this TV cabinet can be found here if you would like to make one of your own.

A little Christmas and Goodbye 2011!

I have been totally ignoring this blog and for that I apologize! I was surprised to learn at some Christmas gatherings that many of our family and friends check up here regularly! SO I better get cracking..

Speaking of Christmas, ours was incredible. We travelled out of town to the cutest tree farm and cut down our tree the last week of November. It was dark and late so any pictures I took were at the mercy of my iPhone flash. Once we got it home we quickly decorated it..

We had quite a few dinners and get-togethers with family and friends over the course of December. We feel so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives! The holidays are a great reminder of just how lucky we are..

One of my favourite gifts that I made and gave out this year were these jars full of cookie ingredients! They were so fun to make.

Today is the last day of 2011. Looking back, it has been an amazing year full of wonderful memories. I am looking forward to what 2012 has to bring and working hard to accomplish all of our goals.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Lots of love, 

Monique & Thomas

Rustic Bed Project and Master Bedroom Update

I am horrible at taking before pictures. But here you can see what the walls looked like before. A yellowy beige not fun color.

New paint and baseboards brighten everything up and make me happy. 

Window trim will follow but we have to get new window treatments first..

We also painted a feature wall. Can you see the difference in colour? Do you like my huge TV? Hopefully that will also get an upgrade soon ;)

Now onto the rustic bed project!

The wood for the bed had to be sanded..

And conditioned.. (I didn't realize I took a picture of the french side - HA!)

And finally stained.. we used the colour "Ebony" from the minwax line and only used one coat..

Thomas starts to put it all together..

Back inside he started to assemble the frame.

Here is the 95% finished product. I still need to decorate and make everything pretty. We also ripped apart the closet.. and want to put in a new fan.. and.. and.. the list doesn't end. But this is the start. :)

Plans for the bed can be found HERE.

So, what do you think? Do you like the look of the bed?

Quick and Easy Closet Redo

Bonjour!

Do you have a closet in your house that bugs you every time you walk past it? I do. Actually, I did! Please meet my bug:

I used the same paint we used on our trim to freshen up the shelf and rod. Just plain white Behr paint.

I needed some organization up top there so I chose some simple wicker baskets from HomeSense. $14.99 each they weren't the cheapest but I am liking how they look!

What do you think? Are you going to tackle an ugly closet in your house this weekend? :)

Spring Clean Up

This past weekend was spent cleaning up the yard.

We are doing a pretty major overhaul and I can't wait to see how it all turns out.

Here is what has been done so far..

Bright and early start at 8am

Nearly all of the existing plants in the yard were dug up.

Thomas hated these trees..

Timber :)

Roots dug up.. big holes left over..

Much cleaner looking. Once again, Thomas is right.

Rented a rototiller..

It really helped loosen all of the compacted dirt.

This was ugly. We dug up all of the rocks.. 

Ira helped out! The back corner of our yard needed some love and attention..

We planted one of our Lilac plants here. I can't wait to see it bloom for the first time! :)

Rented a power rake to cut up all of the dead grass from the winter.

Both of the bigbigbig trees in the front and back received a trim..

By the time it was all done we filled this entire trailer.

There is still a lot of work to be done, I can't wait to share the progress with you. 

I hope you are enjoying the first little bit of summer! I know we are :)