As I write the word, I am still in disbelief. It has been quite a month! I will start at the beginning with the first piece of news…the house is SOLD!!! That’s right, come June 24th we will no longer own the little brown house. What is most interesting about this piece of news is that it wasn’t even for sale. That’s right. NOT.FOR.SALE. Not on grapevine, or with an agent, nowhere near being on the market. In fact, the day before all this came to light, I was preparing to blog about our stager and our staging process. (I will still do this; I just won’t have any insight as to whether or not it worked for us because we didn’t get that far in the process!)
So how does this happen? I give credit to the wonderful world of social networking. I frequent (and I use that term lightly as I have not been on in almost a month) a web site called www.buildinghomes.ca It’s a resource for those building new construction homes in Canada. There is a message board specifically for those building homes in Ottawa and someone was asking questions about our area, and mentioned how they liked the same model as we have but didn’t like where the builder was currently building. So I piped in with my 2 cents – “Hey we are putting ours on the market in a couple of months, let me know if you would like more details” sure enough, they messaged me back almost immediately interested in our place. My son and i were going out of town that weekend (and Brian was sick) so we put off the viewing until the next weekend. And then it started: they came, they saw, we negotiated, we agreed, they inspected, and we’re sold! I make it sound a lot quicker and a lot less stressful - all that probably took a good and very busy month.
Oh yes and before I forget (haha – kidding) the second piece of news is…I am expecting!!! Our second baby is due August 14th (thank GOD its not anywhere near our closing date!) This is the other reason I have been delinquent with my postings – I’ve been absolutely exhausted (and sick but that’s another story).
The third bit of news relates to the new house’s master ensuite, but I will post that in another post!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
The Master Bath
I am not a fan of the master bath as it designed in our new house.
My 2 main reasons:
1) too much of the floor space is taken up by a massive corner tub. Neither me nor my husband are bath people. The massive tub we have right now has only been used once, by my son when I got the bright idea he should have a bath in there. It took about 20 mins for it to fill his usual amount of water (about 3”) and of course it was cold by the time he got in it. As well, the side of the tub is too high for me to reach over. It was not a pleasant experience for either of us.
2) We cant get a double vanity in there without upgrading the shower. We had sort of already planned on upgrading the shower but I don’t want the vanity to butt up against the expensive glass wall, it kind of defeats the purpose.
I have talked to a few people on the tub situation, because I feel like if I could solve that, it would make things easier. One main question was raised like: do you really need a tub? My rebuttle: Is it going to affect resale? Which got me thinking, do you really need a tub in an ensuite if you have a tub in another bathroom? Some said yes, some said no. We kicked around the idea of having one massive luxury shower with a couple of shower heads, and body sprays. We also thought about having a stand alone tub. Unfortunately I think a stand alone tub needs to be seen – it’s a thing of beauty after all. In the end there was no place in the bathroom we could logically put it for it to be seen.
In the end I went to our builder’s supplier and talked to one of the associates there. She was helpful in coming up with a plan maximize the space in the bathroom. I was also able to pick out a couple of options for the shower.
1) a Kalia base (which is a solid surface base that looks way nicer than its acrylic counter part) 2 custom glass walls and 2 tiled walls
2) the Camel/Tomlin Flow shower
The re-design is more of a reconfigure. We went with a smaller tub and switched the shower and vanity. Check it out:
We will now wait until we get pricing to make our decision. Although I am sure that we have already exceeded our budget for this room just in these changes alone. For fun, here is my order of preference*:
1) Bathroom reconfiguration with all standard options.
2) Double vanity
3) Awesome shower
4) Upgrade the tile
5) Upgrade the vanity colour
*Note: these are today’s preferences….LOL
Keep your fingers crossed for us!
My 2 main reasons:
1) too much of the floor space is taken up by a massive corner tub. Neither me nor my husband are bath people. The massive tub we have right now has only been used once, by my son when I got the bright idea he should have a bath in there. It took about 20 mins for it to fill his usual amount of water (about 3”) and of course it was cold by the time he got in it. As well, the side of the tub is too high for me to reach over. It was not a pleasant experience for either of us.
2) We cant get a double vanity in there without upgrading the shower. We had sort of already planned on upgrading the shower but I don’t want the vanity to butt up against the expensive glass wall, it kind of defeats the purpose.
I have talked to a few people on the tub situation, because I feel like if I could solve that, it would make things easier. One main question was raised like: do you really need a tub? My rebuttle: Is it going to affect resale? Which got me thinking, do you really need a tub in an ensuite if you have a tub in another bathroom? Some said yes, some said no. We kicked around the idea of having one massive luxury shower with a couple of shower heads, and body sprays. We also thought about having a stand alone tub. Unfortunately I think a stand alone tub needs to be seen – it’s a thing of beauty after all. In the end there was no place in the bathroom we could logically put it for it to be seen.
In the end I went to our builder’s supplier and talked to one of the associates there. She was helpful in coming up with a plan maximize the space in the bathroom. I was also able to pick out a couple of options for the shower.
1) a Kalia base (which is a solid surface base that looks way nicer than its acrylic counter part) 2 custom glass walls and 2 tiled walls
2) the Camel/Tomlin Flow shower
The re-design is more of a reconfigure. We went with a smaller tub and switched the shower and vanity. Check it out:
We will now wait until we get pricing to make our decision. Although I am sure that we have already exceeded our budget for this room just in these changes alone. For fun, here is my order of preference*:
1) Bathroom reconfiguration with all standard options.
2) Double vanity
3) Awesome shower
4) Upgrade the tile
5) Upgrade the vanity colour
*Note: these are today’s preferences….LOL
Keep your fingers crossed for us!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
We did it!!
It has been just over a week, and I am still in a state of disbelief! We bought a house!! It’s another new construction, but the same builder that built our current place. It’s in a different neighbourhood though, in the west of the city, Stittsville to be exact. I am not sure about most people when they move, but this is not a decision we took lightly. We did our research, found the lot, put a deposit down and then backed out because we still weren’t sure. We then spent the next several months, going to open houses (3 months x 4 weekends/month x 5 houses average per weekend = 60 houses) Some we visited twice or three times (not included in that count). But nothing ever compared to this place. So why not just get it then…well two main reasons factored into this doubt: 1) Its far 2) it’s close to the dump.
Its far....
When we were telling our family and close friends the happy news, a couple of them immediately shot it down saying: “Stittsville eh?...wow… that’s… far” or “Rush Hour traffic is going to be hell” and my personal favourite: “I hope you don’t expect me to visit you ALL THE WAY out there” . Whoa – I didn’t know we were moving to Mars. I guess that is a few less people that we will have to invite to our house warming party! It’s not really that far – from Blackburn Hamlet it is about 36 minutes door to door. To put that in perspective, it’s about 28 minutes from there to our current place. Yes the distance is greater, but the streets you drive on are faster. So it evens out. We have actually timed the drive, and it’s true, it is just 36 minutes (we played fair and went the speed limit too) While it is far from some, it is close to a lot more. There are grocery stores, shops and restaurants within walking distance. We have lots of family and friends who live in the area so if we need help with the little one, its just short drive away. This is HUGE for us. If I am late from work one day, I can get help rather than stressing about it until I get to the daycare and then having to pay late fees – I never wanted to be that parent. It will also be nice for our son to grow up closer to his cousin. We might even be able to look into a nanny share!!
Its close to the dump....
Yes it is. I don’t know what else to say here. This is something we were really worried about in the beginning. It’s the reason we pulled the plug the first time around. But after talking to some neighbours and my dad doing some research on the wind patterns, we hope it won’t be too big of an issue.
While it kind of sounds like I am trying to justify our decision to move, I am not. We are really happy and excited!!! And those who don’t think it’s a good idea: butt out and be happy for us!!
The house will be in the north-western corner of the subdivision. It is a little pocket of about 20 homes. You have a cross over a bridge and through a bit of forest to get there. Our place currently backs onto a lot of 6 acres that is for sale and is zoned residential. But word on the street is that the price is too high and therefore unusable for developers. So for now we back on to a forest. It’s a bit of country in the city!!! The house will look like this:
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Ok...i am back.....
So I was at a Christmas party this weekend and my girlfriends were asking about my blog. Why I haven't been writing anything lately - I guess it’s because I really didn’t have anything to say.
I have been busy adjusting to my new life, a mom, wife and homeowner that lives in the 'burbs (if you can call it that, I prefer the middle of nowhere). It hasn’t been a particularly hard adjustment, just one where there seems to be no time for anything except that.
I can tell you, that I am going to try to make more time for blogging as 2011 will bring with it a lot of changes. They are big ones - I know, I have insider knowledge! Stay tuned, I will hopefully be able to write about the first one on Wednesday!
Monday, April 19, 2010
DIY on the Road
I took a break this weekend to help my sister with her nursery. She is expecting a baby boy in July!
She had painted the room green but felt the room was a bit plain.
The room before its transformation:
Our Mission….
She and I tossed around a few ideas but she really wanted to do wainscoting. So again we tossed around ideas for how to do it – whether we go with just a simple chair moulding and add in some trimmed out squares or rectangles below, or if we attempt something a bit more complicated and go with MDF strips to create a square pattern. She really liked the idea of beadboard, but what a pain to have to glue it to your walls. What if Baby R decided when he was 5 that he wanted to have something different?? It would be a nightmare trying to take it off. I know I had visions of having to re-drywall. Not fun and not to mention expensive too. So we kind of stalled for a couple of weeks until last weekend when we got the “DreamBook” from Home Depot. I was flipping through dreaming about my new deck and re-doing our master bath for the umpteenth time, when I came across Martha Stewart’s new line of paintable wall coverings (item #6 in the colour by numbers section of the “Dreambook”). I know what you are thinking: You’re crazy. My grandma used a paintable wallpaper in her kitchen to make it look like she had tiles back there. That stuff is uuuuugly! I was thinking that too. But we missed two key words: Martha and Stewart. It HAS to be a "Good Thing", right???
DIY Coles Notes Version
This paintable wall paper is easily installed, you put the adhesive on the wall and slap on the paper. Add a trim to finish off the edge. And then paint it out. It is really as easy as it sounds.
DIY Tips for the project
- We used a laser level to mark the height of the bottom of the trim and added 1”. This measurement became the length we cut the paper strips.
- We used one of those “completely useless for painting” edger painting pads (the kind that are supposed to make painting along the ceiling and around baseboards sooo easy) to apply the adhesive.
- Use a good sharp exacto knife to cut the paper off along the baseboard and around windows etc. You will know when it’s time to snap off the blade because it will shred the paper instead of giving a nice clean cut.
- Use a chair railing trim or for a thicker look, we used a casing
- After the trim is up, if any of the paper shows above the trim, use a SHARP exacto knife to trim it away
- caulk the top and corners of the trim for a more professional look
o Here’s how we did it:
~ We put a bead of caulking along the top edge of the new moulding
~ I ran a finger along the edge to smooth it out. A damp finger works best
~ I used a damp cloth to wipe off any excess caulking from my finger every couple of feet so I didn’t smear caulking all over the walls.
~ Paint out the paper and the trim. We found using a brush worked best for this project because it gets into the crevasses of the “beadboard”
The cost for the project:
2 rolls of paper at $24.99 each total: 49.98
5 pieces of 7’ long trim at $ 4.79 each total: $23.95
Wallpaper paste $16.95
Paint $42.95 (we bought a gallon but only used about ½ of it)
All other supplies we had left over from previous project.
GRAND TOTAL: $133.83
(plus taxes and stuff of course)
Conclusion
For less than $135 we achieved a look that certainly would have cost more – an 8’ sheet of beadboard alone is about $15. This is an excellent alternative to the real thing. It was not a time consuming project (about 1 day + painting time)
Would I do it again or hire a professional? I would totally do this again. If this was the look I was trying to achieve, it is too simple NOT to diy.
Welcome to the family Baby R!!!! We hope you enjoy your new room:
The paper is up! Now time for the trim work…
Just needs some paint!
She had painted the room green but felt the room was a bit plain.
The room before its transformation:
Our Mission….
She and I tossed around a few ideas but she really wanted to do wainscoting. So again we tossed around ideas for how to do it – whether we go with just a simple chair moulding and add in some trimmed out squares or rectangles below, or if we attempt something a bit more complicated and go with MDF strips to create a square pattern. She really liked the idea of beadboard, but what a pain to have to glue it to your walls. What if Baby R decided when he was 5 that he wanted to have something different?? It would be a nightmare trying to take it off. I know I had visions of having to re-drywall. Not fun and not to mention expensive too. So we kind of stalled for a couple of weeks until last weekend when we got the “DreamBook” from Home Depot. I was flipping through dreaming about my new deck and re-doing our master bath for the umpteenth time, when I came across Martha Stewart’s new line of paintable wall coverings (item #6 in the colour by numbers section of the “Dreambook”). I know what you are thinking: You’re crazy. My grandma used a paintable wallpaper in her kitchen to make it look like she had tiles back there. That stuff is uuuuugly! I was thinking that too. But we missed two key words: Martha and Stewart. It HAS to be a "Good Thing", right???
DIY Coles Notes Version
This paintable wall paper is easily installed, you put the adhesive on the wall and slap on the paper. Add a trim to finish off the edge. And then paint it out. It is really as easy as it sounds.
DIY Tips for the project
- We used a laser level to mark the height of the bottom of the trim and added 1”. This measurement became the length we cut the paper strips.
- We used one of those “completely useless for painting” edger painting pads (the kind that are supposed to make painting along the ceiling and around baseboards sooo easy) to apply the adhesive.
- Use a good sharp exacto knife to cut the paper off along the baseboard and around windows etc. You will know when it’s time to snap off the blade because it will shred the paper instead of giving a nice clean cut.
- Use a chair railing trim or for a thicker look, we used a casing
- After the trim is up, if any of the paper shows above the trim, use a SHARP exacto knife to trim it away
- caulk the top and corners of the trim for a more professional look
o Here’s how we did it:
~ We put a bead of caulking along the top edge of the new moulding
~ I ran a finger along the edge to smooth it out. A damp finger works best
~ I used a damp cloth to wipe off any excess caulking from my finger every couple of feet so I didn’t smear caulking all over the walls.
~ Paint out the paper and the trim. We found using a brush worked best for this project because it gets into the crevasses of the “beadboard”
The cost for the project:
2 rolls of paper at $24.99 each total: 49.98
5 pieces of 7’ long trim at $ 4.79 each total: $23.95
Wallpaper paste $16.95
Paint $42.95 (we bought a gallon but only used about ½ of it)
All other supplies we had left over from previous project.
GRAND TOTAL: $133.83
(plus taxes and stuff of course)
Conclusion
For less than $135 we achieved a look that certainly would have cost more – an 8’ sheet of beadboard alone is about $15. This is an excellent alternative to the real thing. It was not a time consuming project (about 1 day + painting time)
Would I do it again or hire a professional? I would totally do this again. If this was the look I was trying to achieve, it is too simple NOT to diy.
Welcome to the family Baby R!!!! We hope you enjoy your new room:
The paper is up! Now time for the trim work…
Just needs some paint!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Voila!! The Dining Room is complete
Panic only set in one last time after the painting and baseboards were in...the night the furniture was delivered. The room was EXTREMELY dark, so dark, it felt like a cave. Granted it was 11pm, Hubby was playing hockey and the baby was freaking out because the delivery company decided it would be ok to deliver the dining set at such an ungodly hour. Oh and did I forget to mention that we didn’t have the light fixture in yet and the only light in the room was the pot lights?
The next morning I felt a bit better when I went downstairs to find it wasn't so bad...we just needed something big and white as a contrast to the dark wood – an area rug. Typically I am not a rug person but we really didn’t have a choice. The room needed it. Luckily, the rug Gods were smiling on us that day as we found exactly what we were looking for at the first store. A really nice cream, grey and beige, non wool (I am allergic) area rug.
The Finishing Touches
We added some art to the walls which was another quick DIY project. Hubby took some pictures of the city from the roof of a building in downtown Ottawa. We had them enlarged and we put them in matching frames. We lucked out and found the frames at Michaels. They already had prints in them, but the frames matched perfectly with the room. So we bought new mats sized for the frame and our prints. Removed the old prints and put ours in. The frames were $14.99 each, new mats were $13.99 each, prints were $2.49 each. For less than $100 we got 3 custom pieces of art. The only thing I would do differently is get the prints done in a matte finish so they don’t look as shiney through the frames.
As I was putting together the room, I found the china cabinet a little too ornate for our style. I was able to remove the top decorative crown which made it look a little less format. I added a runner to cover up the holes and found some picture frames in different sizes to display some more family photos.
With all the neutral colours in the house, I have decided to add a pop of colour here and there with accents. This way if purple is in this season and red the next, I can mix it up and keep the décor looking modern. I used purple hydrangeas in the centerpiece, purple candle holders on the mantle, purple napkins when I set the table for guests and eventually purple candle sticks (pretty hard thing to find) and a purple patterned pillow for the head chair. See? There is a method to my madness…
Here is a before, during and after picture of the Dining Room.
Before:
During the Frame Walk…
View from the Living Room the day we moved in...
During:
All the Big furniture is moved in...
After:
Complete Room with pictures on the wall...
The next morning I felt a bit better when I went downstairs to find it wasn't so bad...we just needed something big and white as a contrast to the dark wood – an area rug. Typically I am not a rug person but we really didn’t have a choice. The room needed it. Luckily, the rug Gods were smiling on us that day as we found exactly what we were looking for at the first store. A really nice cream, grey and beige, non wool (I am allergic) area rug.
The Finishing Touches
We added some art to the walls which was another quick DIY project. Hubby took some pictures of the city from the roof of a building in downtown Ottawa. We had them enlarged and we put them in matching frames. We lucked out and found the frames at Michaels. They already had prints in them, but the frames matched perfectly with the room. So we bought new mats sized for the frame and our prints. Removed the old prints and put ours in. The frames were $14.99 each, new mats were $13.99 each, prints were $2.49 each. For less than $100 we got 3 custom pieces of art. The only thing I would do differently is get the prints done in a matte finish so they don’t look as shiney through the frames.
As I was putting together the room, I found the china cabinet a little too ornate for our style. I was able to remove the top decorative crown which made it look a little less format. I added a runner to cover up the holes and found some picture frames in different sizes to display some more family photos.
With all the neutral colours in the house, I have decided to add a pop of colour here and there with accents. This way if purple is in this season and red the next, I can mix it up and keep the décor looking modern. I used purple hydrangeas in the centerpiece, purple candle holders on the mantle, purple napkins when I set the table for guests and eventually purple candle sticks (pretty hard thing to find) and a purple patterned pillow for the head chair. See? There is a method to my madness…
Here is a before, during and after picture of the Dining Room.
Before:
During the Frame Walk…
View from the Living Room the day we moved in...
During:
All the Big furniture is moved in...
After:
Complete Room with pictures on the wall...
Friday, March 5, 2010
This room seems a little dark
With the room painted and the dining set moved in we needed to find a light fixture. We couldn’t make a decision on what exactly we wanted. I love glitter and my thoughts were a long rectangular light with crystals dangling from it. We look around and couldn’t find one quite long enough. You are probably asking yourself, how do you know what long enough is?
Project 1B: Lighting
The Numbers
Generally, there are 2 ways you can come up with this measurement of a dining room light fixture.
1. Add the length and width of your room together, the resulting number is the diameter of your chandelier. We calculated our room like this:
10’9” (10.75’) + 16’4” (16.333’) = 27.083
We would be looking for a chandelier about 27” in diameter.
2. Select a chandelier that is ½ to ¾ the size of your dining room table, but it must be 24” shorter than the table (ie 12” on either side). Whoa that’s some heavy duty math…. For our table we calculated like this (our table is 75” x 45”):
75” x 0.75 = 56.25”
75” - 56.25” = 18.25”
18.25 / 2 = 9.125”
By this calculation, a 56” long chandelier is too long
75” x 0.5 = 37.5”
75” – 24” = 51”
Now that you have determined your approximate size, you should also take into consideration how much light the fixture is giving off. To determine the wattage, multiply the length and width of your room, then multiply the result by 1.5. The answer is the number of watts your room will need to be well lit.
Our room was calculated like this:
10’9” (10.75’) x 16’4” (16.333’) = 175.58 sq feet
175.58 x 1.5 = 263.37 watts
The Shopping List
The calculation you go with should be dependent on the configuration of your room and the shape of your dining room table. Since our dining room houses a main artery to the kitchen and we have a long rectangular table, we chose to go with calculation number 2 since it made the most sense to us and the use of our room.
We decided we were looking for a fixture between 37.5” and 51” long, about 21” wide and would let off about 263 watts of light. We chose to ignore the pot lights as both lights would probably never be on at the same time. The pot lights were there to highlight our wall art and the dining room fixture was there to create ambiance in the room.
With our list in hand, off to the store we go!
The Selection
We went to a local specialty lighting store since we could not find anything that suited our (ok mostly my) vision for our dining room at the local big box hardware stores. It was at this store I found and fell in love with the fixture of my dreams. A beautiful, sparkly, rectangular shaped chandelier that fit our measurements. BUT it was like $1800. Agh. Hubby quickly stepped up and talked me out of it. His argument? Our dining room set was made in the early 1900’s and this fixture was way too modern for it. It made sense and for once he was right (he’ll tell you it doesn’t happen that often, but I will give credit where credit is due.)
In the end, we picked out a brushed nickel, 6 light fixture that is reminiscent of an antique chandelier where they used pillar candles instead of electric lights with glass coverings.
Its all good until we think it through…6 lights, with a max wattage of 100 watts each. Holy crap! That’s about 600 watts of light for a room that needs less that half of that. The guy at the store says not problem. Install a dimmer. It’s funny how everything snowballs eh?
Project 1B: Lighting
The Numbers
Generally, there are 2 ways you can come up with this measurement of a dining room light fixture.
1. Add the length and width of your room together, the resulting number is the diameter of your chandelier. We calculated our room like this:
10’9” (10.75’) + 16’4” (16.333’) = 27.083
We would be looking for a chandelier about 27” in diameter.
2. Select a chandelier that is ½ to ¾ the size of your dining room table, but it must be 24” shorter than the table (ie 12” on either side). Whoa that’s some heavy duty math…. For our table we calculated like this (our table is 75” x 45”):
75” x 0.75 = 56.25”
75” - 56.25” = 18.25”
18.25 / 2 = 9.125”
By this calculation, a 56” long chandelier is too long
75” x 0.5 = 37.5”
75” – 24” = 51”
Now that you have determined your approximate size, you should also take into consideration how much light the fixture is giving off. To determine the wattage, multiply the length and width of your room, then multiply the result by 1.5. The answer is the number of watts your room will need to be well lit.
Our room was calculated like this:
10’9” (10.75’) x 16’4” (16.333’) = 175.58 sq feet
175.58 x 1.5 = 263.37 watts
The Shopping List
The calculation you go with should be dependent on the configuration of your room and the shape of your dining room table. Since our dining room houses a main artery to the kitchen and we have a long rectangular table, we chose to go with calculation number 2 since it made the most sense to us and the use of our room.
We decided we were looking for a fixture between 37.5” and 51” long, about 21” wide and would let off about 263 watts of light. We chose to ignore the pot lights as both lights would probably never be on at the same time. The pot lights were there to highlight our wall art and the dining room fixture was there to create ambiance in the room.
With our list in hand, off to the store we go!
The Selection
We went to a local specialty lighting store since we could not find anything that suited our (ok mostly my) vision for our dining room at the local big box hardware stores. It was at this store I found and fell in love with the fixture of my dreams. A beautiful, sparkly, rectangular shaped chandelier that fit our measurements. BUT it was like $1800. Agh. Hubby quickly stepped up and talked me out of it. His argument? Our dining room set was made in the early 1900’s and this fixture was way too modern for it. It made sense and for once he was right (he’ll tell you it doesn’t happen that often, but I will give credit where credit is due.)
In the end, we picked out a brushed nickel, 6 light fixture that is reminiscent of an antique chandelier where they used pillar candles instead of electric lights with glass coverings.
Its all good until we think it through…6 lights, with a max wattage of 100 watts each. Holy crap! That’s about 600 watts of light for a room that needs less that half of that. The guy at the store says not problem. Install a dimmer. It’s funny how everything snowballs eh?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)